Monthly Archives: May 2005

VP5 Progress In The Distributed Arena

I am pleased to report that people have been jumping on the decompiled Java-based VP5 decoder. Notably, it was clear to one individual that the method called clinch() that read bits from the stream using some bizarre algorithm is, in fact, an arithmetic decoding algorithm.

Regarding credits: I realize that many people engaged in reverse engineering activities are a little paranoid about having their achievements recognized. As such, my default policy is to not mention a contributor’s name unless they specifically ask for credit.

This is the current version of the decompiled VP5 Java cryptogram. Updates may occur at any time so check on the version number and timestamp inserted by SVN.

The Star Wars – QuickTime Connection

It was 6 years ago that George Lucas began savaging the emotions of old-school Star Wars fans by unleashing Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I have blocked out many of my negative memories of that film (which I only viewed once). Strangely, the fondest memories I have surrounding the film were of the downloadable trailers. Odd as it sounds, these QuickTime trailers were a large part of what inspired me to study multimedia technology.

In early 1999, the word was out that Apple had posted to the web these awe-inspiring trailers. The files showcased remarkably higher resolution than anything that was easily downloadable before. This screen capture of Master Yoda was taken from the first Phantom Menace trailer. For Linux users, the most notable feature of these new multimedia files was that they could not be played under Linux.


Yoda, Master Jedi
In you much fear Yoda senses, hhrrmmm?

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