RED seems to have been fraught with controversy pretty much since they first launched way back in 2005. The big issue at the moment – and for most of the last few years – has been their patents covering raw video. It’s a long drawn out topic that’s currently being fought out between RED and Nikon after Nikon’s inclusion of N-RAW in the Nikon Z9. Nikon’s disputing it, seemingly arguing that RED shouldn’t have been granted in the first place. Well, now another voice has entered the fray, Theo Browne from t3.gg, with his opinion on what’s going on. He posted the video on his second channel, Theo Rants, stating that while RED was one of the early pioneers of 4K digital video, they’re now actively in the process of destroying the camera industry. A pretty strong accusation!
Theor talks about what compressed raw is and how RED essentially pioneered it back in the early days of digital cinema. He also explains how this is a vital feature on today’s cameras and that RED’s patent enforcement – patents that Nikon says shouldn’t have been granted in the first place (although Apple tried that tactic in the past, too) – is essentially stifling innovation in the space as a whole.
We all know RED’s a little harsh in enforcing their patents, having gone after Sony in the past and seeming to have forced DJI and Kinefinity to abandon their RAW plans in the Ronin 4D. And while it’s pure speculation, I suspect this might have had a hand in Blackmagic removing CinemaDNG from the Pocket 4K. As a side note, the only reason Blackmagic “gets away with” offering Blackmagic RAW is that it’s not truly a raw format, but a partially debayered format that’s already had some processing done to it. – Theo Browne But do you think Theo’s assessment is fair? It probably doesn’t help the cause that RED was granted another patent in November on the subject of compressed raw This time covering all video-capable devices, including smartphones. [via PetaPixel]
