What critical step, besides the core algorithm, ensures a codec achieves widespread adoption?

Answer

Formal standardization and interoperability

The text highlights that an invention’s success depends heavily on its formal acceptance into the technological ecosystem. While Brandenburg provided the foundational engineering genius for the algorithm, the actual path to ubiquity required formalization by a standards body like MPEG. Standardization guarantees interoperability—the ability for different encoding and decoding systems to reliably work together—which is vital for any technology intended for global sharing and consumption, often proving as crucial to success as the underlying mathematics itself.

What critical step, besides the core algorithm, ensures a codec achieves widespread adoption?
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