gstreamer decoders [LWN.net]

gstreamer decoders

Posted Jan 31, 2010 23:23 UTC (Sun) by DonDiego (guest, #24141)
In reply to: gstreamer decoders by Trelane
Parent article: Blizzard: HTML5 video and H.264 - what history tells us and why we're standing with the web

Thanks for the compliment, but I will have to insist:

If you thank Fluendo for providing you with "legally licensed" proprietary software, then you should build a throne for Google, which is providing you with "legally licensed" free software, don't you think?

Do you also thank Adobe for "legally licensed" Flash and Microsoft for "legally licensed" Windows 7? They all come with an MPEG LA license..

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gstreamer decoders

Posted Jan 31, 2010 23:36 UTC (Sun) by Trelane (guest, #56877) [Link] (5 responses)

If they work for Linux, providing a Free stack for multimedia and multimedia streaming and DVR functionality, then yes. Yes, I do. Your "throne" exaggeration is a bit extreme, though. I thank Google for their work on Chrome, although whether their patent license extends to you if you build Chrome and ffmpeg is murky at best (see also Fluendo and their MP3 plugin proprietary vs BSD-licensed). That's why I asked MPEG-LA for more information.

I also buy Codeweavers Crossover Office because they help Wine to a great degree.

"Do you also thank Adobe for "legally licensed" Flash"

I thank them for having a Linux plugin. I don't like Flash over Free, patent-free standards, though. (See also the "I produce Theora content") I'm doing my part to keep us viable now (Fluendo and their plugin work) and in the future (Fluendo's Free software, Theora/Xiph, and my FSF membership).

and Microsoft for "legally licensed" Windows 7?"

If I ran Windows, I'd thank them for licensing the codec.

You do nobody any favors when your patent protection plan is the equivalent of burying your head in the sand, putting your fingers in your ears and saying "There ain't no patent threat" three times fast. You counter it by helping establish Free, patent-free standards and filling the gap until we get to that point.

gstreamer decoders

Posted Feb 1, 2010 14:26 UTC (Mon) by DonDiego (guest, #24141) [Link] (4 responses)

Fluendo is not a free software company. They stopped significant contributions to gstreamer years ago. They are a common and garden-variety proprietary software shop now. Why you would thank them for offering products for sale to you is beyond me, but hey...

gstreamer decoders

Posted Feb 1, 2010 15:34 UTC (Mon) by Trelane (guest, #56877) [Link] (3 responses)

"Fluendo is not a free software company. They stopped significant contributions to gstreamer years ago. They are a common and garden-variety proprietary software shop now."

From poking around in wikipedia and talking to GStreamer people, this isn't entirely accurate, although it's not entirely inaccurate either. My information was apparently out of date.

"Why you would thank them for offering products for sale to you is beyond me, but hey..."

Had you stopped prior to this sentence, this would have been a helpful and informative post. This sentence took that work and overshadowed it by jerkishness.

gstreamer decoders

Posted Feb 2, 2010 15:41 UTC (Tue) by DonDiego (guest, #24141) [Link] (2 responses)

> > "Fluendo is not a free software company. They stopped significant
> > contributions to gstreamer years ago. They are a common and
> > garden-variety proprietary software shop now."

> From poking around in wikipedia and talking to GStreamer people, this
> isn't entirely accurate, although it's not entirely inaccurate either.
> My information was apparently out of date.

I got the information from Edward Hervey who works on gstreamer (and for Collabora, the company that funds gstreamer development nowadays) and hangs around in the #ffmpeg-devel IRC channel. Just look at the gstreamer commit graph of thomasvs, who works for Fluendo and commented in this discussion before:

http://www.ohloh.net/accounts/thomasvs
http://www.ohloh.net/p/gstreamer/contributors/14925011355589

> > Why you would thank them for offering products for sale to you is
> > beyond me, but hey..."

> Had you stopped prior to this sentence, this would have been a helpful
> and informative post. This sentence took that work and overshadowed it
> by jerkishness.

You're not exactly a role model either, but the remark was dead serious. I never felt like thanking a supermarket for offering me goods for sale. Why would you thank any company for offering you their goods?

gstreamer decoders

Posted Feb 2, 2010 16:35 UTC (Tue) by Trelane (guest, #56877) [Link] (1 responses)

I got my information from several sources on #gstreamer and #fluendo. (note also that their gstreamer contributions are only a portion of what they do, s.a. flumotion, their streaming and recording several FOSS events, etc.)

"Why would you thank any company for offering you their goods?"

If it was the only place or one of the few places to get it legally, I'd be pretty grateful for it. Perhaps that's what you're not comprehending. Maybe we're just different people and see things differently, eh?

Fluendo vs. FFmpeg

Posted Feb 3, 2010 1:40 UTC (Wed) by DonDiego (guest, #24141) [Link]

Your continuous claim that FFmpeg is illegal is insulting. Your lack of appreciation for software freedom is sad.