[FFmpeg-devel] patch for a new H.264 codec

Michael Niedermayer michael at niedermayer.cc
Mon Mar 11 21:48:30 EET 2019


On Mon, Mar 11, 2019 at 01:28:18PM -0400, Ronald S. Bultje wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On Mon, Mar 11, 2019 at 12:21 PM Soft Works <softworkz at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > > From: Nicolas George
> > >
> > > Yufei He (12019-03-11):
> > > > Matrox M264 is similar to other hardware codecs.
> > > >
> > > > I saw amf_load_library and nvenc_load_library in ffmpeg.
> > >
> > > Past practices do not constitute precedents.
> > >
> > > > We got a lot customers using ffmpeg and they want to use Matrox M264
> > to do transcoding.
> > >
> > > If you make the driver GPL-compatible, there will be no problem at all.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > --
> > >   Nicolas George
> >
> > While I don’t care much about Matrox, I’m a bit surprised about the
> > recent sounds here. Should  we expect ffmpeg to drop most hw
> > accelerations, then?
> >
> > IANAL, but aren’t drivers clearly considered to be system components?
> > In this case they would  be exempted from the GPL afaic?
> >
> 
> Getting very legal here for someone who's not a lawyer :), but my reading
> of the GPL is not that it says "something that acts at system level" (e.g.
> hardware), but something that is provided by the base system (i.e. you can
> assume it to be installed in some way shape or form regardless of the exact
> license that it is accompanied by). For example, you can assume your system
> has a libc, even though it might not be a GPL libc.
> 

> However, my objection is not legal, it is philosophical. 

> I would prefer
> that we (FFmpeg) as a project do not encourage the use of closed-source
> software or endorse particular closed-source software 

I agree


> (by including support
> for it in FFmpeg). We are an open source project, and thus (again: in my
> personal opinion) we should only endorse other open source software. That
> does not mean closed source software is bad or should not be used. It
> merely means we do not endorse it by including support for it.

I disagree that giving users the choice is encouraging a specific choice. Or
That including an option is endorsing it.
I also disagree that closed source software is not bad. It is in my
personal oppinion bad. In fact IMHO its bad for everyone both for the
authors as well as the users.
I agree though that using it if thats what one needs to get something done
is perfectly fine.

And the last useless comment from me today :)
It seems many in these recent threads assume that supporting some interfaces
to non free software harms open source. This sounds logic but iam not so sure
here this is actually true and maybe this is why iam disagreeing a bit.

and btw i do not understand why hw companies are not just making their
software free&open. This might actually increase their hw sales and decrease
their sw maintaince expenses ...

Thanks

[...]

-- 
Michael     GnuPG fingerprint: 9FF2128B147EF6730BADF133611EC787040B0FAB

"I am not trying to be anyone's saviour, I'm trying to think about the
 future and not be sad" - Elon Musk

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