[FFmpeg-devel] [RFC] 5 year plan & Inovation

[Michael Niedermayer]

On Tue, Apr 23, 2024 at 03:12:59PM +0300, Rémi Denis-Courmont wrote:
> 
> 
> Le 21 avril 2024 23:40:08 GMT+03:00, Michael Niedermayer <michael at niedermayer.cc> a écrit :
> >On Sun, Apr 21, 2024 at 05:11:36PM +0800, Rémi Denis-Courmont wrote:
> >> 
> >> 
> >> Le 17 avril 2024 21:58:32 GMT+08:00, Michael Niedermayer <michael at niedermayer.cc> a écrit :
> >> >Hi all
> >> >
> >> >The pace of inovation in FFmpeg has been slowing down.
> >> >Most work is concentarted nowadays on code refactoring, and adding
> >> >support for new codecs and formats.
> >> 
> >> OSS projects of age similar to FFmpeg are either mature (like FFmpeg), or more or less dead. Besides, FFmpeg is an established brand, which means that it's expected to be good at what it's been doing... and not expected to be good at anything else.
> >> 
> >> Of course there are also specific aspects: back then, every company made up its own codecs. Nowadays, there's at most three tracks (for video): H.26x, Chinese AVSx and AV-x, while AVC or HEVC have become "good enough" for most applications.
> >> 
> >> If (generic) you want to work on radical innovation, I think you will be better served by creating a new project. Both the FFmpeg project structure and brand would probably do you a disservice otherwise.
> >
> >I will disagree on this a bit
> >
> >If we for a moment look at the commerical world (but its not fundamentally different in OSS)
> >
> >Projects/Companies are created to fill some need, initially they
> >often need to concentarte on a narrow market because they dont have the
> >resources to do "everything" and if they try they go bankrupt.
> >Once they are established and have the resources they grow or they die
> >
> >Microsoft started with a OS in 1985, added an office suite in 1990
> >internet explorer in 1995, xbox in 2001, Microsoft Azure in 2008
> >and you can fill in more.
> >Today Microsoft is one of the largest companies in teh world.
> 
> Microsoft expanded into new fields with Xbox and Azure, yes. But Windows is still an OS, and Office is still a (un)productivity suite.
> 
> Accordingly, maybe you can innovate with a new project within the same legal entity as FFmpeg (be it SPI, FFlabs or whatever).
> 
> But FFmpeg as a software project is not a suitable venue for radical new innovation.

Microsofts OS does not limit what can be installed to whats in MS main repository, FFmpeg does

Microsoft windows from a user POV includes internet explorer IIRC. Its not a seperate
product from just the legal entity. It was not in the first OS from microsoft

microsofts first OS MS-DOS 1.0 ? looks slightly different than the current latest OS.
There was radical innovation, if one likes MS or hate them.


> 
> >You can do the same with apple, google, or others.
> 
> Sure but you can't do the same with iPhone or Google Search.

of course you can, googles search inovated. Theres a image search a audio search
news, travel, shoping.
These did not exist in the initial google search. And while i dont know, i suspect
google search is very good at finding google products.
Google didnt became that big by simply "not being evil"

But lets not assume, lets try, if i search for maps i get
Google Maps as first entry.

or finance, 2nd entry is https://www.google.com/finance/


And the iphone uses apples operating system and their app store, with
many apple apps. Check the first iphone and compare it to the latest
there is huge inovation with what you can do with all the software
that comes preinstalled and also what you can install later.
Thats in stark contrast to
"FFmpeg as a software project is not a suitable venue for radical new innovation"
when did you last use siri with your iphone ? siri was added in
iphone 4s IIUC. Thats a big change.

I can ultimately only repeat my oppinion. FFmpeg will innovate or FFmpeg
will stagnate and eventually be replaced by some other project that doesnt
have an opposition to innovation.

IMHO we need to find out what direction (of innovation or lack thereof)
people want. This RFC thread is kind of the first step.
2nd step would be a vote.

thx

[...]
-- 
Michael     GnuPG fingerprint: 9FF2128B147EF6730BADF133611EC787040B0FAB

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped 
leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded 
you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership. - Colin Powell
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