[MEncoder-users] DivX in 1.0rc1

[The Wanderer]

Joshua Crawford wrote:

> * The Wanderer <inverseparadox at comcast.net> [2006-10-28 10:08 -0400]:
> 
> 
>> Joshua Crawford wrote:

>>> That sucks :(
>> 
>> Not particularly. There's no real advantage to using DivX instead
>> of the other, more free MPEG-4 encoders.
> 
> Will you be stripping support for other codecs from mencoder as well?

No. For that matter, we haven't done it yet; MPEG-4 - which is, in what
is probably the important sense, a codec - is still supported, just not
via the (as noted, non-free) DivX.

The point here is to not support closed or otherwise non-free software
when there is a free alternative. In this case, there are two, and
support was still retained long after the alternatives became available.

> This seems a step backwards, and in that spirit I'm downloading
> 1.0pre8, which I somehow missed when it was released.

If you choose to use outdated software, that's your prerogative (in fact
I do it myself with Gaim, since they removed the "all logs for one
username in one file" option), but you're missing out on a lot as well
as opening yourself up to possible security holes - and not really
getting any benefit in exchange, unless you care *that* strongly about
legality even in such a bad-patent-encumbered field.

> Perhaps there could be a '--with-divx4linux' configure option.

IIRC there was such a thing, before support was removed.

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

Secrecy is the beginning of tyranny.