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Brent Busby posted on Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:38:12 -0600 as excerpted: |
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> Mostly I just wondered if anyone could tell me if ffmpeg 2.5 itself is |
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> fundamentally broken in some way. Sounds like it's fine... |
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Yes. What's broken, for both ffmpeg and libav, is that they don't keep |
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the same API around very long. New versions thus break everything that |
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depends on them for awhile, until those package in turn are upgraded to |
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deal with the new API. |
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Which wouldn't be a big deal if it were only a handful of packages |
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depending on ffmpeg/libav. But when pretty much every audio/visual |
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application out there does... it's not just a big deal, it's a *HUGE* |
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deal. |
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FWIW, while I'm an ffmpeg user myself, the libav upstream has at least |
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realized the problem to some extent, and has slowed down the dropping of |
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older APIs a bit, leaving them around for a version or two even as they |
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continue to move on with new ones. But I believe that's a fairly new |
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policy, only the last couple of release series, and it's limited to only |
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a release series or two in "backward compatibility mode" at once, so it's |
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still a problem for the slower moving packages depending on it, both |
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because it's new enough that the slower moving packages haven't had a |
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chance to absorb it yet, and because it's limited to only a release or |
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two on a fast-moving base, such that the problem will still exist for the |
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packages depending on it that are moving slow enough. |
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This all came out in the gentoo-dev list ffmpeg/libav default |
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discussion. Truth is, ffmpeg may well be best for ~arch users for |
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several reasons including more flexibility and best of both worlds |
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leading edge development policies, but sta(b)le users may actually be |
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better with libav, at least as this upstream libav policy takes hold, |
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given that they're at least making /some/ efforts toward API stability |
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now, which can only help newer versions reach sta(b)le faster. |
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Which means libav may actually be the better gentoo profile default after |
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all, despite apparent user preference to ffmpeg, because leading edge |
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users are more likely to be willing to change the profile default, while |
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sta(b)le users in general prefer that it "just work" with the least |
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disturbance, at least after they've done their basic setup. |
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-- |
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Duncan - List replies preferred. No HTML msgs. |
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"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master -- |
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and if you use the program, he is your master." Richard Stallman |
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