Re: x264 for Debian
Arc Riley <arc@xiph.org> writes:
> On Thu, Mar 02, 2006 at 01:26:56PM -0800, David Liontooth wrote:
>>
>> Are there objections to including the new H.264 encoder in Debian?
>> For details, see bug 354667 (request for packaging).
>>
>> Debian maintainer Christian Marillat currently maintains an unofficial
>> package, and we would like your advice on whether this GPL'd codec meets
>> the DFSG.
>
> Theres a difference between the code and the codec.
>
> The codec has dozens of different corporations holding patents over
> it, who will try to extract royalties for it in countries where
> those patents are upheld (ie, USA), and giving it "this is free
> because it's GPL" hurts truely patent-clear codecs such as
> VP3.2/Theora from being recognised as such.
VP3/Theora is all but free of patents. On2 has granted unlimited free
use of the patents they hold relevant to VP3. There are almost
certainly other patents that could be construed to cover VP3 as well.
It is a good gesture nonetheless.
That said, VP3/Theora can hardly compare with H.264 in terms of coding
efficiency. There really is no viable alternative in some situations.
Microsoft's WMV9/VC1 comes close but I'm sure it has every bit as
non-free licensing terms.
--
Måns Rullgård
mru@inprovide.com
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