MP3 support in Linux distros?

[Leo Mauler]

--- Luke-Jr <luke at dashjr.org> wrote:

> On Saturday 12 November 2005 23:27, Leo Mauler
> wrote:
> > Someone on another forum lambasted my suggestion
> > that the XviD video codec would play on any Linux 
> > machine by saying that most distros didn't come 
> > with MP3 support, making a lot of XviD videos 
> > play in Linux with no sound.
> 
> XviD is not MP3. 

I know this, the question was about playing the MP3
audio format found in AVI files.

> Generally, XviD is paired up with Vorbis, so it's
> not even a safe assumption that an XviD encoded 
> video would use MP3...  

Well, most of the XviD video files I've found use MP3
instead of OGG, so I've had the exact opposite
experience.

> > What exactly is the official policy on MP3s?  Is
> > there an unwritten policy thats sort of <nudge, 
> > nudge, wink, wink> regarding allowing free
> > software
> > MP3 decoders/encoders?
> 
> I think there's a written licensing policy that MP3
> is licensed for any non-commercial use.

Well, what I've been able to find says otherwise. 
Sure, the company said in public that they don't mind
if free software people make completely free software
to decode MPEG, but the official site makes no
exception for anyone on the subject of royalties.

http://www.mp3licensing.com/royalty/software.html

The problem is that while the folks who own the
patents on MPEG (including MP3) did say once that they
don't mind if people make free software MPEG decoders,
they said this in 2002.  I was wondering if anyone
else had heard anything since 2002.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/30/mp3_codecs_no_longer_free/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/08/31/mp3_royalty_scare_over_not/



	
		
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