Robotica Wrote:For easy distributing XBMC, it would be great if FFMPEG could be installed and compiled afterwards with Addon Manager.
At some level XBMC is tied at the hip to FFMPEG. Without it, XBMC is pretty much useless. Distributing XBMC without FFMpeg is like selling a car without an engine- worthless to most people. Especially that new Windows base that has been added (yes Windows folks, I just implied you are less tech savvy and I am sure you know why- no offense).
NOTE: I am not saying XBMC does not add value to the FFMPEG chain. It obviously does. But without FFMPEG, XBMC would be a shell of its current self. No one argues that.
Quote:I hear this argument quite a lot within media related open source communities but I doesn't hold back parties like Boxee to go commercial. And they (or any other who ships FFMPEG and won't pay MPEGLA) also are left alone while having lots of venture capital. Still, they use the same software, the same license and a EULA.
We don't know what deal Boxee cut. Maybe they do pay MPEGLA for every box sold. Maybe the new version of Boxee no longer uses FFMPEG as the engine for that reason (that would explain a lot actually). We don't know.
And the fact that Boxee got one time funding is nothing to the MPEGLA. They are the epitome of "evil geniuses:" they wait for a consistent revenue stream to ask for their money. One time donations to people who contribute to XBMC don't cross that line, but a solid financial distribution method out in the open (only way to do it) just might.
Finally, I am scared about more than just royalties. I feel that once XBMC gets big enough content companies might come after this community because XBMC is basically an iPod without iTunes (and they LOVED that). Everything XBMC stands for is an affront to their core business models, and I think the best thing about the project is that it is not tied to one person, or group of people for them to target. Heck, there isn't even a webpage now with a list of XBMC developers! Change to a monetary development system and names WILL be in the open (otherwise who the heck will put up money) and that paints targets on the backs of the fine developers behind XBMC...