2012-02-19, 02:54
MichaelAnders Wrote:I've been wondering on this for ages and now I really have to ask - why is bitstreaming not in the main branch? If it's not 100% operational then that could always be toggled via some XML file so normal users wont experience issues.
I am baffled why I need to download special branches to get this working - I mean why is that needed here? XBMC should do that out of the box
Thanks for any explanations
The short answer is because it's not done yet. By that I don't mean this build, or any other build, but for the main branch.
XBMC releases on a roughly yearly cycle. It's an opportunity to wrap up changes, release betas for testing, fix any bugs and do a final release. There was a very large re-write of the audio portion planned for this release, but it wasn't ready, especially for OSX, when the feature-freeze was called.
To make the main branch the code needs to be platform-wide, with few exceptions, and also be designed to stay that way. It needs to meet certain requirements and then be peer-reviewed, which often means changes must be made that were not foreseen at the beginning.
What this means is that the core XBMC code still runs on current and target technology, and is both robust and meets the overall criteria for future releases. It means that the code doesn't become haphazard or hamper future initiatives, while still running on all platforms.
Many users want to be on the leading edge of the code developments. Many only care about a specific platform. That's fine, and that's where development like this is welcomed. It's how XBMC evolves.
Users have many options as to how they use/configure XBMC, including making their own modifications and improvements. But the process to get code merged into the master branch is rigorous, as it should be.
Use it, enjoy it, configure it how you will. And when things get added to master and final releases (or even nightlies) you can be assured that they are unlikely to break other platforms or interfere with future development. Until that time you have the benefit of free, open-source software, with the open-source aspect being what got you this build in the first place.
That and some skilled coding