Fixing ffmpeg (was: people talking...)

[Ricardo Garcia]

I'd like to correct my previous post. I researched more about
Gstreamer, and it *seems* like it does what we need. Of course this is
a different problem than the ffmpeg structure we've been talking
about, since gstreamer is much wider than a codec collection.

However, if there are no publicly available (and easily downloadable,
at least in source) gstreamer plugins to decode patent-encumbered
formats (mp3 / mpeg4 / divx / wmv), then what I said in my previous
post is accurate and we're stuck with ffmpeg. This implies that
actions *MUST* be taken sooner or later, otherwise the year of desktop
Linux will NEVER arrive.

Can any GStreamer expert enlighten us about this problem (codec availability)?