[osol-mktg] Re: [osol-discuss] Audio File Support

[Kaiwai Gardiner]

On 04/04/07, Richard L. Hamilton <rlhamil at smart.net> wrote:
>
> > I am not a multimedia guru but I just do not see the
> > point for encoding to
> > WMA/WMV and friends. Neither from a technical
> > perspective or from a usage
> > perspective: how many people using Solaris in the
> > world would make use of
> > this?
>
> For playback (and if possible, metadata editing), I would think one would
> want support for every common format possible.  For recording, it
> depends on the range of other OSs and devices that also support it.
> WMA support must be fairly common; I have an MP3-capable CD player
> somewhere that I believe can also play WMA files.  Now since it probably
> can't play the newer WMA Pro format, and from what I've heard the older
> WMA format isn't better than MP3, I don't see why I'd use it - MP3 works
> with more stuff. But I can't rule out that it might not be the best choice
> for some purposes.
>
> What I don't get is why Sun can't just get their own license for some of
> the formats directly.  Even if in some cases they choose to license
> someone else's implementation (if they could do so without effectively
> paying the format license twice), I would think that would give them more
> flexibility.  OTOH, it wouldn't build 3rd-party support, which is perhaps
> useful too.
>
> What I don't get even more is what idiot ever thought that _decoders_
> should have any license terms other than compatibility with the encoder
> for the use of the name.  I mean, 90% of what most people are doing
> is decoding (playback), but the real value isn't the format so much as
> the content; so paying for an encoder might make sense, but only if
> the corresponding decoder is universally available, i.e. free.



I think the bigger question that needs to be ask; what did the IP agreement
between Microsoft and Sun cover; there was talk about compatibility and
interoperability - would that include the ability for Sun to gain access to
WMA/WMV etc? It would make little sense paying Fluendo if it can be
accomplished by a couple of programmers within Sun.

Matt
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