Arch Linux

Lone_Wolf

Member

From: Netherlands, Europe

Registered: 2005-10-04

Posts: 11,911

mesa no longer building patent encumbered codecs

EDIT:  see https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/74615

Mesa trunk has seen a change that disables building of vc1dec, h264 enc/dec and h265 enc/dec  by default due to legal worries.

https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mes … 63e42c3600

from meson_options.txt :

option(
  'video-codecs',
  type : 'array',
  value : [],
  choices: [
    'vc1dec', 'h264dec', 'h264enc', 'h265dec', 'h265enc'
  ],
  description : 'List of patent encumbered codecs to build support for. Distros might want to consult their legal department before enabling these. This is used for all video APIs (vaapi, vdpau, vulkan). Non-patent encumbered codecs will be enabled by default.'
)

I live in europe and those patents are unlikely to be valid here, but they are valid in USA .

Should distros worry ?

Last edited by Lone_Wolf (2022-05-02 10:09:58)

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Disliking systemd intensely, but not satisfied with alternatives so focusing on taming systemd.

(A works at time B)  && (time C > time B ) ≠  (A works at time C)

Alad

Wiki Admin/IRC Op

From: Bagelstan

Registered: 2014-05-04

Posts: 2,412

Website

Re: mesa no longer building patent encumbered codecs

Considering the "patent encumbered codecs" have worked for years without complaints, why would anyone have to consult a "legal department"?

Anyway, few developers will see this thread. I suggest to open a bug report so that future releases of the Arch package enable the respective compile options.

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Mods are just community members who have the occasionally necessary option to move threads around and edit posts. -- Trilby

Slithery

Administrator

From: Norfolk, UK

Registered: 2013-12-01

Posts: 5,776

Re: mesa no longer building patent encumbered codecs

This just adds an extra option for those that want an easy way to disable those codecs. Seeing as how this has never been a problem for Arch before I don't expect that it will be used.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page= … deo-Codecs

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No, it didn't "fix" anything. It just shifted the brokeness one space to the right. - jasonwryan
Closing -- for deletion; Banning -- for muppetry. - jasonwryan

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