FFmpeg release branch, was: Bug#540729: ffmpeg: Possible regression - fails to decode AAC

[Diego Biurrun]

On Tue, Aug 11, 2009 at 10:30:07AM +0200, Fabian Greffrath wrote:
> Reinhard Tartler schrieb:
> >I didn't attend Debconf this year, but asked our DPL to talk to
> >Joerg.  He now replied me a few days ago with a very vague answer. It
> >basically reads that there will be some action "soon" - but the result
> >might not be what we've hoped for.
> >
> >So we can do nothing but to wait what will be announced. From what I've
> >heared from your conversation with Ganneff at Linuxtag, I conclude that
> >this might end up that we need to remove FFmpeg from debian, but let's
> >see what happens.
> 
> Is there some real indication that this may happen or is it just your 
> gut feeling that tells you? Is there any quotable conversation? Diego?

I talked to Jörg Jaspert at LinuxTag and he told me that he put some
lawyers that work pro bono for Debian on the issue (SFLC among them).
The end result may well be that the decoders need to be taken out along
with the encoders, not that the encoders are allowed to be put in.

> >In the case that this should really happen, I'd probably focus on the
> >ffmpeg package in ubuntu, where we the decision a) has already been
> >done, and b) was much more comfortable for us.
> 
> You'd probably have no other choice if there were no more ffmpeg 
> packages allowed in Debian. ;)
> 
> But seriously, maybe this would even help us (as debimedia), since we 
> could build the exact same ffmpeg package for debimedia and ubuntu. It 
> would just be a pity for all the other packages in Debian/main that 
> currently benefit from libavcodec.

Maybe you should then just drop your work on Debian and concentrate on
something else instead.  If Debian decides that it does not want to (or
cannot) provide multimedia infrastructure, your work on trying to
provide multimedia infrastructure is wasted...

> My favourite solution would be the introduction of another software 
> section in Debian to contain potentially dangerous packages. Similar 
> to what non-us has been in pre-sarge times...

That's what I've been saying all along.  Debian risks sliding into
uselessness and obscurity.

Diego