[Bf-committers] Is ffmpeg worth it?

[Kent Mein]

In reply to Reuben Martin (reuben.m at gmail.com):

> 
> There are several things about ffmpeg that worry me:
> -Is it going to me a major hassle to fix the build system every time
> there are changes in ffmpeg?
> -What about all the differences in Linux distros and versions of
> ffmpeg? Will that cause further build problems?
> -Is compiling it statically going to result in monster sized downloads?
> 

I'm not going to talk about gstreamer because I don't know enough about it.
As far as your worries about ffmpeg, most of them are answered by thats
why we have put a version in blender/extern.

Pretty much every time we introduce code in blender that requires outside
libraries its a hassle.  It will settle down, part of its just people
getting use to the new code, and getting it working on all of the platforms.

Because we have a known good version for blender we don't have to worry about
changes to ffmpeg.  It could change every day and it wouldn't be an issue
for us.  

We still have details to work out with it but it will only get smoother.
Give it a chance before we decide to dump it. ;)

Kent