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VideoLAN Considering Options for VLC as Mac Developers Disappear
- Thread starter lamadude
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That's absolutely not true. As of WMP12 in Windows 7, WMP is capable of playing most video formats including H264, DivX, Xvid, WMV, out of the box.
The only reason I have CoreAVC for H264 decoding is that I have W7 running on a 5 year old Dell 1.7Ghz Pentium M laptop, and I need CoreAVC (software decoding) because it is more efficient.
However on modern quad core machines, there is absolutely no need to install any third party codec packs on Windows 7.
WMP also uses DVXA for hardware decoding, so no Quicktime wouldn't run rings around WMP.
Like I said…
It's funny you say that, then all your examples do is further reinforce my point, not your point.
You latched onto the “allows developers to eat” bit and completely ignored the “Secondly they all use Apple's (arguably NeXT's) technologies and tool chains” bit. You know — the tools and technologies Mac developers are familiar with and may just happen to enjoy working with.
You have to prat around to get VLC built on OS X.
Transmission — They include an XCode Project in the source. Plus on the Mac side they use .xib files for UI (made with Interface Builder) and integrate with Growl. It would be more friendly to a Mac developer.
Adium — Again, XCode Project, so friendly to a make and develop. Also use popular Mac frameworks such as Sparkle for updates and Growl for notifications.
Handbrake — Xcode Project, xib files for UI, Sparkle.framework, Growl.framework etc.
You get the picture. You would have thought looking at what other good pieces of open source software do on Mac OS X might have given the VLC folks a few ideas. But clearly it is far easier to make vague undertones about Apple being “uncooperative”.
But from the looks of it, MPlayer OSX hasn't been updated in over 4 years
Try MPlayer OSX Extended: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/28298/mplayer-osx-extended
I never user Quicktime. I have VLC, Movist, and MPlayer OS X Extended in my tool kit to play videos.
What roadblocks? Define "objections". Is Apple somehow holding up VLC development? What would the VLC DEVS like Apple to do?
A notice posted earlier this month in the forums of VideoLAN, the open-source team behind the popular VLC media player, reveals that a lack of Mac volunteer developers for the software has forced the project organizers to consider new plans for the Mac version of VLC going forward. The forum post, which has since been replaced with a static page, explains that the lack of manpower on the Mac front has resulted in lagging development, primarily on the user interface.VideoLAN hints at a couple of tactics for addressing the problem, including a possible shift to the use of an alternative Qt interface. The organizers interestingly note, however, that Apple has apparently been uncooperative in relation to the VLC project, offering roadblocks to the application's development. Aside from VLC's competition with Apple's QuickTime Player, it remains unclear exactly what Apple's objections are.
Article Link: VideoLAN Considering Options for VLC as Mac Developers Disappear
I'm pretty confused here, this is exactly what I was trying to say before you jumped down my throat. There's no reason why VLC couldn't be like Transmission or Handbrake, which operate on multiple OSes but work beautifully on OSX, with the right developers behind it.
But VLC's post implies there are no Mac developers behind it. Which is unfortunate.
All video editing applications for Windows eg Adobe Premier come with their own libraries. So no, there is no need to seperately install any 3rd Party codec packs.
You can also use AviSynth if you wanted to
It does on my system and the only add ons I have a flic4mac and perian. The only thing I really need vlc for is for streaming live sports, Quicktime X doesn't recognize the proper aspect ratio.
FWIW, Perian has a checkbox in the Preferences: Load External Subtitles.
You are right though regarding subtitles and the tweaking of A/V. Not a lot of the many options VLC offers.
Interesting discussion on Slashdot about this.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/09/12/16/2145251/Lack-of-Manpower-May-Kill-VLC-For-Mac
One interesting comment was that all the decent OSX coders have gone to the iPhone projects. Let's face it, if I was any good at coding on OSX I'd be off working on iPhone apps like a shot.
There's a goldmine there. So maybe the free / non-iphone OSX apps are starting to suffer a lack of high-level coding talent.
http://apple.slashdot.org/story/09/12/16/2145251/Lack-of-Manpower-May-Kill-VLC-For-Mac
One interesting comment was that all the decent OSX coders have gone to the iPhone projects. Let's face it, if I was any good at coding on OSX I'd be off working on iPhone apps like a shot.
There's a goldmine there. So maybe the free / non-iphone OSX apps are starting to suffer a lack of high-level coding talent.
I didn't meant to jump down your throat, so sorry. I would say it's less to do with fortune and more to do with cause and effect.
A project can attract Mac developers by following conventions for Mac Applications in other words: making it easy for them to work with the code in a manner they would expect. Transmission, Adium and Handbrake all do this. VLC does not.
But who does that ground work in the first place in lieu of enough Mac developers?
It would likely take a big re-architecting of the player before VLC could use .xibs for UIs and integrate with certain frameworks.
They'd make life easier for themselves if they started using Mac development tools, frameworks and ideas, instead of treating Mac OS X as something akin to one of the many Linux distributions they support.
Like it or not for a piece of consumer, user facing, software like VLC, Mac OS X is far more important and relevant today than any Linux distribution. The only platform more important is Windows.
Funny how everyone is whining how VLC is going away and its the end of Mac video playback or something. And simultaneously there are at least three alternative video playback apps that can jump forward and replace VLC for about 99% of the VLC users out there.
Typically the more popular an app becomes, the better it will get (before it grows so large it becomes unwieldy, the new devs on the team argue about what to do next, customer support slips).
Pick a replacement and throw your attention (or heaven forbid money) at an alternative (of which there are several) to VLC.
Typically the more popular an app becomes, the better it will get (before it grows so large it becomes unwieldy, the new devs on the team argue about what to do next, customer support slips).
Pick a replacement and throw your attention (or heaven forbid money) at an alternative (of which there are several) to VLC.
Yet another gui for ffmpeg
VLC's video playback is one of its most simple features.
People develop oss for fun and interests sake too, money will not necessarily fix a problem.
QuickTime hardly plays anything. I'd stopped using QuickTime altogether, but when I got a new computer running Snow Leopard it became the default player again. The very first video file I double clicked brought up an error message so it was back to VLC again.
I'd help out but my programming experience is limited to some introductory courses in BASIC and PASCAL in the 1980s.
Who cares really.. I've been annoyed with VLC's Playlist window anyway - I really don't need it to open every time I run VLC. And aside from that, it didn't play videos smoothly all the time. Sometimes it kind of skipped even after I had changed the cache ms to 1000.
I've replaced it with MPlayer OSX Extended and so far it seems pretty good.
I've replaced it with MPlayer OSX Extended and so far it seems pretty good.
Bring the iPhone OS to the tablet.
Someday, all Apple hardware will run the iPhone OS.
Can't help but agree with this.
