HTPC (XBMC/VDR) based on an APU!

[deanjo]

you'll *never* get h264 decoding out of the box on any US based Linux distro *except* for licensed hardware decoding. That means that Redhat and Ubuntu WILL NEVER SHIP shader based h264 acceleration, but...

Ubuntu is not US based.

[droidhacker]

Ubuntu is not US based.

From Wikipedia (you may contest if you feel like being a douchebag, but I think you'll find sufficient alternative references to back it up in this case):

Canonical Ltd.[7] is a private company founded (and funded) by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu Linux and related projects. Canonical is registered in London and employs staff around the world. Its main offices are in London, its support office in Montreal, and its OEM team in Lexington, Massachusetts, USA and Taipei, Taiwan.[8]

So... OEM team in Lexington, Massachusetts....
On top of that, they target distribution within the US.
Sounds like USA law probably has a whole lot of meaning to them.

[deanjo]

From Wikipedia (you may contest if you feel like being a douchebag, but I think you'll find sufficient alternative references to back it up in this case):

So... OEM team in Lexington, Massachusetts....
On top of that, they target distribution within the US.
Sounds like USA law probably has a whole lot of meaning to them.

So by your logic Redhat must be a European distro because they have divisions in Europe as well.

[droidhacker]

So by your logic Redhat must be a European distro because they have divisions in Europe as well.

And proof yet again that deanjo is nothing but yet another internet douchebag. Grow up. Focus on something important that somebody cares about.

[deanjo]

And proof yet again that deanjo is nothing but yet another internet douchebag. Grow up. Focus on something important that somebody cares about.

It isn't my fault that you don't know how corporate structure works.

[airlied]

So by your logic Redhat must be a European distro because they have divisions in Europe as well.

It all matters where someone can sue you, Canonical can't do what they want since they have a US presence. The fact you understand nothing about corporate structures is probably a reason for you not to imply you do.

Dave.

[pingufunkybeat]

Neat thing about the HARDWARE decoder is that it satisfies all the h264 licensing requirements -- you'll *never* get h264 decoding out of the box on any US based Linux distro *except* for licensed hardware decoding. That means that Redhat and Ubuntu WILL NEVER SHIP shader based h264 acceleration, but... Redhat *already does* ship crystalhd support (with Fedora). In other words, the only part missing from a bone stock Fedora install for h264 playback, is AUDIO DECODING, but that will come with your media player/center anyway.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the same thing also the case with mp3, mpeg2, and h264 playback in software (such as ffmpeg)? Many distros do not ship codecs for any of this, and everybody gets them after installation.

Why is this different?

For those who think that the AMD UVD is just a wrapper around shader based decoding.... sorry, no it is not.

Nobody said that.

UVD is a hardware block. But Catalyst does do some of the decoding using shaders, on some hardware which does not have the UVD block.

[deanjo]

It all matters where someone can sue you, Canonical can't do what they want since they have a US presence. The fact you understand nothing about corporate structures is probably a reason for you not to imply you do.

Dave.

I am aware of the implications Dave and to why the "free" version of Ubuntu isn't likely to carry such patented playback capabilities. It still does not change the fact that Canonical is not US Based. Subsidiary divisions are not the base.

http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=24359256

Company Overview Canonical Ltd. engages in the development, distribution, and support of open source software products and communities. The company offers Ubuntu, a community developed operating system for laptops, desktops, and servers; and Ubuntu Advantage that combines systems management tools, technical support, access to online resources, training, and legal assurance. Its services include custom engineering, hardware certification, support, training, and application packaging. The company also provides wearables, accessories, CDs and DVDs, software solutions, training products, and support services through its online store. Canonical Ltd. was formerly known as Canonical IT Solutions Limited and changed its name to Canonical Ltd. in November 2007. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in the United Kingdom.

I might also point out that the division in the US is the OEM team and the OEM version of Ubuntu often carries 3 party legally licensed software playback of many restricted codecs since some OEM vendors wished to offer that playback capability.

[deanjo]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the same thing also the case with mp3, mpeg2, and h264 playback in software (such as ffmpeg)? Many distros do not ship codecs for any of this, and everybody gets them after installation.
Why is this different?

Because by downloading them, you are the one potentially breaking the law, not the distribution.

[droidhacker]

Nobody said that.

Check post #8.

UVD is a hardware block. But Catalyst does do some of the decoding using shaders, on some hardware which does not have the UVD block.

I believe that they actually use a different NAME for that... avivo or something.

But as a matter of fact, though the decoding is done on the UVD, there is still post processing done with shaders.