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Talk:Audio-Video Software

From iA wiki

This needs to somehow be broken up into genres. I'm not sure how to tackle something like that.. -- rack

Ever heard of Anti-Virus Software? I've found the term 'AV Software' beeing about Audio and Video software alone beeing misleading. Anyone agree and/or have a theory on how to solve this? -- dpi

I agree: I think this wiki has a responsibility for clairity or no one will read it. I've thought about this as well, although not confusing it with AntiVirus, just thinking AV was a pretty broad acronymn. I'll dump it to Audio-Video Software.
Thanks :) -- dpi.

I hear it a lot. "A/V Labs" are common at colleges. Webfork

I see your point, i've definitely seen it used in that sense (though still not really software). But Symantec have "AV labs" for anti-virus research. It's definitely ambiguous when you take it into the computer domain. -- Amw
The anti-virus question has been brought up and I renamed AV Software to its current name. If you have an alternative name for Audio-Video Software, I'm all ears. The only thing I can think of is "Media Software" but I'm not sure if thats adequate. Webfork
I think most stuff should be in either "Audio Software" or "Video Software". There isn't a whole lot of overlap. Actually, under Music there's a list of software which i think should really be in "Audio Software" (i think ABliss agrees here). VSTs and softsynths aren't necessarily music - you might use them to make sound effects for a game. With regard to stuff like Real, Quicktime etc. i think "Media Software" (or possibly "Multimedia Software") would be a better choice. Think "Windows Media Player", "X Multimedia System" etc. I dunno, it just seems clearer to me. You have music/sound/noise (audio), movies/tv/graphics (video) and combined computer multimedia. -- Amw

What kind of software do you use or recommend as a replacement for Real? I'm searching for an open standard, but can't find one. Thus, it needs to have a decent: format (container, compression), server, client, be able to do live, on demand, sane speeds, portable to at least Windows/Linux/MacOS(X), user-friendly.

  • OpenDivX started streaming on demand, but aren't open anymore.
  • VLC would do the job, but it meant for high bandwidth. I'm talking about 128 kbit - 1024 kbit here.
  • OGG Theora isn't ready yet.
  • XViD can't do live/on demand streaming.
I don't know what you're talking about, dude, but Real is open source and runs on Linux, Mac and Windows. Alternatively Quicktime also runs on BSD, Mac and Windows. -- Amw
It's opensource. Nice said, but it's not free software. Can you provide me a link to the source of RP8/RP9? I haven't been able to see it. All this, and bureaucratic nonsens on the Helix site.
The player is... https://player.helixcommunity.org/
Ehm, i knew where i can download it. Doesn't matter, it's still not free software. First of all, a quote from: https://www.helixcommunity.org/content/licenses
"this personal use license gives you binary component access to potions of the Helix platform which haven't been open sourced, such as RealAudio and RealVideo."
Now, i have downloaded the source after a lot of bureaucratic nonsens. And, according to the license, one may not redistribute binaries. One must give back the source to the Helix community. Which may not be forked, whereas GPL may be. Centralized power.
An example of software which is open-source, but not free software, is OpenVMS. One who pays (iirc when buying OpenVMS), can get the source. But that doesn't make it not free software. The fact that one may not redistribute source nor binary except to DEC who will then review it, makes it non-free. Very similair to Helix, but Real doesn't get money from it.
Another example is OpenSSL, who happily accepted Sun's Eclipse algorithm, which is imo a trojan horse. This article on Deadly.org says it all: http://www.deadly.org/article.php3?sid=20020924004335
Yet another one is WineX. First they fork a project which have worked hard for about 10 years. Then, they provide software via both subscribed users and CVS. The CVS beeing 'opensource' relicensed under Aladin License. Yet, when either Debian or Gentoo provides a package to grab this source and easily install it, they get threatened. 'Free' software? Yeah right.
Thus i don't want Real anymore, nor any non-free software crap, especially not by a company - i want a Real alternative, and i haven't been able to find one.
The interface i know is a bunch of crap with bells and whistles i can't put off, and the Real site is more then a Real nightmare. Which doesn't even contain RP8 anymore, or i couldn't find it in that puddle of mud. Quicktime only ran via WINE, and is Apple's property. Both seem not to be my cup of tea.. -dpi

Download a .ram and open it with a text editor. It's just metadata. When a video, you'll notice it contains a link to the streaming server, which ends in .rm --dpi.

And the server is... https://server.helixcommunity.org/
What does that have to do with my comment about metadata?