[XviD-devel] no need for more questions

[Christoph Lampert]

On Sat, 15 Mar 2003, [iso-8859-1] Eduardo Machado wrote:

> >>> You can use GPL'd dynamically linked libraries in
> non GPL software, you just need non GPL headers for
> that software and the user needs to acquire the libary
> seperately.
> 
> >>Hm, okay, maybe, but since XVID headers are also
> under GPL you would have to write those header files
> yourself. I don't know of any project that does that.
> 
> Well, I get the idea... I can't release the entire lib
> in lgpl because I use gpl software... but what about
> windows media player... it uses the codec of XviD, and
> others, and I think it isn't gpl. How?

It's not about _using_, it's about _distribution_.  
Everyone, including microsoft and their media player, 
is allowed to _use_ GPLed software in any combination 
they want (well... in any _legal_ way). 
But they would not be allowed to create derived software 
from it, e.g. by making XVID part of Windows or of media 
player, except the media player was GPL. 

In this special case, it's not the application that created 
its own header file to access XVID, btw., but it's XVID that 
supports the standard VfW plugin mechanism of Windows. 



The RGB questions, I don't know. Internal format is YV12 (rather YCbCr) 
so using that is better anyway.

gruel