hmm -- you make a good point. However note that Divx is quite popular in spite
of having gone with AVI format, so your logic doesn't hold in that case.
Frankly though I sort of agree, in that Divx would have been even more popular
and cause less headaches with a .DVX extension rather than AVI.
I 100% agree that the form of the codec that should be distributed for playback
is OGG. The reason to support ACM/DSHOW/VFW interfaces is more about getting
inside the popular creation tools -- CD & DVD rippers for the most part, or
tools that capture directly like Virtual Dub. The players (WMP, QT, Real) at
this point can all accept file format plug-ins that would directly parse OGG
files.
On the creation side, we can provide an end-to-end solution for OGG creation
that plugs into popular tools without the support of the toolmakers. For
instance (I'm thinking video here since that's my thing, but it applies
to audio too) -- for VDub, you download a Vorbis ACM, a Theora VFW codec, and a
simple drag&drop utility that converts the resulting AVI file into OGG
format.
The main problem with my suggestion, and the likely reason there is so much
resistance against it, is this: lazy people won't read our instructions;
instead, they'll just make AVI files, send them around, and tell their
friends to download the ACM/VFW components. That would in fact lead to the
problem you pose, which is that the OGG format fails to be marketed as a
distinct file type. Perhaps we can somehow make this scenario unlikely, and
encourage people to use the proper tools, I dunno. Now we're into the
psychology of marketing rather than the capabilities of various API's.
- dbm
-----Original Message-----
From: Dambrin Didier [mailto:gol@image-line.com]
Sent: Mon 11/11/2002 10:34 AM
To: vorbis-dev@xiph.org
Cc:
Subject: Re: [vorbis-dev] ACM codec
I think it's true for every new audio format. I think it's a
little odd to
come up with a new file extension & format, when it can be defined
in one of
the standards. If the ACM is too old & might not be adequate for
everything,
DirectShow surely is (but is also more complex).
Months ago I was looking for a lossless ACM codec, & simply
couldn't find
any. I wondered 'that Monkey audio compressor is great, why
isn't there a
standard codec for it?'. In my opinion, an ACM or DirectShow filter
is
better, but doesn't promote the format at all. Give anyone an ogg or
mp3
encoded wav, he won't know/care what codec has been used, thus
won't really
promote the format. I understand it might be frustrating to develop
something that, by design, is to be invisible.
So, to me, by ignoring ACM, you ARE promoting the format. If MP3 had
came up
(only) as a wave codec, the term wouldn't be so popular. Creating a
new
format promotes the name, supporting existing standards rather spreads
the
technology.
> well I've had this discussion multiple times with Monty and others,
and I
am still of the same opinion: by ignoring WAV and ACM (and by extension
AVI
format and VFW interface when Theora is done), we are in fact limiting
(or
at least delaying) 4our likely acceptance in the marketplace
significantly.
Even though there may need to be some compromises, I think it would be
wise
to make a WAV/AVI/ACM/VFW set of components for Vorbis and Theora
available.
There are ways to do it that provide at least one-way compatibility --
ie,
you could take your AVI file and convert it to OGG, but not necessarily
the
other way around.
>
> Failing this, we will need to work much harder to evangelize the OGG
format, and to get the toolmakers to support OGG directly through our
library interfaces.
>
--- >8 ----
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