[mythtv-users] MythTV Player 1.1.5 available to all on Google Play Store

[Mike Perkins]

On 15/04/15 04:26, Hika van den Hoven wrote:
> Hoi Eric,
>
> Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 5:29:27 AM, you wrote:
>
>> On Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 10:59 PM, Hika van den Hoven <hikavdh at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Just a dumb question.
>>> Android is Linux.
>>> Linux supports mpeg2.
>
>> Android uses a Linux kernel.  It doesn't ship with all the user-space
>> software you would expect with a "Linux" operating system.  The kernel
>> is just a small piece of a full distribution and there's no mpeg2
>> decoder in the Linux kernel.
>
>> If you want to install a third party mpeg2 player (like MX player) you
>> can do so without rooting the device.  It's just that the Android
>> user-space software that ships with most devices does not include
>> mpeg2 support.
>
>> Eric
>> _______________________________________________
>
> Forget my previous post. I get annoyed with google trying to close
> down linux. If as Eric says, why not include the mpeg2 decoder in the
> package?
>
Because the mpeg2 decoder isn't entirely free. For FOSS users, where we are 
paying nothing and asking nothing from a customer, we can get the decoder 'free' 
as an end user.

For a manufacturer of some equipment, say a tablet, or an operating system that 
is to be sold, there will be a cost to the end user and thus a licence fee must 
be paid. Some manufacturers decide they don't want to do this.

-- 

Mike Perkins