Xvid for IP Datacast?

[teko77]

Dear Sirs,


we have read the licensing issue with MPEG4, where the broadcaster would have to pay per decoded content 0.25 $ per user per year.

My question is: would Xvid work ok in the IP datacasting sense, where the xvid-encoded material would be sent via DVB-T to mobile terminals?

And how MPEG4-free is xvid? Is one taking a risk of having to pay the above-mentioned license-fees if one would start to use xvid for IP datacast?



Thank you for any informations,




Teko77

[temporance]

Dear Teko77,

To answer your technical question: yes, I believe you could make xvid work for IP datacasting, though you would need to work on rate control so that you can set a maximum peak rate and/or have the encoder respect a VBV model.

On licensing though, I believe xvid is a non-starter for commercial projects.

Remember that xvid is released under GPL. This means if someone want to license patents for the code, by paying MPEG, then you must license it for every user of xvid!! This is clearly stated in the GPL.

Unless you are the richest person in the world, you would find it impossible to buy a license from MPEG-LA for every current and future user of xvid, so you face lawsuits if you use xvid in your commercial application. Don't risk it!

For a commercial broadcast project, you would be better to buy an encoder from a company like 3ivx or DivX, that way you would be protected from the licensing issues.

Hope this helps (IANAL)

Edit: Btw, which country are you in/will you be broadcasting, Teko77??