Quote:Original post by caesar4
im already using ogg vorbis
its just that i also want mp3 support
I could be wrong, but in order to legally provide mp3 support in your app I think you'll need to pay for a license.
mp3 decoder
I could be wrong, but in order to legally provide mp3 support in your app I think you'll need to pay for a license.
Author
mp3 support is free,
u gotta pay royalties ONLY if ure also including .mp3 files
my idea is to have an ingame mp3 player which the player can use to play HIS/HER OWN mp3s, which means that the mp3 decoder should support VBR and constant, + most common mp3 player features
u gotta pay royalties ONLY if ure also including .mp3 files
my idea is to have an ingame mp3 player which the player can use to play HIS/HER OWN mp3s, which means that the mp3 decoder should support VBR and constant, + most common mp3 player features
Quote:Original post by caesar4
mp3 support is free,
u gotta pay royalties ONLY if ure also including .mp3 files
I'm not a lawyer, and I might be misunderstanding the issue (it would be nice if someone who knows a definitive answer could correct me if i'm wrong). But Thomsun does own the patents for mp3.
I'd be sure to read Thomsun's Questions & Answers - Developers & Manufacturers, if you're going to distribute a mp3 encoder/decoder. I didn't spend much time reading it, there may be some exceptions.
They are asking for the following money here.
PC Software Applications - mp3
Decoder - US$ 0.75 per unit or US$ 50 000.00 - US$ 60 000.00 one-time paid-up
Encoder / Codec - US$ 2.50 - US$ 5.00 per unit
Games
mp3 US$ 2500.00 per title
Author
Quote:
Do I need a license to use mp3/mp3PRO in games?
Yes. Games using mp3/mp3PRO encoded content are licensed on a per-title basis.
However, no license fees are due if less than 5 000 copies of a particular game title are distributed.
the game itself will be using oggs, but the player can *choose* to provide his own background music
by my understading, since the game will not be officially released using mp3 content, i think that doesnt apply to it
Unfortunetly the licence fee is to cover the use of patented techniques for playing back mp3 files. This applies to the code not the actual mp3 files that you may or may not include with your game.
There's no escaping it. If you write any commercial software that contains code that could play back mp3 files (and that sells more than 5000 copies) then you must pay this license fee or risk a very expensive lawsuit.
It sucks; but it's just the way it is.
There's no escaping it. If you write any commercial software that contains code that could play back mp3 files (and that sells more than 5000 copies) then you must pay this license fee or risk a very expensive lawsuit.
It sucks; but it's just the way it is.
Quote:Original post by caesar4Quote:
Do I need a license to use mp3/mp3PRO in games?
Yes. Games using mp3/mp3PRO encoded content are licensed on a per-title basis.
However, no license fees are due if less than 5 000 copies of a particular game title are distributed.
the game itself will be using oggs, but the player can *choose* to provide his own background music
by my understading, since the game will not be officially released using mp3 content, i think that doesnt apply to it
You don't understand. "Title" refers to the game you're making. Not to the title of a song. You're making one game? That's one title, for which you need one license (assuming you distribute more than 5,000 copies).
WinAmp has been providing mp3 decoder support for 10+ years for free.
Only the past 5 years have they asked to pay for an upgraded version. The regular free version is just perfect and it includes decoders.
I highly doubt that the ownership of mp3 decoders in general is legal.
Its like the argument on-going with DVD's. Some guy in China I believe invented it but didn't quite patent it or something and he is constantly battling with hollywood companies to try and own it...
Personally I cannoy buy into ownership of a file format or a data storage format.
Especially since mp3's are not that hard to decode, write ur own and you'll be fine. There are thousands of free mp3 players out there which provide a codec, many of them are homebrew.
Only the past 5 years have they asked to pay for an upgraded version. The regular free version is just perfect and it includes decoders.
I highly doubt that the ownership of mp3 decoders in general is legal.
Its like the argument on-going with DVD's. Some guy in China I believe invented it but didn't quite patent it or something and he is constantly battling with hollywood companies to try and own it...
Personally I cannoy buy into ownership of a file format or a data storage format.
Especially since mp3's are not that hard to decode, write ur own and you'll be fine. There are thousands of free mp3 players out there which provide a codec, many of them are homebrew.
Author
ok then, could i simply have the user get winamp and simply interface to winamp's mp3 plugin?
that way, technically i'm not providing the mp3 support, winamp is
btw sneftel, im not some fuckin idiot, i know what a game title is
that way, technically i'm not providing the mp3 support, winamp is
btw sneftel, im not some fuckin idiot, i know what a game title is
Quote:Original post by caesar4
btw sneftel, im not some fuckin idiot, i know what a game title is
Cool it with the language very, very quickly. I was just making sure we were on the same page.
You can probably use Winamp for that sort of thing, but a better solution would be to use the DirectSound API; Microsoft's already paid Thompson for the decoder library it uses. That's what most games do.
Quote:Original post by Sneftel
a better solution would be to use the DirectSound API; Microsoft's already paid Thompson for the decoder library it uses. That's what most games do.
Are you sure about that?
I could be wrong, but I thought...
1) DirectSound doesn't support mp3 playback does it? Only PCM data?
2) You can use something like the Microsoft Window Media Format SDK (or some other decoder library) to decode the mp3 into DirectSound compatible PCM format, but you would still have to pay the license to Thomspson just the same, for any commercial application that uses that technique.
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