Gareth's Downstairs Computer wrote:

> A bit strange to have to purchase a per-RPi licence to
> decode MPEG2; what's the thinking behind that?

The thinking /was/ that MPEG2 was (at the time) a patented technology that
required a licence from the MPEGLA to use, and that /some/ Raspberry-pi
users wanted software to decode MPEG2 for their Pi-based media players. The
Raspberry-Pi organization, financially unable to purchase a blanket licence
for all RPis, came up with a compromise to keep the Pi legal; a per-RPi
MPEG2 licence, that the end-user could purchase through the Raspberry Pi
organization, that tied the mpeg2 decoder software to a specific raspberry
pi processor.[1]

*BUT*, since February, 2018, MPEG2 has lost all it's patent protection[2]
(within the US; it may still have patents elsewhere), and the MPEGLA no
longer has the legal right to demand licences for mpeg2 decoders (again, in
the US; it may be different elsewhere).


[1] https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/new-video-features/
[2] https://www.techrepublic.com/article/mpeg-2-patent-expiration-opens-
door-for-royalty-free-use/

HTH
--
Lew Pitcher
"In Skills, We Trust"
PGP public key available upon request

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05