All things related to multicast

[Frank Fulchiero <>]

Hi,

Sorry, I guess I did not explain myself very well. My intent was to  
determine whether if you (or the computer manufacturer, or software  
maker) pays for the MPEG2 decoder once, if the license has to be paid  
a second time on the same computer.

I realize that WMP does not include an MPEG2 decoder, however, it can  
use one that has already been installed on a stock machine. We have  
hundreds of stock Dells, with DVD hardware players, and Cyberlink  
PowerDVD included.

No-one installed third-party decoders, but one is probably included  
with PowerDVD.

So, when you click on a DVD, Windows gives you a choice of opening it  
with PowerDVD, Windows Media Player, or Real Player. All three work  
fine.

If the license is per player, then someone would have to purchase  
three licenses to be legally use each player, right?

So, the question is, how does Windows Media Player get away with  
playing DVDs when it has not licensed the MPEG2 codec, if the license  
is per player?

And if they can play MPEG2 encoded video without a license, why can't  
VLC also play MPEG2  legally on a computer that had a DVD mechanism  
with an included player?

Frank Fulchiero
Digital Media Specialist
Connecticut College


On Apr 4, 2007, at 2:34 PM, Michael Wellings wrote:

> hi frank
>
> the fact that you were able to play the DVD proves the presence of  
> an MPEG-2 codec on your machine.  my guess is that Windows media is  
> using one of these
>
> Windows Media Player definitely doesn't ship with MPEG-2 capability
>
> mike wellings
> director, engineering
> UW/Researchchannel
>
>
> On Wed, 4 Apr 2007, Frank Fulchiero wrote:
>
> > Hi Richard, thanks for looking into this.
> >
> > The next step would be to figure out which video codecs need to be  
> > licensed.
> > For example, if a codec is not used, it could be removed, and then  
> > there should not be a licensing issue.
> >
> > And whether licenses have to be paid twice.
> > Yesterday I played a DVD in a PC using Windows Media Player.
> > You mentioned that Microsoft does not include an MPEG2 decoder,  
> > yet I was able to do that.
> > There were no third party codecs installed.
> > How does that work from a licensing standpoint?
> >
> > Thanks for your work on this, I hope you can help us figure out a  
> > better system than what we have now. It's really needed.
> >
> > Frank Fulchiero
> > Digital Media Specialist
> > Connecticut College
> >
> > (sorry, my email is flaky today, might have hit the send button  
> > twice)
> >
> >
> > On Apr 4, 2007, at 12:26 PM, Richard Mavrogeanes wrote:
> >
> > > From the MPEGLA:
> > > Hi, Rich.
> > > Good to hear from you as always.
> > > VLC player is treated the same as any other product: it needs to be
> > > licensed under essential patents for each video codec as well as any
> > > other technologies it contains.  To the extent it is not so  
> > > licensed,
> > > the product's provider along with anyone in the product chain is  
> > > left
> > > with patent infringement liability.
> > > Best regards,
> > > Dean
> > > Dean Skandalis
> > > Vice President, Licensing
> > > MPEG LA
> > > 4601 Willard Avenue
> > > Suite 200
> > > Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
> > > U.S.A.