VLC Submits iPad App to App Store

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/vlc_submits_ipad_app_to_app_store.php

by Garbage • 16 years ago

38 43 16 years ago

ryandvm• 16 years ago

Surely they are not really expecting approval?

I can't imagine that Apple would let anything through that weakens the iTunes/iOS death grip on media playing. Especially something as robust as VLC.

It seems to me that software that allows the iPad to stream movies from any brand media server is a game changer.

gte910h• 16 years ago

3rd Party AppStore developer here.

There isn't a ban on "media playing".

However, there is a ban on GPL licensed apps, as they GPL is incompatible with the app store terms of use.

Dylan16807• 16 years ago

I suppose, but with GPLv2 there's nothing more than a technicality in the way, is there? As far as I understand it, the app store agreement prevents you from taking that particular copy of the app and doing free things with it, but nothing truly restrictive. You can still get a copy of the source from the app-maker, and exercise all your normal free software rights.

Then again, saying that makes me feel like I'm missing something. Am I?

cosgroveb2• 16 years ago

Doom for the iPhone is available on the App Store and it's been GPL'ed for a long time.

http://www.idsoftware.com/doom-classic/

There are probably more examples. The GPL is not incompatible with the App Store.

loewenskind2• 16 years ago

>I can't imagine that Apple would let anything through that weakens the iTunes/iOS death grip on media playing.

The iPad does video so well because it uses hardware support. From the "hardware limitation" comment, I suspect VLC isn't able to take advantage of this. Given that, I don't think it could weaken the iTunes/iOS "death grip" even if it were accepted.

But if they aren't using hardware acceleration then I suspect it wont get approved. Would you want a player that everyone is going to be downloading (so they can watch any video) out there making people think your device is slow and underpowered? I wouldn't.

EDIT: Nevermind my last paragraph. There is apparently already players in the store that don't use acceleration.

zppx• 16 years ago

I know someone who tested OPlayer HD[1] and he said that the player does not use the H.264 acceleration, some videos were absurdly slow, yet the player is in the App Store.

[1] http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/oplayer-hd/id373236724?mt=8

jbk6• 16 years ago

Disclaimer: VideoLAN chairman and VLC dev here...

VLC on the iPad doesn't have any GPU/DSP because there are no APIs to to so... So, forget playback of 720MKV for now. But to decode DivX, Xvid, or DVD rips, the CPU is more than enough...

raganwald• 16 years ago

    the iTunes/iOS death grip on media playing

Which death grip is that? I have one app that synchronizes .avi videos through iTunes and another that plays media streamed over the network on my iPad right now.

vl• 16 years ago

What are the apps?

gamble• 16 years ago

They approved Cinexplayer and AirVideo.

smackfu• 16 years ago

Cinexplayer being notable for just being a straight XVid video player.

Terretta2• 16 years ago

> It seems to me that software that allows the iPad to stream movies from any brand media server is a game changer.

Apple approved Plex, for both iPhone and iPad. Check out what Plex Nine does.

antidaily• 16 years ago

Where would you play videos from? Dropbox or something?

oiuygtfrtghyju2• 16 years ago

VLC can do client-server streaming from another copy of VLC. So your desktop machine can stream your dvd/avi/mp3 collection to the iPad

jokermatt999• 16 years ago

Kind of funny that this had to be asked, considering that VLC's original purpose was streaming videos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLC_media_player#History

th0ma5• 16 years ago

and you can do this already, too, right? stream to the ipad by just opening a transcoded stream?

rb2k_• 16 years ago

You can copy data over using iTunes, works fine for other apps (e.g. cinexplayer)

jbk6• 16 years ago

Disclaimer: VideoLAN chairman and VLC dev here...

Exactly. + http, mms, rtsp and other protocols.

jackfoxy• 16 years ago

Hooray! I hope VLC gets approved. I'm really missing being able to overclock lectures on the iPad.

drivebyacct24• 16 years ago

Whaaa? VLC developers spent time making an iOS app when a much more open and free platform was available? Interesting. I hope Android sees the same love!

Oh come on, it wasn't even a dig on iOS, give me a break with the downmods, jeez. I was just surprised at their choice considering all thats happened with them in the past with AOL and what not. I was just genuinely surprised to see an OSS project with a history of being burned by corporations choose an iOS device as their first mobile target. But hey, I mentioned Android. Flame away HN, flame away.

pederb72• 16 years ago

Using your logic VLC shouldn't release a Windows version since Linux is more open than Windows. I'm sorry, the world just doesn't work like that.

Besides, even with Android NDK it's probably easier to port VLC to iOS than to Android?

jbk6• 16 years ago

VideoLAN chairman and VLC developer here.

This is exactly the point. Porting VLC from MacOS X to iOS is more or less just a rewrite of the audio and video outputs (sinks). Plus an interface, of course...

Porting to Android is taking longer and is, of course, on the way...

drivebyacct24• 16 years ago

Not at all. Windows isn't a walled garden, Windows doesn't have a history of killing off applications that Microsoft doesn't like or sees as competition, etc.

I didn't say they shouldn't have an iOS release. This in-between-the-lines reading and putting words in my mouth and downmodding me for it is disappointing.

taitems• 16 years ago

Damn, I've been working on a web-based version on and off for a while now. I guess I won't find the time to finish it, especially if this gets approved.

VLC Submits iPad App to App Store

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