27 Aug
2003
27 Aug
'03
6:46 a.m.
It says it "employs a Linux-based operating
system", I
wonder if that means the code itself will be made available
somewhere.
It's probably an embedded variant with a lot of non-GPL'd software.
But you'd expect that they must have made some changes to GPL'd code,
in which case they should offer source code to anyone who buys the
unit - since no-one else will have the binaries. I often get the
impression that some embedded system vendors are testing the limits
of the GPL though...
The $4K pricetag is a bit high
I think that depends on the quality of the unit; I expect pro quality
video equipment usually costs that much. Of course because we know
it's really a Linux box, it looks expensive to us - but then Pioneer
have done all the R&D and put together a complete system which they
will support. On that basis, it could be a bargain for a busy video
production firm.
In the studio I work in, we do DVD-A authoring under
another OS
with a standard $300 4x Pioneer DVD-R/RW and have done up to 8
channels of 24/96 using something called Meridian Lossless Packing
(http://www.ambisonic.net/mlp.html).
As much as I respect Meridian for their audio work, MLP is a real
problem for free software. It's totally proprietary and it needs
support in hardware players. So if it becomes the standard for
digital audio, you might not be able to make finished musical
projects on a free software system.
Cheers
Daniel