[gst-devel] GStreamer presets (feedback requested)

[Christian Fredrik Kalager Schaller]

On Tue, 2009-06-30 at 01:44 +0200, Thomas Vander Stichele wrote:
> (Playing Devil's Advocate here)
> 
> > And I think that the xvidenc and
> > ffenc_mpeg4 elements show that the presets are capable of providing a
> > useful abstraction. And if people do not find them useful they of course
> > don't need to use the preset files.
> 
> But is it that hard to make xvidenc and ffenc_mpeg4 just support the
> same properties for the things you're interested in in your profile ?

Well that is what I was told by the powers that be. My original code did
rely on all elements having the same property names, but I was told it
would be next to impossible to actually make that work for all possible
cases, and that I should instead look to use the preset system.

> Alternatively, why not implement something that the encoders support
> straight out of the box ? Why add a layer on top instead of into the
> elements ?
> 
> > > In short: we should concentrate on really capable encoding profiles, instead.
> > 
> > Agreed, and that is part of the effort here. And I hope to be able to
> > push them forward another step during GUADEC.
> 
> I, like Mike, was confused about what they were for based on the name.
> I suggest not calling them encoder profile at all, because I suspect
> pretty much 90% of people will think it's 'the thing they'll need to use
> to encode for their psp/ps3/ipod/whatever'.
Well that is what the profiles are about. I have tried on the wiki to be very 
clear to only use the word 'presets' to talk about these element specific files, 
and only use the word 'profiles' in relation to the XML files we are
creating for the various devices:
http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/wiki/DeviceProfile

> Also, it sounds like what you're trying to do is something that applies
> to much more than encoders - I recall we talked in the past about having
> ways to store and restore presets of element settings as a bunch
> together, and that would make just as much sense for elements like
> sources or converters, IMO.  Although I could understand if it's not
> something you'd want to tackle if your focus is on Transmageddon right
> now.  But it'd be nice if others could take it to a more generic level.
Well the preset system predates my effort and is already used in
Buzztard and there is a equalizer preset available also. So yes, the
preset applies to much more than encoders, but it is of course encoders
I am focusing on at the moment.

Christian