So the topic of "how do we put a video recorder in our game!" came up in a #gamedev Discord, and if you don't know:

1.) DO NOT use any of the Marketplace plugins. They almost all have ffmpeg quietly built in. Which leaves your ass hanging in the wind for litigation.

2.) This is crux of the problem. Well there's two. One is that ffmpeg the program is GPL so <sounds of your lawyers screaming>, the other is that the mp4 codec you probably want is itself being sat on by a fuckin patent troll: https://jina-liu.medium.com/settle-your-questions-about-h-264-license-cost-once-and-for-all-hopefully-a058c2149256

So just, seriously, do not. There's a reason almost nobody who isn't a software platform does in-game video recorders anymore, not even AAA.

If your boss asks for this feature, send them the documentation, and let them run it by their lawyers. Even odds that feature will quietly die, no matter how crucial it was.

Settle your questions about H.264 license cost once and for all (hopefully)

As an engineer working with video encoder/decoder everyday, I sometimes have a customer or a friend asking how much license fee they would need to pay for using H.264. They are not seeking legal…

Medium

@glassbottommeg Yeah, we only cost Google about a million dollars for shipping ffmpeg with Tilt Brush 😬

Although my memory is that was due to it supporting h265 rather than h264

@planettimmy @glassbottommeg #H265 / #AVC is contested by two #PatentPools (so it's not like with #H264 / #MPEG4 that you just pay #MPEG LA a fee)...

#AV1 (#VP9 + #Opus) & #WebM (#VP8 + #Vorbis) are the way to go...
https://mstdn.social/@kkarhan/110470250159277923

Kevin Karhan :verified: (@[email protected])

@[email protected] BUT if you REALLY NEED IT: Consider using #AV1 (#VP9 + #Opus) or #WebM (#VP8 + #Vorbis) since there are #BSD- & #MPL-licensed reference implementations for those AND they are #RoyalityFree & #PatentFree...

Mastodon 🐘