8.6. MP3, DVD, and Other Excluded Multimedia
Fedora cannot include support for MP3 or DVD video playback or
recording. MP3 formats are patented, and the patent holders have
not provided the necessary licenses. DVD video formats are also
patented and equipped with an encryption scheme. Again, the patent
holders have not provided the necessary licenses, and the code
needed to decrypt CSS-encrypted discs may violate the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, a copyright law of the United States.
Fedora also excludes other multimedia software due to patent,
copyright, or license restrictions, such as
Adobe Flash Player
and
RealNetworks RealPlayer
.
While other MP3 options may be available for Fedora, Fluendo now
offers an MP3 plugin that is properly licensed for end users. This
plugin enables MP3 support in applications that use the GStreamer
framework as a backend. Fedora does not include this plugin for
licensing reasons, but Fluendo offers one solution to playing MP3
in Fedora.