VLC @2.2.8_6: Update to 3.0.3

[scarface-one (Sireesh Kodali)]

Its the first major release in years. Adds support for a variety of new codecs

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

New codecs that do not simply come from using a newer FFMpeg version? Since port:VLC uses port:ffmpeg it already should support a much larger number of codecs than the official build (which uses a restricted ffmpeg build).

My problem with VLC 3 is that it no longer builds (nor runs) on 10.9 which makes it off-limits for me for the time being because I still plan to put off upgrading my ageing MBP as long as I can.

IIRC I discovered that the "hard" way after updating all my patches, and I'm pretty certain I already mentioned it somewhere here.

The reason I became the designated VLC maintainer is that I need libVLC as a runtime dependency for phonon. In my opinion that is also the only real justification for having VLC in MacPorts, for almost any other use it's probably better just to use the official build for which you can report issues upstream (something you're not supposed to do with the version in MacPorts).

[scarface-one (Sireesh Kodali)]

There's more to it than just new codecs. VLC core supports a whole lot of new features, like passing though HD audio, better support for some containers, support for BluRay menus, chromecast, etc. That makes it very useful. I'm not sure about VLC 3 not building on 10.9, but I assumed that macports would let you maintain an older version of VLC without complaining?

My biggest reason for using VLC through macports is that I'd rather let the package manager manage programs. I dislike the idea of each and every application having its own updater and updating framework, when all of that is the packagemanager's job.

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

I'm pretty certain I already managed to navigate BR menus in VLC 2.x on Mac but typically watch the few such disks I have on my wife's PC where "things like that just work" O:-)

I could maintain a port that installs an older version on certain OS versions but that

1. complexifies a Portfile that is already more complex than I want
2. means I'd be maintaining something I cannot even build

The alternative would be to introduce a port:VLC2 (leaving point 2 unsolved) but there's also the point I don't have commit access so every change I want to apply takes extra time and effort.

The only constructive suggestion I can make at this time is to make port:libVLC a standalone port and remove the patches that make it possible to build libVLC in such a way that other applications can use it (plus a few other tweaks to the build, probably). That way someone else can take over port:VLC maintainership. We'd end up with 2 libVLC copies so care must be taken that they don't install to the same location but otherwise this shouldn't be a problem - esp. if the resulting VLC build diverges less from the official way of building it.

I wasn't aware VLC has an updater other than something that checks for new versions. You have a bit of a point here but at the same time one shouldn't see MacPorts as "the OS X package manager". It's a collection of ports with the accompanying manager, but there's whether or not it has a port for a given application depends on many things. There shouldn't be one for VLC according to the VideoLan people, for instance.

Either way, any big changes I will make will most likely only be made after the summer holiday period.

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

Meanwhile, I did start working on an upgrade back in May and have a working 3.0.2 version in my Linux tree. If you're adventurous there's a 3.0x test version for Mac:

​https://github.com/RJVB/macstrop/tree/master/multimedia/VLC-test

IIRC it configures OK on 10.9 and I created the Linux version off of that port. That's as far a guarantee I can give it'll work on Mac but it means we may be closer to a solution than I thought.

My remark about summer still holds though.

[scarface-one (Sireesh Kodali)]

I had a look at your VLC-test repo and I don't mind using that as a temporary work around. Hope you do get around to updating it after the summer though.

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

I'll probably find time to update my Linux version to 3.0.3 and backport any relevant chances to the Mac version, so keep an eye out for that and please let me know if you run into any issues. I'll also be interested to know how libVLC ends up building.

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

So... I got around to upgrading my VLC-test port to 3.0.4 today, and even managed to build the libVLC part (port:libVLC-test) on OS X 10.9 .

The link is still here: ​https://github.com/RJVB/macstrop/tree/master/multimedia/VLC-test

On newer OS X versions port:VLC-test should build itself, so please test and report any issues (here or as a MacStrop issue on github).

[RJVB (René Bertin)]

It seems that this port fails to build an app bundle on 10.14, can anyone confirm that it works OK on 10.13?

​https://github.com/RJVB/macstrop/issues/16

[mf2k (Frank Schima)]

Was updated at some point.