LinuxPower.com: Video I/O on Linux: Lessons Learned from SGI

‘It’s exciting to see linux mature to the extent that
there are so many audio and video developers. Rather than just
being an alternative for “VGA” or “graphics screen,” more and more
developers are using the term “video” in the sense intended by this
article — television signals (NTSC, PAL, HDTV, etc.) which carry
moving pictures. In addition to video capture and playback tools,
we’re starting to see video editors, video effects packages, movie
file players, video converters, animation tools, and more.

Linux seems to have reached the point where developers want a
video I/O API which lets applications be source- and binary-
compatible with multiple video cards.

SGI made this same transition from board-specific APIs to common
APIs from 1991-1997. During that period, I worked on some of those
APIs and also wrote audio/video capture and playback applications
with them. By the time I left SGI, the company had a rich, useful
set of APIs, but the path was steep and full of potholes for both
SGI and its developers. By sharing my experiences, I hope that I
can help linux leap ahead in the process and avoid the mistakes SGI
made.’

Complete
Story