The PipeWire project has made major strides over the past few years, bringing shiny new features, and paving the way for new possibilities in the Linux multimedia scene. With 2021 seeing significant progress made on all fronts, let’s take a moment to look back at what was accomplished, and what lies ahead for 2022.
Just one of the many project that make Linux easier to use on the desktop.
From the comment section: Turns out E-AC3 (Dolby Digital Plus) does not work on PipeWire, for the past 5 months:
https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/issues/1648
…aaaand that why I don’t use Desktop Linux. In Windows, it’s someone’s job to make things work. Not perfect, but better than the whole “send a patch” nonsense.
Keep in mind that E-AC3 is mandatory for watching public broadcasts in some countries:
https://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?mux=MUXA&liste=1&live=3&lang=en
https://www.digitalbitrate.com/dtv.php?mux=R1,IDF&liste=1&live=1&lang=en
And don’t get me started with the fact Fedora included support for AC3 (Dolby Digital) decoding but doesn’t for E-AC3 (Dolby Digital Plus), despite the fact the E-AC3 patents likely expired in 2019. You see, AC3 decoding is useful for American TV broadcasts but E-AC3 decoding isn’t.