[NCLUG-DISCUSS] Java Media Framework

[Vincent Randal]

Are there any opinions about the stability or future of JMF (Java Media
Framework)? I have encountered a couple problems that make me wonder if it's
been abandoned or was never really that successful. The last release was May
2003 with MP3 support added November 2004.

At a November 2008 hacking society meeting I saw someone (Dave?) using JMF
to capture video with a Logitech USB camera. Recently I decided JMF may be
an alternative to Java Native Interface (JNI) development if I stick to
devices that are standard audio and video capture devices.

I am mainly interested in audio capture but I have only been able to get
that to work in Windows if using the cross platform JMF. The problems I have
encountered include:
- Linux installer corrupts itself when it runs the tail command. Unpacking
with Fedora Core 3 is a reported solution to this.
- The cross platform version fails to prefetch a PlaybackEngine in Linux
when attempting to play .wav or .au files.

So to move things forward, I am actually planning to use Fedora Core 3 to
install the Linux JMF and see if that gets me a better configuration and
solves my PlaybackEngine problem. After that I am concerned about using JMF
if it's got serious problems or going away.

Vincent Randal