makemkvcon for ppc64le?

[mdempsky]

Hello, I'd like to use MakeMKV on a ppc64le desktop. I see makemkv-bin-1.16.4 includes makemkvcon binaries for amd64, arm64, armel, and i386. Is it possible to get a version built for ppc64le too?

For what it's worth, I'm running Fedora 34 on a Raptor Blackbird (POWER9 desktop).

Alternatively, I suppose I'll look into running it via qemu or something.

Thanks!

[Woodstock]

Probably not - the powerpc ship departed port too long ago.

The ARM processor support in MakeMKV came about because Apple when started shipping Macs with ARM-based processors, just as they moved on from PPC to Intel so many years ago.

[mdempsky]

Probably not - the powerpc ship departed port too long ago.

Apple may have stopped using PowerPC CPUs, but they're still being developed and manufactured. The POWER9 CPU that I'm using launched in 2017, and POWER10 CPUs will ship later this year. (For comparison, Apple's last PowerPC G5 CPU was based on POWER4.)

Fedora Workstation supports three architectures: amd64, arm64, and ppc64le.

The ARM processor support in MakeMKV came about because Apple when started shipping Macs with ARM-based processors, just as they moved on from PPC to Intel so many years ago.

I see. But then why does makemkv-bin include armel binaries? Apple has never shipped a Mac with a 32-bit ARM processor.

I would expect that if makemkvcon can already build for 4 CPU architectures, it wouldn't be hard to add a 5th. I'd be happy to help get a working cross-build environment setup for that.

[Woodstock]

Mike would have to be the one to answer those questions.

The Windows version includes 32-bit Intel binaries as well, because what MakeMKV is doing doesn't require 64 bits, other than to deal with operating systems that refuse to run 32-bit programs.

A deciding factor may be whether or not Mike can test the code - with ARM, it's easy to come up with 32- and 64-bit test systems. I have no clue as to what access he has to a PPC system for testing.

[dcoke22]

The Raspberry Pi crowd was interested in running MakeMKV on a Pi… I think that's why there's 32-bit arm.

[koen_92]

I also own a Raptor POWER9 desktop, so a ppc64le binary would really benefit me as well (since Makemkv is the only app that I'm missing on my current POWER9 system).

@Woodstock as mdempsky already said: ppc64le is an architecture for high-end workstations (like 4-32 3-4Ghz cpu cores). It's indeed based on the old Apple PowerPC, but definitely a different and way more modern cpu!

I don't know how much work this would be for Mike to add, but I'm willing to help testing it or to provide shell access to a POWER9 vm for mike so can test himself. I'm also happy to donate $100 to compensate a little bit for the effort!