[FFmpeg-devel] Guidance needed for a semi-breaking change

[Timo Rothenpieler]

On 27.04.2022 16:07, MCC CS wrote:
> The default for AAC_AT is to produce highest quality audio, which I'll keep undoubtedly
> in the same direction. However, the question is this:
> 
> Should the one who explicitly set `-aac_at_quality 0` (highest quality available) be moved from HIGH to MAX,
> HOWEVER causing the side effect of moving everyone up in the quality-speed tradeoff by one,
> 
> (or we can eliminate HIGH and just replace it with MAX which has no tradeoffs AFAIK)
> 
> OR add `-1`, so that only those who entered no `aac_at_quality` be moved to -1,
> and keeping explicit people having set `-aac_at_quality 0` at HIGH for them,
> although they might have meant MAX when they started using it?
> (i.e. no regression nor improvement for them)

The strictly correct approach here would be to add version guards, and 
switch to the new behaviour next major bump.
I do agree though that that seems a bit over the top for this, and 
specially if there is a higher quality than what ffmpeg currently 
offers, I could definitely see keeping 0 as "highest possible quality".