[gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
got the message below.

These are the packages that would be merged, in order:

Calculating dependencies... done!
[ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
-networking"
[ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
[ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
-zh_CN%"
[ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
(-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
[ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
-opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
[blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
[blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
[blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)

!!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
!!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:

net-libs/gnutls:0

  (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
    >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
(media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)

  (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
    (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)


It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
that will solve this conflict automatically.

For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.


 * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
 * installed at the same time on the same system.

  (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
    media-video/vlc required by @selected

  (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
   
>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
(>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)


For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):

http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked


The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
 (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
# required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
# required by @selected
# required by @world (argument)
=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86

Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
experimental or unstable packages.
----------------------------------------------
After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?

Any input would be much appreciated.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Daniel Campbell]

On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
> got the message below.
> 
> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
> 
> Calculating dependencies... done!
> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
> -networking"
> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
> -zh_CN%"
> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
> 
> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
> 
> net-libs/gnutls:0
> 
>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
> 
>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
> 
> 
> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
> that will solve this conflict automatically.
> 
> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
> 
> 
>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
> 
>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
> 
>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>    
>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
> 
> 
> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
> 
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
> 
> 
> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
> # required by @selected
> # required by @world (argument)
> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
> 
> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
> experimental or unstable packages.
> ----------------------------------------------
> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
> 
> Any input would be much appreciated.
> 
> 

It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
/etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)

Hope that helps.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alan McKinnon]

On 02/11/2013 12:49, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
>> got the message below.
>>
>> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
>>
>> Calculating dependencies... done!
>> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
>> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
>> -networking"
>> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
>> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
>> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
>> -zh_CN%"
>> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
>> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
>> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
>> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
>> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
>> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
>> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
>> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
>> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
>> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
>>
>> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
>> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
>>
>> net-libs/gnutls:0
>>
>>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
>> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>>
>>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
>>
>>
>> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
>> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
>> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
>> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
>> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
>> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
>> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
>> that will solve this conflict automatically.
>>
>> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
>> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
>>
>>
>>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>>
>>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
>>
>>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>    
>>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
>> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
>> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
>>
>>
>> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
>> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>>
>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>>
>>
>> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
>> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
>> # required by @selected
>> # required by @world (argument)
>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>>
>> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
>> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
>> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
>> experimental or unstable packages.
>> ----------------------------------------------
>> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
>> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
>> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
>>
>> Any input would be much appreciated.
>>
>>
> 
> It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
> version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
> why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
> tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
> you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
> it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)
> 
> Hope that helps.
> 


The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
installed.

The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
version of gnutls.

Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
this one.


-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Daniel Campbell]

On 11/02/2013 06:07 AM, Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On 02/11/2013 12:49, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>> On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
>>> got the message below.
>>>
>>> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
>>>
>>> Calculating dependencies... done!
>>> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
>>> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
>>> -networking"
>>> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
>>> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
>>> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
>>> -zh_CN%"
>>> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
>>> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
>>> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
>>> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
>>> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
>>> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
>>> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
>>> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
>>> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
>>> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
>>>
>>> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
>>> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
>>>
>>> net-libs/gnutls:0
>>>
>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
>>> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>>>
>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
>>>
>>>
>>> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
>>> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
>>> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
>>> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
>>> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
>>> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
>>> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
>>> that will solve this conflict automatically.
>>>
>>> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
>>> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
>>>
>>>
>>>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>>>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>>>
>>>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
>>>
>>>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>    
>>>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
>>> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
>>> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
>>>
>>>
>>> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
>>> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>>>
>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>>>
>>>
>>> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>>>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
>>> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
>>> # required by @selected
>>> # required by @world (argument)
>>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>>>
>>> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
>>> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
>>> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
>>> experimental or unstable packages.
>>> ----------------------------------------------
>>> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
>>> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
>>> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
>>>
>>> Any input would be much appreciated.
>>>
>>>
>>
>> It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
>> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
>> version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
>> why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
>> tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
>> you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
>> it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)
>>
>> Hope that helps.
>>
> 
> 
> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
> installed.
> 
> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
> version of gnutls.
> 
> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
> this one.
> 
> 

Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
packages that simply don't have a stable version.

Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

On 11/02/2013 05:29 PM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> On 11/02/2013 06:07 AM, Alan McKinnon wrote:
>> On 02/11/2013 12:49, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>> On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>>> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
>>>> got the message below.
>>>>
>>>> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
>>>>
>>>> Calculating dependencies... done!
>>>> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
>>>> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
>>>> -networking"
>>>> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
>>>> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
>>>> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
>>>> -zh_CN%"
>>>> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
>>>> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
>>>> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
>>>> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
>>>> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
>>>> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
>>>> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
>>>> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
>>>> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
>>>> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
>>>>
>>>> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
>>>> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
>>>>
>>>> net-libs/gnutls:0
>>>>
>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
>>>> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>>>>
>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
>>>> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
>>>> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
>>>> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
>>>> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
>>>> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
>>>> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
>>>> that will solve this conflict automatically.
>>>>
>>>> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
>>>> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>>>>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>>>>
>>>>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
>>>>
>>>>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>    
>>>>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
>>>> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
>>>> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
>>>> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>>>>
>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>>>>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
>>>> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
>>>> # required by @selected
>>>> # required by @world (argument)
>>>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>>>>
>>>> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
>>>> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
>>>> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
>>>> experimental or unstable packages.
>>>> ----------------------------------------------
>>>> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
>>>> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
>>>> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
>>>>
>>>> Any input would be much appreciated.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
>>> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
>>> version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
>>> why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
>>> tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
>>> you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
>>> it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)
>>>
>>> Hope that helps.
>>>
>>
>> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
>> installed.
>>
>> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
>> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
>> version of gnutls.
>>
>> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
>> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
>> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
>> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
>> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
>> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
>> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
>> this one.
>>
>>
> Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
> testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
> could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
> packages that simply don't have a stable version.
>
> Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
> package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
> build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
> and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.
>
Thanks very much for your responses to my original query.

What I did do prior to getting your responses was try and resolve the
dependency conflict as shown below.

(1). I added '=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86' and
'=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86' to package.accept_keywords:
box0=; egrep 'gnutls|ffmpeg' /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
(2). I then updated 'media-video/ffmpeg' to version
'media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4', like so:
emerge --ask '>media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7'
!!! existing preserved libs:
>>> package: media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4
 *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51
 *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51.73.101
 *      used by /usr/bin/mencoder (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
 *      used by /usr/bin/mplayer (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
 *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libavcodec_plugin.so
(media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
 *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/demux/libavformat_plugin.so
(media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
Use emerge @preserved-rebuild to rebuild packages using these libraries
(3). I then pulled in the other updates:
emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world
(4). Rebuilt the preserved libs as recorded in
/var/lib/portage/preserved_libs_registry
emerge --ask @preserved-rebuild

So far, the whole system seems to be running OK.

It did occur to me afterwards, like Alan and Daniel suggested, that
mixing stable and unstable packages was not a good idea.

I put vlc ~x86 in package.keywords as instructed here,
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-gentoo.html.
box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
media-video/vlc ~x86

Turns out, it wasn't such a good idea after all.

What would I have to do to downgrade vlc, gnutls and ffmpeg to the
stable versions of the packages?
I guess I'd have to remove their respective entries from
/etc/portage/package.(accept)_keywords.
box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
media-video/vlc ~x86
box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
=net-im/skype-4.2.0.11-r1 ~x86
=sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3.1-r1 ~x86
=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86

How would I instruct emerge to do that properly?

Thanks.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Daniel Campbell]

On 11/02/2013 02:06 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> On 11/02/2013 05:29 PM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>> On 11/02/2013 06:07 AM, Alan McKinnon wrote:
>>> On 02/11/2013 12:49, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>>> On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>>>> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
>>>>> got the message below.
>>>>>
>>>>> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
>>>>>
>>>>> Calculating dependencies... done!
>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
>>>>> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
>>>>> -networking"
>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
>>>>> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
>>>>> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
>>>>> -zh_CN%"
>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
>>>>> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
>>>>> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
>>>>> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
>>>>> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
>>>>> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
>>>>> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
>>>>> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
>>>>> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
>>>>> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
>>>>>
>>>>> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
>>>>> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
>>>>>
>>>>> net-libs/gnutls:0
>>>>>
>>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
>>>>> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>>>>>
>>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
>>>>> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
>>>>> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
>>>>> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
>>>>> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
>>>>> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
>>>>> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
>>>>> that will solve this conflict automatically.
>>>>>
>>>>> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
>>>>> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>>>>>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>>>>>
>>>>>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
>>>>>
>>>>>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>>    
>>>>>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
>>>>> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
>>>>> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
>>>>> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>>>>>
>>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>>>>>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
>>>>> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
>>>>> # required by @selected
>>>>> # required by @world (argument)
>>>>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>>>>>
>>>>> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
>>>>> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
>>>>> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
>>>>> experimental or unstable packages.
>>>>> ----------------------------------------------
>>>>> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
>>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
>>>>> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
>>>>> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
>>>>>
>>>>> Any input would be much appreciated.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
>>>> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
>>>> version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
>>>> why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
>>>> tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
>>>> you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
>>>> it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)
>>>>
>>>> Hope that helps.
>>>>
>>>
>>> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
>>> installed.
>>>
>>> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
>>> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
>>> version of gnutls.
>>>
>>> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
>>> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
>>> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
>>> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
>>> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
>>> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
>>> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
>>> this one.
>>>
>>>
>> Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
>> testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
>> could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
>> packages that simply don't have a stable version.
>>
>> Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
>> package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
>> build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
>> and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.
>>
> Thanks very much for your responses to my original query.
> 
> What I did do prior to getting your responses was try and resolve the
> dependency conflict as shown below.
> 
> (1). I added '=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86' and
> '=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86' to package.accept_keywords:
> box0=; egrep 'gnutls|ffmpeg' /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
> (2). I then updated 'media-video/ffmpeg' to version
> 'media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4', like so:
> emerge --ask '>media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7'
> !!! existing preserved libs:
>>>> package: media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4
>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51
>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51.73.101
>  *      used by /usr/bin/mencoder (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>  *      used by /usr/bin/mplayer (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libavcodec_plugin.so
> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/demux/libavformat_plugin.so
> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
> Use emerge @preserved-rebuild to rebuild packages using these libraries
> (3). I then pulled in the other updates:
> emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world
> (4). Rebuilt the preserved libs as recorded in
> /var/lib/portage/preserved_libs_registry
> emerge --ask @preserved-rebuild
> 
> So far, the whole system seems to be running OK.
> 
> It did occur to me afterwards, like Alan and Daniel suggested, that
> mixing stable and unstable packages was not a good idea.
> 
> I put vlc ~x86 in package.keywords as instructed here,
> http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-gentoo.html.
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
> media-video/vlc ~x86
> 
> Turns out, it wasn't such a good idea after all.
> 
> What would I have to do to downgrade vlc, gnutls and ffmpeg to the
> stable versions of the packages?
> I guess I'd have to remove their respective entries from
> /etc/portage/package.(accept)_keywords.
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
> media-video/vlc ~x86
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
> =net-im/skype-4.2.0.11-r1 ~x86
> =sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3.1-r1 ~x86
> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
> 
> How would I instruct emerge to do that properly?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> 

Well, if you don't mind managing the dependencies of an ~arch vlc, then
by all means keep your setup! When it breaks though, you get to keep the
pieces. :)

For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
on that.

If you want to revert to stable, just remove the lines from the file
that match the packages that you want to be stable again. For vlc,
that'd mean vlc, gnutls, and ffmpeg need to be removed from the file.

As an aside, is there a particular reason you have gettext keyworded?

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> On 11/02/2013 02:06 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>> On 11/02/2013 05:29 PM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>> On 11/02/2013 06:07 AM, Alan McKinnon wrote:
>>>> On 02/11/2013 12:49, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>>>> On 10/27/2013 12:08 PM, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>>>>> As I ran 'emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world', I
>>>>>> got the message below.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> These are the packages that would be merged, in order:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Calculating dependencies... done!
>>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] dev-scheme/guile-1.8.8-r1  USE="deprecated nls regex
>>>>>> threads -debug -debug-freelist -debug-malloc -discouraged -emacs
>>>>>> -networking"
>>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] sys-devel/autogen-5.15
>>>>>> [ebuild     U ~] net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 [2.12.23-r1] USE="-dane%"
>>>>>> LINGUAS="-cs% -de% -en% -fi% -fr% -it% -ms% -nl% -pl% -sv% -uk% -vi%
>>>>>> -zh_CN%"
>>>>>> [ebuild  N     ] media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125  USE="-3dnow
>>>>>> (-altivec) -mmx -mmxext -pic -static-libs"
>>>>>> [ebuild     U ~] media-video/vlc-2.1.0 [2.0.9] USE="-chromaprint% -fdk%
>>>>>> -opencv% (-qt5) -rdp% {-test%} -vdpau%"
>>>>>> [blocks B      ] <media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0 ("<media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0"
>>>>>> is blocking media-video/vlc-2.1.0)
>>>>>> [blocks B      ] media-video/ffmpeg:0 ("media-video/ffmpeg:0" is
>>>>>> blocking media-libs/libpostproc-0.8.0.20121125)
>>>>>> [blocks B      ] media-libs/libpostproc ("media-libs/libpostproc" is
>>>>>> blocking media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> !!! Multiple package instances within a single package slot have been pulled
>>>>>> !!! into the dependency graph, resulting in a slot conflict:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> net-libs/gnutls:0
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>>>     >=net-libs/gnutls-3.0.20:0 required by
>>>>>> (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   (net-libs/gnutls-2.12.23-r1::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>>>     (no parents that aren't satisfied by other packages in this slot)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It may be possible to solve this problem by using package.mask to
>>>>>> prevent one of those packages from being selected. However, it is also
>>>>>> possible that conflicting dependencies exist such that they are
>>>>>> impossible to satisfy simultaneously.  If such a conflict exists in
>>>>>> the dependencies of two different packages, then those packages can
>>>>>> not be installed simultaneously. You may want to try a larger value of
>>>>>> the --backtrack option, such as --backtrack=30, in order to see if
>>>>>> that will solve this conflict automatically.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For more information, see MASKED PACKAGES section in the emerge man
>>>>>> page or refer to the Gentoo Handbook.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>  * Error: The above package list contains packages which cannot be
>>>>>>  * installed at the same time on the same system.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   (media-video/vlc-2.1.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) pulled in by
>>>>>>     media-video/vlc required by @selected
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   (media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7::gentoo, installed) pulled in by
>>>>>>    
>>>>>>> =media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X?,encode?,gsm?,jpeg2k?,mp3?,sdl?,speex?,theora?,threads?,truetype?,vaapi?,vdpau?,x264?]
>>>>>> (>=media-video/ffmpeg-0.10.3:0[X,encode,mp3,sdl,truetype,x264]) required
>>>>>> by (virtual/ffmpeg-0.10.3::gentoo, installed)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> For more information about Blocked Packages, please refer to the following
>>>>>> section of the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook (architecture is irrelevant):
>>>>>>
>>>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The following keyword changes are necessary to proceed:
>>>>>>  (see "package.accept_keywords" in the portage(5) man page for more details)
>>>>>> # required by media-video/vlc-2.1.0[gnutls]
>>>>>> # required by @selected
>>>>>> # required by @world (argument)
>>>>>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Use --autounmask-write to write changes to config files (honoring
>>>>>> CONFIG_PROTECT). Carefully examine the list of proposed changes,
>>>>>> paying special attention to mask or keyword changes that may expose
>>>>>> experimental or unstable packages.
>>>>>> ----------------------------------------------
>>>>>> After reading the 'Blocked Packages' found here,
>>>>>> http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?full=1#blocked,
>>>>>> would updating media-video/ffmpeg to version 1.2 [the current version of
>>>>>> ffmpeg is 1.0.7], fix the blockage?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any input would be much appreciated.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>> It looks like you just need to add `net-libs/gnutls` to
>>>>> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, which will fetch the testing
>>>>> version of gnutls. Is your version of vlc also from testing? That may be
>>>>> why emerge is complaining. I also noticed a lot of -USE% flags, which
>>>>> tells me they were removed. Did you change USE flags at the same time
>>>>> you attempted this update? There's no problem with that, of course, but
>>>>> it can complicate upgrades sometimes. :)
>>>>>
>>>>> Hope that helps.
>>>>>
>>>> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
>>>> installed.
>>>>
>>>> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
>>>> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
>>>> version of gnutls.
>>>>
>>>> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
>>>> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
>>>> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
>>>> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
>>>> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
>>>> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
>>>> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
>>>> this one.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
>>> testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
>>> could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
>>> packages that simply don't have a stable version.
>>>
>>> Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
>>> package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
>>> build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
>>> and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.
>>>
>> Thanks very much for your responses to my original query.
>>
>> What I did do prior to getting your responses was try and resolve the
>> dependency conflict as shown below.
>>
>> (1). I added '=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86' and
>> '=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86' to package.accept_keywords:
>> box0=; egrep 'gnutls|ffmpeg' /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
>> (2). I then updated 'media-video/ffmpeg' to version
>> 'media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4', like so:
>> emerge --ask '>media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7'
>> !!! existing preserved libs:
>>>>> package: media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4
>>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51
>>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51.73.101
>>  *      used by /usr/bin/mencoder (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>>  *      used by /usr/bin/mplayer (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libavcodec_plugin.so
>> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/demux/libavformat_plugin.so
>> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>> Use emerge @preserved-rebuild to rebuild packages using these libraries
>> (3). I then pulled in the other updates:
>> emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world
>> (4). Rebuilt the preserved libs as recorded in
>> /var/lib/portage/preserved_libs_registry
>> emerge --ask @preserved-rebuild
>>
>> So far, the whole system seems to be running OK.
>>
>> It did occur to me afterwards, like Alan and Daniel suggested, that
>> mixing stable and unstable packages was not a good idea.
>>
>> I put vlc ~x86 in package.keywords as instructed here,
>> http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-gentoo.html.
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
>> media-video/vlc ~x86
>>
>> Turns out, it wasn't such a good idea after all.
>>
>> What would I have to do to downgrade vlc, gnutls and ffmpeg to the
>> stable versions of the packages?
>> I guess I'd have to remove their respective entries from
>> /etc/portage/package.(accept)_keywords.
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
>> media-video/vlc ~x86
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
>> =net-im/skype-4.2.0.11-r1 ~x86
>> =sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3.1-r1 ~x86
>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
>>
>> How would I instruct emerge to do that properly?
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>
> Well, if you don't mind managing the dependencies of an ~arch vlc, then
> by all means keep your setup! When it breaks though, you get to keep the
> pieces. :)
>
> For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
> Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
> on that.
>
> If you want to revert to stable, just remove the lines from the file
> that match the packages that you want to be stable again. For vlc,
> that'd mean vlc, gnutls, and ffmpeg need to be removed from the file.
>
> As an aside, is there a particular reason you have gettext keyworded?
>
Thanks for the pointers.

As far as why I have gettext keyworded goes, it must have been suggested
by emerge as I was updating something at some stage.

Looking at the output of 'equery depends --indirect sys-devel/gettext',
among other things there is this entry:
media-video/vlc-2.1.0 (>=sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3:0).

I should probably remove the corresponding line for gettext from the
keywords file as well to stick to stable packages as much as possible.

What about skype? Does it have to be in the keywords file as well? From
memory, I put it there as instructed on the gentoo wiki page.

Thanks.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Peter Humphrey]

On Sunday 03 Nov 2013 07:40:12 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:

> What about skype? Does it have to be in the keywords file as well? From
> memory, I put it there as instructed on the gentoo wiki page.

If you remove it, the next emerge world will tell you why it was in there :-)

Don't worry - it won't let you make a mess of your system.

-- 
Regards,
Peter

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

On 11/03/2013 11:42 AM, Peter Humphrey wrote:
> On Sunday 03 Nov 2013 07:40:12 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>
>> What about skype? Does it have to be in the keywords file as well? From
>> memory, I put it there as instructed on the gentoo wiki page.
> If you remove it, the next emerge world will tell you why it was in there :-)
>
> Don't worry - it won't let you make a mess of your system.
>
Thanks for the tip.

I thought I'd leave this one as is for the time being.

All the ebuilds available for skype seem to have ~x86 specified anyway.

box0=; pwd
/usr/portage/net-im/skype
box0=; grep KEYWORDS *.ebuild
skype-2.2.0.35-r99.ebuild:KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"
skype-4.0.0.8-r1.ebuild:KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"
skype-4.1.0.20.ebuild:KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"
skype-4.2.0.11-r1.ebuild:KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"
skype-4.2.0.11.ebuild:KEYWORDS="~amd64 ~x86"

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
> Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
> on that.
Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Mick]

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On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
> > Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
> > on that.
> 
> Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.

Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alan McKinnon]

On 05/11/2013 00:43, Mick wrote:
> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>> On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>> For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
>>> package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
>>> Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
>>> on that.
>>
>> Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
> 
> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
> 


Seeing as it was about 2 or maybe 3 years ago, I'm sure you missed it :-)

-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Dale]

Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On 05/11/2013 00:43, Mick wrote:
>> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>> On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>>>> For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
>>>> package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
>>>> Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
>>>> on that.
>>> Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
>> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
>>
>
> Seeing as it was about 2 or maybe 3 years ago, I'm sure you missed it :-)
>

+1.  I missed it too. 

Dale

:-)  :-) 

-- 
I am only responsible for what I said ... Not for what you understood or how you interpreted my words!

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Bruce Hill]

On Mon, Nov 04, 2013 at 10:43:07PM +0000, Mick wrote:
> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> > On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> > > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> > > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
> > > Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
> > > on that.
> > 
> > Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
> 
> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?

It wasn't two or three years ago...

mingdao@server ~ $ eselect news read 5
2012-09-09-make.conf-and-make.profile-move
  Title                     make.conf and make.profile move
  Author                    Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org>
  Posted                    2012-09-09
  Revision                  1

Starting next week, new stages will have make.conf and make.profile
moved from /etc to /etc/portage. This is a change in the installation
defaults, that will only affect new installs so it doesn't affect
current systems.

Current users don't need to do anything. But if you want to follow the
preferred location, you may want to take the chance to move the files
in your system(s) to the new location.
-- 
Happy Penguin Computers               >')
126 Fenco Drive                       ( \
Tupelo, MS 38801                       ^^
support@happypenguincomputers.com
662-269-2706 662-205-6424
http://happypenguincomputers.com/

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

Don't top-post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_post#Top-posting

[gentoo-user] Re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg)]

On 2013-11-05, Bruce Hill <daddy@happypenguincomputers.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Nov 04, 2013 at 10:43:07PM +0000, Mick wrote:
>> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>> > On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
>> > > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
>> > > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
>> > > Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
>> > > on that.
>> > 
>> > Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
>> 
>> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
>
> It wasn't two or three years ago...
>
> mingdao@server ~ $ eselect news read 5
> 2012-09-09-make.conf-and-make.profile-move
>   Title                     make.conf and make.profile move
>   Author                    Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org>
>   Posted                    2012-09-09
>   Revision                  1
>
> Starting next week, new stages will have make.conf and make.profile
> moved from /etc to /etc/portage. This is a change in the installation
> defaults, that will only affect new installs so it doesn't affect
> current systems.
>
> Current users don't need to do anything. But if you want to follow the
> preferred location, you may want to take the chance to move the files
> in your system(s) to the new location.

But that's about make.conf, not about package.keywords.

-- 
Nuno Silva (aka njsg)

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Mick]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: Text/Plain, Size: 1918 bytes --]

On Tuesday 05 Nov 2013 06:15:56 Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg) wrote:
> On 2013-11-05, Bruce Hill <daddy@happypenguincomputers.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Nov 04, 2013 at 10:43:07PM +0000, Mick wrote:
> >> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> >> > On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> >> > > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> >> > > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name,
> >> > > though Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just
> >> > > a heads-up on that.
> >> > 
> >> > Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
> >> 
> >> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
> > 
> > It wasn't two or three years ago...
> > 
> > mingdao@server ~ $ eselect news read 5
> > 2012-09-09-make.conf-and-make.profile-move
> > 
> >   Title                     make.conf and make.profile move
> >   Author                    Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto
> >   <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org> Posted                    2012-09-09
> >   Revision                  1
> > 
> > Starting next week, new stages will have make.conf and make.profile
> > moved from /etc to /etc/portage. This is a change in the installation
> > defaults, that will only affect new installs so it doesn't affect
> > current systems.
> > 
> > Current users don't need to do anything. But if you want to follow the
> > preferred location, you may want to take the chance to move the files
> > in your system(s) to the new location.
> 
> But that's about make.conf, not about package.keywords.

Right and I created two symlinks to make sure that at least *I* can still find 
these files without having to fight against muscle memory.  I'm just checking 
if I need to create some more.  BTW, I am running mostly stable here, with the 
odd testing version thrown in for cheap thrills.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] Re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Bruce Hill]

On Tue, Nov 05, 2013 at 06:15:56AM +0000, Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg) wrote:
> >> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> >> > On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> >> > > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> >> > > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name, though
> >> > > Portage will likely support the old names for a while. Just a heads-up
> >> > > on that.
> >> > 
> >> > Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
> >> 
> >> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
> >
> > It wasn't two or three years ago...
> >
> > mingdao@server ~ $ eselect news read 5
> > 2012-09-09-make.conf-and-make.profile-move
> >   Title                     make.conf and make.profile move
> >   Author                    Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org>
> >   Posted                    2012-09-09
> >   Revision                  1
> >
> > Starting next week, new stages will have make.conf and make.profile
> > moved from /etc to /etc/portage. This is a change in the installation
> > defaults, that will only affect new installs so it doesn't affect
> > current systems.
> >
> > Current users don't need to do anything. But if you want to follow the
> > preferred location, you may want to take the chance to move the files
> > in your system(s) to the new location.
> 
> But that's about make.conf, not about package.keywords.

mingdao blushes
-- 
Happy Penguin Computers               >')
126 Fenco Drive                       ( \
Tupelo, MS 38801                       ^^
support@happypenguincomputers.com
662-269-2706 662-205-6424
http://happypenguincomputers.com/

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A: Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing in e-mail?

Don't top-post: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_post#Top-posting

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Mick]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: Text/Plain, Size: 2017 bytes --]

On Tuesday 05 Nov 2013 14:40:46 Bruce Hill wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 05, 2013 at 06:15:56AM +0000, Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg) wrote:
> > >> On Monday 04 Nov 2013 19:51:32 Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
> > >> > On 11/03/2013 02:27 AM, Daniel Campbell wrote:
> > >> > > For starters, you should probably merge package.keywords into
> > >> > > package.accept_keywords; the latter is the "new" standard name,
> > >> > > though Portage will likely support the old names for a while.
> > >> > > Just a heads-up on that.
> > >> > 
> > >> > Thanks for a heads-up. I did as you suggested.
> > >> 
> > >> Is there going to be a portage news article on this, or did I miss it?
> > > 
> > > It wasn't two or three years ago...
> > > 
> > > mingdao@server ~ $ eselect news read 5
> > > 2012-09-09-make.conf-and-make.profile-move
> > > 
> > >   Title                     make.conf and make.profile move
> > >   Author                    Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto
> > >   <jmbsvicetto@gentoo.org> Posted                    2012-09-09
> > >   Revision                  1
> > > 
> > > Starting next week, new stages will have make.conf and make.profile
> > > moved from /etc to /etc/portage. This is a change in the installation
> > > defaults, that will only affect new installs so it doesn't affect
> > > current systems.
> > > 
> > > Current users don't need to do anything. But if you want to follow the
> > > preferred location, you may want to take the chance to move the files
> > > in your system(s) to the new location.
> > 
> > But that's about make.conf, not about package.keywords.
> 
> mingdao blushes

Actually it was in a portage news article, but not an article about portage or  
/etc/portage/package.* changing its naming convention.  It was mentioned in 
passing in the latest news article about python-exec.

I carry on regardless, perhaps foolishly, on the assumption that when stable 
portage changes its configuration file structure someone will let us know.
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0]

[Alan McKinnon]

On 02/11/2013 21:06, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
>>> >> installed.
>>> >>
>>> >> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
>>> >> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
>>> >> version of gnutls.
>>> >>
>>> >> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
>>> >> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
>>> >> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
>>> >> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
>>> >> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
>>> >> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
>>> >> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
>>> >> this one.
>>> >>
>>> >>
>> > Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
>> > testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
>> > could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
>> > packages that simply don't have a stable version.
>> >
>> > Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
>> > package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
>> > build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
>> > and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.
>> >
> Thanks very much for your responses to my original query.
> 
> What I did do prior to getting your responses was try and resolve the
> dependency conflict as shown below.
> 
> (1). I added '=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86' and
> '=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86' to package.accept_keywords:
> box0=; egrep 'gnutls|ffmpeg' /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
> (2). I then updated 'media-video/ffmpeg' to version
> 'media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4', like so:
> emerge --ask '>media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7'
> !!! existing preserved libs:
>>>> >>> package: media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4
>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51
>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51.73.101
>  *      used by /usr/bin/mencoder (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>  *      used by /usr/bin/mplayer (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libavcodec_plugin.so
> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/demux/libavformat_plugin.so
> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
> Use emerge @preserved-rebuild to rebuild packages using these libraries
> (3). I then pulled in the other updates:
> emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world
> (4). Rebuilt the preserved libs as recorded in
> /var/lib/portage/preserved_libs_registry
> emerge --ask @preserved-rebuild
> 
> So far, the whole system seems to be running OK.


Yes, that is how it is done


> It did occur to me afterwards, like Alan and Daniel suggested, that
> mixing stable and unstable packages was not a good idea.


The reason it's not a good idea usually is that you get these conflicts
with dependencies. The software still runs and things still work but the
user can cause themselves lots of extra hassle to make it work.

Here, vlc depends on a gnutls version 3, which is a bit sad. I would
hope the authors of vlc would support all current versions of gnutls.

One option is to ask "does your media player really require TLS
support?" Maybe it's just a nice feature and you can do without it, so
add to package.use:

media-video/vlc -gnutls

It's something worth considering

> 
> I put vlc ~x86 in package.keywords as instructed here,
> http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-gentoo.html.
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
> media-video/vlc ~x86
> 
> Turns out, it wasn't such a good idea after all.
> 
> What would I have to do to downgrade vlc, gnutls and ffmpeg to the
> stable versions of the packages?
> I guess I'd have to remove their respective entries from
> /etc/portage/package.(accept)_keywords.
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
> media-video/vlc ~x86
> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
> =net-im/skype-4.2.0.11-r1 ~x86
> =sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3.1-r1 ~x86
> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
> 
> How would I instruct emerge to do that properly?

Just run "emerge -avuND world" and emerge will do all the necessary
downgrades.

Then run "emerge -a --depclean" to remove any slotted libs that might
have been pulled in and are no longer needed (a simple emerge world does
not deal with those)

Or, you can try sidestep the issue and avoid gnutls completely as above.

Yet another option is to request that gnutls be slotted so that you can
have v2 and v3 at the same time and don't have to choose (openssl
already works this way). You do this by opening a feature request bug at
bugs.gentoo.org

-- 
Alan McKinnon
alan.mckinnon@gmail.com

Re: [gentoo-user] re: resolving blocked packages [media-video/ffmpeg-1.2:0] [SOLVED]

[Alexander Kapshuk]

On 11/03/2013 10:26 AM, Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On 02/11/2013 21:06, Alexander Kapshuk wrote:
>>>> The basic problem is a stable system with a bunch of unstable packages
>>>>>> installed.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The requested vlc version is ~arch, which wants a ~arch version of
>>>>>> gnutls. This conflicts with other stable packages that want a stable
>>>>>> version of gnutls.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Mixing and matching arch and ~arch like this often causes unsolveable
>>>>>> problems, especially with basic libs like gnutls used by lots of
>>>>>> packages. In this specific case, I doubt very much that the problem is
>>>>>> solveable. Either make the entire system ~arch or downgrade vlc to
>>>>>> stable. Mixing is not recommended, not that it won't work (it often
>>>>>> does), but because users so often run into these problems and devs
>>>>>> usually will not help fix it. The user is thus totally on tehir own with
>>>>>> this one.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>> Ah, I wasn't aware that it wasn't a supported thing. Good points; the
>>>> testing necessary to support mixed systems is more than any dev team
>>>> could handle realistically. I mix and match, but only for a select few
>>>> packages that simply don't have a stable version.
>>>>
>>>> Alex: In order to get ~arch vlc, you had to put vlc in your
>>>> package.accept_keywords file. Try removing that to go back to the stable
>>>> build and see if that corrects things. If not, then I agree with Alan
>>>> and you should probably make the big decision of stable or testing.
>>>>
>> Thanks very much for your responses to my original query.
>>
>> What I did do prior to getting your responses was try and resolve the
>> dependency conflict as shown below.
>>
>> (1). I added '=net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86' and
>> '=media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86' to package.accept_keywords:
>> box0=; egrep 'gnutls|ffmpeg' /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
>> (2). I then updated 'media-video/ffmpeg' to version
>> 'media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4', like so:
>> emerge --ask '>media-video/ffmpeg-1.0.7'
>> !!! existing preserved libs:
>>>>>>>> package: media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4
>>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51
>>  *  - /usr/lib/libavutil.so.51.73.101
>>  *      used by /usr/bin/mencoder (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>>  *      used by /usr/bin/mplayer (media-video/mplayer-1.1.1-r1)
>>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/codec/libavcodec_plugin.so
>> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>>  *      used by /usr/lib/vlc/plugins/demux/libavformat_plugin.so
>> (media-video/vlc-2.0.9)
>> Use emerge @preserved-rebuild to rebuild packages using these libraries
>> (3). I then pulled in the other updates:
>> emerge --ask --update --deep --with-bdeps=y --newuse world
>> (4). Rebuilt the preserved libs as recorded in
>> /var/lib/portage/preserved_libs_registry
>> emerge --ask @preserved-rebuild
>>
>> So far, the whole system seems to be running OK.
>
> Yes, that is how it is done
>
>
>> It did occur to me afterwards, like Alan and Daniel suggested, that
>> mixing stable and unstable packages was not a good idea.
>
> The reason it's not a good idea usually is that you get these conflicts
> with dependencies. The software still runs and things still work but the
> user can cause themselves lots of extra hassle to make it work.
>
> Here, vlc depends on a gnutls version 3, which is a bit sad. I would
> hope the authors of vlc would support all current versions of gnutls.
>
> One option is to ask "does your media player really require TLS
> support?" Maybe it's just a nice feature and you can do without it, so
> add to package.use:
>
> media-video/vlc -gnutls
>
> It's something worth considering
>
>> I put vlc ~x86 in package.keywords as instructed here,
>> http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-gentoo.html.
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
>> media-video/vlc ~x86
>>
>> Turns out, it wasn't such a good idea after all.
>>
>> What would I have to do to downgrade vlc, gnutls and ffmpeg to the
>> stable versions of the packages?
>> I guess I'd have to remove their respective entries from
>> /etc/portage/package.(accept)_keywords.
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.keywords
>> media-video/vlc ~x86
>> box0=; cat /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
>> =net-im/skype-4.2.0.11-r1 ~x86
>> =sys-devel/gettext-0.18.3.1-r1 ~x86
>> =net-libs/gnutls-3.2.5 ~x86
>> =media-video/ffmpeg-1.2.4 ~x86
>>
>> How would I instruct emerge to do that properly?
> Just run "emerge -avuND world" and emerge will do all the necessary
> downgrades.
>
> Then run "emerge -a --depclean" to remove any slotted libs that might
> have been pulled in and are no longer needed (a simple emerge world does
> not deal with those)
>
> Or, you can try sidestep the issue and avoid gnutls completely as above.
>
> Yet another option is to request that gnutls be slotted so that you can
> have v2 and v3 at the same time and don't have to choose (openssl
> already works this way). You do this by opening a feature request bug at
> bugs.gentoo.org
>
Thanks very much for all your replies.

I did as suggested above. It all worked without any further ado.

Thanks to you all once again.