In pjproject-2.4.5, aconfigure.ac reads: AC_ARG_ENABLE(ffmpeg, AC_HELP_STRING([--disable-ffmpeg], [Disable ffmpeg (default: not disabled)]), >> [ >> AC_SUBST(ac_has_ffmpeg,0) >> if test "$enable_ffmpeg" = "no"; then >> AC_MSG_RESULT([Checking if ffmpeg is disabled... yes]) >> fi >> ], Therefore, whenever one specifies --enable-ffmpeg, it actually disables it unconditionally, which is like totally backwards.