diff --git a/autogen.sh b/autogen.sh
index 0b032561f6..0d6a7cc13b 100755
--- a/autogen.sh
+++ b/autogen.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ then
   cvs co common 
 fi
 
+# ensure that we have the dirs we put ext libs in to appease automake
+mkdir -p gst-libs/ext/ffmpeg
+
 # source helper functions
 if test ! -e common/gst-autogen.sh;
 then
diff --git a/common b/common
index 79e6940e7f..4a7bc52a89 160000
--- a/common
+++ b/common
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Subproject commit 79e6940e7ff1a6cbf959a1f7a0a3d1ed3f90d3ee
+Subproject commit 4a7bc52a893bdd9fefa9fabe460c827822a9e0f2
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 2b635c6ce3..6520a47ad2 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -207,6 +207,7 @@ GTK_LIBS=$GTK2_LIBS
 AC_SUBST(GTK_LIBS)
 AC_SUBST(GTK_CFLAGS)
 
+
 dnl Check for X11 extensions
 AC_PATH_XTRA
 if test "-DX_DISPLAY_MISSING" = "$X_CFLAGS"; then
@@ -522,7 +523,10 @@ GST_CHECK_FEATURE(FLAC, [FLAC lossless audio], flacenc flacdec, [
 dnl *** FFMPEG ***
 translit(dnm, m, l) AM_CONDITIONAL(USE_FFMPEG, true)
 GST_CHECK_FEATURE(FFMPEG, [ffmpeg plug-ins], ffmpeg, [
-  AM_PATH_FFMPEG(0.4.6, HAVE_FFMPEG=yes, HAVE_FFMPEG=no)
+  AS_SLURP_FFMPEG(gst-libs/ext/ffmpeg, "2002-12-14 12:00 GMT",
+                  HAVE_FFMPEG=yes, HAVE_FFMPEG=no)
+  AC_DEFINE_UNQUOTED(HAVE_FFMPEG_UNINSTALLED, 1, 
+                     [defined if we use uninstalled ffmpeg])
 ])
 
 dnl *** Gnome VFS ***
@@ -1089,6 +1093,8 @@ gst-libs/gst/play/Makefile
 gst-libs/gst/resample/Makefile
 gst-libs/gst/riff/Makefile
 gst-libs/gst/video/Makefile
+gst-libs/ext/Makefile
+gst-libs/ext/ffmpeg/Makefile
 examples/dynparams/Makefile
 examples/capsfilter/Makefile
 examples/seeking/Makefile
@@ -1100,7 +1106,6 @@ testsuite/Makefile
 tools/Makefile
 gconf/Makefile
 )
-
 AC_OUTPUT
 
 echo -e "configure: *** Plug-ins that will be built : $GST_PLUGINS_YES"
diff --git a/gst-libs/Makefile.am b/gst-libs/Makefile.am
index 003bbf648a..c77dc62153 100644
--- a/gst-libs/Makefile.am
+++ b/gst-libs/Makefile.am
@@ -1,3 +1 @@
-SUBDIRS = gst
-
-DIST_SUBDIRS = gst
+SUBDIRS = gst ext
diff --git a/m4/as-ffmpeg.m4 b/m4/as-ffmpeg.m4
index 612224c873..4b438a2d80 100644
--- a/m4/as-ffmpeg.m4
+++ b/m4/as-ffmpeg.m4
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ AC_DEFUN(AM_PATH_FFMPEG,
   AC_ARG_WITH(ffmpeg-source,
     AC_HELP_STRING([--with-ffmpeg-source=DIR],
                    [Directory where FFmpeg source is (optional)]),
-    ffmpeg_source="$withval", ffmpeg_source="")
+    ffmpeg_source="$withval")
 
   dnl save CFLAGS and LIBS here
   CFLAGS_save=$CFLAGS