FFmpeg’s 20‑Year Legacy: Powering Video Players and the ‘Shame Pillar’

Recently, the open‑source codec library project FFmpeg celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Many readers may not be familiar with FFmpeg, but you have likely used video players such as Storm Video, PotPlayer, KMPlayer, and WinxDvd, which all rely on its code.

FFmpeg is an open‑source project focused on video processing, providing extensive multimedia decoding libraries; these libraries power the aforementioned players, enabling the vast amount of video content we enjoy.

Beyond free software, major companies such as YouTube and iTunes also incorporate FFmpeg.

During its 20‑year history, FFmpeg faced setbacks; in 2011 a disagreement among core members caused a split that nearly ended the project. Founder Fabrice Bellard left and, together with other developers, created the well‑known open‑source codec library Libav.

FFmpeg and Libav, like rival heroes, are essential codec libraries for all mainstream players and are freely available as open source.

Although free, FFmpeg is licensed under LGPL/GPL, which requires any software that incorporates its code to open‑source the relevant parts and credit the source. Some software ignore these obligations, leading to the infamous “shame pillar”.

FFmpeg publicly lists software that violate the open‑source license, not as a material penalty but as a moral deterrent, reminding developers to comply with licensing terms.

Unfortunately, well‑known players such as Storm Video also appear on this list.

* alive, issue tracker entry
* Alloksoft, issue tracker entry
* AMR Player, issue tracker entry
* Aplus Video Converter, issue tracker entry
* Applian Replay Converter, issue tracker entry
* AVCWare, issue tracker entry
* AVS Video Converter, issue tracker entry
* Aya Media Techologies, issue tracker entry
* Baofeng Storm, issue tracker entry
* CinemaForge, issue tracker entry
* Conceiva Mezzmo, issue tracker entry
* Doremi Asset Manager, issue tracker entry
* DownloadHelper ConvertHelper, issue tracker entry
* DVDFab, issue tracker entry
* DVDxDV, issue tracker entry
* EffectMatrix Software, issue tracker entry
* Eztoo, issue tracker entry
* Format Factory, issue tracker entry
* FreeTime Soft, issue tracker entry
* GeoVid, issue tracker entry
* GetFLV, issue tracker entry
* GOM Player, issue tracker entry
* H264Encoder.com, issue tracker entry
* iSkysoft, issue tracker entry
* The KMPlayer, issue tracker entry
* Koyote Software, issue tracker entry
* Livestation, issue tracker entry
* MasterSoft Inc., issue tracker entry
* MediaCoder, issue tracker entry
* Moyea, issue tracker entry
* MP4Converter, issue tracker entry
* Netgem, issue tracker entry
* Opell Video Converter Pro, issue tracker entry
* PowerPoint DVD Converter, issue tracker entry
* PresenterSoft, issue tracker entry
* Red Kawa, issue tracker entry
* Rhozet Carbon Coder, issue tracker entry
* Senstic Air TV, issue tracker entry
* ShenZhen Hawell, issue tracker entry
* SkypeCap, issue tracker entry
* Soft Service, Ltd. FlashCam, issue tracker entry
* Video Convert Master, issue tracker entry
* ViO mobile video converter, issue tracker entry
* WisMencoder, issue tracker entry
* Xilisoft Video Converter, issue tracker entry
* XMedia Recode, issue tracker entry
* ZoIPer, issue tracker entry

Do any of the video players you use appear on this “shame pillar” list?