Easier FFmpeg installation

1. offizieller Beitrag

    Rather than needing to maintain dedicated builds, it's actually really easy to keep up with the current ffmpeg versions using scoop (think, if Windows had a repository). It's stupid easy to install (two lines of PowerShell, as user), and you can track either nightlies or releases. For example, I like using the actual "releases", because I like nice round numbers, so all I have to run is:

    > scoop install main/ffmpeg-shared

    Ta-da! I think the automatically default directory is C:\<user>\scoop, but I don't remember if I had to add it to the PATH myself. Luckily, it's really easy these days. Then you can just run > scoop update whenever it crosses your mind,

    The only problem at the moment is that 8.0 was just released a few days ago, and Voukoder is expecting ffmpeg 7.1.1. I'm guessing that's a pretty easy fix, and aiming new users at scoop may be easier than compiling your own builds. Or, maybe not! :)

    (edit: this is actually the way that the gyan devs recommend installing pre-built shared binaries on Windows. Well, alternatively you could use win-get, if you want to really screw up your computer.)

    Einmal editiert, zuletzt von deco (29. August 2025 um 21:30)

    • Offizieller Beitrag

    I've looked into this, and yes, it looks very promising! In fact this finally makes installing ffmpeg easy (like homebrew on MacOS).

    I need to look deeper into it and check what's bundled into this ffmpeg version.

    Edit:

    So yes, scoop is indeed a good option, you can install FFmpeg really easy with it, like:

    1. Install scoop itself:
      Open a powershell.exe console and enter:
      Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
      Invoke-RestMethod -Uri https://get.scoop.sh | Invoke-Expression
    2. Install ffmpeg (for Voukoder Pro 3.0)
      1. scoop install main/ffmpeg-shared@8.0
    3. Add the directory with the installed ffmpeg dlls to the PATH variable

    The full/full-shared builds contain everything possible; I didn't really look at the essentials builds, because I want everything :) I'm sure you have lots of concerns about licensing (and patents), so something like this moves that to a 3rd party. But, I'm not a programmer :)

    I really like scoop because a lot of Linux syntax has been imported. Some people have written a cross-platform implementation of most of core GNU utls and the various findutils, which makes my life wildly easier. Now I can finally use PowerShell :) I have no interest in learning to use actual PS, so this is great.

    I also really like the system of "zero"-installs, where everything is contained in one directory, Windows is not involved, and it just makes shims as necessary. Delete that directory if you don't like it, and it's gone!

    • Offizieller Beitrag
    Zitat von deco

    The full/full-shared builds contain everything possible; I didn't really look at the essentials builds, because I want everything :)

    What do you mean with full/full-shared and essentials builds?

    Zitat von deco

    I'm sure you have lots of concerns about licensing (and patents), so something like this moves that to a 3rd party. But, I'm not a programmer :)

    I actually have no concerns about licensing issues anymore as FFmpeg is not included in GPL in Voukoder Pro anymore, but yes, building FFmpeg takes hours and can be VERY complicated if you want to embed all libraries and features. That's why I already switched to the BtbN builds. But scoop makes it even easier.

    I just wish to make Voukoder Pro and FFmpeg even more user friendly for the user, like maybe install it via the Designer app. Maybe I can work on this in 2026 and check the legal aspects first.

    Zitat von deco

    I also really like the system of "zero"-installs, where everything is contained in one directory, Windows is not involved, and it just makes shims as necessary. Delete that directory if you don't like it, and it's gone!

    Same. In theory I don't even need the path variable anymore. But the shims are currently working for EXE files only, not for DLLs.