TLexDR

Often discussed alongside

Assembly optimization 1 Community contributions 1 Compression techniques 1 Open source software 1 Security vulnerabilities 1 Video codecs 1 Volunteer-driven development 1

Voices on Open Source Licensing

Standout quotes from every episode that touches this concept.

"If we had to compromise our software, we would shut it down."
"I refuse dozens of millions of dollars, yes, several times. Yes, I could be a multimillionaire and be somewhere on the beach."
"Google uses FFmpeg at a scale probably you or I couldn't even contemplate, millions of CPU cores."
"Teenagers have written more assembly in FFmpeg than Google engineers."
"I believe it's necessary to understand assembly language, even if you don't do it much, to understand what's going on inside your computer, and that will make you a better programmer."
"Regrets are a tax on your mind, right?"
"FFmpeg runs on Mars, so we are a multi-planetary open source library."

All episodes

FFmpeg: The Incredible Technology Behind Video on the Internet | Lex Fridman Podcast #496

2026-05-06