Upcoming changes

1. offizieller Beitrag
    • Offizieller Beitrag

    Welcome!

    It’s been 8 years since I started writing the first beta of Voukoder. It was an amazing time when this app started making the life for over 65,000 people in so many different branches easier. People like end users working on their YouTube video channels, business users like broadcast freelancers, medical users rendering MRT videos, stock footage photographers , security camera manufactorers and many more. And thanks to all supporters over the last years, especially those on Patreon and PayPal.

    But it also got harder to manage the continuous development of Voukoder besides of my daily job as an employed software developer. So this is my attempt to start a self employed business.

    The existing versions of "Voukoder 13.4.1" and "Voukoder Pro 1.3" will keep working! Nothing will change to them! They will remain free!

    Voukoder Pro

    Now the time has come for a big change: Voukoder Pro 2.0 will switch to a commercial license.

    This was planned initially for Voukoder Pro, but it was not possible to do this in the beginning. One reason was to not include FFmpeg in this commercial licensed package because of the unsolved software patent situation. Well, the solution came to me some months ago: Remove and separate FFmpeg to its own package that is not bundled with Voukoder Pro.

    This has some big advantages:

    1. Voukoder Pro from version 2.0 on needs the FFmpeg 7.1 dynamic link libraries (DLLs) to work and everything (like filters, encoders, muxers and outputs) is auto-detected in the latest release.
    2. You are free to use any variant of FFmpeg you like. This means: You could use encoders and filters that are covered by the LGPL license, the GPL license (i.e. x264, x265, …) or even any commercial license. You decide what to install!
      I can’t guarantee each single feature FFmpeg provides will be working, but feel free to report it to the forum and I’ll see what I can do.

    Licensing / pricing / FAQ

    So, Voukoder Pro 2.0 will be commercial. How much will it cost?

    The perpetual license cost will be 69 EUR for a major version release. So, if you buy Voukoder Pro version 2 this includes all upcoming minor releases. Even if a new major version gets released you can run version 2 as long as you want (and your system is supported) but you receive updates as long version 2 is the latest major version. To continue receiving updates and bug fixes you’d need to buy the next version, and so on. I plan to release one major version per year.

    Will there be a limited time trial version?

    Yes, it is planned to provide a 2 week valid test license.

    Is there any discount?

    Yes, there will be a welcome offer with a discount of 15%. Enter the code “VKDR15” in the order form.

    How do I get the new version?

    You can download it from the website as before.

    How many editors can use that license?

    Each Voukoder Pro license is for one editor seat.

    Can developers integrate it in different NLEs / tools?

    Yes, please contact me.

    When will it happen?

    I've planned to release Voukoder Pro 2.0 on the 1.1.2025. If my lawer gets everything settled until then I'll stick to this date.

    Will there finally be a Mac version available?

    Yes, It is planned to provide a beta version for apple silicone Macs by the announced date.

    Voukoder (Classic)

    As I do not have the time to maintain two entirely different versions of Voukoder I have to announce Voukoder (Classic) has reached its end-of-life status and its successor app is Voukoder Pro.

    This means the latest version is the final version of Voukoder (Classic). You can still use it but I won’t make any more code fixes and -changes (and also no more connectors).

    The next steps ...

    As soon as Voukoder Pro 2.0 gets released ...

    • ... I'll remove the download links and GIT repos.
    • ... I'll also turn off the Google ads in the forum.
    • ... and make the website much less annoying. :)

    Thanks for your understanding.

    Sounds awesome, and I will gladly pay this price, seeing how well you respond to feedback and are open minded about discussion and improvements.

    I'm glad you chose this kind of payment model. It seems to be the best compromise for fair payment. Most people dislike real monthly subscriptions, but perpetual licenses are fair for both parties, the user and the creator, in my opinion.


    Thank your for all your work and making encoding not a pain in the *** on all the video editors.

    Even though it sucks for people like me - that is only looking to improve their workflow for their own personal videos - as a software developer myself, I can relate and completely support your decision 👍


    One thing that wasn't clear to me though, will you provide the FFmpeg in it's own package along with the release of v2, or will this come at a later time?