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Source Code Access

While the Norri media server application is closed source, certain components are open source under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

norri-transcoder

Norri includes a customized FFmpeg build called norri-transcoder for video transcoding, streaming, and codec operations.

What is norri-transcoder?

norri-transcoder is a build of FFmpeg optimized for media server use cases:

  • Safari HEVC HLS playback — Fixes for fMP4 init segment generation that enable HEVC streaming on Apple devices
  • Hardware acceleration — NVENC, Intel QSV, AMD AMF, VAAPI, and VideoToolbox support
  • HDR processing — Tone mapping and Dolby Vision passthrough
  • Streaming optimizations — HLS and fMP4 improvements for video on demand

License

norri-transcoder is licensed under the GNU General Public License v2+ (GPL).

This means:

  • You can view, modify, and redistribute the source code
  • Any modifications you distribute must also be GPL-licensed
  • The source code must be made available

Source Code

Complete source code is available at:

https://norri.tv/source/norri-transcoder

Attribution

norri-transcoder is based on:

  • FFmpeg — https://ffmpeg.org/ — Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
  • Community patches for media server functionality

We gratefully acknowledge the FFmpeg developers and all contributors to the open source multimedia ecosystem.

FFmpeg is a trademark of Fabrice Bellard, originator of the FFmpeg project.

Building from Source

norri-transcoder can be built from source using Docker:

Terminal window
git clone https://norri.tv/source/norri-transcoder.git
cd norri-transcoder
./build-linux-amd64

See the repository README for full build instructions.

Why GPL Components?

FFmpeg is a foundational multimedia library used by virtually all media applications. It’s licensed under LGPL/GPL, meaning any modifications must be released under the same license.

Norri uses norri-transcoder as a separate subprocess (not linked), which means:

  • The Norri application itself is not required to be GPL
  • Only the norri-transcoder component must be open source
  • This is the same approach used by other media servers

Questions?

If you have questions about source code access or licensing, contact us at hello@norri.tv.