Assuming that we can't get access to the existing code, and assuming that we're unhappy with the current release schedule (two assumptions that are not necessarily true), my preference would be to create something like "openEmpeg" which would mimic the current UI, but provide source access for improvement. I'm still of the opinion that UI design is one of the hardest parts of this (not to say that the other parts aren't also hard) and that's been done for us.
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Bitt Faulk