» DoYourself.org » FFMPEG http://www.doyourself.org Did you know ? Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:00:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Encoding flash video for embedded web playback http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/617-encoding-flash-video-for-embedded-web-playback/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/617-encoding-flash-video-for-embedded-web-playback/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:55:51 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=617

Update: Use H.264 and AAC in mp4. It’s more portable (the file can be played in more places) and the quality is much better. See my FFmpeg x264 encoding guide.

This page details how to encode flash video for embedded flash playback. You may want to resize the video but considering the inputs I was using, I didn’t.

Input: 320×240 15fps MJPEG + unsigned 8-bit 11024Hz mono PCM in AVI [Canon PowerShot A60]
Input: 320×240 15fps MJPEG + unsigned 8-bit 7875Hz mono PCM in mov [Nikon Coolpix L3]

FFmpeg

ffmpeg -i input -ar 22050 -acodec libmp3lame -ab 96k -vcodec flv -b 300k -g 150 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -mbd 2 -flags +aic+cbp+mv0+mv4+trell outfile.flv

Thankfully there will soon be a GPL VP6 encoder available which should allow for greatly improved open source flash video quality. And some even better news – Adobe have added H.264 and AAC in MP4 playback support to their Flash Player in current betas available from the Adobe labs website!!!

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/617-encoding-flash-video-for-embedded-web-playback/feed/ 0 Install FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu Dapper Drake 6.06 LTS. http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/608-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-dapper-drake-6-06-lts/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/608-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-dapper-drake-6-06-lts/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:47:12 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=608

Note: This guide isn’t supported anymore, but it will probably still work.

1. Make sure the Ubuntu universe and multiverse repositories are enabled. For help doing this, refer to Adding the Universe and Multiverse Repositories on the Ubuntu Wiki.

2. Uninstall x264-bin, libx264-dev, and ffmpeg if they are already installed. Open a terminal and run the following:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264-bin libx264-dev

3. Next, get all of the packages you will need to install ffmpeg and x264:

Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall texi2html libfaac-dev liblame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore4-dev zlib1g-dev

4. Install yasm:

Code:
cd
wget http://www.tortall.net/projects/yasm/releases/yasm-1.0.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf yasm-1.0.1.tar.gz
cd yasm-1.0.1
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=yasm --pkgversion "1.0.1" --backup=no --default

5. Install x264:

Code:
cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd ~/x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgversion "1:0.cvs`date +%Y%m%d`-0.0ubuntu1" --default

6. Install libopencore-amr. This will allow you to decode and encode AMR audio:

Code:
cd
wget http://transact.dl.sourceforge.net/project/opencore-amr/opencore-amr/0.1.2/opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
tar xvf opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
cd opencore-amr-0.1.2
./configure -disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname="libopencore-amr" --pkgversion="0.1.2" --backup=no --default

7. Install libtheora to encode to Theora, the video type usually found in OGG files. The repository libtheora is too old, so it must be compiled. Alternatively, you could skip this step and omit –enable-libtheora in step 8 if you don’t plan on encoding to Theora video:

Code:
sudo apt-get install libogg-dev
cd
wget http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
cd libtheora-1.1.1
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=libtheora --pkgversion "1.1.1" --backup=no --default

8. Install ffmpeg:

Code:
cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ~/ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgversion "3:0.cvs`date +%Y%m%d`-5ubuntu1.2" --default
hash x264 ffmpeg

That’s it! Now head back to the FFmpeg guide for usage instructions and more.

To Revert Changes Made by This Guide

Code:
sudo apt-get remove build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall texi2html libfaac-dev liblam
]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/608-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-dapper-drake-6-06-lts/feed/ 0 Install FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04 & Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10 http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/604-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-jaunty-jackalope-9-04-ubuntu-intrepid-ibex-8-10/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/604-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-jaunty-jackalope-9-04-ubuntu-intrepid-ibex-8-10/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:45:30 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=604

Get the Dependencies
1. Uninstall x264, libx264-dev, and ffmpeg if they are already installed. Open a terminal and run the following:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev

2. Next, get all of the packages you will need to install FFmpeg and x264 (you may need to enable the universe and multiverse repositories):

Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore4-dev zlib1g-dev

Install x264
3. Get the most current source files from the official x264 git repository, compile, and install. You can run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. If you are behind a firewall or unable to use git, then daily source tarballs are also available.

Code:
cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion "1:0.svn`date +%Y%m%d`-0.0ubuntu1" --backup=no --default

Install libopencore-amr (optional)
4. This will allow you to decode and encode AMR audio. I recommend skipping this step and omitting –enable-libopencore-amrnb –enable-libopencore-amrwb from step 5 if you are not going to decode or encode AMR audio.

Code:
cd
wget http://transact.dl.sourceforge.net/project/opencore-amr/opencore-amr/0.1.2/opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
tar xvf opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
cd opencore-amr-0.1.2
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname="libopencore-amr" --pkgversion="0.1.2" --backup=no --default

Install libtheora (optional)
5. This is used to encode to Theora, the video type usually found in OGG files. The repository libtheora is too old, so it must be compiled. I recommend skipping this step and omitting –enable-libtheora in step 5 if you don’t plan on encoding to Theora video:

Code:
sudo apt-get install libogg-dev
cd
wget http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
cd libtheora-1.1.1
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=libtheora --pkgversion "1.1.1" --backup=no --default

Install FFmpeg
6. Get the most current source files from the official FFmpeg svn, compile, and install. Run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. If you are behind a firewall or unable to use subversion, then nightly FFmpeg snapshots are also available.

Code:
cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=ffmpeg --pkgversion "3:0.svn`date +%Y%m%d`-12ubuntu3" --backup=no --default
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay

That’s it for installation. You can keep the ~/x264 and ~/ffmpeg directories if you later want to update the source files to a new revision. See “Updating Your Installation” on the first page of this guide for more details.

That’s it! Now head back to the FFmpeg guide for usage instructions and more.

Reverting Changes Made by This Tutorial
To remove FFmpeg/x264 and any changes made from this tutorial:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove x264 ffmpeg build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libopencore-amr libtheora libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore4-dev zlib1g-dev

Lastly, delete the ffmpeg and x264 directories in your home folder.

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/604-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-jaunty-jackalope-9-04-ubuntu-intrepid-ibex-8-10/feed/ 1 Install FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04 http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/600-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264-2/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/600-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264-2/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:42:37 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=600

Install FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04 & Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10

Get the Dependencies
1. Uninstall x264, libx264-dev, and ffmpeg if they are already installed. Open a terminal and run the following:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev

2. Next, get all of the packages you will need to install FFmpeg and x264 (you may need to enable the universe and multiverse repositories):

Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore4-dev zlib1g-dev

Install x264
3. Get the most current source files from the official x264 git repository, compile, and install. You can run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. If you are behind a firewall or unable to use git, then daily source tarballs are also available.

Code:
cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion "1:0.svn`date +%Y%m%d`-0.0ubuntu1" --backup=no --default

Install libopencore-amr (optional)
4. This will allow you to decode and encode AMR audio. I recommend skipping this step and omitting –enable-libopencore-amrnb –enable-libopencore-amrwb from step 5 if you are not going to decode or encode AMR audio.

Code:
cd
wget http://transact.dl.sourceforge.net/project/opencore-amr/opencore-amr/0.1.2/opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
tar xvf opencore-amr-0.1.2.tar.gz
cd opencore-amr-0.1.2
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname="libopencore-amr" --pkgversion="0.1.2" --backup=no --default

Install libtheora (optional)
5. This is used to encode to Theora, the video type usually found in OGG files. The repository libtheora is too old, so it must be compiled. I recommend skipping this step and omitting –enable-libtheora in step 5 if you don’t plan on encoding to Theora video:

Code:
sudo apt-get install libogg-dev
cd
wget http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
cd libtheora-1.1.1
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=libtheora --pkgversion "1.1.1" --backup=no --default

Install FFmpeg
6. Get the most current source files from the official FFmpeg svn, compile, and install. Run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. If you are behind a firewall or unable to use subversion, then nightly FFmpeg snapshots are also available.

Code:
cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --fstrans=no --install=yes --pkgname=ffmpeg --pkgversion "3:0.svn`date +%Y%m%d`-12ubuntu3" --backup=no --default
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay

That’s it for installation. You can keep the ~/x264 and ~/ffmpeg directories if you later want to update the source files to a new revision. See “Updating Your Installation” on the first page of this guide for more details.

That’s it! Now head back to the FFmpeg guide for usage instructions and more.

Reverting Changes Made by This Tutorial
To remove FFmpeg/x264 and any changes made from this tutorial:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove x264 ffmpeg build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libopencore-amr libtheora libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore4-dev zlib1g-dev

Lastly, delete the ffmpeg and x264 directories in your home folder.

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/600-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264-2/feed/ 0 Install FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/598-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-karmic-koala-9-10/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/598-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-karmic-koala-9-10/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:39:51 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=598

Get the Dependencies
1. Uninstall x264, libx264-dev, and ffmpeg if they are already installed. Open a terminal and run the following:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev

2. Next, get all of the packages you will need to install FFmpeg and x264 (you may need to enable the universe and multiverse repositories):

Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libopencore-amrnb-dev libopencore-amrwb-dev libsdl1.2-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore-dev zlib1g-dev

Install x264
3. Get the most current source files from the official x264 git repository, compile, and install. You can run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. Daily source tarballs are also available, and forum member Bachstelze provides x264 Ubuntu packages for anyone who doesn’t want to compile.

Code:
cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion "1:0.svn`date +%Y%m%d`+`git rev-list HEAD -n 1 | head -c 7`" --backup=no --default

Install libvpx (optional)
4. This is used to encode and decode VP8 video. If you skip this, remove –enable-libvpx from step 6.

Code:
cd
git clone git://review.webmproject.org/libvpx.git
cd libvpx
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=libvpx --pkgversion="`date +%Y%m%d%H%M`-git" --backup=no --default

Install libtheora (optional)
5. This is used to encode to Theora, the video type usually found in OGG/OGV files. The repository libtheora is too old, so it must be compiled. I recommend skipping this step and omitting –enable-libtheora in step 6 if you don’t plan on encoding Theora video:

Code:
sudo apt-get install libogg-dev
cd
wget http://downloads.xiph.org/releases/theora/libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
tar xzvf libtheora-1.1.1.tar.gz
cd libtheora-1.1.1
./configure --disable-shared
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=libtheora --pkgversion "1.1.1" --backup=no --default

Install FFmpeg
6. Get the most current source files from the official FFmpeg SVN, compile, and install. Run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. Nightly FFmpeg snapshots are also available.

Code:
cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=ffmpeg --pkgversion "4:0.5+svn`date +%Y%m%d`" --backup=no --default
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay

That’s it for installation. You can keep the ~/x264 and ~/ffmpeg directories if you later want to update the source files to a new revision. See “Updating Your Installation” on the first page of this guide for more details.

Now head back to the FFmpeg guide for usage instructions and more.

Reverting Changes Made by This Guide
To remove FFmpeg/x264 and other packages added for this guide:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove x264 ffmpeg build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libogg-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora libvpx libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore-dev zlib1g-dev

Lastly, delete the ffmpeg, libtheora, libvpx, and x264 directories in your home folder.

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/598-install-ffmpeg-and-x264-on-ubuntu-karmic-koala-9-10/feed/ 1 HOWTO: Install and use the latest FFmpeg and x264 http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/592-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/592-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:36:38 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=592

FFmpeg is a versatile tool to encode and decode a multitude of video and audio formats. x264 encodes high-quality video superior to other popular encoders.

Although FFmpeg and x264 are available in the Ubuntu repositories, you may need to compile from source. For example, the ffmpeg-user mailing list requires that you use the latest FFmpeg before asking for help. You may also like to have the bleeding-edge for encoding videos. Also, FFmpeg in the Ubuntu repository may not support necessary encoders, decoders, and formats.

Note: Those who are uncomfortable compiling can still enable restricted encoders in the repository FFmpeg:
HOWTO: Easily enable MP3, MPEG4, AAC, and other restricted encoding in FFmpeg

Choose your Ubuntu
0.The instructions on the page are for Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04. Separate instructions are also available for older releases:

Install the Dependencies
1. Uninstall x264, libx264-dev, and ffmpeg if they are already installed. Open a terminal and run the following:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev

2. Next, get all of the packages you will need to install FFmpeg and x264 (you may need to enable the universe and multiverse repositories):

Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libopencore-amrnb-dev libopencore-amrwb-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore-dev zlib1g-dev

Install x264
3. Get the most current source files, compile, and install. You can run “./configure –help” to see what additional features you can enable/disable. Daily source tarballs are also available, and forum member Bachstelze provides x264 Ubuntu packages for anyone who doesn’t want to compile.

Code:
cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264.git
cd x264
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion "2:0.`grep X264_BUILD x264.h -m1 | cut -d' ' -f3`.`git rev-list HEAD | wc -l`+git`git rev-list HEAD -n 1 | head -c 7`" --backup=no --default

Note: Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat 10.10 users may have to add –fstrans=no to the above checkinstall line.

Install libvpx (optional)
5. This is used to encode and decode VP8 video. If you skip this, remove –enable-libvpx from step 6.

Code:
cd
git clone git://review.webmproject.org/libvpx.git
cd libvpx
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=libvpx --pkgversion="`date +%Y%m%d%H%M`-git" --backup=no --default

Install FFmpeg
6. Get the most current source files from the official FFmpeg SVN, compile, and install. Run “./configure –help” to see what features you can enable/disable. Nightly FFmpeg snapshots are also available.

Code:
cd
svn checkout svn://svn.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg/trunk ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-nonfree --enable-postproc --enable-pthreads --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-libxvid --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=ffmpeg --pkgversion "4:SVN-r`svn info | grep Revision | awk '{ print $NF }'`" --backup=no --default
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay

Install qt-faststart (optional)
7. This is a useful tool included with FFmpeg that rearranges a file with H.264 video, “such that the moov atom is in front of the data, thus facilitating network streaming”. Basically, it allows web movies to start playing before they are completely downloaded. Usage: qt-faststart input.foo output.foo.

Code:
cd ~/ffmpeg
make tools/qt-faststart
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=qt-faststart --pkgversion "4:SVN-r`svn info | grep Revision | awk '{ print $NF }'`" --backup=no --default install -D -m755 tools/qt-faststart /usr/local/bin/qt-faststart

That’s it for installation. You can keep the ~/x264 and ~/ffmpeg directories if you later want to update the source files to a new revision. See Updating FFmpeg and x264 below for more details.

Using FFmpeg and x264
The easiest method for high quality video encoding is by using the libx264 presets that are included with FFmpeg. I recommend reading the FFmpeg x264 encoding guide before trying these presets so you have a better idea of what to use. You can add options such as frame size (for example: -s 640×480) or tweak my examples to customize your encode. You can see a current list of all libx264 presets (such as ipod or lossless) or after installation look in the /usr/local/share/ffmpeg directory.

One-pass CRF (Constant Rate Factor) using the slow preset. One-pass CRF is good for general encoding and is what I use most often. Adjust -crf to change the quality. Lower numbers mean higher quality and a larger output file size. A sane range is 18 to 28.

Code:
ffmpeg -i input.avi -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ac 2 -vcodec libx264 -vpre slow -crf 22 -threads 0 output.mp4

Two-Pass encode using the fast presets. Two-pass encoding is used when you are targeting a specific bitrate and/or final output file size:

Code:
ffmpeg -i input.avi -pass 1 -vcodec libx264 -vpre fast_firstpass -b 512k -bt 512k -threads 0 -f rawvideo -an -y /dev/null && ffmpeg -i input.avi -pass 2 -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -ac 2 -vcodec libx264 -vpre fast -b 512k -bt 512k -threads 0 output.mp4

iPod 640×480 using the slow and ipod640 presets:

Code:
ffmpeg -i input.avi -acodec libfaac -aq 100 -ac 2 -vcodec libx264 -vpre slow -vpre ipod640 -crf 26 -map_meta_data 0:0 -vf scale=640:-1 -threads 0 output.mp4

Updating FFmpeg and x264
Development of FFmpeg and x264 is active and an occasional update can give you new features and bug fixes. To update FFmpeg and x264 you will need to remove the packages, make distclean, update the source, recompile, and install. To update x264:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev
cd ~/x264
make distclean
git pull

Now compile x264 as shown earlier in the guide starting with the x264 ./configure line. Now FFmpeg:

Code:
cd ~/ffmpeg
make distclean
svn update

Now continue with the installation starting with the FFmpeg ./configure line.

Reverting Changes Made by This Guide
To remove FFmpeg/x264 and other packages added for this guide:

Code:
sudo apt-get remove x264 ffmpeg qt-faststart build-essential subversion git-core checkinstall yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxvidcore-dev zlib1g-dev

Lastly, delete the ffmpeg and x264 directories in your home folder.

Additional Resources

If You Need Help
Feel free to ask your questions here and I’ll try to answer you. Helpful information includes your Ubuntu version, names of any third-party repositories or PPAs you are using, FFmpeg command, and the complete FFmpeg output if applicable.

Recent Updates

2010-07-25: Updated the iPod example. -map_meta_data will attempt to copy any metadata such as title from the input to the output, and -vf scale=640:-1 will resize the output to 640 pixels wide and then automatically determine the proper height to preserve the aspect ratio. Replaced -ab 128k with -aq 100 for VBR audio awesomeness (-ab makes CBR). Note: Values for -aq vary amongst encoders, so a value that works for libfaac won’t necessarily work for libmp3lame.

2010-07-19: Changed the FFmpeg pkgversion for the checkinstall command so it works for non-English languages/locales. Thanks to andrew.46 (Reverted until we get it working correctly.)

2010-07-02: Karmic guide updates: Added libvpx. Added libogg-dev to “Reverting Changes…” section. Added ffplay to the hash command. Lucid guide: removed –nodoc from the libvpx checkinstall because it installs without that option now.

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/592-howto-install-and-use-the-latest-ffmpeg-and-x264/feed/ 4 HOWTO: Easily enable MP3, MPEG4, AAC, and other restricted encoders in FFmpeg http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/587-howto-easily-enable-mp3-mpeg4-aac-and-other-restricted-encoders-in-ffmpeg/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/587-howto-easily-enable-mp3-mpeg4-aac-and-other-restricted-encoders-in-ffmpeg/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:31:01 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=587

A common question is “why doesn’t the repository FFmpeg convert to mp3, aac, mpeg4, etc?”. Ubuntu doesn’t make it very clear to the general user as to why to repo FFmpeg is so limited or how to fix this issue. This is reflected in the number of forum questions relating to this topic.

Why is FFmpeg from the repository so limited?
Legal reasons. Some software is limited due to geographical differences in software patents, legal restrictions on free speech, and restrictions on certain technologies. Ubuntu sidesteps these legal restrictions by not including some restricted packages by default. Users must install these packages on their own. See Restricted Formats Ubuntu Community Documentation and FFmpeg License and Legal Considerations for more details.

How do I fix FFmpeg?
There are several options:

A. Compile FFmpeg yourself
B. Install the unstripped or extra libraries
C. Medibuntu

A. Compiling FFmpeg yourself (for all Ubuntu versions)
The official FFmpeg answer is to compile it yourself, giving you the power to get what you want with the bug-fixes, enhancements, and benefits of the most recent FFmpeg revision. This is an excellent solution and is explained here:

HOWTO: Install and use the latest FFmpeg and x264

This is the option that I personally use, and although it is not too hard, compiling may not be for everyone for a variety of reasons. Off to the other options…

B. Installing the unstripped or extra libraries
This is the quickest option for most users. FFmpeg from the repository does not include many restricted encoders, formats, and codecs which may include: H.263, aac (libfaac), mp3 (libmp3lame), H.264 (libx264), xvid (libxvid), and mpeg4. You can fix this by installing the unstripped or extra (Ubuntu Karmic renamed unstripped to extra) FFmpeg libraries that will enable these restricted encoders. Open up Terminal and enter:

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 & Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10

Code:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libavcodec-extra-52

Note: The libavcodec-extra-52 package for Lucid and Karmic do not support AAC or AMR formats. I recommend using libavcodec-extra-52 from the Medibuntu repository. See option C. Medibuntu.

Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope 9.04

Code:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libavcodec-unstripped-52

Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex 8.10

Code:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libavcodec-unstripped-51

Alternatively, you can search for these packages in the Synaptic Package Manager.

C. Medibuntu
This option is available for Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04, Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 and Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04. Medibuntu is a third-party repository that contains packages that are unable to be included in the official Ubuntu repositories. To install FFmpeg from Medibuntu open Terminal (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal) and run the following:

Code:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/`lsb_release -cs`.list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list && sudo apt-get -q update && sudo apt-get --yes -q --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get -q update

This huge command (adapted from Medibuntu – Community Ubuntu Documentation) will install the repository information to your computer then update and authenticate the new repository. Now install FFmpeg:

Ubuntu Lucid Lynx 10.04 & Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10

Code:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libavcodec-extra-52

Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04

Code:
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

That’s it. Now you have a non-crippled version of FFmpeg. See some usage examples at the FFmpeg x264 encoding guide.

Undoing Changes Made By This Guide
B. Uninstalling the unstripped or extra libraries

Code:
sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg libavcodec-*-5*

C. Uninstalling FFmpeg and the Medibuntu Repository

Code:
sudo apt-get autoremove ffmpeg medibuntu-keyring && sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/587-howto-easily-enable-mp3-mpeg4-aac-and-other-restricted-encoders-in-ffmpeg/feed/ 1 FFmpeg x264 encoding guide http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/588-ffmpeg-x264-encoding-guide/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/588-ffmpeg-x264-encoding-guide/#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:30:45 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=588

Preset files are available from the FFmpeg source code in the ffpresets subdirectory. Using the 0.5 release or current svn trunk of FFmpeg, running make install will install the preset files to ${prefix}/share/ffmpeg and just specifying -vcodec libx264 -vpre <preset> is sufficient for ffmpeg to find the preset.

Otherwise, you can either copy *.ffpreset from the FFmpeg source into ~/.ffmpeg/ or you can point to a preset file directly in the argument of -fpre in your command line.

Basic FFmpeg Usage

To construct an ffmpeg command line, you need to understand a few fairly simple things. The basic command line format is:

ffmpeg [input options] -i [input file] [output options] [output file]

  • input options – these are usually mandatory information that is missing about the source file (for example, in the case of a sequence of image files this could be the frame rate), or the seek position corresponding to the desired start point of the stream
  • output options – audio and video filtering (alteration of the sample rate, number of channels, frame dimensions, frame rate), audio and video codecs and their corresponding options, container format and related options

Normally the minimum one should specify in an ffmpeg command line would be something like:

ffmpeg -i INFILE -acodec ACODEC -ab 96k -vcodec VCODEC -b 500k OUTFILE

…replacing the capitalised values as appropriate. When using x264, we need to add some extra bits as the defaults are bad.

x264 – Rate Control Choices

Firstly, you need to decide on a rate control method. This controls how bits are allocated within the stream. At a rudimentary level, you want the quality to remain constant but this implies that more complex frames use more bits and less complex frames use less bits.

Rate control methods available:

  • constant quantisation parameter – not recommended anymore unless you know you want it
  • constant rate factor – good for one pass when the priority is quality and file size/bit rate is not really a concern
  • one pass average bit rate – good for streaming purposes or targeting a bit rate when two-pass is unfeasible
  • two pass variable bit rate – good for targeting a bit rate when you have the time to spend on two passes (though the first pass can be quite fast) and are writing to a file

Or in prose, CQP mode is mostly deprecated by CRF as CRF maintains more constant quality which was usually the aim of someone using CQP mode. If you care more about quality than bit rate then I would recommend using one pass CRF to save yourself a bit of time. Evaluate various rate factors between about 25 and 15 (a lower value is higher quality and higher bit rate) until you find a quality level/approximate bit rate with which you’re happy and then you can use that value forever more.

One pass average bit rate is good if you need to aim for an approximate bit rate but don’t have time to run two passes. If you have the time then two passes are recommended as the bits will be better distributed to maintain constant quality.

To use one pass CQP:

-cqp <int>

To use one pass CRF:

-crf <float>

To use one pass ABR or two pass VBR:

-b BIT_RATE -bt BIT_RATE

x264 – FFmpeg Preset Choices

Secondly, you need to choose an appropriate preset from those available.

Presets available (for lossy compression):

  • quality related:
    • ultrafast
    • superfast
    • veryfast
    • faster
    • fast
    • medium – x264 CLI default
    • slow
    • slower
    • veryslow
    • placebo
  • first pass:
    • <preset from above>_firstpass – for example medium_firstpass
  • profile constraints:
    • baseline
    • main

Note: Profile constraint presets need to be specified with a second -vpre option after the quality/first pass preset, e.g. -vpre slower -vpre main

x264 – Recommended General Options

For all rate control methods you will probably want libx264 to select the number of threads to use to maximise its performance on your CPU(s):

-threads 0

Two-Pass Example

So if you wanted to encode using two-pass VBR, the command line would be something like:

ffmpeg -i INPUT -an -pass 1 -vcodec libx264 -vpre slow_firstpass -b BIT_RATE -bt BIT_RATE -threads 0 OUTPUT.mp4

Note: We don’t encode the audio in the first pass because we will not be using the data that was output.

ffmpeg -i INPUT -acodec libfaac -ab 128k -pass 2 -vcodec libx264 -vpre slow -b BIT_RATE -bt BIT_RATE -threads 0 OUTPUT.mp4

Single-Pass Constant Rate Factor (CRF) Example

Or for a single pass CRF encode:

ffmpeg -i INFILE -acodec libfaac -ab 96k -vcodec libx264 -vpre slow -crf 22 -threads 0 OUTPUT.mp4

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/588-ffmpeg-x264-encoding-guide/feed/ 2 YouTube, FFMPEG, and MP3 Conversion http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/550-youtube-ffmpeg-and-mp3-conversion/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/550-youtube-ffmpeg-and-mp3-conversion/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:50:05 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=550

Yesterday I published a quick post about a basic MPEG -> FLV video conversion method using FFMPEG.
Today I want to share another great usage of FFMPEG: stripping a
video’s audio and creating an MP3. As an added bonus, I’ll be ripping
the audio from a great YouTube video using youtube-dl, a python script with loads of options for downloading YouTube videos.

The youtube-dl Shell Script

01.#command
02.davidwalsh83$ youtube-dl.py http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlWpnLdPwvk
03. 
04.#output
05.[youtube] Setting language
06.[youtube] tlWpnLdPwvk: Downloading video webpage
07.[youtube] tlWpnLdPwvk: Extracting video information
08.[youtube] tlWpnLdPwvk: URL: http://www.youtube.com/get_video?video_id=tlWpnLdPwvk&;t=vjVQa1PpcFMZ4TkTSYXamGxmLZq-ot2l8Jx-HiNAf0I=&el=detailpage&ps=
09.[download] Destination: tlWpnLdPwvk.flv
10.[download] 100.0% of 18.78M at   53.98k/s ETA 00:00

The initial install of youtube-dl was tough but only because I’m not
well-versed with the permissions side of Unix. I eventually figured it
out but if you have trouble installing youtube-dl or simply want to use
its advanced options, check out youtube-dl’s documentation. youtube-dl also provides an option to read a text file with a list of videos and will do a batch download. Note: youtube-dl allows you to set an output file name but it didn’t appear to be working. If you’d like a more simple method, Mark Sanborn wrote a great post on ripping YouTube videos using wget.

The FFMPEG Shell Script

view sourceprint?
1.davidwalsh83$ ffmpeg -i tlWpnLdPwvk.flv RodStewartMaggieMay.mp3

As I did with youtube-dl, I chose the most basic usage of FFMPEG. FFMPEG’s documentation provides you a list of all of the possible conversion options if you need them.

Use the video player above to listen to the result. The video I chose
is a live version of Maggie May by Rod Stewart recorded at Royal Albert
Hall in the Knightsbridge area of the City of Westminster, London,
England. The video is from Rod’s One Night Only DVD
which I HIGHLY recommend. This is the best version of Maggie May that
exists (my opinion but, as you know, when is my opinion not correct?)
Enjoy!

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/550-youtube-ffmpeg-and-mp3-conversion/feed/ 0 Converting video (AVI, MOV, MPG, MP4) to FLV using FFmpeg http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/549-converting-video-avi-mov-mpg-mp4-to-flv-using-ffmpeg/ http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/549-converting-video-avi-mov-mpg-mp4-to-flv-using-ffmpeg/#comments Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:44:18 +0000 admin http://www.doyourself.org/?p=549

Firstly you need to download FFmpeg from the FFmpeg website

To convert your file use the following command.

ffmpeg -i “C:videosvideoname.mov” -ar 44100 -ab 96 -f flv “C:videosvideoname.flv”

  • ffmpeg – runs the program
  • -i “filename.ext” – input file
  • -ar 44100 – audio frequency
  • -ab 96 – audio bitrate
  • -f flv – force format followed by format
  • “newfilename.ext” – output file

I used these settings to convert some 500MB+ Apple Quicktime (MOV)
files down to ~20MB FLV which were perfect for uploading to YouTube.

]]> http://www.doyourself.org/ffmpeg/549-converting-video-avi-mov-mpg-mp4-to-flv-using-ffmpeg/feed/ 0