1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
3 @settitle FFmpeg Documentation
6 @center @titlefont{FFmpeg Documentation}
13 FFmpeg is a very fast video and audio converter. It can also grab from
14 a live audio/video source.
16 The command line interface is designed to be intuitive, in the sense
17 that FFmpeg tries to figure out all parameters that can possibly be
18 derived automatically. You usually only have to specify the target
21 FFmpeg can also convert from any sample rate to any other, and resize
22 video on the fly with a high quality polyphase filter.
27 @section Video and Audio grabbing
29 FFmpeg can grab video and audio from devices given that you specify the input
33 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
36 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
37 launching FFmpeg with any TV viewer such as xawtv
38 (@url{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/}) by Gerd Knorr. You also
39 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
44 FFmpeg can grab the X11 display.
47 ffmpeg -f x11grab -s cif -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
50 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
51 the DISPLAY environment variable.
54 ffmpeg -f x11grab -s cif -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
57 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
58 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
60 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
62 * FFmpeg can use any supported file format and protocol as input:
66 * You can use YUV files as input:
69 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
72 It will use the files:
74 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
75 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
78 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
79 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
80 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
81 if FFmpeg cannot guess it.
83 * You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
86 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
89 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
90 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
91 horizontal resolution.
93 * You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
96 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
99 * You can set several input files and output files:
102 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
105 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
108 * You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
111 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
114 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
116 * You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
117 mapping from input stream to output streams:
120 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ab 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -ab 128k /tmp/b.mp2 -map 0:0 -map 0:0
123 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
124 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
125 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
127 * You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
130 ffmpeg -i snatch_1.vob -f avi -vcodec mpeg4 -b 800k -g 300 -bf 2 -acodec libmp3lame -ab 128k snatch.avi
133 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
134 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
135 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
136 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
137 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
138 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
139 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
140 to get the desired audio language.
142 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -formats}.
144 * You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
146 For extracting images from a video:
148 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
151 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
152 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
153 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
155 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
156 above command in combination with the -vframes or -t option, or in
157 combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
159 For creating a video from many images:
161 ffmpeg -f image2 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -r 12 -s WxH foo.avi
164 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
165 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
166 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
167 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
169 * You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
172 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -vcodec copy -acodec copy -vcodec copy -acodec copy test12.avi -newvideo -newaudio
175 In addition to the first video and audio streams, the resulting
176 output file @file{test12.avi} will contain the second video
177 and the second audio stream found in the input streams list.
179 The @code{-newvideo}, @code{-newaudio} and @code{-newsubtitle}
180 options have to be specified immediately after the name of the output
181 file to which you want to add them.
188 The generic syntax is:
191 @c man begin SYNOPSIS
192 ffmpeg [[infile options][@option{-i} @var{infile}]]... @{[outfile options] @var{outfile}@}...
195 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
196 As a general rule, options are applied to the next specified
197 file. Therefore, order is important, and you can have the same
198 option on the command line multiple times. Each occurrence is
199 then applied to the next input or output file.
201 * To set the video bitrate of the output file to 64kbit/s:
203 ffmpeg -i input.avi -b 64k output.avi
206 * To force the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
208 ffmpeg -i input.avi -r 24 output.avi
211 * To force the frame rate of the input file (valid for raw formats only)
212 to 1 fps and the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
214 ffmpeg -r 1 -i input.m2v -r 24 output.avi
217 The format option may be needed for raw input files.
219 By default, FFmpeg tries to convert as losslessly as possible: It
220 uses the same audio and video parameters for the outputs as the one
221 specified for the inputs.
225 @section Main options
238 Show available formats, codecs, bitstream filters, protocols, and frame size and frame rate abbreviations.
240 The fields preceding the format and codec names have the following meanings:
247 Video/audio/subtitle codec
249 Codec supports slices
251 Codec supports direct rendering
253 Codec can handle input truncated at random locations instead of only at frame boundaries
259 @item -i @var{filename}
263 Overwrite output files.
265 @item -t @var{duration}
266 Restrict the transcoded/captured video sequence
267 to the duration specified in seconds.
268 @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported.
270 @item -fs @var{limit_size}
271 Set the file size limit.
273 @item -ss @var{position}
274 Seek to given time position in seconds.
275 @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported.
277 @item -itsoffset @var{offset}
278 Set the input time offset in seconds.
279 @code{[-]hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported.
280 This option affects all the input files that follow it.
281 The offset is added to the timestamps of the input files.
282 Specifying a positive offset means that the corresponding
283 streams are delayed by 'offset' seconds.
285 @item -title @var{string}
288 @item -timestamp @var{time}
291 @item -author @var{string}
294 @item -copyright @var{string}
297 @item -comment @var{string}
300 @item -album @var{string}
303 @item -track @var{number}
306 @item -year @var{number}
309 @item -v @var{number}
310 Set the logging verbosity level.
312 @item -target @var{type}
313 Specify target file type ("vcd", "svcd", "dvd", "dv", "dv50", "pal-vcd",
314 "ntsc-svcd", ... ). All the format options (bitrate, codecs,
315 buffer sizes) are then set automatically. You can just type:
318 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg
321 Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know
322 they do not conflict with the standard, as in:
325 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg
328 @item -dframes @var{number}
329 Set the number of data frames to record.
331 @item -scodec @var{codec}
332 Force subtitle codec ('copy' to copy stream).
335 Add a new subtitle stream to the current output stream.
337 @item -slang @var{code}
338 Set the ISO 639 language code (3 letters) of the current subtitle stream.
342 @section Video Options
345 @item -b @var{bitrate}
346 Set the video bitrate in bit/s (default = 200 kb/s).
347 @item -vframes @var{number}
348 Set the number of video frames to record.
350 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation), (default = 25).
352 Set frame size. The format is @samp{wxh} (ffserver default = 160x128, ffmpeg default = same as source).
353 The following abbreviations are recognized:
413 @item -aspect @var{aspect}
414 Set aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9 or 1.3333, 1.7777).
415 @item -croptop @var{size}
416 Set top crop band size (in pixels).
417 @item -cropbottom @var{size}
418 Set bottom crop band size (in pixels).
419 @item -cropleft @var{size}
420 Set left crop band size (in pixels).
421 @item -cropright @var{size}
422 Set right crop band size (in pixels).
423 @item -padtop @var{size}
424 Set top pad band size (in pixels).
425 @item -padbottom @var{size}
426 Set bottom pad band size (in pixels).
427 @item -padleft @var{size}
428 Set left pad band size (in pixels).
429 @item -padright @var{size}
430 Set right pad band size (in pixels).
431 @item -padcolor @var{hex_color}
432 Set color of padded bands. The value for padcolor is expressed
433 as a six digit hexadecimal number where the first two digits
434 represent red, the middle two digits green and last two digits
435 blue (default = 000000 (black)).
437 Disable video recording.
438 @item -bt @var{tolerance}
439 Set video bitrate tolerance (in bits, default 4000k).
440 Has a minimum value of: (target_bitrate/target_framerate).
441 In 1-pass mode, bitrate tolerance specifies how far ratecontrol is
442 willing to deviate from the target average bitrate value. This is
443 not related to min/max bitrate. Lowering tolerance too much has
444 an adverse effect on quality.
445 @item -maxrate @var{bitrate}
446 Set max video bitrate (in bit/s).
447 Requires -bufsize to be set.
448 @item -minrate @var{bitrate}
449 Set min video bitrate (in bit/s).
450 Most useful in setting up a CBR encode:
452 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
454 It is of little use elsewise.
455 @item -bufsize @var{size}
456 Set video buffer verifier buffer size (in bits).
457 @item -vcodec @var{codec}
458 Force video codec to @var{codec}. Use the @code{copy} special value to
459 tell that the raw codec data must be copied as is.
461 Use same video quality as source (implies VBR).
464 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
465 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
466 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
467 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
468 at the exact requested bitrate.
469 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
470 examples for Windows and Unix:
472 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -vcodec libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
473 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -vcodec libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
476 @item -passlogfile @var{prefix}
477 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
478 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
479 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
483 Add a new video stream to the current output stream.
487 @section Advanced Video Options
490 @item -pix_fmt @var{format}
491 Set pixel format. Use 'list' as parameter to show all the supported
493 @item -sws_flags @var{flags}
494 Set SwScaler flags (only available when compiled with swscale support).
495 @item -g @var{gop_size}
496 Set the group of pictures size.
498 Use only intra frames.
501 @item -qscale @var{q}
502 Use fixed video quantizer scale (VBR).
504 minimum video quantizer scale (VBR)
506 maximum video quantizer scale (VBR)
508 maximum difference between the quantizer scales (VBR)
509 @item -qblur @var{blur}
510 video quantizer scale blur (VBR) (range 0.0 - 1.0)
511 @item -qcomp @var{compression}
512 video quantizer scale compression (VBR) (default 0.5).
513 Constant of ratecontrol equation. Recommended range for default rc_eq: 0.0-1.0
515 @item -lmin @var{lambda}
516 minimum video lagrange factor (VBR)
517 @item -lmax @var{lambda}
518 max video lagrange factor (VBR)
519 @item -mblmin @var{lambda}
520 minimum macroblock quantizer scale (VBR)
521 @item -mblmax @var{lambda}
522 maximum macroblock quantizer scale (VBR)
524 These four options (lmin, lmax, mblmin, mblmax) use 'lambda' units,
525 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
527 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
530 @item -rc_init_cplx @var{complexity}
531 initial complexity for single pass encoding
532 @item -b_qfactor @var{factor}
533 qp factor between P- and B-frames
534 @item -i_qfactor @var{factor}
535 qp factor between P- and I-frames
536 @item -b_qoffset @var{offset}
537 qp offset between P- and B-frames
538 @item -i_qoffset @var{offset}
539 qp offset between P- and I-frames
540 @item -rc_eq @var{equation}
541 Set rate control equation (@pxref{FFmpeg formula
542 evaluator}) (default = @code{tex^qComp}).
543 @item -rc_override @var{override}
544 rate control override for specific intervals
545 @item -me_method @var{method}
546 Set motion estimation method to @var{method}.
547 Available methods are (from lowest to best quality):
550 Try just the (0, 0) vector.
559 exhaustive search (slow and marginally better than epzs)
562 @item -dct_algo @var{algo}
563 Set DCT algorithm to @var{algo}. Available values are:
566 FF_DCT_AUTO (default)
579 @item -idct_algo @var{algo}
580 Set IDCT algorithm to @var{algo}. Available values are:
583 FF_IDCT_AUTO (default)
607 Set error resilience to @var{n}.
610 FF_ER_CAREFUL (default)
616 FF_ER_VERY_AGGRESSIVE
619 @item -ec @var{bit_mask}
620 Set error concealment to @var{bit_mask}. @var{bit_mask} is a bit mask of
621 the following values:
624 FF_EC_GUESS_MVS (default = enabled)
626 FF_EC_DEBLOCK (default = enabled)
629 @item -bf @var{frames}
630 Use 'frames' B-frames (supported for MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4).
631 @item -mbd @var{mode}
635 FF_MB_DECISION_SIMPLE: Use mb_cmp (cannot change it yet in FFmpeg).
637 FF_MB_DECISION_BITS: Choose the one which needs the fewest bits.
639 FF_MB_DECISION_RD: rate distortion
643 Use four motion vector by macroblock (MPEG-4 only).
645 Use data partitioning (MPEG-4 only).
646 @item -bug @var{param}
647 Work around encoder bugs that are not auto-detected.
648 @item -strict @var{strictness}
649 How strictly to follow the standards.
651 Enable Advanced intra coding (h263+).
653 Enable Unlimited Motion Vector (h263+)
656 Deinterlace pictures.
658 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
659 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
660 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
661 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
662 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
664 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
666 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
667 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
668 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
670 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
671 @item -dc @var{precision}
673 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag}
674 Force video tag/fourcc.
677 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
678 Bitstream filters available are "dump_extra", "remove_extra", "noise", "h264_mp4toannexb", "imxdump", "mjpegadump".
680 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -vcodec copy -vbsf h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
684 @section Audio Options
687 @item -aframes @var{number}
688 Set the number of audio frames to record.
690 Set the audio sampling frequency (default = 44100 Hz).
691 @item -ab @var{bitrate}
692 Set the audio bitrate in bit/s (default = 64k).
693 @item -ac @var{channels}
694 Set the number of audio channels (default = 1).
696 Disable audio recording.
697 @item -acodec @var{codec}
698 Force audio codec to @var{codec}. Use the @code{copy} special value to
699 specify that the raw codec data must be copied as is.
701 Add a new audio track to the output file. If you want to specify parameters,
702 do so before @code{-newaudio} (@code{-acodec}, @code{-ab}, etc..).
704 Mapping will be done automatically, if the number of output streams is equal to
705 the number of input streams, else it will pick the first one that matches. You
706 can override the mapping using @code{-map} as usual.
710 ffmpeg -i file.mpg -vcodec copy -acodec ac3 -ab 384k test.mpg -acodec mp2 -ab 192k -newaudio
712 @item -alang @var{code}
713 Set the ISO 639 language code (3 letters) of the current audio stream.
716 @section Advanced Audio options:
719 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag}
720 Force audio tag/fourcc.
721 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
722 Bitstream filters available are "dump_extra", "remove_extra", "noise", "mp3comp", "mp3decomp".
725 @section Subtitle options:
728 @item -scodec @var{codec}
729 Force subtitle codec ('copy' to copy stream).
731 Add a new subtitle stream to the current output stream.
732 @item -slang @var{code}
733 Set the ISO 639 language code (3 letters) of the current subtitle stream.
734 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
735 Bitstream filters available are "mov2textsub", "text2movsub".
737 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -sbsf mov2textsub -scodec copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
741 @section Audio/Video grab options
744 @item -vc @var{channel}
745 Set video grab channel (DV1394 only).
746 @item -tvstd @var{standard}
747 Set television standard (NTSC, PAL (SECAM)).
749 Synchronize read on input.
752 @section Advanced options
755 @item -map @var{input_stream_id}[:@var{sync_stream_id}]
756 Set stream mapping from input streams to output streams.
757 Just enumerate the input streams in the order you want them in the output.
758 @var{sync_stream_id} if specified sets the input stream to sync
760 @item -map_meta_data @var{outfile}:@var{infile}
761 Set meta data information of @var{outfile} from @var{infile}.
763 Print specific debug info.
765 Add timings for benchmarking.
767 Dump each input packet.
769 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
771 Only use bit exact algorithms (for codec testing).
773 Set packet size in bits.
775 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device.
777 Loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image
778 streams. This option is used for automatic FFserver testing.
779 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
780 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
781 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
782 @item -threads @var{count}
784 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
785 Video sync method. Video will be stretched/squeezed to match the timestamps,
786 it is done by duplicating and dropping frames. With -map you can select from
787 which stream the timestamps should be taken. You can leave either video or
788 audio unchanged and sync the remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
789 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
790 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
791 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
792 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
793 without any later correction.
795 Copy timestamps from input to output.
797 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
798 @item -dts_delta_threshold
799 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
800 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds}
801 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
802 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds}
803 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
806 @section Preset files
808 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
809 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
810 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
811 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
812 the @file{ffpresets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
814 Preset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre} and
815 @code{spre} options. The options specified in a preset file are
816 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
819 The argument passed to the preset options identifies the preset file
820 to use according to the following rules.
822 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
823 directories @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in the datadir defined at
824 configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}) in that
825 order. For example, if the argument is @code{libx264-max}, it will
826 search for the file @file{libx264-max.ffpreset}.
828 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
829 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
830 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
831 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
832 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libx264} and use @code{-vpre max},
833 then it will search for the file @file{libx264-max.ffpreset}.
835 Finally, if the above rules failed and the argument specifies an
836 absolute pathname, ffmpeg will search for that filename. This way you
837 can specify the absolute and complete filename of the preset file, for
838 example @file{./ffpresets/libx264-max.ffpreset}.
840 @node FFmpeg formula evaluator
841 @section FFmpeg formula evaluator
843 When evaluating a rate control string, FFmpeg uses an internal formula
846 The following binary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-},
847 @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{^}.
849 The following unary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-},
852 The following statements are available: @code{ld}, @code{st},
855 The following functions are available:
883 The following constants are available:
912 @settitle FFmpeg video converter
915 ffserver(1), ffplay(1) and the HTML documentation of @file{ffmpeg}.
926 The file name can be @file{-} to read from standard input or to write
929 FFmpeg also handles many protocols specified with an URL syntax.
931 Use 'ffmpeg -formats' to see a list of the supported protocols.
933 The protocol @code{http:} is currently used only to communicate with
934 FFserver (see the FFserver documentation). When FFmpeg will be a
935 video player it will also be used for streaming :-)
940 @item For streaming at very low bitrate application, use a low frame rate
941 and a small GOP size. This is especially true for RealVideo where
942 the Linux player does not seem to be very fast, so it can miss
943 frames. An example is:
946 ffmpeg -g 3 -r 3 -t 10 -b 50k -s qcif -f rv10 /tmp/b.rm
949 @item The parameter 'q' which is displayed while encoding is the current
950 quantizer. The value 1 indicates that a very good quality could
951 be achieved. The value 31 indicates the worst quality. If q=31 appears
952 too often, it means that the encoder cannot compress enough to meet
953 your bitrate. You must either increase the bitrate, decrease the
954 frame rate or decrease the frame size.
956 @item If your computer is not fast enough, you can speed up the
957 compression at the expense of the compression ratio. You can use
958 '-me zero' to speed up motion estimation, and '-intra' to disable
959 motion estimation completely (you have only I-frames, which means it
960 is about as good as JPEG compression).
962 @item To have very low audio bitrates, reduce the sampling frequency
963 (down to 22050 Hz for MPEG audio, 22050 or 11025 for AC-3).
965 @item To have a constant quality (but a variable bitrate), use the option
966 '-qscale n' when 'n' is between 1 (excellent quality) and 31 (worst
969 @item When converting video files, you can use the '-sameq' option which
970 uses the same quality factor in the encoder as in the decoder.
971 It allows almost lossless encoding.