1 @chapter Bitstream Filters
2 @c man begin BITSTREAM FILTERS
4 When you configure your FFmpeg build, all the supported bitstream
5 filters are enabled by default. You can list all available ones using
6 the configure option @code{--list-bsfs}.
8 You can disable all the bitstream filters using the configure option
9 @code{--disable-bsfs}, and selectively enable any bitstream filter using
10 the option @code{--enable-bsf=BSF}, or you can disable a particular
11 bitstream filter using the option @code{--disable-bsf=BSF}.
13 The option @code{-bsfs} of the ff* tools will display the list of
14 all the supported bitstream filters included in your build.
16 The ff* tools have a -bsf option applied per stream, taking a
17 comma-separated list of filters, whose parameters follow the filter
21 ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v filter1[=opt1=str1:opt2=str2][,filter2] OUTPUT
24 Below is a description of the currently available bitstream filters,
25 with their parameters, if any.
27 @section aac_adtstoasc
29 Convert MPEG-2/4 AAC ADTS to an MPEG-4 Audio Specific Configuration
32 This filter creates an MPEG-4 AudioSpecificConfig from an MPEG-2/4
33 ADTS header and removes the ADTS header.
35 This filter is required for example when copying an AAC stream from a
36 raw ADTS AAC or an MPEG-TS container to MP4A-LATM, to an FLV file, or
37 to MOV/MP4 files and related formats such as 3GP or M4A. Please note
38 that it is auto-inserted for MP4A-LATM and MOV/MP4 and related formats.
42 Modify metadata embedded in an AV1 stream.
46 Insert or remove temporal delimiter OBUs in all temporal units of the
51 Insert a TD at the beginning of every TU which does not already have one.
53 Remove the TD from the beginning of every TU which has one.
57 @item transfer_characteristics
58 @item matrix_coefficients
59 Set the color description fields in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2).
62 Set the color range in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2; note that
63 this cannot be set for streams using BT.709 primaries, sRGB transfer
64 characteristic and identity (RGB) matrix coefficients).
72 @item chroma_sample_position
73 Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2).
74 This can only be set for 4:2:0 streams.
78 Left position (matching the default in MPEG-2 and H.264).
84 Set the tick rate (@emph{num_units_in_display_tick / time_scale}) in
85 the timing info in the sequence header.
86 @item num_ticks_per_picture
87 Set the number of ticks in each picture, to indicate that the stream
88 has a fixed framerate. Ignored if @option{tick_rate} is not also set.
97 Remove zero padding at the end of a packet.
101 Extract the core from a DCA/DTS stream, dropping extensions such as
106 Add extradata to the beginning of the filtered packets.
110 The additional argument specifies which packets should be filtered.
111 It accepts the values:
115 add extradata to all key packets
119 add extradata to all packets
123 If not specified it is assumed @samp{e}.
125 For example the following @command{ffmpeg} command forces a global
126 header (thus disabling individual packet headers) in the H.264 packets
127 generated by the @code{libx264} encoder, but corrects them by adding
128 the header stored in extradata to the key packets:
130 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -flags:v +global_header -c:v libx264 -bsf:v dump_extra out.ts
135 Extract the core from a E-AC-3 stream, dropping extra channels.
137 @section extract_extradata
139 Extract the in-band extradata.
141 Certain codecs allow the long-term headers (e.g. MPEG-2 sequence headers,
142 or H.264/HEVC (VPS/)SPS/PPS) to be transmitted either "in-band" (i.e. as a part
143 of the bitstream containing the coded frames) or "out of band" (e.g. on the
144 container level). This latter form is called "extradata" in FFmpeg terminology.
146 This bitstream filter detects the in-band headers and makes them available as
151 When this option is enabled, the long-term headers are removed from the
152 bitstream after extraction.
155 @section filter_units
157 Remove units with types in or not in a given set from the stream.
161 List of unit types or ranges of unit types to pass through while removing
162 all others. This is specified as a '|'-separated list of unit type values
163 or ranges of values with '-'.
166 Identical to @option{pass_types}, except the units in the given set
167 removed and all others passed through.
170 Extradata is unchanged by this transformation, but note that if the stream
171 contains inline parameter sets then the output may be unusable if they are
174 For example, to remove all non-VCL NAL units from an H.264 stream:
176 ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v 'filter_units=pass_types=1-5' OUTPUT
179 To remove all AUDs, SEI and filler from an H.265 stream:
181 ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v 'filter_units=remove_types=35|38-40' OUTPUT
184 @section hapqa_extract
186 Extract Rgb or Alpha part of an HAPQA file, without recompression, in order to create an HAPQ or an HAPAlphaOnly file.
190 Specifies the texture to keep.
199 Convert HAPQA to HAPQ
201 ffmpeg -i hapqa_inputfile.mov -c copy -bsf:v hapqa_extract=texture=color -tag:v HapY -metadata:s:v:0 encoder="HAPQ" hapq_file.mov
204 Convert HAPQA to HAPAlphaOnly
206 ffmpeg -i hapqa_inputfile.mov -c copy -bsf:v hapqa_extract=texture=alpha -tag:v HapA -metadata:s:v:0 encoder="HAPAlpha Only" hapalphaonly_file.mov
209 @section h264_metadata
211 Modify metadata embedded in an H.264 stream.
215 Insert or remove AUD NAL units in all access units of the stream.
222 @item sample_aspect_ratio
223 Set the sample aspect ratio of the stream in the VUI parameters.
226 @item video_full_range_flag
227 Set the video format in the stream (see H.264 section E.2.1 and
230 @item colour_primaries
231 @item transfer_characteristics
232 @item matrix_coefficients
233 Set the colour description in the stream (see H.264 section E.2.1
234 and tables E-3, E-4 and E-5).
236 @item chroma_sample_loc_type
237 Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see H.264 section
238 E.2.1 and figure E-1).
241 Set the tick rate (num_units_in_tick / time_scale) in the VUI
242 parameters. This is the smallest time unit representable in the
243 stream, and in many cases represents the field rate of the stream
244 (double the frame rate).
245 @item fixed_frame_rate_flag
246 Set whether the stream has fixed framerate - typically this indicates
247 that the framerate is exactly half the tick rate, but the exact
248 meaning is dependent on interlacing and the picture structure (see
249 H.264 section E.2.1 and table E-6).
255 Set the frame cropping offsets in the SPS. These values will replace
256 the current ones if the stream is already cropped.
258 These fields are set in pixels. Note that some sizes may not be
259 representable if the chroma is subsampled or the stream is interlaced
260 (see H.264 section 7.4.2.1.1).
263 Insert a string as SEI unregistered user data. The argument must
264 be of the form @emph{UUID+string}, where the UUID is as hex digits
265 possibly separated by hyphens, and the string can be anything.
267 For example, @samp{086f3693-b7b3-4f2c-9653-21492feee5b8+hello} will
268 insert the string ``hello'' associated with the given UUID.
271 Deletes both filler NAL units and filler SEI messages.
274 Set the level in the SPS. Refer to H.264 section A.3 and tables A-1
277 The argument must be the name of a level (for example, @samp{4.2}), a
278 level_idc value (for example, @samp{42}), or the special name @samp{auto}
279 indicating that the filter should attempt to guess the level from the
280 input stream properties.
284 @section h264_mp4toannexb
286 Convert an H.264 bitstream from length prefixed mode to start code
287 prefixed mode (as defined in the Annex B of the ITU-T H.264
290 This is required by some streaming formats, typically the MPEG-2
291 transport stream format (muxer @code{mpegts}).
293 For example to remux an MP4 file containing an H.264 stream to mpegts
294 format with @command{ffmpeg}, you can use the command:
297 ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -codec copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb OUTPUT.ts
300 Please note that this filter is auto-inserted for MPEG-TS (muxer
301 @code{mpegts}) and raw H.264 (muxer @code{h264}) output formats.
303 @section h264_redundant_pps
305 This applies a specific fixup to some Blu-ray streams which contain
306 redundant PPSs modifying irrelevant parameters of the stream which
307 confuse other transformations which require correct extradata.
309 A new single global PPS is created, and all of the redundant PPSs
310 within the stream are removed.
312 @section hevc_metadata
314 Modify metadata embedded in an HEVC stream.
318 Insert or remove AUD NAL units in all access units of the stream.
325 @item sample_aspect_ratio
326 Set the sample aspect ratio in the stream in the VUI parameters.
329 @item video_full_range_flag
330 Set the video format in the stream (see H.265 section E.3.1 and
333 @item colour_primaries
334 @item transfer_characteristics
335 @item matrix_coefficients
336 Set the colour description in the stream (see H.265 section E.3.1
337 and tables E.3, E.4 and E.5).
339 @item chroma_sample_loc_type
340 Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see H.265 section
341 E.3.1 and figure E.1).
344 Set the tick rate in the VPS and VUI parameters (num_units_in_tick /
345 time_scale). Combined with @option{num_ticks_poc_diff_one}, this can
346 set a constant framerate in the stream. Note that it is likely to be
347 overridden by container parameters when the stream is in a container.
349 @item num_ticks_poc_diff_one
350 Set poc_proportional_to_timing_flag in VPS and VUI and use this value
351 to set num_ticks_poc_diff_one_minus1 (see H.265 sections 7.4.3.1 and
352 E.3.1). Ignored if @option{tick_rate} is not also set.
358 Set the conformance window cropping offsets in the SPS. These values
359 will replace the current ones if the stream is already cropped.
361 These fields are set in pixels. Note that some sizes may not be
362 representable if the chroma is subsampled (H.265 section 7.4.3.2.1).
366 @section hevc_mp4toannexb
368 Convert an HEVC/H.265 bitstream from length prefixed mode to start code
369 prefixed mode (as defined in the Annex B of the ITU-T H.265
372 This is required by some streaming formats, typically the MPEG-2
373 transport stream format (muxer @code{mpegts}).
375 For example to remux an MP4 file containing an HEVC stream to mpegts
376 format with @command{ffmpeg}, you can use the command:
379 ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -codec copy -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb OUTPUT.ts
382 Please note that this filter is auto-inserted for MPEG-TS (muxer
383 @code{mpegts}) and raw HEVC/H.265 (muxer @code{h265} or
384 @code{hevc}) output formats.
388 Modifies the bitstream to fit in MOV and to be usable by the Final Cut
389 Pro decoder. This filter only applies to the mpeg2video codec, and is
390 likely not needed for Final Cut Pro 7 and newer with the appropriate
393 For example, to remux 30 MB/sec NTSC IMX to MOV:
396 ffmpeg -i input.mxf -c copy -bsf:v imxdump -tag:v mx3n output.mov
401 Convert MJPEG/AVI1 packets to full JPEG/JFIF packets.
403 MJPEG is a video codec wherein each video frame is essentially a
404 JPEG image. The individual frames can be extracted without loss,
408 ffmpeg -i ../some_mjpeg.avi -c:v copy frames_%d.jpg
411 Unfortunately, these chunks are incomplete JPEG images, because
412 they lack the DHT segment required for decoding. Quoting from
413 @url{http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000063.shtml}:
415 Avery Lee, writing in the rec.video.desktop newsgroup in 2001,
416 commented that "MJPEG, or at least the MJPEG in AVIs having the
417 MJPG fourcc, is restricted JPEG with a fixed -- and *omitted* --
418 Huffman table. The JPEG must be YCbCr colorspace, it must be 4:2:2,
419 and it must use basic Huffman encoding, not arithmetic or
420 progressive. . . . You can indeed extract the MJPEG frames and
421 decode them with a regular JPEG decoder, but you have to prepend
422 the DHT segment to them, or else the decoder won't have any idea
423 how to decompress the data. The exact table necessary is given in
426 This bitstream filter patches the header of frames extracted from an MJPEG
427 stream (carrying the AVI1 header ID and lacking a DHT segment) to
428 produce fully qualified JPEG images.
431 ffmpeg -i mjpeg-movie.avi -c:v copy -bsf:v mjpeg2jpeg frame_%d.jpg
432 exiftran -i -9 frame*.jpg
433 ffmpeg -i frame_%d.jpg -c:v copy rotated.avi
438 Add an MJPEG A header to the bitstream, to enable decoding by
444 Extract a representable text file from MOV subtitles, stripping the
445 metadata header from each subtitle packet.
447 See also the @ref{text2movsub} filter.
451 Decompress non-standard compressed MP3 audio headers.
453 @section mpeg2_metadata
455 Modify metadata embedded in an MPEG-2 stream.
458 @item display_aspect_ratio
459 Set the display aspect ratio in the stream.
461 The following fixed values are supported:
467 Any other value will result in square pixels being signalled instead
468 (see H.262 section 6.3.3 and table 6-3).
471 Set the frame rate in the stream. This is constructed from a table
472 of known values combined with a small multiplier and divisor - if
473 the supplied value is not exactly representable, the nearest
474 representable value will be used instead (see H.262 section 6.3.3
478 Set the video format in the stream (see H.262 section 6.3.6 and
481 @item colour_primaries
482 @item transfer_characteristics
483 @item matrix_coefficients
484 Set the colour description in the stream (see H.262 section 6.3.6
485 and tables 6-7, 6-8 and 6-9).
489 @section mpeg4_unpack_bframes
491 Unpack DivX-style packed B-frames.
493 DivX-style packed B-frames are not valid MPEG-4 and were only a
494 workaround for the broken Video for Windows subsystem.
495 They use more space, can cause minor AV sync issues, require more
496 CPU power to decode (unless the player has some decoded picture queue
497 to compensate the 2,0,2,0 frame per packet style) and cause
498 trouble if copied into a standard container like mp4 or mpeg-ps/ts,
499 because MPEG-4 decoders may not be able to decode them, since they are
502 For example to fix an AVI file containing an MPEG-4 stream with
503 DivX-style packed B-frames using @command{ffmpeg}, you can use the command:
506 ffmpeg -i INPUT.avi -codec copy -bsf:v mpeg4_unpack_bframes OUTPUT.avi
511 Damages the contents of packets or simply drops them without damaging the
512 container. Can be used for fuzzing or testing error resilience/concealment.
517 A numeral string, whose value is related to how often output bytes will
518 be modified. Therefore, values below or equal to 0 are forbidden, and
519 the lower the more frequent bytes will be modified, with 1 meaning
520 every byte is modified.
522 A numeral string, whose value is related to how often packets will be dropped.
523 Therefore, values below or equal to 0 are forbidden, and the lower the more
524 frequent packets will be dropped, with 1 meaning every packet is dropped.
527 The following example applies the modification to every byte but does not drop
530 ffmpeg -i INPUT -c copy -bsf noise[=1] output.mkv
534 This bitstream filter passes the packets through unchanged.
536 @section prores_metadata
538 Modify color property metadata embedded in prores stream.
541 @item color_primaries
542 Set the color primaries.
543 Available values are:
547 Keep the same color primaries property (default).
566 @item transfer_characteristics
567 Set the color transfer.
568 Available values are:
572 Keep the same transfer characteristics property (default).
576 BT 601, BT 709, BT 2020
580 @item matrix_coefficients
581 Set the matrix coefficient.
582 Available values are:
586 Keep the same transfer characteristics property (default).
597 Set Rec709 colorspace for each frame of the file
599 ffmpeg -i INPUT -c copy -bsf:v prores_metadata=color_primaries=bt709:color_trc=bt709:colorspace=bt709 output.mov
602 @section remove_extra
604 Remove extradata from packets.
606 It accepts the following parameter:
609 Set which frame types to remove extradata from.
613 Remove extradata from non-keyframes only.
616 Remove extradata from keyframes only.
619 Remove extradata from all frames.
627 Convert text subtitles to MOV subtitles (as used by the @code{mov_text}
628 codec) with metadata headers.
630 See also the @ref{mov2textsub} filter.
632 @section trace_headers
634 Log trace output containing all syntax elements in the coded stream
635 headers (everything above the level of individual coded blocks).
636 This can be useful for debugging low-level stream issues.
638 Supports AV1, H.264, H.265, (M)JPEG, MPEG-2 and VP9, but depending
639 on the build only a subset of these may be available.
643 Extract the core from a TrueHD stream, dropping ATMOS data.
645 @section vp9_metadata
647 Modify metadata embedded in a VP9 stream.
651 Set the color space value in the frame header.
663 Set the color range value in the frame header. Note that this cannot
664 be set in RGB streams.
671 @section vp9_superframe
673 Merge VP9 invisible (alt-ref) frames back into VP9 superframes. This
674 fixes merging of split/segmented VP9 streams where the alt-ref frame
675 was split from its visible counterpart.
677 @section vp9_superframe_split
679 Split VP9 superframes into single frames.
681 @section vp9_raw_reorder
683 Given a VP9 stream with correct timestamps but possibly out of order,
684 insert additional show-existing-frame packets to correct the ordering.
686 @c man end BITSTREAM FILTERS