1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
2 @documentencoding UTF-8
4 @settitle ffmpeg Documentation
6 @center @titlefont{ffmpeg Documentation}
15 ffmpeg [@var{global_options}] @{[@var{input_file_options}] -i @file{input_url}@} ... @{[@var{output_file_options}] @file{output_url}@} ...
18 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
20 @command{ffmpeg} is a very fast video and audio converter that can also grab from
21 a live audio/video source. It can also convert between arbitrary sample
22 rates and resize video on the fly with a high quality polyphase filter.
24 @command{ffmpeg} reads from an arbitrary number of input "files" (which can be regular
25 files, pipes, network streams, grabbing devices, etc.), specified by the
26 @code{-i} option, and writes to an arbitrary number of output "files", which are
27 specified by a plain output url. Anything found on the command line which
28 cannot be interpreted as an option is considered to be an output url.
30 Each input or output url can, in principle, contain any number of streams of
31 different types (video/audio/subtitle/attachment/data). The allowed number and/or
32 types of streams may be limited by the container format. Selecting which
33 streams from which inputs will go into which output is either done automatically
34 or with the @code{-map} option (see the Stream selection chapter).
36 To refer to input files in options, you must use their indices (0-based). E.g.
37 the first input file is @code{0}, the second is @code{1}, etc. Similarly, streams
38 within a file are referred to by their indices. E.g. @code{2:3} refers to the
39 fourth stream in the third input file. Also see the Stream specifiers chapter.
41 As a general rule, options are applied to the next specified
42 file. Therefore, order is important, and you can have the same
43 option on the command line multiple times. Each occurrence is
44 then applied to the next input or output file.
45 Exceptions from this rule are the global options (e.g. verbosity level),
46 which should be specified first.
48 Do not mix input and output files -- first specify all input files, then all
49 output files. Also do not mix options which belong to different files. All
50 options apply ONLY to the next input or output file and are reset between files.
54 To set the video bitrate of the output file to 64 kbit/s:
56 ffmpeg -i input.avi -b:v 64k -bufsize 64k output.avi
60 To force the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
62 ffmpeg -i input.avi -r 24 output.avi
66 To force the frame rate of the input file (valid for raw formats only)
67 to 1 fps and the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
69 ffmpeg -r 1 -i input.m2v -r 24 output.avi
73 The format option may be needed for raw input files.
75 @c man end DESCRIPTION
77 @chapter Detailed description
78 @c man begin DETAILED DESCRIPTION
80 The transcoding process in @command{ffmpeg} for each output can be described by
81 the following diagram:
84 _______ ______________
86 | input | demuxer | encoded data | decoder
87 | file | ---------> | packets | -----+
88 |_______| |______________| |
95 ________ ______________ |
97 | output | <-------- | encoded data | <----+
98 | file | muxer | packets | encoder
99 |________| |______________|
104 @command{ffmpeg} calls the libavformat library (containing demuxers) to read
105 input files and get packets containing encoded data from them. When there are
106 multiple input files, @command{ffmpeg} tries to keep them synchronized by
107 tracking lowest timestamp on any active input stream.
109 Encoded packets are then passed to the decoder (unless streamcopy is selected
110 for the stream, see further for a description). The decoder produces
111 uncompressed frames (raw video/PCM audio/...) which can be processed further by
112 filtering (see next section). After filtering, the frames are passed to the
113 encoder, which encodes them and outputs encoded packets. Finally those are
114 passed to the muxer, which writes the encoded packets to the output file.
117 Before encoding, @command{ffmpeg} can process raw audio and video frames using
118 filters from the libavfilter library. Several chained filters form a filter
119 graph. @command{ffmpeg} distinguishes between two types of filtergraphs:
122 @subsection Simple filtergraphs
123 Simple filtergraphs are those that have exactly one input and output, both of
124 the same type. In the above diagram they can be represented by simply inserting
125 an additional step between decoding and encoding:
128 _________ ______________
130 | decoded | | encoded data |
131 | frames |\ _ | packets |
132 |_________| \ /||______________|
134 simple _\|| | / encoder
135 filtergraph | filtered |/
141 Simple filtergraphs are configured with the per-stream @option{-filter} option
142 (with @option{-vf} and @option{-af} aliases for video and audio respectively).
143 A simple filtergraph for video can look for example like this:
146 _______ _____________ _______ ________
148 | input | ---> | deinterlace | ---> | scale | ---> | output |
149 |_______| |_____________| |_______| |________|
153 Note that some filters change frame properties but not frame contents. E.g. the
154 @code{fps} filter in the example above changes number of frames, but does not
155 touch the frame contents. Another example is the @code{setpts} filter, which
156 only sets timestamps and otherwise passes the frames unchanged.
158 @subsection Complex filtergraphs
159 Complex filtergraphs are those which cannot be described as simply a linear
160 processing chain applied to one stream. This is the case, for example, when the graph has
161 more than one input and/or output, or when output stream type is different from
162 input. They can be represented with the following diagram:
167 | input 0 |\ __________
169 \ _________ /| output 0 |
171 _________ \| complex | /
173 | input 1 |---->| filter |\
174 |_________| | | \ __________
177 _________ / |_________| |__________|
184 Complex filtergraphs are configured with the @option{-filter_complex} option.
185 Note that this option is global, since a complex filtergraph, by its nature,
186 cannot be unambiguously associated with a single stream or file.
188 The @option{-lavfi} option is equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
190 A trivial example of a complex filtergraph is the @code{overlay} filter, which
191 has two video inputs and one video output, containing one video overlaid on top
192 of the other. Its audio counterpart is the @code{amix} filter.
195 Stream copy is a mode selected by supplying the @code{copy} parameter to the
196 @option{-codec} option. It makes @command{ffmpeg} omit the decoding and encoding
197 step for the specified stream, so it does only demuxing and muxing. It is useful
198 for changing the container format or modifying container-level metadata. The
199 diagram above will, in this case, simplify to this:
202 _______ ______________ ________
204 | input | demuxer | encoded data | muxer | output |
205 | file | ---------> | packets | -------> | file |
206 |_______| |______________| |________|
210 Since there is no decoding or encoding, it is very fast and there is no quality
211 loss. However, it might not work in some cases because of many factors. Applying
212 filters is obviously also impossible, since filters work on uncompressed data.
214 @c man end DETAILED DESCRIPTION
216 @chapter Stream selection
217 @c man begin STREAM SELECTION
219 By default, @command{ffmpeg} includes only one stream of each type (video, audio, subtitle)
220 present in the input files and adds them to each output file. It picks the
221 "best" of each based upon the following criteria: for video, it is the stream
222 with the highest resolution, for audio, it is the stream with the most channels, for
223 subtitles, it is the first subtitle stream. In the case where several streams of
224 the same type rate equally, the stream with the lowest index is chosen.
226 You can disable some of those defaults by using the @code{-vn/-an/-sn/-dn} options. For
227 full manual control, use the @code{-map} option, which disables the defaults just
230 @c man end STREAM SELECTION
235 @include fftools-common-opts.texi
237 @section Main options
241 @item -f @var{fmt} (@emph{input/output})
242 Force input or output file format. The format is normally auto detected for input
243 files and guessed from the file extension for output files, so this option is not
244 needed in most cases.
246 @item -i @var{url} (@emph{input})
249 @item -y (@emph{global})
250 Overwrite output files without asking.
252 @item -n (@emph{global})
253 Do not overwrite output files, and exit immediately if a specified
254 output file already exists.
256 @item -stream_loop @var{number} (@emph{input})
257 Set number of times input stream shall be looped. Loop 0 means no loop,
258 loop -1 means infinite loop.
260 @item -c[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
261 @itemx -codec[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
262 Select an encoder (when used before an output file) or a decoder (when used
263 before an input file) for one or more streams. @var{codec} is the name of a
264 decoder/encoder or a special value @code{copy} (output only) to indicate that
265 the stream is not to be re-encoded.
269 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy OUTPUT
271 encodes all video streams with libx264 and copies all audio streams.
273 For each stream, the last matching @code{c} option is applied, so
275 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c copy -c:v:1 libx264 -c:a:137 libvorbis OUTPUT
277 will copy all the streams except the second video, which will be encoded with
278 libx264, and the 138th audio, which will be encoded with libvorbis.
280 @item -t @var{duration} (@emph{input/output})
281 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), limit the @var{duration} of
282 data read from the input file.
284 When used as an output option (before an output url), stop writing the
285 output after its duration reaches @var{duration}.
287 @var{duration} must be a time duration specification,
288 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
290 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
292 @item -to @var{position} (@emph{input/output})
293 Stop writing the output or reading the input at @var{position}.
294 @var{position} must be a time duration specification,
295 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
297 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
299 @item -fs @var{limit_size} (@emph{output})
300 Set the file size limit, expressed in bytes. No further chunk of bytes is written
301 after the limit is exceeded. The size of the output file is slightly more than the
304 @item -ss @var{position} (@emph{input/output})
305 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), seeks in this input file to
306 @var{position}. Note that in most formats it is not possible to seek exactly,
307 so @command{ffmpeg} will seek to the closest seek point before @var{position}.
308 When transcoding and @option{-accurate_seek} is enabled (the default), this
309 extra segment between the seek point and @var{position} will be decoded and
310 discarded. When doing stream copy or when @option{-noaccurate_seek} is used, it
313 When used as an output option (before an output url), decodes but discards
314 input until the timestamps reach @var{position}.
316 @var{position} must be a time duration specification,
317 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
319 @item -sseof @var{position} (@emph{input/output})
321 Like the @code{-ss} option but relative to the "end of file". That is negative
322 values are earlier in the file, 0 is at EOF.
324 @item -itsoffset @var{offset} (@emph{input})
325 Set the input time offset.
327 @var{offset} must be a time duration specification,
328 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
330 The offset is added to the timestamps of the input files. Specifying
331 a positive offset means that the corresponding streams are delayed by
332 the time duration specified in @var{offset}.
334 @item -timestamp @var{date} (@emph{output})
335 Set the recording timestamp in the container.
337 @var{date} must be a date specification,
338 see @ref{date syntax,,the Date section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
340 @item -metadata[:metadata_specifier] @var{key}=@var{value} (@emph{output,per-metadata})
341 Set a metadata key/value pair.
343 An optional @var{metadata_specifier} may be given to set metadata
344 on streams, chapters or programs. See @code{-map_metadata}
345 documentation for details.
347 This option overrides metadata set with @code{-map_metadata}. It is
348 also possible to delete metadata by using an empty value.
350 For example, for setting the title in the output file:
352 ffmpeg -i in.avi -metadata title="my title" out.flv
355 To set the language of the first audio stream:
357 ffmpeg -i INPUT -metadata:s:a:0 language=eng OUTPUT
360 @item -disposition[:stream_specifier] @var{value} (@emph{output,per-stream})
361 Sets the disposition for a stream.
363 This option overrides the disposition copied from the input stream. It is also
364 possible to delete the disposition by setting it to 0.
366 The following dispositions are recognized:
375 @item hearing_impaired
376 @item visual_impaired
383 For example, to make the second audio stream the default stream:
385 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -disposition:a:1 default out.mkv
388 To make the second subtitle stream the default stream and remove the default
389 disposition from the first subtitle stream:
391 ffmpeg -i INPUT -disposition:s:0 0 -disposition:s:1 default OUTPUT
394 @item -program [title=@var{title}:][program_num=@var{program_num}:]st=@var{stream}[:st=@var{stream}...] (@emph{output})
396 Creates a program with the specified @var{title}, @var{program_num} and adds the specified
397 @var{stream}(s) to it.
399 @item -target @var{type} (@emph{output})
400 Specify target file type (@code{vcd}, @code{svcd}, @code{dvd}, @code{dv},
401 @code{dv50}). @var{type} may be prefixed with @code{pal-}, @code{ntsc-} or
402 @code{film-} to use the corresponding standard. All the format options
403 (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are then set automatically. You can just type:
406 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg
409 Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know
410 they do not conflict with the standard, as in:
413 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg
416 @item -dn (@emph{output})
417 Disable data recording. For full manual control see the @code{-map}
420 @item -dframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
421 Set the number of data frames to output. This is an obsolete alias for
422 @code{-frames:d}, which you should use instead.
424 @item -frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{framecount} (@emph{output,per-stream})
425 Stop writing to the stream after @var{framecount} frames.
427 @item -q[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
428 @itemx -qscale[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
429 Use fixed quality scale (VBR). The meaning of @var{q}/@var{qscale} is
431 If @var{qscale} is used without a @var{stream_specifier} then it applies only
432 to the video stream, this is to maintain compatibility with previous behavior
433 and as specifying the same codec specific value to 2 different codecs that is
434 audio and video generally is not what is intended when no stream_specifier is
437 @anchor{filter_option}
438 @item -filter[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output,per-stream})
439 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
442 @var{filtergraph} is a description of the filtergraph to apply to
443 the stream, and must have a single input and a single output of the
444 same type of the stream. In the filtergraph, the input is associated
445 to the label @code{in}, and the output to the label @code{out}. See
446 the ffmpeg-filters manual for more information about the filtergraph
449 See the @ref{filter_complex_option,,-filter_complex option} if you
450 want to create filtergraphs with multiple inputs and/or outputs.
452 @item -filter_script[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{output,per-stream})
453 This option is similar to @option{-filter}, the only difference is that its
454 argument is the name of the file from which a filtergraph description is to be
457 @item -filter_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
458 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter pipeline. Each pipeline
459 will produce a thread pool with this many threads available for parallel processing.
460 The default is the number of available CPUs.
462 @item -pre[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{preset_name} (@emph{output,per-stream})
463 Specify the preset for matching stream(s).
465 @item -stats (@emph{global})
466 Print encoding progress/statistics. It is on by default, to explicitly
467 disable it you need to specify @code{-nostats}.
469 @item -progress @var{url} (@emph{global})
470 Send program-friendly progress information to @var{url}.
472 Progress information is written approximately every second and at the end of
473 the encoding process. It is made of "@var{key}=@var{value}" lines. @var{key}
474 consists of only alphanumeric characters. The last key of a sequence of
475 progress information is always "progress".
477 @anchor{stdin option}
479 Enable interaction on standard input. On by default unless standard input is
480 used as an input. To explicitly disable interaction you need to specify
483 Disabling interaction on standard input is useful, for example, if
484 ffmpeg is in the background process group. Roughly the same result can
485 be achieved with @code{ffmpeg ... < /dev/null} but it requires a
488 @item -debug_ts (@emph{global})
489 Print timestamp information. It is off by default. This option is
490 mostly useful for testing and debugging purposes, and the output
491 format may change from one version to another, so it should not be
492 employed by portable scripts.
494 See also the option @code{-fdebug ts}.
496 @item -attach @var{filename} (@emph{output})
497 Add an attachment to the output file. This is supported by a few formats
498 like Matroska for e.g. fonts used in rendering subtitles. Attachments
499 are implemented as a specific type of stream, so this option will add
500 a new stream to the file. It is then possible to use per-stream options
501 on this stream in the usual way. Attachment streams created with this
502 option will be created after all the other streams (i.e. those created
503 with @code{-map} or automatic mappings).
505 Note that for Matroska you also have to set the mimetype metadata tag:
507 ffmpeg -i INPUT -attach DejaVuSans.ttf -metadata:s:2 mimetype=application/x-truetype-font out.mkv
509 (assuming that the attachment stream will be third in the output file).
511 @item -dump_attachment[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{input,per-stream})
512 Extract the matching attachment stream into a file named @var{filename}. If
513 @var{filename} is empty, then the value of the @code{filename} metadata tag
516 E.g. to extract the first attachment to a file named 'out.ttf':
518 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t:0 out.ttf -i INPUT
520 To extract all attachments to files determined by the @code{filename} tag:
522 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t "" -i INPUT
525 Technical note -- attachments are implemented as codec extradata, so this
526 option can actually be used to extract extradata from any stream, not just
530 Disable automatically rotating video based on file metadata.
534 @section Video Options
537 @item -vframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
538 Set the number of video frames to output. This is an obsolete alias for
539 @code{-frames:v}, which you should use instead.
540 @item -r[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{fps} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
541 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation).
543 As an input option, ignore any timestamps stored in the file and instead
544 generate timestamps assuming constant frame rate @var{fps}.
545 This is not the same as the @option{-framerate} option used for some input formats
546 like image2 or v4l2 (it used to be the same in older versions of FFmpeg).
547 If in doubt use @option{-framerate} instead of the input option @option{-r}.
549 As an output option, duplicate or drop input frames to achieve constant output
550 frame rate @var{fps}.
552 @item -s[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{size} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
555 As an input option, this is a shortcut for the @option{video_size} private
556 option, recognized by some demuxers for which the frame size is either not
557 stored in the file or is configurable -- e.g. raw video or video grabbers.
559 As an output option, this inserts the @code{scale} video filter to the
560 @emph{end} of the corresponding filtergraph. Please use the @code{scale} filter
561 directly to insert it at the beginning or some other place.
563 The format is @samp{wxh} (default - same as source).
565 @item -aspect[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{aspect} (@emph{output,per-stream})
566 Set the video display aspect ratio specified by @var{aspect}.
568 @var{aspect} can be a floating point number string, or a string of the
569 form @var{num}:@var{den}, where @var{num} and @var{den} are the
570 numerator and denominator of the aspect ratio. For example "4:3",
571 "16:9", "1.3333", and "1.7777" are valid argument values.
573 If used together with @option{-vcodec copy}, it will affect the aspect ratio
574 stored at container level, but not the aspect ratio stored in encoded
575 frames, if it exists.
577 @item -vn (@emph{output})
578 Disable video recording. For full manual control see the @code{-map}
581 @item -vcodec @var{codec} (@emph{output})
582 Set the video codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:v}.
584 @item -pass[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
585 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
586 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
587 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
588 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
589 at the exact requested bitrate.
590 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
591 examples for Windows and Unix:
593 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
594 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
597 @item -passlogfile[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{prefix} (@emph{output,per-stream})
598 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
599 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
600 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
603 @item -vf @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
604 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
607 This is an alias for @code{-filter:v}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
610 @section Advanced Video options
613 @item -pix_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{format} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
614 Set pixel format. Use @code{-pix_fmts} to show all the supported
616 If the selected pixel format can not be selected, ffmpeg will print a
617 warning and select the best pixel format supported by the encoder.
618 If @var{pix_fmt} is prefixed by a @code{+}, ffmpeg will exit with an error
619 if the requested pixel format can not be selected, and automatic conversions
620 inside filtergraphs are disabled.
621 If @var{pix_fmt} is a single @code{+}, ffmpeg selects the same pixel format
622 as the input (or graph output) and automatic conversions are disabled.
624 @item -sws_flags @var{flags} (@emph{input/output})
629 @item -rc_override[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{override} (@emph{output,per-stream})
630 Rate control override for specific intervals, formatted as "int,int,int"
631 list separated with slashes. Two first values are the beginning and
632 end frame numbers, last one is quantizer to use if positive, or quality
636 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
637 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
638 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
639 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
640 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
642 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
644 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
645 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
646 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
647 @item -vstats_version @var{file}
648 Specifies which version of the vstats format to use. Default is 2.
652 @code{frame= %5d q= %2.1f PSNR= %6.2f f_size= %6d s_size= %8.0fkB time= %0.3f br= %7.1fkbits/s avg_br= %7.1fkbits/s}
656 @code{out= %2d st= %2d frame= %5d q= %2.1f PSNR= %6.2f f_size= %6d s_size= %8.0fkB time= %0.3f br= %7.1fkbits/s avg_br= %7.1fkbits/s}
657 @item -top[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
658 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
659 @item -dc @var{precision}
661 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
662 Force video tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:v}.
663 @item -qphist (@emph{global})
665 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
668 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{time}[,@var{time}...] (@emph{output,per-stream})
669 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] expr:@var{expr} (@emph{output,per-stream})
670 Force key frames at the specified timestamps, more precisely at the first
671 frames after each specified time.
673 If the argument is prefixed with @code{expr:}, the string @var{expr}
674 is interpreted like an expression and is evaluated for each frame. A
675 key frame is forced in case the evaluation is non-zero.
677 If one of the times is "@code{chapters}[@var{delta}]", it is expanded into
678 the time of the beginning of all chapters in the file, shifted by
679 @var{delta}, expressed as a time in seconds.
680 This option can be useful to ensure that a seek point is present at a
681 chapter mark or any other designated place in the output file.
683 For example, to insert a key frame at 5 minutes, plus key frames 0.1 second
684 before the beginning of every chapter:
686 -force_key_frames 0:05:00,chapters-0.1
689 The expression in @var{expr} can contain the following constants:
692 the number of current processed frame, starting from 0
694 the number of forced frames
696 the number of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
697 keyframe was forced yet
699 the time of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
700 keyframe was forced yet
702 the time of the current processed frame
705 For example to force a key frame every 5 seconds, you can specify:
707 -force_key_frames expr:gte(t,n_forced*5)
710 To force a key frame 5 seconds after the time of the last forced one,
711 starting from second 13:
713 -force_key_frames expr:if(isnan(prev_forced_t),gte(t,13),gte(t,prev_forced_t+5))
716 Note that forcing too many keyframes is very harmful for the lookahead
717 algorithms of certain encoders: using fixed-GOP options or similar
718 would be more efficient.
720 @item -copyinkf[:@var{stream_specifier}] (@emph{output,per-stream})
721 When doing stream copy, copy also non-key frames found at the
724 @item -init_hw_device @var{type}[=@var{name}][:@var{device}[,@var{key=value}...]]
725 Initialise a new hardware device of type @var{type} called @var{name}, using the
726 given device parameters.
727 If no name is specified it will receive a default name of the form "@var{type}%d".
729 The meaning of @var{device} and the following arguments depends on the
734 @var{device} is the number of the CUDA device.
737 @var{device} is the number of the Direct3D 9 display adapter.
740 @var{device} is either an X11 display name or a DRM render node.
741 If not specified, it will attempt to open the default X11 display (@emph{$DISPLAY})
742 and then the first DRM render node (@emph{/dev/dri/renderD128}).
745 @var{device} is an X11 display name.
746 If not specified, it will attempt to open the default X11 display (@emph{$DISPLAY}).
749 @var{device} selects a value in @samp{MFX_IMPL_*}. Allowed values are:
760 If not specified, @samp{auto_any} is used.
761 (Note that it may be easier to achieve the desired result for QSV by creating the
762 platform-appropriate subdevice (@samp{dxva2} or @samp{vaapi}) and then deriving a
763 QSV device from that.)
766 @var{device} selects the platform and device as @emph{platform_index.device_index}.
768 The set of devices can also be filtered using the key-value pairs to find only
769 devices matching particular platform or device strings.
771 The strings usable as filters are:
773 @item platform_profile
774 @item platform_version
776 @item platform_vendor
777 @item platform_extensions
783 @item device_extensions
787 The indices and filters must together uniquely select a device.
791 @item -init_hw_device opencl:0.1
792 Choose the second device on the first platform.
794 @item -init_hw_device opencl:,device_name=Foo9000
795 Choose the device with a name containing the string @emph{Foo9000}.
797 @item -init_hw_device opencl:1,device_type=gpu,device_extensions=cl_khr_fp16
798 Choose the GPU device on the second platform supporting the @emph{cl_khr_fp16}
804 @item -init_hw_device @var{type}[=@var{name}]@@@var{source}
805 Initialise a new hardware device of type @var{type} called @var{name},
806 deriving it from the existing device with the name @var{source}.
808 @item -init_hw_device list
809 List all hardware device types supported in this build of ffmpeg.
811 @item -filter_hw_device @var{name}
812 Pass the hardware device called @var{name} to all filters in any filter graph.
813 This can be used to set the device to upload to with the @code{hwupload} filter,
814 or the device to map to with the @code{hwmap} filter. Other filters may also
815 make use of this parameter when they require a hardware device. Note that this
816 is typically only required when the input is not already in hardware frames -
817 when it is, filters will derive the device they require from the context of the
818 frames they receive as input.
820 This is a global setting, so all filters will receive the same device.
822 @item -hwaccel[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel} (@emph{input,per-stream})
823 Use hardware acceleration to decode the matching stream(s). The allowed values
824 of @var{hwaccel} are:
827 Do not use any hardware acceleration (the default).
830 Automatically select the hardware acceleration method.
833 Use VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix) hardware acceleration.
836 Use DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) hardware acceleration.
839 Use VAAPI (Video Acceleration API) hardware acceleration.
842 Use the Intel QuickSync Video acceleration for video transcoding.
844 Unlike most other values, this option does not enable accelerated decoding (that
845 is used automatically whenever a qsv decoder is selected), but accelerated
846 transcoding, without copying the frames into the system memory.
848 For it to work, both the decoder and the encoder must support QSV acceleration
849 and no filters must be used.
852 This option has no effect if the selected hwaccel is not available or not
853 supported by the chosen decoder.
855 Note that most acceleration methods are intended for playback and will not be
856 faster than software decoding on modern CPUs. Additionally, @command{ffmpeg}
857 will usually need to copy the decoded frames from the GPU memory into the system
858 memory, resulting in further performance loss. This option is thus mainly
861 @item -hwaccel_device[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel_device} (@emph{input,per-stream})
862 Select a device to use for hardware acceleration.
864 This option only makes sense when the @option{-hwaccel} option is also specified.
865 It can either refer to an existing device created with @option{-init_hw_device}
866 by name, or it can create a new device as if
867 @samp{-init_hw_device} @var{type}:@var{hwaccel_device}
868 were called immediately before.
871 List all hardware acceleration methods supported in this build of ffmpeg.
875 @section Audio Options
878 @item -aframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
879 Set the number of audio frames to output. This is an obsolete alias for
880 @code{-frames:a}, which you should use instead.
881 @item -ar[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{freq} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
882 Set the audio sampling frequency. For output streams it is set by
883 default to the frequency of the corresponding input stream. For input
884 streams this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw
885 demuxers and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
886 @item -aq @var{q} (@emph{output})
887 Set the audio quality (codec-specific, VBR). This is an alias for -q:a.
888 @item -ac[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{channels} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
889 Set the number of audio channels. For output streams it is set by
890 default to the number of input audio channels. For input streams
891 this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw demuxers
892 and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
893 @item -an (@emph{output})
894 Disable audio recording. For full manual control see the @code{-map}
896 @item -acodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
897 Set the audio codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:a}.
898 @item -sample_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{sample_fmt} (@emph{output,per-stream})
899 Set the audio sample format. Use @code{-sample_fmts} to get a list
900 of supported sample formats.
902 @item -af @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
903 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
906 This is an alias for @code{-filter:a}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
909 @section Advanced Audio options
912 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
913 Force audio tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:a}.
914 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
916 @item -guess_layout_max @var{channels} (@emph{input,per-stream})
917 If some input channel layout is not known, try to guess only if it
918 corresponds to at most the specified number of channels. For example, 2
919 tells to @command{ffmpeg} to recognize 1 channel as mono and 2 channels as
920 stereo but not 6 channels as 5.1. The default is to always try to guess. Use
921 0 to disable all guessing.
924 @section Subtitle options
927 @item -scodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
928 Set the subtitle codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:s}.
929 @item -sn (@emph{output})
930 Disable subtitle recording. For full manual control see the @code{-map}
932 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
936 @section Advanced Subtitle options
940 @item -fix_sub_duration
941 Fix subtitles durations. For each subtitle, wait for the next packet in the
942 same stream and adjust the duration of the first to avoid overlap. This is
943 necessary with some subtitles codecs, especially DVB subtitles, because the
944 duration in the original packet is only a rough estimate and the end is
945 actually marked by an empty subtitle frame. Failing to use this option when
946 necessary can result in exaggerated durations or muxing failures due to
947 non-monotonic timestamps.
949 Note that this option will delay the output of all data until the next
950 subtitle packet is decoded: it may increase memory consumption and latency a
953 @item -canvas_size @var{size}
954 Set the size of the canvas used to render subtitles.
958 @section Advanced options
961 @item -map [-]@var{input_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}][?][,@var{sync_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}]] | @var{[linklabel]} (@emph{output})
963 Designate one or more input streams as a source for the output file. Each input
964 stream is identified by the input file index @var{input_file_id} and
965 the input stream index @var{input_stream_id} within the input
966 file. Both indices start at 0. If specified,
967 @var{sync_file_id}:@var{stream_specifier} sets which input stream
968 is used as a presentation sync reference.
970 The first @code{-map} option on the command line specifies the
971 source for output stream 0, the second @code{-map} option specifies
972 the source for output stream 1, etc.
974 A @code{-} character before the stream identifier creates a "negative" mapping.
975 It disables matching streams from already created mappings.
977 A trailing @code{?} after the stream index will allow the map to be
978 optional: if the map matches no streams the map will be ignored instead
979 of failing. Note the map will still fail if an invalid input file index
980 is used; such as if the map refers to a non-existent input.
982 An alternative @var{[linklabel]} form will map outputs from complex filter
983 graphs (see the @option{-filter_complex} option) to the output file.
984 @var{linklabel} must correspond to a defined output link label in the graph.
986 For example, to map ALL streams from the first input file to output
988 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 output
991 For example, if you have two audio streams in the first input file,
992 these streams are identified by "0:0" and "0:1". You can use
993 @code{-map} to select which streams to place in an output file. For
996 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:1 out.wav
998 will map the input stream in @file{INPUT} identified by "0:1" to
999 the (single) output stream in @file{out.wav}.
1001 For example, to select the stream with index 2 from input file
1002 @file{a.mov} (specified by the identifier "0:2"), and stream with
1003 index 6 from input @file{b.mov} (specified by the identifier "1:6"),
1004 and copy them to the output file @file{out.mov}:
1006 ffmpeg -i a.mov -i b.mov -c copy -map 0:2 -map 1:6 out.mov
1009 To select all video and the third audio stream from an input file:
1011 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a:2 OUTPUT
1014 To map all the streams except the second audio, use negative mappings
1016 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -map -0:a:1 OUTPUT
1019 To map the video and audio streams from the first input, and using the
1020 trailing @code{?}, ignore the audio mapping if no audio streams exist in
1023 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a? OUTPUT
1026 To pick the English audio stream:
1028 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:m:language:eng OUTPUT
1031 Note that using this option disables the default mappings for this output file.
1033 @item -ignore_unknown
1034 Ignore input streams with unknown type instead of failing if copying
1035 such streams is attempted.
1038 Allow input streams with unknown type to be copied instead of failing if copying
1039 such streams is attempted.
1041 @item -map_channel [@var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id}|-1][?][:@var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}]
1042 Map an audio channel from a given input to an output. If
1043 @var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier} is not set, the audio channel will
1044 be mapped on all the audio streams.
1046 Using "-1" instead of
1047 @var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id} will map a muted
1050 A trailing @code{?} will allow the map_channel to be
1051 optional: if the map_channel matches no channel the map_channel will be ignored instead
1054 For example, assuming @var{INPUT} is a stereo audio file, you can switch the
1055 two audio channels with the following command:
1057 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.1 -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT
1060 If you want to mute the first channel and keep the second:
1062 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel -1 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT
1065 The order of the "-map_channel" option specifies the order of the channels in
1066 the output stream. The output channel layout is guessed from the number of
1067 channels mapped (mono if one "-map_channel", stereo if two, etc.). Using "-ac"
1068 in combination of "-map_channel" makes the channel gain levels to be updated if
1069 input and output channel layouts don't match (for instance two "-map_channel"
1070 options and "-ac 6").
1072 You can also extract each channel of an input to specific outputs; the following
1073 command extracts two channels of the @var{INPUT} audio stream (file 0, stream 0)
1074 to the respective @var{OUTPUT_CH0} and @var{OUTPUT_CH1} outputs:
1076 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT_CH0 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT_CH1
1079 The following example splits the channels of a stereo input into two separate
1080 streams, which are put into the same output file:
1082 ffmpeg -i stereo.wav -map 0:0 -map 0:0 -map_channel 0.0.0:0.0 -map_channel 0.0.1:0.1 -y out.ogg
1085 Note that currently each output stream can only contain channels from a single
1086 input stream; you can't for example use "-map_channel" to pick multiple input
1087 audio channels contained in different streams (from the same or different files)
1088 and merge them into a single output stream. It is therefore not currently
1089 possible, for example, to turn two separate mono streams into a single stereo
1090 stream. However splitting a stereo stream into two single channel mono streams
1093 If you need this feature, a possible workaround is to use the @emph{amerge}
1094 filter. For example, if you need to merge a media (here @file{input.mkv}) with 2
1095 mono audio streams into one single stereo channel audio stream (and keep the
1096 video stream), you can use the following command:
1098 ffmpeg -i input.mkv -filter_complex "[0:1] [0:2] amerge" -c:a pcm_s16le -c:v copy output.mkv
1101 To map the first two audio channels from the first input, and using the
1102 trailing @code{?}, ignore the audio channel mapping if the first input is
1103 mono instead of stereo:
1105 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 -map_channel 0.0.1? OUTPUT
1108 @item -map_metadata[:@var{metadata_spec_out}] @var{infile}[:@var{metadata_spec_in}] (@emph{output,per-metadata})
1109 Set metadata information of the next output file from @var{infile}. Note that
1110 those are file indices (zero-based), not filenames.
1111 Optional @var{metadata_spec_in/out} parameters specify, which metadata to copy.
1112 A metadata specifier can have the following forms:
1115 global metadata, i.e. metadata that applies to the whole file
1117 @item @var{s}[:@var{stream_spec}]
1118 per-stream metadata. @var{stream_spec} is a stream specifier as described
1119 in the @ref{Stream specifiers} chapter. In an input metadata specifier, the first
1120 matching stream is copied from. In an output metadata specifier, all matching
1121 streams are copied to.
1123 @item @var{c}:@var{chapter_index}
1124 per-chapter metadata. @var{chapter_index} is the zero-based chapter index.
1126 @item @var{p}:@var{program_index}
1127 per-program metadata. @var{program_index} is the zero-based program index.
1129 If metadata specifier is omitted, it defaults to global.
1131 By default, global metadata is copied from the first input file,
1132 per-stream and per-chapter metadata is copied along with streams/chapters. These
1133 default mappings are disabled by creating any mapping of the relevant type. A negative
1134 file index can be used to create a dummy mapping that just disables automatic copying.
1136 For example to copy metadata from the first stream of the input file to global metadata
1139 ffmpeg -i in.ogg -map_metadata 0:s:0 out.mp3
1142 To do the reverse, i.e. copy global metadata to all audio streams:
1144 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -map_metadata:s:a 0:g out.mkv
1146 Note that simple @code{0} would work as well in this example, since global
1147 metadata is assumed by default.
1149 @item -map_chapters @var{input_file_index} (@emph{output})
1150 Copy chapters from input file with index @var{input_file_index} to the next
1151 output file. If no chapter mapping is specified, then chapters are copied from
1152 the first input file with at least one chapter. Use a negative file index to
1153 disable any chapter copying.
1155 @item -benchmark (@emph{global})
1156 Show benchmarking information at the end of an encode.
1157 Shows real, system and user time used and maximum memory consumption.
1158 Maximum memory consumption is not supported on all systems,
1159 it will usually display as 0 if not supported.
1160 @item -benchmark_all (@emph{global})
1161 Show benchmarking information during the encode.
1162 Shows real, system and user time used in various steps (audio/video encode/decode).
1163 @item -timelimit @var{duration} (@emph{global})
1164 Exit after ffmpeg has been running for @var{duration} seconds.
1165 @item -dump (@emph{global})
1166 Dump each input packet to stderr.
1167 @item -hex (@emph{global})
1168 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
1169 @item -re (@emph{input})
1170 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device,
1171 or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used
1172 with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet
1174 By default @command{ffmpeg} attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible.
1175 This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate
1176 of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).
1177 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
1178 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
1179 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
1180 This option is deprecated, use -loop.
1181 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
1183 For compatibility reasons old values can be specified as numbers.
1184 Newly added values will have to be specified as strings always.
1187 @item 0, passthrough
1188 Each frame is passed with its timestamp from the demuxer to the muxer.
1190 Frames will be duplicated and dropped to achieve exactly the requested
1191 constant frame rate.
1193 Frames are passed through with their timestamp or dropped so as to
1194 prevent 2 frames from having the same timestamp.
1196 As passthrough but destroys all timestamps, making the muxer generate
1197 fresh timestamps based on frame-rate.
1199 Chooses between 1 and 2 depending on muxer capabilities. This is the
1203 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1204 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1207 With -map you can select from which stream the timestamps should be
1208 taken. You can leave either video or audio unchanged and sync the
1209 remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
1211 @item -frame_drop_threshold @var{parameter}
1212 Frame drop threshold, which specifies how much behind video frames can
1213 be before they are dropped. In frame rate units, so 1.0 is one frame.
1214 The default is -1.1. One possible usecase is to avoid framedrops in case
1215 of noisy timestamps or to increase frame drop precision in case of exact
1218 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
1219 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
1220 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
1221 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
1222 without any later correction.
1224 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1225 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1228 This option has been deprecated. Use the @code{aresample} audio filter instead.
1231 Do not process input timestamps, but keep their values without trying
1232 to sanitize them. In particular, do not remove the initial start time
1235 Note that, depending on the @option{vsync} option or on specific muxer
1236 processing (e.g. in case the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1237 is enabled) the output timestamps may mismatch with the input
1238 timestamps even when this option is selected.
1240 @item -start_at_zero
1241 When used with @option{copyts}, shift input timestamps so they start at zero.
1243 This means that using e.g. @code{-ss 50} will make output timestamps start at
1244 50 seconds, regardless of what timestamp the input file started at.
1246 @item -copytb @var{mode}
1247 Specify how to set the encoder timebase when stream copying. @var{mode} is an
1248 integer numeric value, and can assume one of the following values:
1252 Use the demuxer timebase.
1254 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1255 demuxer. This is sometimes required to avoid non monotonically increasing
1256 timestamps when copying video streams with variable frame rate.
1259 Use the decoder timebase.
1261 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1265 Try to make the choice automatically, in order to generate a sane output.
1268 Default value is -1.
1270 @item -enc_time_base[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{timebase} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1271 Set the encoder timebase. @var{timebase} is a floating point number,
1272 and can assume one of the following values:
1276 Assign a default value according to the media type.
1278 For video - use 1/framerate, for audio - use 1/samplerate.
1281 Use the input stream timebase when possible.
1283 If an input stream is not available, the default timebase will be used.
1286 Use the provided number as the timebase.
1288 This field can be provided as a ratio of two integers (e.g. 1:24, 1:48000)
1289 or as a floating point number (e.g. 0.04166, 2.0833e-5)
1294 @item -bitexact (@emph{input/output})
1295 Enable bitexact mode for (de)muxer and (de/en)coder
1296 @item -shortest (@emph{output})
1297 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
1298 @item -dts_delta_threshold
1299 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
1300 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1301 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
1302 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1303 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
1304 @item -streamid @var{output-stream-index}:@var{new-value} (@emph{output})
1305 Assign a new stream-id value to an output stream. This option should be
1306 specified prior to the output filename to which it applies.
1307 For the situation where multiple output files exist, a streamid
1308 may be reassigned to a different value.
1310 For example, to set the stream 0 PID to 33 and the stream 1 PID to 36 for
1311 an output mpegts file:
1313 ffmpeg -i inurl -streamid 0:33 -streamid 1:36 out.ts
1316 @item -bsf[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{bitstream_filters} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1317 Set bitstream filters for matching streams. @var{bitstream_filters} is
1318 a comma-separated list of bitstream filters. Use the @code{-bsfs} option
1319 to get the list of bitstream filters.
1321 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -c:v copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
1324 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -bsf:s mov2textsub -c:s copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
1327 @item -tag[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec_tag} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
1328 Force a tag/fourcc for matching streams.
1330 @item -timecode @var{hh}:@var{mm}:@var{ss}SEP@var{ff}
1331 Specify Timecode for writing. @var{SEP} is ':' for non drop timecode and ';'
1334 ffmpeg -i input.mpg -timecode 01:02:03.04 -r 30000/1001 -s ntsc output.mpg
1337 @anchor{filter_complex_option}
1338 @item -filter_complex @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1339 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1340 outputs. For simple graphs -- those with one input and one output of the same
1341 type -- see the @option{-filter} options. @var{filtergraph} is a description of
1342 the filtergraph, as described in the ``Filtergraph syntax'' section of the
1343 ffmpeg-filters manual.
1345 Input link labels must refer to input streams using the
1346 @code{[file_index:stream_specifier]} syntax (i.e. the same as @option{-map}
1347 uses). If @var{stream_specifier} matches multiple streams, the first one will be
1348 used. An unlabeled input will be connected to the first unused input stream of
1351 Output link labels are referred to with @option{-map}. Unlabeled outputs are
1352 added to the first output file.
1354 Note that with this option it is possible to use only lavfi sources without
1357 For example, to overlay an image over video
1359 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex '[0:v][1:v]overlay[out]' -map
1362 Here @code{[0:v]} refers to the first video stream in the first input file,
1363 which is linked to the first (main) input of the overlay filter. Similarly the
1364 first video stream in the second input is linked to the second (overlay) input
1367 Assuming there is only one video stream in each input file, we can omit input
1368 labels, so the above is equivalent to
1370 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay[out]' -map
1374 Furthermore we can omit the output label and the single output from the filter
1375 graph will be added to the output file automatically, so we can simply write
1377 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay' out.mkv
1380 To generate 5 seconds of pure red video using lavfi @code{color} source:
1382 ffmpeg -filter_complex 'color=c=red' -t 5 out.mkv
1385 @item -filter_complex_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
1386 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter_complex graph.
1387 Similar to filter_threads but used for @code{-filter_complex} graphs only.
1388 The default is the number of available CPUs.
1390 @item -lavfi @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1391 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1392 outputs. Equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
1394 @item -filter_complex_script @var{filename} (@emph{global})
1395 This option is similar to @option{-filter_complex}, the only difference is that
1396 its argument is the name of the file from which a complex filtergraph
1397 description is to be read.
1399 @item -accurate_seek (@emph{input})
1400 This option enables or disables accurate seeking in input files with the
1401 @option{-ss} option. It is enabled by default, so seeking is accurate when
1402 transcoding. Use @option{-noaccurate_seek} to disable it, which may be useful
1403 e.g. when copying some streams and transcoding the others.
1405 @item -seek_timestamp (@emph{input})
1406 This option enables or disables seeking by timestamp in input files with the
1407 @option{-ss} option. It is disabled by default. If enabled, the argument
1408 to the @option{-ss} option is considered an actual timestamp, and is not
1409 offset by the start time of the file. This matters only for files which do
1410 not start from timestamp 0, such as transport streams.
1412 @item -thread_queue_size @var{size} (@emph{input})
1413 This option sets the maximum number of queued packets when reading from the
1414 file or device. With low latency / high rate live streams, packets may be
1415 discarded if they are not read in a timely manner; raising this value can
1418 @item -sdp_file @var{file} (@emph{global})
1419 Print sdp information for an output stream to @var{file}.
1420 This allows dumping sdp information when at least one output isn't an
1421 rtp stream. (Requires at least one of the output formats to be rtp).
1423 @item -discard (@emph{input})
1424 Allows discarding specific streams or frames of streams at the demuxer.
1425 Not all demuxers support this.
1432 Default, which discards no frames.
1435 Discard all non-reference frames.
1438 Discard all bidirectional frames.
1441 Discard all frames excepts keyframes.
1447 @item -abort_on @var{flags} (@emph{global})
1448 Stop and abort on various conditions. The following flags are available:
1452 No packets were passed to the muxer, the output is empty.
1455 @item -xerror (@emph{global})
1456 Stop and exit on error
1458 @item -max_muxing_queue_size @var{packets} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1459 When transcoding audio and/or video streams, ffmpeg will not begin writing into
1460 the output until it has one packet for each such stream. While waiting for that
1461 to happen, packets for other streams are buffered. This option sets the size of
1462 this buffer, in packets, for the matching output stream.
1464 The default value of this option should be high enough for most uses, so only
1465 touch this option if you are sure that you need it.
1469 As a special exception, you can use a bitmap subtitle stream as input: it
1470 will be converted into a video with the same size as the largest video in
1471 the file, or 720x576 if no video is present. Note that this is an
1472 experimental and temporary solution. It will be removed once libavfilter has
1473 proper support for subtitles.
1475 For example, to hardcode subtitles on top of a DVB-T recording stored in
1476 MPEG-TS format, delaying the subtitles by 1 second:
1478 ffmpeg -i input.ts -filter_complex \
1479 '[#0x2ef] setpts=PTS+1/TB [sub] ; [#0x2d0] [sub] overlay' \
1480 -sn -map '#0x2dc' output.mkv
1482 (0x2d0, 0x2dc and 0x2ef are the MPEG-TS PIDs of respectively the video,
1483 audio and subtitles streams; 0:0, 0:3 and 0:7 would have worked too)
1485 @section Preset files
1486 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
1487 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
1488 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
1489 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
1490 the @file{presets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
1492 There are two types of preset files: ffpreset and avpreset files.
1494 @subsection ffpreset files
1495 ffpreset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre},
1496 @code{spre}, and @code{fpre} options. The @code{fpre} option takes the
1497 filename of the preset instead of a preset name as input and can be
1498 used for any kind of codec. For the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and
1499 @code{spre} options, the options specified in a preset file are
1500 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
1503 The argument passed to the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and @code{spre}
1504 preset options identifies the preset file to use according to the
1507 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
1508 directories @file{$FFMPEG_DATADIR} (if set), and @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in
1509 the datadir defined at configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg})
1510 or in a @file{ffpresets} folder along the executable on win32,
1511 in that order. For example, if the argument is @code{libvpx-1080p}, it will
1512 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1514 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1515 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
1516 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
1517 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
1518 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-vpre 1080p},
1519 then it will search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1521 @subsection avpreset files
1522 avpreset files are specified with the @code{pre} option. They work similar to
1523 ffpreset files, but they only allow encoder- specific options. Therefore, an
1524 @var{option}=@var{value} pair specifying an encoder cannot be used.
1526 When the @code{pre} option is specified, ffmpeg will look for files with the
1527 suffix .avpreset in the directories @file{$AVCONV_DATADIR} (if set), and
1528 @file{$HOME/.avconv}, and in the datadir defined at configuration time (usually
1529 @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}), in that order.
1531 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.avpreset in
1532 the above-mentioned directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec
1533 to which the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select the
1534 video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-pre 1080p}, then it will
1535 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.avpreset}.
1537 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1538 @var{arg}.avpreset in the same directories.
1543 @c man begin EXAMPLES
1545 @section Video and Audio grabbing
1547 If you specify the input format and device then ffmpeg can grab video
1551 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1554 Or with an ALSA audio source (mono input, card id 1) instead of OSS:
1556 ffmpeg -f alsa -ac 1 -i hw:1 -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1559 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
1560 launching ffmpeg with any TV viewer such as
1561 @uref{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/, xawtv} by Gerd Knorr. You also
1562 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
1565 @section X11 grabbing
1567 Grab the X11 display with ffmpeg via
1570 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
1573 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
1574 the DISPLAY environment variable.
1577 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
1580 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
1581 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
1583 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
1585 Any supported file format and protocol can serve as input to ffmpeg:
1590 You can use YUV files as input:
1593 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
1596 It will use the files:
1598 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
1599 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
1602 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
1603 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
1604 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
1605 if ffmpeg cannot guess it.
1608 You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
1611 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
1614 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
1615 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
1616 horizontal resolution.
1619 You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
1622 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
1626 You can set several input files and output files:
1629 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
1632 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
1636 You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
1639 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
1642 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
1645 You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
1646 mapping from input stream to output streams:
1649 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -map 0:a -b:a 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -map 0:a -b:a 128k /tmp/b.mp2
1652 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
1653 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
1654 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
1657 You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
1660 ffmpeg -i snatch_1.vob -f avi -c:v mpeg4 -b:v 800k -g 300 -bf 2 -c:a libmp3lame -b:a 128k snatch.avi
1663 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
1664 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
1665 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
1666 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
1667 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
1668 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
1669 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
1670 to get the desired audio language.
1672 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -demuxers}.
1675 You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
1677 For extracting images from a video:
1679 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
1682 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
1683 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
1684 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
1686 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
1687 above command in combination with the @code{-frames:v} or @code{-t} option,
1688 or in combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
1690 For creating a video from many images:
1692 ffmpeg -f image2 -framerate 12 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -s WxH foo.avi
1695 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
1696 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
1697 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
1698 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
1700 When importing an image sequence, -i also supports expanding
1701 shell-like wildcard patterns (globbing) internally, by selecting the
1702 image2-specific @code{-pattern_type glob} option.
1704 For example, for creating a video from filenames matching the glob pattern
1707 ffmpeg -f image2 -pattern_type glob -framerate 12 -i 'foo-*.jpeg' -s WxH foo.avi
1711 You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
1714 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -map 1:1 -map 1:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -c copy -y test12.nut
1717 The resulting output file @file{test12.nut} will contain the first four streams
1718 from the input files in reverse order.
1721 To force CBR video output:
1723 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
1727 The four options lmin, lmax, mblmin and mblmax use 'lambda' units,
1728 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
1730 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
1736 @include config.texi
1738 @ifset config-avutil
1741 @ifset config-avcodec
1742 @include codecs.texi
1743 @include bitstream_filters.texi
1745 @ifset config-avformat
1746 @include formats.texi
1747 @include protocols.texi
1749 @ifset config-avdevice
1750 @include devices.texi
1752 @ifset config-swresample
1753 @include resampler.texi
1755 @ifset config-swscale
1756 @include scaler.texi
1758 @ifset config-avfilter
1759 @include filters.texi
1767 @url{ffmpeg.html,ffmpeg}
1769 @ifset config-not-all
1770 @url{ffmpeg-all.html,ffmpeg-all},
1772 @url{ffplay.html,ffplay}, @url{ffprobe.html,ffprobe},
1773 @url{ffmpeg-utils.html,ffmpeg-utils},
1774 @url{ffmpeg-scaler.html,ffmpeg-scaler},
1775 @url{ffmpeg-resampler.html,ffmpeg-resampler},
1776 @url{ffmpeg-codecs.html,ffmpeg-codecs},
1777 @url{ffmpeg-bitstream-filters.html,ffmpeg-bitstream-filters},
1778 @url{ffmpeg-formats.html,ffmpeg-formats},
1779 @url{ffmpeg-devices.html,ffmpeg-devices},
1780 @url{ffmpeg-protocols.html,ffmpeg-protocols},
1781 @url{ffmpeg-filters.html,ffmpeg-filters}
1788 @ifset config-not-all
1791 ffplay(1), ffprobe(1),
1792 ffmpeg-utils(1), ffmpeg-scaler(1), ffmpeg-resampler(1),
1793 ffmpeg-codecs(1), ffmpeg-bitstream-filters(1), ffmpeg-formats(1),
1794 ffmpeg-devices(1), ffmpeg-protocols(1), ffmpeg-filters(1)
1797 @include authors.texi
1802 @settitle ffmpeg video converter