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_file}@} ... @{[@var{output_file_options}] @file{output_file}@} ...
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 filename. Anything found on the command line which
28 cannot be interpreted as an option is considered to be an output filename.
30 Each input or output file 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{filename} (@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 filename), 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{output})
293 Stop writing the output 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 filename), 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 -program [title=@var{title}:][program_num=@var{program_num}:]st=@var{stream}[:st=@var{stream}...] (@emph{output})
362 Creates a program with the specified @var{title}, @var{program_num} and adds the specified
363 @var{stream}(s) to it.
365 @item -target @var{type} (@emph{output})
366 Specify target file type (@code{vcd}, @code{svcd}, @code{dvd}, @code{dv},
367 @code{dv50}). @var{type} may be prefixed with @code{pal-}, @code{ntsc-} or
368 @code{film-} to use the corresponding standard. All the format options
369 (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are then set automatically. You can just type:
372 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg
375 Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know
376 they do not conflict with the standard, as in:
379 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg
382 @item -dframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
383 Set the number of data frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:d}.
385 @item -frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{framecount} (@emph{output,per-stream})
386 Stop writing to the stream after @var{framecount} frames.
388 @item -q[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
389 @itemx -qscale[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
390 Use fixed quality scale (VBR). The meaning of @var{q}/@var{qscale} is
392 If @var{qscale} is used without a @var{stream_specifier} then it applies only
393 to the video stream, this is to maintain compatibility with previous behavior
394 and as specifying the same codec specific value to 2 different codecs that is
395 audio and video generally is not what is intended when no stream_specifier is
398 @anchor{filter_option}
399 @item -filter[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output,per-stream})
400 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
403 @var{filtergraph} is a description of the filtergraph to apply to
404 the stream, and must have a single input and a single output of the
405 same type of the stream. In the filtergraph, the input is associated
406 to the label @code{in}, and the output to the label @code{out}. See
407 the ffmpeg-filters manual for more information about the filtergraph
410 See the @ref{filter_complex_option,,-filter_complex option} if you
411 want to create filtergraphs with multiple inputs and/or outputs.
413 @item -filter_script[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{output,per-stream})
414 This option is similar to @option{-filter}, the only difference is that its
415 argument is the name of the file from which a filtergraph description is to be
418 @item -filter_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
419 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter pipeline. Each pipeline
420 will produce a thread pool with this many threads available for parallel processing.
421 The default is the number of available CPUs.
423 @item -pre[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{preset_name} (@emph{output,per-stream})
424 Specify the preset for matching stream(s).
426 @item -stats (@emph{global})
427 Print encoding progress/statistics. It is on by default, to explicitly
428 disable it you need to specify @code{-nostats}.
430 @item -progress @var{url} (@emph{global})
431 Send program-friendly progress information to @var{url}.
433 Progress information is written approximately every second and at the end of
434 the encoding process. It is made of "@var{key}=@var{value}" lines. @var{key}
435 consists of only alphanumeric characters. The last key of a sequence of
436 progress information is always "progress".
439 Enable interaction on standard input. On by default unless standard input is
440 used as an input. To explicitly disable interaction you need to specify
443 Disabling interaction on standard input is useful, for example, if
444 ffmpeg is in the background process group. Roughly the same result can
445 be achieved with @code{ffmpeg ... < /dev/null} but it requires a
448 @item -debug_ts (@emph{global})
449 Print timestamp information. It is off by default. This option is
450 mostly useful for testing and debugging purposes, and the output
451 format may change from one version to another, so it should not be
452 employed by portable scripts.
454 See also the option @code{-fdebug ts}.
456 @item -attach @var{filename} (@emph{output})
457 Add an attachment to the output file. This is supported by a few formats
458 like Matroska for e.g. fonts used in rendering subtitles. Attachments
459 are implemented as a specific type of stream, so this option will add
460 a new stream to the file. It is then possible to use per-stream options
461 on this stream in the usual way. Attachment streams created with this
462 option will be created after all the other streams (i.e. those created
463 with @code{-map} or automatic mappings).
465 Note that for Matroska you also have to set the mimetype metadata tag:
467 ffmpeg -i INPUT -attach DejaVuSans.ttf -metadata:s:2 mimetype=application/x-truetype-font out.mkv
469 (assuming that the attachment stream will be third in the output file).
471 @item -dump_attachment[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{input,per-stream})
472 Extract the matching attachment stream into a file named @var{filename}. If
473 @var{filename} is empty, then the value of the @code{filename} metadata tag
476 E.g. to extract the first attachment to a file named 'out.ttf':
478 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t:0 out.ttf -i INPUT
480 To extract all attachments to files determined by the @code{filename} tag:
482 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t "" -i INPUT
485 Technical note -- attachments are implemented as codec extradata, so this
486 option can actually be used to extract extradata from any stream, not just
490 Disable automatically rotating video based on file metadata.
494 @section Video Options
497 @item -vframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
498 Set the number of video frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:v}.
499 @item -r[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{fps} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
500 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation).
502 As an input option, ignore any timestamps stored in the file and instead
503 generate timestamps assuming constant frame rate @var{fps}.
504 This is not the same as the @option{-framerate} option used for some input formats
505 like image2 or v4l2 (it used to be the same in older versions of FFmpeg).
506 If in doubt use @option{-framerate} instead of the input option @option{-r}.
508 As an output option, duplicate or drop input frames to achieve constant output
509 frame rate @var{fps}.
511 @item -s[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{size} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
514 As an input option, this is a shortcut for the @option{video_size} private
515 option, recognized by some demuxers for which the frame size is either not
516 stored in the file or is configurable -- e.g. raw video or video grabbers.
518 As an output option, this inserts the @code{scale} video filter to the
519 @emph{end} of the corresponding filtergraph. Please use the @code{scale} filter
520 directly to insert it at the beginning or some other place.
522 The format is @samp{wxh} (default - same as source).
524 @item -aspect[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{aspect} (@emph{output,per-stream})
525 Set the video display aspect ratio specified by @var{aspect}.
527 @var{aspect} can be a floating point number string, or a string of the
528 form @var{num}:@var{den}, where @var{num} and @var{den} are the
529 numerator and denominator of the aspect ratio. For example "4:3",
530 "16:9", "1.3333", and "1.7777" are valid argument values.
532 If used together with @option{-vcodec copy}, it will affect the aspect ratio
533 stored at container level, but not the aspect ratio stored in encoded
534 frames, if it exists.
536 @item -vn (@emph{output})
537 Disable video recording.
539 @item -vcodec @var{codec} (@emph{output})
540 Set the video codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:v}.
542 @item -pass[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
543 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
544 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
545 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
546 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
547 at the exact requested bitrate.
548 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
549 examples for Windows and Unix:
551 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
552 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
555 @item -passlogfile[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{prefix} (@emph{output,per-stream})
556 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
557 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
558 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
561 @item -vf @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
562 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
565 This is an alias for @code{-filter:v}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
568 @section Advanced Video options
571 @item -pix_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{format} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
572 Set pixel format. Use @code{-pix_fmts} to show all the supported
574 If the selected pixel format can not be selected, ffmpeg will print a
575 warning and select the best pixel format supported by the encoder.
576 If @var{pix_fmt} is prefixed by a @code{+}, ffmpeg will exit with an error
577 if the requested pixel format can not be selected, and automatic conversions
578 inside filtergraphs are disabled.
579 If @var{pix_fmt} is a single @code{+}, ffmpeg selects the same pixel format
580 as the input (or graph output) and automatic conversions are disabled.
582 @item -sws_flags @var{flags} (@emph{input/output})
587 @item -rc_override[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{override} (@emph{output,per-stream})
588 Rate control override for specific intervals, formatted as "int,int,int"
589 list separated with slashes. Two first values are the beginning and
590 end frame numbers, last one is quantizer to use if positive, or quality
594 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
595 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
596 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
597 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
598 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
600 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
602 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
603 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
604 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
605 @item -top[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
606 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
607 @item -dc @var{precision}
609 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
610 Force video tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:v}.
611 @item -qphist (@emph{global})
613 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
616 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{time}[,@var{time}...] (@emph{output,per-stream})
617 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] expr:@var{expr} (@emph{output,per-stream})
618 Force key frames at the specified timestamps, more precisely at the first
619 frames after each specified time.
621 If the argument is prefixed with @code{expr:}, the string @var{expr}
622 is interpreted like an expression and is evaluated for each frame. A
623 key frame is forced in case the evaluation is non-zero.
625 If one of the times is "@code{chapters}[@var{delta}]", it is expanded into
626 the time of the beginning of all chapters in the file, shifted by
627 @var{delta}, expressed as a time in seconds.
628 This option can be useful to ensure that a seek point is present at a
629 chapter mark or any other designated place in the output file.
631 For example, to insert a key frame at 5 minutes, plus key frames 0.1 second
632 before the beginning of every chapter:
634 -force_key_frames 0:05:00,chapters-0.1
637 The expression in @var{expr} can contain the following constants:
640 the number of current processed frame, starting from 0
642 the number of forced frames
644 the number of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
645 keyframe was forced yet
647 the time of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
648 keyframe was forced yet
650 the time of the current processed frame
653 For example to force a key frame every 5 seconds, you can specify:
655 -force_key_frames expr:gte(t,n_forced*5)
658 To force a key frame 5 seconds after the time of the last forced one,
659 starting from second 13:
661 -force_key_frames expr:if(isnan(prev_forced_t),gte(t,13),gte(t,prev_forced_t+5))
664 Note that forcing too many keyframes is very harmful for the lookahead
665 algorithms of certain encoders: using fixed-GOP options or similar
666 would be more efficient.
668 @item -copyinkf[:@var{stream_specifier}] (@emph{output,per-stream})
669 When doing stream copy, copy also non-key frames found at the
672 @item -hwaccel[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel} (@emph{input,per-stream})
673 Use hardware acceleration to decode the matching stream(s). The allowed values
674 of @var{hwaccel} are:
677 Do not use any hardware acceleration (the default).
680 Automatically select the hardware acceleration method.
683 Use Apple VDA hardware acceleration.
686 Use VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix) hardware acceleration.
689 Use DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) hardware acceleration.
692 Use the Intel QuickSync Video acceleration for video transcoding.
694 Unlike most other values, this option does not enable accelerated decoding (that
695 is used automatically whenever a qsv decoder is selected), but accelerated
696 transcoding, without copying the frames into the system memory.
698 For it to work, both the decoder and the encoder must support QSV acceleration
699 and no filters must be used.
702 This option has no effect if the selected hwaccel is not available or not
703 supported by the chosen decoder.
705 Note that most acceleration methods are intended for playback and will not be
706 faster than software decoding on modern CPUs. Additionally, @command{ffmpeg}
707 will usually need to copy the decoded frames from the GPU memory into the system
708 memory, resulting in further performance loss. This option is thus mainly
711 @item -hwaccel_device[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel_device} (@emph{input,per-stream})
712 Select a device to use for hardware acceleration.
714 This option only makes sense when the @option{-hwaccel} option is also
715 specified. Its exact meaning depends on the specific hardware acceleration
720 For VDPAU, this option specifies the X11 display/screen to use. If this option
721 is not specified, the value of the @var{DISPLAY} environment variable is used
724 For DXVA2, this option should contain the number of the display adapter to use.
725 If this option is not specified, the default adapter is used.
728 For QSV, this option corresponds to the values of MFX_IMPL_* . Allowed values
743 List all hardware acceleration methods supported in this build of ffmpeg.
747 @section Audio Options
750 @item -aframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
751 Set the number of audio frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:a}.
752 @item -ar[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{freq} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
753 Set the audio sampling frequency. For output streams it is set by
754 default to the frequency of the corresponding input stream. For input
755 streams this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw
756 demuxers and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
757 @item -aq @var{q} (@emph{output})
758 Set the audio quality (codec-specific, VBR). This is an alias for -q:a.
759 @item -ac[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{channels} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
760 Set the number of audio channels. For output streams it is set by
761 default to the number of input audio channels. For input streams
762 this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw demuxers
763 and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
764 @item -an (@emph{output})
765 Disable audio recording.
766 @item -acodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
767 Set the audio codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:a}.
768 @item -sample_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{sample_fmt} (@emph{output,per-stream})
769 Set the audio sample format. Use @code{-sample_fmts} to get a list
770 of supported sample formats.
772 @item -af @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
773 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
776 This is an alias for @code{-filter:a}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
779 @section Advanced Audio options
782 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
783 Force audio tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:a}.
784 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
786 @item -guess_layout_max @var{channels} (@emph{input,per-stream})
787 If some input channel layout is not known, try to guess only if it
788 corresponds to at most the specified number of channels. For example, 2
789 tells to @command{ffmpeg} to recognize 1 channel as mono and 2 channels as
790 stereo but not 6 channels as 5.1. The default is to always try to guess. Use
791 0 to disable all guessing.
794 @section Subtitle options
797 @item -scodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
798 Set the subtitle codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:s}.
799 @item -sn (@emph{output})
800 Disable subtitle recording.
801 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
805 @section Advanced Subtitle options
809 @item -fix_sub_duration
810 Fix subtitles durations. For each subtitle, wait for the next packet in the
811 same stream and adjust the duration of the first to avoid overlap. This is
812 necessary with some subtitles codecs, especially DVB subtitles, because the
813 duration in the original packet is only a rough estimate and the end is
814 actually marked by an empty subtitle frame. Failing to use this option when
815 necessary can result in exaggerated durations or muxing failures due to
816 non-monotonic timestamps.
818 Note that this option will delay the output of all data until the next
819 subtitle packet is decoded: it may increase memory consumption and latency a
822 @item -canvas_size @var{size}
823 Set the size of the canvas used to render subtitles.
827 @section Advanced options
830 @item -map [-]@var{input_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}][,@var{sync_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}]] | @var{[linklabel]} (@emph{output})
832 Designate one or more input streams as a source for the output file. Each input
833 stream is identified by the input file index @var{input_file_id} and
834 the input stream index @var{input_stream_id} within the input
835 file. Both indices start at 0. If specified,
836 @var{sync_file_id}:@var{stream_specifier} sets which input stream
837 is used as a presentation sync reference.
839 The first @code{-map} option on the command line specifies the
840 source for output stream 0, the second @code{-map} option specifies
841 the source for output stream 1, etc.
843 A @code{-} character before the stream identifier creates a "negative" mapping.
844 It disables matching streams from already created mappings.
846 An alternative @var{[linklabel]} form will map outputs from complex filter
847 graphs (see the @option{-filter_complex} option) to the output file.
848 @var{linklabel} must correspond to a defined output link label in the graph.
850 For example, to map ALL streams from the first input file to output
852 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 output
855 For example, if you have two audio streams in the first input file,
856 these streams are identified by "0:0" and "0:1". You can use
857 @code{-map} to select which streams to place in an output file. For
860 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:1 out.wav
862 will map the input stream in @file{INPUT} identified by "0:1" to
863 the (single) output stream in @file{out.wav}.
865 For example, to select the stream with index 2 from input file
866 @file{a.mov} (specified by the identifier "0:2"), and stream with
867 index 6 from input @file{b.mov} (specified by the identifier "1:6"),
868 and copy them to the output file @file{out.mov}:
870 ffmpeg -i a.mov -i b.mov -c copy -map 0:2 -map 1:6 out.mov
873 To select all video and the third audio stream from an input file:
875 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a:2 OUTPUT
878 To map all the streams except the second audio, use negative mappings
880 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -map -0:a:1 OUTPUT
883 To pick the English audio stream:
885 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:m:language:eng OUTPUT
888 Note that using this option disables the default mappings for this output file.
890 @item -ignore_unknown
891 Ignore input streams with unknown type instead of failing if copying
892 such streams is attempted.
895 Allow input streams with unknown type to be copied instead of failing if copying
896 such streams is attempted.
898 @item -map_channel [@var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id}|-1][:@var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}]
899 Map an audio channel from a given input to an output. If
900 @var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier} is not set, the audio channel will
901 be mapped on all the audio streams.
903 Using "-1" instead of
904 @var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id} will map a muted
907 For example, assuming @var{INPUT} is a stereo audio file, you can switch the
908 two audio channels with the following command:
910 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.1 -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT
913 If you want to mute the first channel and keep the second:
915 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel -1 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT
918 The order of the "-map_channel" option specifies the order of the channels in
919 the output stream. The output channel layout is guessed from the number of
920 channels mapped (mono if one "-map_channel", stereo if two, etc.). Using "-ac"
921 in combination of "-map_channel" makes the channel gain levels to be updated if
922 input and output channel layouts don't match (for instance two "-map_channel"
923 options and "-ac 6").
925 You can also extract each channel of an input to specific outputs; the following
926 command extracts two channels of the @var{INPUT} audio stream (file 0, stream 0)
927 to the respective @var{OUTPUT_CH0} and @var{OUTPUT_CH1} outputs:
929 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT_CH0 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT_CH1
932 The following example splits the channels of a stereo input into two separate
933 streams, which are put into the same output file:
935 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
938 Note that currently each output stream can only contain channels from a single
939 input stream; you can't for example use "-map_channel" to pick multiple input
940 audio channels contained in different streams (from the same or different files)
941 and merge them into a single output stream. It is therefore not currently
942 possible, for example, to turn two separate mono streams into a single stereo
943 stream. However splitting a stereo stream into two single channel mono streams
946 If you need this feature, a possible workaround is to use the @emph{amerge}
947 filter. For example, if you need to merge a media (here @file{input.mkv}) with 2
948 mono audio streams into one single stereo channel audio stream (and keep the
949 video stream), you can use the following command:
951 ffmpeg -i input.mkv -filter_complex "[0:1] [0:2] amerge" -c:a pcm_s16le -c:v copy output.mkv
954 @item -map_metadata[:@var{metadata_spec_out}] @var{infile}[:@var{metadata_spec_in}] (@emph{output,per-metadata})
955 Set metadata information of the next output file from @var{infile}. Note that
956 those are file indices (zero-based), not filenames.
957 Optional @var{metadata_spec_in/out} parameters specify, which metadata to copy.
958 A metadata specifier can have the following forms:
961 global metadata, i.e. metadata that applies to the whole file
963 @item @var{s}[:@var{stream_spec}]
964 per-stream metadata. @var{stream_spec} is a stream specifier as described
965 in the @ref{Stream specifiers} chapter. In an input metadata specifier, the first
966 matching stream is copied from. In an output metadata specifier, all matching
967 streams are copied to.
969 @item @var{c}:@var{chapter_index}
970 per-chapter metadata. @var{chapter_index} is the zero-based chapter index.
972 @item @var{p}:@var{program_index}
973 per-program metadata. @var{program_index} is the zero-based program index.
975 If metadata specifier is omitted, it defaults to global.
977 By default, global metadata is copied from the first input file,
978 per-stream and per-chapter metadata is copied along with streams/chapters. These
979 default mappings are disabled by creating any mapping of the relevant type. A negative
980 file index can be used to create a dummy mapping that just disables automatic copying.
982 For example to copy metadata from the first stream of the input file to global metadata
985 ffmpeg -i in.ogg -map_metadata 0:s:0 out.mp3
988 To do the reverse, i.e. copy global metadata to all audio streams:
990 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -map_metadata:s:a 0:g out.mkv
992 Note that simple @code{0} would work as well in this example, since global
993 metadata is assumed by default.
995 @item -map_chapters @var{input_file_index} (@emph{output})
996 Copy chapters from input file with index @var{input_file_index} to the next
997 output file. If no chapter mapping is specified, then chapters are copied from
998 the first input file with at least one chapter. Use a negative file index to
999 disable any chapter copying.
1001 @item -benchmark (@emph{global})
1002 Show benchmarking information at the end of an encode.
1003 Shows CPU time used and maximum memory consumption.
1004 Maximum memory consumption is not supported on all systems,
1005 it will usually display as 0 if not supported.
1006 @item -benchmark_all (@emph{global})
1007 Show benchmarking information during the encode.
1008 Shows CPU time used in various steps (audio/video encode/decode).
1009 @item -timelimit @var{duration} (@emph{global})
1010 Exit after ffmpeg has been running for @var{duration} seconds.
1011 @item -dump (@emph{global})
1012 Dump each input packet to stderr.
1013 @item -hex (@emph{global})
1014 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
1015 @item -re (@emph{input})
1016 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device,
1017 or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used
1018 with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet
1020 By default @command{ffmpeg} attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible.
1021 This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate
1022 of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).
1024 Loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image
1025 streams. This option is used for automatic FFserver testing.
1026 This option is deprecated, use -loop 1.
1027 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
1028 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
1029 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
1030 This option is deprecated, use -loop.
1031 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
1033 For compatibility reasons old values can be specified as numbers.
1034 Newly added values will have to be specified as strings always.
1037 @item 0, passthrough
1038 Each frame is passed with its timestamp from the demuxer to the muxer.
1040 Frames will be duplicated and dropped to achieve exactly the requested
1041 constant frame rate.
1043 Frames are passed through with their timestamp or dropped so as to
1044 prevent 2 frames from having the same timestamp.
1046 As passthrough but destroys all timestamps, making the muxer generate
1047 fresh timestamps based on frame-rate.
1049 Chooses between 1 and 2 depending on muxer capabilities. This is the
1053 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1054 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1057 With -map you can select from which stream the timestamps should be
1058 taken. You can leave either video or audio unchanged and sync the
1059 remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
1061 @item -frame_drop_threshold @var{parameter}
1062 Frame drop threshold, which specifies how much behind video frames can
1063 be before they are dropped. In frame rate units, so 1.0 is one frame.
1064 The default is -1.1. One possible usecase is to avoid framedrops in case
1065 of noisy timestamps or to increase frame drop precision in case of exact
1068 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
1069 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
1070 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
1071 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
1072 without any later correction.
1074 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1075 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1078 This option has been deprecated. Use the @code{aresample} audio filter instead.
1081 Do not process input timestamps, but keep their values without trying
1082 to sanitize them. In particular, do not remove the initial start time
1085 Note that, depending on the @option{vsync} option or on specific muxer
1086 processing (e.g. in case the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1087 is enabled) the output timestamps may mismatch with the input
1088 timestamps even when this option is selected.
1090 @item -start_at_zero
1091 When used with @option{copyts}, shift input timestamps so they start at zero.
1093 This means that using e.g. @code{-ss 50} will make output timestamps start at
1094 50 seconds, regardless of what timestamp the input file started at.
1096 @item -copytb @var{mode}
1097 Specify how to set the encoder timebase when stream copying. @var{mode} is an
1098 integer numeric value, and can assume one of the following values:
1102 Use the demuxer timebase.
1104 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1105 demuxer. This is sometimes required to avoid non monotonically increasing
1106 timestamps when copying video streams with variable frame rate.
1109 Use the decoder timebase.
1111 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1115 Try to make the choice automatically, in order to generate a sane output.
1118 Default value is -1.
1120 @item -shortest (@emph{output})
1121 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
1122 @item -dts_delta_threshold
1123 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
1124 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1125 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
1126 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1127 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
1128 @item -streamid @var{output-stream-index}:@var{new-value} (@emph{output})
1129 Assign a new stream-id value to an output stream. This option should be
1130 specified prior to the output filename to which it applies.
1131 For the situation where multiple output files exist, a streamid
1132 may be reassigned to a different value.
1134 For example, to set the stream 0 PID to 33 and the stream 1 PID to 36 for
1135 an output mpegts file:
1137 ffmpeg -i infile -streamid 0:33 -streamid 1:36 out.ts
1140 @item -bsf[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{bitstream_filters} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1141 Set bitstream filters for matching streams. @var{bitstream_filters} is
1142 a comma-separated list of bitstream filters. Use the @code{-bsfs} option
1143 to get the list of bitstream filters.
1145 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -c:v copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
1148 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -bsf:s mov2textsub -c:s copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
1151 @item -tag[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec_tag} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
1152 Force a tag/fourcc for matching streams.
1154 @item -timecode @var{hh}:@var{mm}:@var{ss}SEP@var{ff}
1155 Specify Timecode for writing. @var{SEP} is ':' for non drop timecode and ';'
1158 ffmpeg -i input.mpg -timecode 01:02:03.04 -r 30000/1001 -s ntsc output.mpg
1161 @anchor{filter_complex_option}
1162 @item -filter_complex @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1163 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1164 outputs. For simple graphs -- those with one input and one output of the same
1165 type -- see the @option{-filter} options. @var{filtergraph} is a description of
1166 the filtergraph, as described in the ``Filtergraph syntax'' section of the
1167 ffmpeg-filters manual.
1169 Input link labels must refer to input streams using the
1170 @code{[file_index:stream_specifier]} syntax (i.e. the same as @option{-map}
1171 uses). If @var{stream_specifier} matches multiple streams, the first one will be
1172 used. An unlabeled input will be connected to the first unused input stream of
1175 Output link labels are referred to with @option{-map}. Unlabeled outputs are
1176 added to the first output file.
1178 Note that with this option it is possible to use only lavfi sources without
1181 For example, to overlay an image over video
1183 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex '[0:v][1:v]overlay[out]' -map
1186 Here @code{[0:v]} refers to the first video stream in the first input file,
1187 which is linked to the first (main) input of the overlay filter. Similarly the
1188 first video stream in the second input is linked to the second (overlay) input
1191 Assuming there is only one video stream in each input file, we can omit input
1192 labels, so the above is equivalent to
1194 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay[out]' -map
1198 Furthermore we can omit the output label and the single output from the filter
1199 graph will be added to the output file automatically, so we can simply write
1201 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay' out.mkv
1204 To generate 5 seconds of pure red video using lavfi @code{color} source:
1206 ffmpeg -filter_complex 'color=c=red' -t 5 out.mkv
1209 @item -filter_complex_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
1210 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter_complex graph.
1211 Similar to filter_threads but used for @code{-filter_complex} graphs only.
1212 The default is the number of available CPUs.
1214 @item -lavfi @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1215 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1216 outputs. Equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
1218 @item -filter_complex_script @var{filename} (@emph{global})
1219 This option is similar to @option{-filter_complex}, the only difference is that
1220 its argument is the name of the file from which a complex filtergraph
1221 description is to be read.
1223 @item -accurate_seek (@emph{input})
1224 This option enables or disables accurate seeking in input files with the
1225 @option{-ss} option. It is enabled by default, so seeking is accurate when
1226 transcoding. Use @option{-noaccurate_seek} to disable it, which may be useful
1227 e.g. when copying some streams and transcoding the others.
1229 @item -seek_timestamp (@emph{input})
1230 This option enables or disables seeking by timestamp in input files with the
1231 @option{-ss} option. It is disabled by default. If enabled, the argument
1232 to the @option{-ss} option is considered an actual timestamp, and is not
1233 offset by the start time of the file. This matters only for files which do
1234 not start from timestamp 0, such as transport streams.
1236 @item -thread_queue_size @var{size} (@emph{input})
1237 This option sets the maximum number of queued packets when reading from the
1238 file or device. With low latency / high rate live streams, packets may be
1239 discarded if they are not read in a timely manner; raising this value can
1242 @item -override_ffserver (@emph{global})
1243 Overrides the input specifications from @command{ffserver}. Using this
1244 option you can map any input stream to @command{ffserver} and control
1245 many aspects of the encoding from @command{ffmpeg}. Without this
1246 option @command{ffmpeg} will transmit to @command{ffserver} what is
1247 requested by @command{ffserver}.
1249 The option is intended for cases where features are needed that cannot be
1250 specified to @command{ffserver} but can be to @command{ffmpeg}.
1252 @item -sdp_file @var{file} (@emph{global})
1253 Print sdp information for an output stream to @var{file}.
1254 This allows dumping sdp information when at least one output isn't an
1255 rtp stream. (Requires at least one of the output formats to be rtp).
1257 @item -discard (@emph{input})
1258 Allows discarding specific streams or frames of streams at the demuxer.
1259 Not all demuxers support this.
1266 Default, which discards no frames.
1269 Discard all non-reference frames.
1272 Discard all bidirectional frames.
1275 Discard all frames excepts keyframes.
1281 @item -abort_on @var{flags} (@emph{global})
1282 Stop and abort on various conditions. The following flags are available:
1286 No packets were passed to the muxer, the output is empty.
1289 @item -xerror (@emph{global})
1290 Stop and exit on error
1292 @item -max_muxing_queue_size @var{packets} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1293 When transcoding audio and/or video streams, ffmpeg will not begin writing into
1294 the output until it has one packet for each such stream. While waiting for that
1295 to happen, packets for other streams are buffered. This option sets the size of
1296 this buffer, in packets, for the matching output stream.
1298 The default value of this option should be high enough for most uses, so only
1299 touch this option if you are sure that you need it.
1303 As a special exception, you can use a bitmap subtitle stream as input: it
1304 will be converted into a video with the same size as the largest video in
1305 the file, or 720x576 if no video is present. Note that this is an
1306 experimental and temporary solution. It will be removed once libavfilter has
1307 proper support for subtitles.
1309 For example, to hardcode subtitles on top of a DVB-T recording stored in
1310 MPEG-TS format, delaying the subtitles by 1 second:
1312 ffmpeg -i input.ts -filter_complex \
1313 '[#0x2ef] setpts=PTS+1/TB [sub] ; [#0x2d0] [sub] overlay' \
1314 -sn -map '#0x2dc' output.mkv
1316 (0x2d0, 0x2dc and 0x2ef are the MPEG-TS PIDs of respectively the video,
1317 audio and subtitles streams; 0:0, 0:3 and 0:7 would have worked too)
1319 @section Preset files
1320 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
1321 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
1322 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
1323 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
1324 the @file{presets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
1326 There are two types of preset files: ffpreset and avpreset files.
1328 @subsection ffpreset files
1329 ffpreset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre},
1330 @code{spre}, and @code{fpre} options. The @code{fpre} option takes the
1331 filename of the preset instead of a preset name as input and can be
1332 used for any kind of codec. For the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and
1333 @code{spre} options, the options specified in a preset file are
1334 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
1337 The argument passed to the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and @code{spre}
1338 preset options identifies the preset file to use according to the
1341 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
1342 directories @file{$FFMPEG_DATADIR} (if set), and @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in
1343 the datadir defined at configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg})
1344 or in a @file{ffpresets} folder along the executable on win32,
1345 in that order. For example, if the argument is @code{libvpx-1080p}, it will
1346 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1348 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1349 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
1350 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
1351 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
1352 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-vpre 1080p},
1353 then it will search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1355 @subsection avpreset files
1356 avpreset files are specified with the @code{pre} option. They work similar to
1357 ffpreset files, but they only allow encoder- specific options. Therefore, an
1358 @var{option}=@var{value} pair specifying an encoder cannot be used.
1360 When the @code{pre} option is specified, ffmpeg will look for files with the
1361 suffix .avpreset in the directories @file{$AVCONV_DATADIR} (if set), and
1362 @file{$HOME/.avconv}, and in the datadir defined at configuration time (usually
1363 @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}), in that order.
1365 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.avpreset in
1366 the above-mentioned directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec
1367 to which the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select the
1368 video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-pre 1080p}, then it will
1369 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.avpreset}.
1371 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1372 @var{arg}.avpreset in the same directories.
1377 @c man begin EXAMPLES
1379 @section Video and Audio grabbing
1381 If you specify the input format and device then ffmpeg can grab video
1385 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1388 Or with an ALSA audio source (mono input, card id 1) instead of OSS:
1390 ffmpeg -f alsa -ac 1 -i hw:1 -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1393 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
1394 launching ffmpeg with any TV viewer such as
1395 @uref{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/, xawtv} by Gerd Knorr. You also
1396 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
1399 @section X11 grabbing
1401 Grab the X11 display with ffmpeg via
1404 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
1407 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
1408 the DISPLAY environment variable.
1411 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
1414 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
1415 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
1417 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
1419 Any supported file format and protocol can serve as input to ffmpeg:
1424 You can use YUV files as input:
1427 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
1430 It will use the files:
1432 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
1433 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
1436 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
1437 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
1438 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
1439 if ffmpeg cannot guess it.
1442 You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
1445 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
1448 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
1449 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
1450 horizontal resolution.
1453 You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
1456 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
1460 You can set several input files and output files:
1463 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
1466 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
1470 You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
1473 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
1476 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
1479 You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
1480 mapping from input stream to output streams:
1483 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -map 0:a -b:a 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -map 0:a -b:a 128k /tmp/b.mp2
1486 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
1487 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
1488 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
1491 You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
1494 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
1497 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
1498 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
1499 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
1500 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
1501 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
1502 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
1503 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
1504 to get the desired audio language.
1506 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -formats}.
1509 You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
1511 For extracting images from a video:
1513 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
1516 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
1517 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
1518 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
1520 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
1521 above command in combination with the -vframes or -t option, or in
1522 combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
1524 For creating a video from many images:
1526 ffmpeg -f image2 -framerate 12 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -s WxH foo.avi
1529 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
1530 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
1531 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
1532 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
1534 When importing an image sequence, -i also supports expanding
1535 shell-like wildcard patterns (globbing) internally, by selecting the
1536 image2-specific @code{-pattern_type glob} option.
1538 For example, for creating a video from filenames matching the glob pattern
1541 ffmpeg -f image2 -pattern_type glob -framerate 12 -i 'foo-*.jpeg' -s WxH foo.avi
1545 You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
1548 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -map 1:1 -map 1:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -c copy -y test12.nut
1551 The resulting output file @file{test12.nut} will contain the first four streams
1552 from the input files in reverse order.
1555 To force CBR video output:
1557 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
1561 The four options lmin, lmax, mblmin and mblmax use 'lambda' units,
1562 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
1564 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
1570 @include config.texi
1572 @ifset config-avutil
1575 @ifset config-avcodec
1576 @include codecs.texi
1577 @include bitstream_filters.texi
1579 @ifset config-avformat
1580 @include formats.texi
1581 @include protocols.texi
1583 @ifset config-avdevice
1584 @include devices.texi
1586 @ifset config-swresample
1587 @include resampler.texi
1589 @ifset config-swscale
1590 @include scaler.texi
1592 @ifset config-avfilter
1593 @include filters.texi
1601 @url{ffmpeg.html,ffmpeg}
1603 @ifset config-not-all
1604 @url{ffmpeg-all.html,ffmpeg-all},
1606 @url{ffplay.html,ffplay}, @url{ffprobe.html,ffprobe}, @url{ffserver.html,ffserver},
1607 @url{ffmpeg-utils.html,ffmpeg-utils},
1608 @url{ffmpeg-scaler.html,ffmpeg-scaler},
1609 @url{ffmpeg-resampler.html,ffmpeg-resampler},
1610 @url{ffmpeg-codecs.html,ffmpeg-codecs},
1611 @url{ffmpeg-bitstream-filters.html,ffmpeg-bitstream-filters},
1612 @url{ffmpeg-formats.html,ffmpeg-formats},
1613 @url{ffmpeg-devices.html,ffmpeg-devices},
1614 @url{ffmpeg-protocols.html,ffmpeg-protocols},
1615 @url{ffmpeg-filters.html,ffmpeg-filters}
1622 @ifset config-not-all
1625 ffplay(1), ffprobe(1), ffserver(1),
1626 ffmpeg-utils(1), ffmpeg-scaler(1), ffmpeg-resampler(1),
1627 ffmpeg-codecs(1), ffmpeg-bitstream-filters(1), ffmpeg-formats(1),
1628 ffmpeg-devices(1), ffmpeg-protocols(1), ffmpeg-filters(1)
1631 @include authors.texi
1636 @settitle ffmpeg video converter