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{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 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 -dframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
417 Set the number of data frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:d}.
419 @item -frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{framecount} (@emph{output,per-stream})
420 Stop writing to the stream after @var{framecount} frames.
422 @item -q[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
423 @itemx -qscale[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
424 Use fixed quality scale (VBR). The meaning of @var{q}/@var{qscale} is
426 If @var{qscale} is used without a @var{stream_specifier} then it applies only
427 to the video stream, this is to maintain compatibility with previous behavior
428 and as specifying the same codec specific value to 2 different codecs that is
429 audio and video generally is not what is intended when no stream_specifier is
432 @anchor{filter_option}
433 @item -filter[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output,per-stream})
434 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
437 @var{filtergraph} is a description of the filtergraph to apply to
438 the stream, and must have a single input and a single output of the
439 same type of the stream. In the filtergraph, the input is associated
440 to the label @code{in}, and the output to the label @code{out}. See
441 the ffmpeg-filters manual for more information about the filtergraph
444 See the @ref{filter_complex_option,,-filter_complex option} if you
445 want to create filtergraphs with multiple inputs and/or outputs.
447 @item -filter_script[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{output,per-stream})
448 This option is similar to @option{-filter}, the only difference is that its
449 argument is the name of the file from which a filtergraph description is to be
452 @item -filter_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
453 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter pipeline. Each pipeline
454 will produce a thread pool with this many threads available for parallel processing.
455 The default is the number of available CPUs.
457 @item -pre[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{preset_name} (@emph{output,per-stream})
458 Specify the preset for matching stream(s).
460 @item -stats (@emph{global})
461 Print encoding progress/statistics. It is on by default, to explicitly
462 disable it you need to specify @code{-nostats}.
464 @item -progress @var{url} (@emph{global})
465 Send program-friendly progress information to @var{url}.
467 Progress information is written approximately every second and at the end of
468 the encoding process. It is made of "@var{key}=@var{value}" lines. @var{key}
469 consists of only alphanumeric characters. The last key of a sequence of
470 progress information is always "progress".
473 Enable interaction on standard input. On by default unless standard input is
474 used as an input. To explicitly disable interaction you need to specify
477 Disabling interaction on standard input is useful, for example, if
478 ffmpeg is in the background process group. Roughly the same result can
479 be achieved with @code{ffmpeg ... < /dev/null} but it requires a
482 @item -debug_ts (@emph{global})
483 Print timestamp information. It is off by default. This option is
484 mostly useful for testing and debugging purposes, and the output
485 format may change from one version to another, so it should not be
486 employed by portable scripts.
488 See also the option @code{-fdebug ts}.
490 @item -attach @var{filename} (@emph{output})
491 Add an attachment to the output file. This is supported by a few formats
492 like Matroska for e.g. fonts used in rendering subtitles. Attachments
493 are implemented as a specific type of stream, so this option will add
494 a new stream to the file. It is then possible to use per-stream options
495 on this stream in the usual way. Attachment streams created with this
496 option will be created after all the other streams (i.e. those created
497 with @code{-map} or automatic mappings).
499 Note that for Matroska you also have to set the mimetype metadata tag:
501 ffmpeg -i INPUT -attach DejaVuSans.ttf -metadata:s:2 mimetype=application/x-truetype-font out.mkv
503 (assuming that the attachment stream will be third in the output file).
505 @item -dump_attachment[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{input,per-stream})
506 Extract the matching attachment stream into a file named @var{filename}. If
507 @var{filename} is empty, then the value of the @code{filename} metadata tag
510 E.g. to extract the first attachment to a file named 'out.ttf':
512 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t:0 out.ttf -i INPUT
514 To extract all attachments to files determined by the @code{filename} tag:
516 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t "" -i INPUT
519 Technical note -- attachments are implemented as codec extradata, so this
520 option can actually be used to extract extradata from any stream, not just
524 Disable automatically rotating video based on file metadata.
528 @section Video Options
531 @item -vframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
532 Set the number of video frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:v}.
533 @item -r[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{fps} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
534 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation).
536 As an input option, ignore any timestamps stored in the file and instead
537 generate timestamps assuming constant frame rate @var{fps}.
538 This is not the same as the @option{-framerate} option used for some input formats
539 like image2 or v4l2 (it used to be the same in older versions of FFmpeg).
540 If in doubt use @option{-framerate} instead of the input option @option{-r}.
542 As an output option, duplicate or drop input frames to achieve constant output
543 frame rate @var{fps}.
545 @item -s[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{size} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
548 As an input option, this is a shortcut for the @option{video_size} private
549 option, recognized by some demuxers for which the frame size is either not
550 stored in the file or is configurable -- e.g. raw video or video grabbers.
552 As an output option, this inserts the @code{scale} video filter to the
553 @emph{end} of the corresponding filtergraph. Please use the @code{scale} filter
554 directly to insert it at the beginning or some other place.
556 The format is @samp{wxh} (default - same as source).
558 @item -aspect[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{aspect} (@emph{output,per-stream})
559 Set the video display aspect ratio specified by @var{aspect}.
561 @var{aspect} can be a floating point number string, or a string of the
562 form @var{num}:@var{den}, where @var{num} and @var{den} are the
563 numerator and denominator of the aspect ratio. For example "4:3",
564 "16:9", "1.3333", and "1.7777" are valid argument values.
566 If used together with @option{-vcodec copy}, it will affect the aspect ratio
567 stored at container level, but not the aspect ratio stored in encoded
568 frames, if it exists.
570 @item -vn (@emph{output})
571 Disable video recording.
573 @item -vcodec @var{codec} (@emph{output})
574 Set the video codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:v}.
576 @item -pass[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
577 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
578 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
579 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
580 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
581 at the exact requested bitrate.
582 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
583 examples for Windows and Unix:
585 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
586 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
589 @item -passlogfile[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{prefix} (@emph{output,per-stream})
590 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
591 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
592 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
595 @item -vf @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
596 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
599 This is an alias for @code{-filter:v}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
602 @section Advanced Video options
605 @item -pix_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{format} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
606 Set pixel format. Use @code{-pix_fmts} to show all the supported
608 If the selected pixel format can not be selected, ffmpeg will print a
609 warning and select the best pixel format supported by the encoder.
610 If @var{pix_fmt} is prefixed by a @code{+}, ffmpeg will exit with an error
611 if the requested pixel format can not be selected, and automatic conversions
612 inside filtergraphs are disabled.
613 If @var{pix_fmt} is a single @code{+}, ffmpeg selects the same pixel format
614 as the input (or graph output) and automatic conversions are disabled.
616 @item -sws_flags @var{flags} (@emph{input/output})
621 @item -rc_override[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{override} (@emph{output,per-stream})
622 Rate control override for specific intervals, formatted as "int,int,int"
623 list separated with slashes. Two first values are the beginning and
624 end frame numbers, last one is quantizer to use if positive, or quality
628 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
629 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
630 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
631 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
632 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
634 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
636 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
637 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
638 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
639 @item -vstats_version @var{file}
640 Specifies which version of the vstats format to use. Default is 2.
644 @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}
648 @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}
649 @item -top[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
650 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
651 @item -dc @var{precision}
653 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
654 Force video tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:v}.
655 @item -qphist (@emph{global})
657 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
660 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{time}[,@var{time}...] (@emph{output,per-stream})
661 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] expr:@var{expr} (@emph{output,per-stream})
662 Force key frames at the specified timestamps, more precisely at the first
663 frames after each specified time.
665 If the argument is prefixed with @code{expr:}, the string @var{expr}
666 is interpreted like an expression and is evaluated for each frame. A
667 key frame is forced in case the evaluation is non-zero.
669 If one of the times is "@code{chapters}[@var{delta}]", it is expanded into
670 the time of the beginning of all chapters in the file, shifted by
671 @var{delta}, expressed as a time in seconds.
672 This option can be useful to ensure that a seek point is present at a
673 chapter mark or any other designated place in the output file.
675 For example, to insert a key frame at 5 minutes, plus key frames 0.1 second
676 before the beginning of every chapter:
678 -force_key_frames 0:05:00,chapters-0.1
681 The expression in @var{expr} can contain the following constants:
684 the number of current processed frame, starting from 0
686 the number of forced frames
688 the number of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
689 keyframe was forced yet
691 the time of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
692 keyframe was forced yet
694 the time of the current processed frame
697 For example to force a key frame every 5 seconds, you can specify:
699 -force_key_frames expr:gte(t,n_forced*5)
702 To force a key frame 5 seconds after the time of the last forced one,
703 starting from second 13:
705 -force_key_frames expr:if(isnan(prev_forced_t),gte(t,13),gte(t,prev_forced_t+5))
708 Note that forcing too many keyframes is very harmful for the lookahead
709 algorithms of certain encoders: using fixed-GOP options or similar
710 would be more efficient.
712 @item -copyinkf[:@var{stream_specifier}] (@emph{output,per-stream})
713 When doing stream copy, copy also non-key frames found at the
716 @item -hwaccel[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel} (@emph{input,per-stream})
717 Use hardware acceleration to decode the matching stream(s). The allowed values
718 of @var{hwaccel} are:
721 Do not use any hardware acceleration (the default).
724 Automatically select the hardware acceleration method.
727 Use Apple VDA hardware acceleration.
730 Use VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix) hardware acceleration.
733 Use DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) hardware acceleration.
736 Use the Intel QuickSync Video acceleration for video transcoding.
738 Unlike most other values, this option does not enable accelerated decoding (that
739 is used automatically whenever a qsv decoder is selected), but accelerated
740 transcoding, without copying the frames into the system memory.
742 For it to work, both the decoder and the encoder must support QSV acceleration
743 and no filters must be used.
746 This option has no effect if the selected hwaccel is not available or not
747 supported by the chosen decoder.
749 Note that most acceleration methods are intended for playback and will not be
750 faster than software decoding on modern CPUs. Additionally, @command{ffmpeg}
751 will usually need to copy the decoded frames from the GPU memory into the system
752 memory, resulting in further performance loss. This option is thus mainly
755 @item -hwaccel_device[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel_device} (@emph{input,per-stream})
756 Select a device to use for hardware acceleration.
758 This option only makes sense when the @option{-hwaccel} option is also
759 specified. Its exact meaning depends on the specific hardware acceleration
764 For VDPAU, this option specifies the X11 display/screen to use. If this option
765 is not specified, the value of the @var{DISPLAY} environment variable is used
768 For DXVA2, this option should contain the number of the display adapter to use.
769 If this option is not specified, the default adapter is used.
772 For QSV, this option corresponds to the values of MFX_IMPL_* . Allowed values
787 List all hardware acceleration methods supported in this build of ffmpeg.
791 @section Audio Options
794 @item -aframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
795 Set the number of audio frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:a}.
796 @item -ar[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{freq} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
797 Set the audio sampling frequency. For output streams it is set by
798 default to the frequency of the corresponding input stream. For input
799 streams this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw
800 demuxers and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
801 @item -aq @var{q} (@emph{output})
802 Set the audio quality (codec-specific, VBR). This is an alias for -q:a.
803 @item -ac[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{channels} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
804 Set the number of audio channels. For output streams it is set by
805 default to the number of input audio channels. For input streams
806 this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw demuxers
807 and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
808 @item -an (@emph{output})
809 Disable audio recording.
810 @item -acodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
811 Set the audio codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:a}.
812 @item -sample_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{sample_fmt} (@emph{output,per-stream})
813 Set the audio sample format. Use @code{-sample_fmts} to get a list
814 of supported sample formats.
816 @item -af @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
817 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
820 This is an alias for @code{-filter:a}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
823 @section Advanced Audio options
826 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
827 Force audio tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:a}.
828 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
830 @item -guess_layout_max @var{channels} (@emph{input,per-stream})
831 If some input channel layout is not known, try to guess only if it
832 corresponds to at most the specified number of channels. For example, 2
833 tells to @command{ffmpeg} to recognize 1 channel as mono and 2 channels as
834 stereo but not 6 channels as 5.1. The default is to always try to guess. Use
835 0 to disable all guessing.
838 @section Subtitle options
841 @item -scodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
842 Set the subtitle codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:s}.
843 @item -sn (@emph{output})
844 Disable subtitle recording.
845 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
849 @section Advanced Subtitle options
853 @item -fix_sub_duration
854 Fix subtitles durations. For each subtitle, wait for the next packet in the
855 same stream and adjust the duration of the first to avoid overlap. This is
856 necessary with some subtitles codecs, especially DVB subtitles, because the
857 duration in the original packet is only a rough estimate and the end is
858 actually marked by an empty subtitle frame. Failing to use this option when
859 necessary can result in exaggerated durations or muxing failures due to
860 non-monotonic timestamps.
862 Note that this option will delay the output of all data until the next
863 subtitle packet is decoded: it may increase memory consumption and latency a
866 @item -canvas_size @var{size}
867 Set the size of the canvas used to render subtitles.
871 @section Advanced options
874 @item -map [-]@var{input_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}][?][,@var{sync_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}]] | @var{[linklabel]} (@emph{output})
876 Designate one or more input streams as a source for the output file. Each input
877 stream is identified by the input file index @var{input_file_id} and
878 the input stream index @var{input_stream_id} within the input
879 file. Both indices start at 0. If specified,
880 @var{sync_file_id}:@var{stream_specifier} sets which input stream
881 is used as a presentation sync reference.
883 The first @code{-map} option on the command line specifies the
884 source for output stream 0, the second @code{-map} option specifies
885 the source for output stream 1, etc.
887 A @code{-} character before the stream identifier creates a "negative" mapping.
888 It disables matching streams from already created mappings.
890 A trailing @code{?} after the stream index will allow the map to be
891 optional: if the map matches no streams the map will be ignored instead
892 of failing. Note the map will still fail if an invalid input file index
893 is used; such as if the map refers to a non-existant input.
895 An alternative @var{[linklabel]} form will map outputs from complex filter
896 graphs (see the @option{-filter_complex} option) to the output file.
897 @var{linklabel} must correspond to a defined output link label in the graph.
899 For example, to map ALL streams from the first input file to output
901 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 output
904 For example, if you have two audio streams in the first input file,
905 these streams are identified by "0:0" and "0:1". You can use
906 @code{-map} to select which streams to place in an output file. For
909 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:1 out.wav
911 will map the input stream in @file{INPUT} identified by "0:1" to
912 the (single) output stream in @file{out.wav}.
914 For example, to select the stream with index 2 from input file
915 @file{a.mov} (specified by the identifier "0:2"), and stream with
916 index 6 from input @file{b.mov} (specified by the identifier "1:6"),
917 and copy them to the output file @file{out.mov}:
919 ffmpeg -i a.mov -i b.mov -c copy -map 0:2 -map 1:6 out.mov
922 To select all video and the third audio stream from an input file:
924 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a:2 OUTPUT
927 To map all the streams except the second audio, use negative mappings
929 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -map -0:a:1 OUTPUT
932 To map the video and audio streams from the first input, and using the
933 trailing @code{?}, ignore the audio mapping if no audio streams exist in
936 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a? OUTPUT
939 To pick the English audio stream:
941 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:m:language:eng OUTPUT
944 Note that using this option disables the default mappings for this output file.
946 @item -ignore_unknown
947 Ignore input streams with unknown type instead of failing if copying
948 such streams is attempted.
951 Allow input streams with unknown type to be copied instead of failing if copying
952 such streams is attempted.
954 @item -map_channel [@var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id}|-1][:@var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}]
955 Map an audio channel from a given input to an output. If
956 @var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier} is not set, the audio channel will
957 be mapped on all the audio streams.
959 Using "-1" instead of
960 @var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id} will map a muted
963 For example, assuming @var{INPUT} is a stereo audio file, you can switch the
964 two audio channels with the following command:
966 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.1 -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT
969 If you want to mute the first channel and keep the second:
971 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel -1 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT
974 The order of the "-map_channel" option specifies the order of the channels in
975 the output stream. The output channel layout is guessed from the number of
976 channels mapped (mono if one "-map_channel", stereo if two, etc.). Using "-ac"
977 in combination of "-map_channel" makes the channel gain levels to be updated if
978 input and output channel layouts don't match (for instance two "-map_channel"
979 options and "-ac 6").
981 You can also extract each channel of an input to specific outputs; the following
982 command extracts two channels of the @var{INPUT} audio stream (file 0, stream 0)
983 to the respective @var{OUTPUT_CH0} and @var{OUTPUT_CH1} outputs:
985 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT_CH0 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT_CH1
988 The following example splits the channels of a stereo input into two separate
989 streams, which are put into the same output file:
991 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
994 Note that currently each output stream can only contain channels from a single
995 input stream; you can't for example use "-map_channel" to pick multiple input
996 audio channels contained in different streams (from the same or different files)
997 and merge them into a single output stream. It is therefore not currently
998 possible, for example, to turn two separate mono streams into a single stereo
999 stream. However splitting a stereo stream into two single channel mono streams
1002 If you need this feature, a possible workaround is to use the @emph{amerge}
1003 filter. For example, if you need to merge a media (here @file{input.mkv}) with 2
1004 mono audio streams into one single stereo channel audio stream (and keep the
1005 video stream), you can use the following command:
1007 ffmpeg -i input.mkv -filter_complex "[0:1] [0:2] amerge" -c:a pcm_s16le -c:v copy output.mkv
1010 @item -map_metadata[:@var{metadata_spec_out}] @var{infile}[:@var{metadata_spec_in}] (@emph{output,per-metadata})
1011 Set metadata information of the next output file from @var{infile}. Note that
1012 those are file indices (zero-based), not filenames.
1013 Optional @var{metadata_spec_in/out} parameters specify, which metadata to copy.
1014 A metadata specifier can have the following forms:
1017 global metadata, i.e. metadata that applies to the whole file
1019 @item @var{s}[:@var{stream_spec}]
1020 per-stream metadata. @var{stream_spec} is a stream specifier as described
1021 in the @ref{Stream specifiers} chapter. In an input metadata specifier, the first
1022 matching stream is copied from. In an output metadata specifier, all matching
1023 streams are copied to.
1025 @item @var{c}:@var{chapter_index}
1026 per-chapter metadata. @var{chapter_index} is the zero-based chapter index.
1028 @item @var{p}:@var{program_index}
1029 per-program metadata. @var{program_index} is the zero-based program index.
1031 If metadata specifier is omitted, it defaults to global.
1033 By default, global metadata is copied from the first input file,
1034 per-stream and per-chapter metadata is copied along with streams/chapters. These
1035 default mappings are disabled by creating any mapping of the relevant type. A negative
1036 file index can be used to create a dummy mapping that just disables automatic copying.
1038 For example to copy metadata from the first stream of the input file to global metadata
1041 ffmpeg -i in.ogg -map_metadata 0:s:0 out.mp3
1044 To do the reverse, i.e. copy global metadata to all audio streams:
1046 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -map_metadata:s:a 0:g out.mkv
1048 Note that simple @code{0} would work as well in this example, since global
1049 metadata is assumed by default.
1051 @item -map_chapters @var{input_file_index} (@emph{output})
1052 Copy chapters from input file with index @var{input_file_index} to the next
1053 output file. If no chapter mapping is specified, then chapters are copied from
1054 the first input file with at least one chapter. Use a negative file index to
1055 disable any chapter copying.
1057 @item -benchmark (@emph{global})
1058 Show benchmarking information at the end of an encode.
1059 Shows CPU time used and maximum memory consumption.
1060 Maximum memory consumption is not supported on all systems,
1061 it will usually display as 0 if not supported.
1062 @item -benchmark_all (@emph{global})
1063 Show benchmarking information during the encode.
1064 Shows CPU time used in various steps (audio/video encode/decode).
1065 @item -timelimit @var{duration} (@emph{global})
1066 Exit after ffmpeg has been running for @var{duration} seconds.
1067 @item -dump (@emph{global})
1068 Dump each input packet to stderr.
1069 @item -hex (@emph{global})
1070 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
1071 @item -re (@emph{input})
1072 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device,
1073 or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used
1074 with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet
1076 By default @command{ffmpeg} attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible.
1077 This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate
1078 of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).
1080 Loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image
1081 streams. This option is used for automatic FFserver testing.
1082 This option is deprecated, use -loop 1.
1083 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
1084 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
1085 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
1086 This option is deprecated, use -loop.
1087 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
1089 For compatibility reasons old values can be specified as numbers.
1090 Newly added values will have to be specified as strings always.
1093 @item 0, passthrough
1094 Each frame is passed with its timestamp from the demuxer to the muxer.
1096 Frames will be duplicated and dropped to achieve exactly the requested
1097 constant frame rate.
1099 Frames are passed through with their timestamp or dropped so as to
1100 prevent 2 frames from having the same timestamp.
1102 As passthrough but destroys all timestamps, making the muxer generate
1103 fresh timestamps based on frame-rate.
1105 Chooses between 1 and 2 depending on muxer capabilities. This is the
1109 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1110 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1113 With -map you can select from which stream the timestamps should be
1114 taken. You can leave either video or audio unchanged and sync the
1115 remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
1117 @item -frame_drop_threshold @var{parameter}
1118 Frame drop threshold, which specifies how much behind video frames can
1119 be before they are dropped. In frame rate units, so 1.0 is one frame.
1120 The default is -1.1. One possible usecase is to avoid framedrops in case
1121 of noisy timestamps or to increase frame drop precision in case of exact
1124 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
1125 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
1126 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
1127 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
1128 without any later correction.
1130 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1131 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1134 This option has been deprecated. Use the @code{aresample} audio filter instead.
1137 Do not process input timestamps, but keep their values without trying
1138 to sanitize them. In particular, do not remove the initial start time
1141 Note that, depending on the @option{vsync} option or on specific muxer
1142 processing (e.g. in case the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1143 is enabled) the output timestamps may mismatch with the input
1144 timestamps even when this option is selected.
1146 @item -start_at_zero
1147 When used with @option{copyts}, shift input timestamps so they start at zero.
1149 This means that using e.g. @code{-ss 50} will make output timestamps start at
1150 50 seconds, regardless of what timestamp the input file started at.
1152 @item -copytb @var{mode}
1153 Specify how to set the encoder timebase when stream copying. @var{mode} is an
1154 integer numeric value, and can assume one of the following values:
1158 Use the demuxer timebase.
1160 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1161 demuxer. This is sometimes required to avoid non monotonically increasing
1162 timestamps when copying video streams with variable frame rate.
1165 Use the decoder timebase.
1167 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1171 Try to make the choice automatically, in order to generate a sane output.
1174 Default value is -1.
1176 @item -shortest (@emph{output})
1177 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
1178 @item -dts_delta_threshold
1179 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
1180 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1181 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
1182 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1183 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
1184 @item -streamid @var{output-stream-index}:@var{new-value} (@emph{output})
1185 Assign a new stream-id value to an output stream. This option should be
1186 specified prior to the output filename to which it applies.
1187 For the situation where multiple output files exist, a streamid
1188 may be reassigned to a different value.
1190 For example, to set the stream 0 PID to 33 and the stream 1 PID to 36 for
1191 an output mpegts file:
1193 ffmpeg -i inurl -streamid 0:33 -streamid 1:36 out.ts
1196 @item -bsf[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{bitstream_filters} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1197 Set bitstream filters for matching streams. @var{bitstream_filters} is
1198 a comma-separated list of bitstream filters. Use the @code{-bsfs} option
1199 to get the list of bitstream filters.
1201 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -c:v copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
1204 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -bsf:s mov2textsub -c:s copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
1207 @item -tag[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec_tag} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
1208 Force a tag/fourcc for matching streams.
1210 @item -timecode @var{hh}:@var{mm}:@var{ss}SEP@var{ff}
1211 Specify Timecode for writing. @var{SEP} is ':' for non drop timecode and ';'
1214 ffmpeg -i input.mpg -timecode 01:02:03.04 -r 30000/1001 -s ntsc output.mpg
1217 @anchor{filter_complex_option}
1218 @item -filter_complex @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1219 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1220 outputs. For simple graphs -- those with one input and one output of the same
1221 type -- see the @option{-filter} options. @var{filtergraph} is a description of
1222 the filtergraph, as described in the ``Filtergraph syntax'' section of the
1223 ffmpeg-filters manual.
1225 Input link labels must refer to input streams using the
1226 @code{[file_index:stream_specifier]} syntax (i.e. the same as @option{-map}
1227 uses). If @var{stream_specifier} matches multiple streams, the first one will be
1228 used. An unlabeled input will be connected to the first unused input stream of
1231 Output link labels are referred to with @option{-map}. Unlabeled outputs are
1232 added to the first output file.
1234 Note that with this option it is possible to use only lavfi sources without
1237 For example, to overlay an image over video
1239 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex '[0:v][1:v]overlay[out]' -map
1242 Here @code{[0:v]} refers to the first video stream in the first input file,
1243 which is linked to the first (main) input of the overlay filter. Similarly the
1244 first video stream in the second input is linked to the second (overlay) input
1247 Assuming there is only one video stream in each input file, we can omit input
1248 labels, so the above is equivalent to
1250 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay[out]' -map
1254 Furthermore we can omit the output label and the single output from the filter
1255 graph will be added to the output file automatically, so we can simply write
1257 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay' out.mkv
1260 To generate 5 seconds of pure red video using lavfi @code{color} source:
1262 ffmpeg -filter_complex 'color=c=red' -t 5 out.mkv
1265 @item -filter_complex_threads @var{nb_threads} (@emph{global})
1266 Defines how many threads are used to process a filter_complex graph.
1267 Similar to filter_threads but used for @code{-filter_complex} graphs only.
1268 The default is the number of available CPUs.
1270 @item -lavfi @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1271 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1272 outputs. Equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
1274 @item -filter_complex_script @var{filename} (@emph{global})
1275 This option is similar to @option{-filter_complex}, the only difference is that
1276 its argument is the name of the file from which a complex filtergraph
1277 description is to be read.
1279 @item -accurate_seek (@emph{input})
1280 This option enables or disables accurate seeking in input files with the
1281 @option{-ss} option. It is enabled by default, so seeking is accurate when
1282 transcoding. Use @option{-noaccurate_seek} to disable it, which may be useful
1283 e.g. when copying some streams and transcoding the others.
1285 @item -seek_timestamp (@emph{input})
1286 This option enables or disables seeking by timestamp in input files with the
1287 @option{-ss} option. It is disabled by default. If enabled, the argument
1288 to the @option{-ss} option is considered an actual timestamp, and is not
1289 offset by the start time of the file. This matters only for files which do
1290 not start from timestamp 0, such as transport streams.
1292 @item -thread_queue_size @var{size} (@emph{input})
1293 This option sets the maximum number of queued packets when reading from the
1294 file or device. With low latency / high rate live streams, packets may be
1295 discarded if they are not read in a timely manner; raising this value can
1298 @item -override_ffserver (@emph{global})
1299 Overrides the input specifications from @command{ffserver}. Using this
1300 option you can map any input stream to @command{ffserver} and control
1301 many aspects of the encoding from @command{ffmpeg}. Without this
1302 option @command{ffmpeg} will transmit to @command{ffserver} what is
1303 requested by @command{ffserver}.
1305 The option is intended for cases where features are needed that cannot be
1306 specified to @command{ffserver} but can be to @command{ffmpeg}.
1308 @item -sdp_file @var{file} (@emph{global})
1309 Print sdp information for an output stream to @var{file}.
1310 This allows dumping sdp information when at least one output isn't an
1311 rtp stream. (Requires at least one of the output formats to be rtp).
1313 @item -discard (@emph{input})
1314 Allows discarding specific streams or frames of streams at the demuxer.
1315 Not all demuxers support this.
1322 Default, which discards no frames.
1325 Discard all non-reference frames.
1328 Discard all bidirectional frames.
1331 Discard all frames excepts keyframes.
1337 @item -abort_on @var{flags} (@emph{global})
1338 Stop and abort on various conditions. The following flags are available:
1342 No packets were passed to the muxer, the output is empty.
1345 @item -xerror (@emph{global})
1346 Stop and exit on error
1348 @item -max_muxing_queue_size @var{packets} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1349 When transcoding audio and/or video streams, ffmpeg will not begin writing into
1350 the output until it has one packet for each such stream. While waiting for that
1351 to happen, packets for other streams are buffered. This option sets the size of
1352 this buffer, in packets, for the matching output stream.
1354 The default value of this option should be high enough for most uses, so only
1355 touch this option if you are sure that you need it.
1359 As a special exception, you can use a bitmap subtitle stream as input: it
1360 will be converted into a video with the same size as the largest video in
1361 the file, or 720x576 if no video is present. Note that this is an
1362 experimental and temporary solution. It will be removed once libavfilter has
1363 proper support for subtitles.
1365 For example, to hardcode subtitles on top of a DVB-T recording stored in
1366 MPEG-TS format, delaying the subtitles by 1 second:
1368 ffmpeg -i input.ts -filter_complex \
1369 '[#0x2ef] setpts=PTS+1/TB [sub] ; [#0x2d0] [sub] overlay' \
1370 -sn -map '#0x2dc' output.mkv
1372 (0x2d0, 0x2dc and 0x2ef are the MPEG-TS PIDs of respectively the video,
1373 audio and subtitles streams; 0:0, 0:3 and 0:7 would have worked too)
1375 @section Preset files
1376 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
1377 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
1378 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
1379 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
1380 the @file{presets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
1382 There are two types of preset files: ffpreset and avpreset files.
1384 @subsection ffpreset files
1385 ffpreset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre},
1386 @code{spre}, and @code{fpre} options. The @code{fpre} option takes the
1387 filename of the preset instead of a preset name as input and can be
1388 used for any kind of codec. For the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and
1389 @code{spre} options, the options specified in a preset file are
1390 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
1393 The argument passed to the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and @code{spre}
1394 preset options identifies the preset file to use according to the
1397 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
1398 directories @file{$FFMPEG_DATADIR} (if set), and @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in
1399 the datadir defined at configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg})
1400 or in a @file{ffpresets} folder along the executable on win32,
1401 in that order. For example, if the argument is @code{libvpx-1080p}, it will
1402 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1404 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1405 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
1406 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
1407 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
1408 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-vpre 1080p},
1409 then it will search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1411 @subsection avpreset files
1412 avpreset files are specified with the @code{pre} option. They work similar to
1413 ffpreset files, but they only allow encoder- specific options. Therefore, an
1414 @var{option}=@var{value} pair specifying an encoder cannot be used.
1416 When the @code{pre} option is specified, ffmpeg will look for files with the
1417 suffix .avpreset in the directories @file{$AVCONV_DATADIR} (if set), and
1418 @file{$HOME/.avconv}, and in the datadir defined at configuration time (usually
1419 @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}), in that order.
1421 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.avpreset in
1422 the above-mentioned directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec
1423 to which the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select the
1424 video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-pre 1080p}, then it will
1425 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.avpreset}.
1427 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1428 @var{arg}.avpreset in the same directories.
1433 @c man begin EXAMPLES
1435 @section Video and Audio grabbing
1437 If you specify the input format and device then ffmpeg can grab video
1441 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1444 Or with an ALSA audio source (mono input, card id 1) instead of OSS:
1446 ffmpeg -f alsa -ac 1 -i hw:1 -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1449 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
1450 launching ffmpeg with any TV viewer such as
1451 @uref{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/, xawtv} by Gerd Knorr. You also
1452 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
1455 @section X11 grabbing
1457 Grab the X11 display with ffmpeg via
1460 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
1463 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
1464 the DISPLAY environment variable.
1467 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
1470 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
1471 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
1473 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
1475 Any supported file format and protocol can serve as input to ffmpeg:
1480 You can use YUV files as input:
1483 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
1486 It will use the files:
1488 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
1489 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
1492 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
1493 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
1494 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
1495 if ffmpeg cannot guess it.
1498 You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
1501 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
1504 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
1505 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
1506 horizontal resolution.
1509 You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
1512 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
1516 You can set several input files and output files:
1519 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
1522 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
1526 You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
1529 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
1532 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
1535 You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
1536 mapping from input stream to output streams:
1539 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -map 0:a -b:a 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -map 0:a -b:a 128k /tmp/b.mp2
1542 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
1543 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
1544 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
1547 You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
1550 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
1553 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
1554 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
1555 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
1556 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
1557 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
1558 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
1559 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
1560 to get the desired audio language.
1562 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -demuxers}.
1565 You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
1567 For extracting images from a video:
1569 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
1572 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
1573 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
1574 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
1576 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
1577 above command in combination with the -vframes or -t option, or in
1578 combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
1580 For creating a video from many images:
1582 ffmpeg -f image2 -framerate 12 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -s WxH foo.avi
1585 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
1586 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
1587 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
1588 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
1590 When importing an image sequence, -i also supports expanding
1591 shell-like wildcard patterns (globbing) internally, by selecting the
1592 image2-specific @code{-pattern_type glob} option.
1594 For example, for creating a video from filenames matching the glob pattern
1597 ffmpeg -f image2 -pattern_type glob -framerate 12 -i 'foo-*.jpeg' -s WxH foo.avi
1601 You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
1604 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -map 1:1 -map 1:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -c copy -y test12.nut
1607 The resulting output file @file{test12.nut} will contain the first four streams
1608 from the input files in reverse order.
1611 To force CBR video output:
1613 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
1617 The four options lmin, lmax, mblmin and mblmax use 'lambda' units,
1618 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
1620 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
1626 @include config.texi
1628 @ifset config-avutil
1631 @ifset config-avcodec
1632 @include codecs.texi
1633 @include bitstream_filters.texi
1635 @ifset config-avformat
1636 @include formats.texi
1637 @include protocols.texi
1639 @ifset config-avdevice
1640 @include devices.texi
1642 @ifset config-swresample
1643 @include resampler.texi
1645 @ifset config-swscale
1646 @include scaler.texi
1648 @ifset config-avfilter
1649 @include filters.texi
1657 @url{ffmpeg.html,ffmpeg}
1659 @ifset config-not-all
1660 @url{ffmpeg-all.html,ffmpeg-all},
1662 @url{ffplay.html,ffplay}, @url{ffprobe.html,ffprobe}, @url{ffserver.html,ffserver},
1663 @url{ffmpeg-utils.html,ffmpeg-utils},
1664 @url{ffmpeg-scaler.html,ffmpeg-scaler},
1665 @url{ffmpeg-resampler.html,ffmpeg-resampler},
1666 @url{ffmpeg-codecs.html,ffmpeg-codecs},
1667 @url{ffmpeg-bitstream-filters.html,ffmpeg-bitstream-filters},
1668 @url{ffmpeg-formats.html,ffmpeg-formats},
1669 @url{ffmpeg-devices.html,ffmpeg-devices},
1670 @url{ffmpeg-protocols.html,ffmpeg-protocols},
1671 @url{ffmpeg-filters.html,ffmpeg-filters}
1678 @ifset config-not-all
1681 ffplay(1), ffprobe(1), ffserver(1),
1682 ffmpeg-utils(1), ffmpeg-scaler(1), ffmpeg-resampler(1),
1683 ffmpeg-codecs(1), ffmpeg-bitstream-filters(1), ffmpeg-formats(1),
1684 ffmpeg-devices(1), ffmpeg-protocols(1), ffmpeg-filters(1)
1687 @include authors.texi
1692 @settitle ffmpeg video converter