1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
3 @settitle ffmpeg Documentation
5 @center @titlefont{ffmpeg Documentation}
14 ffmpeg [@var{global_options}] @{[@var{input_file_options}] -i @file{input_file}@} ... @{[@var{output_file_options}] @file{output_file}@} ...
17 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
19 @command{ffmpeg} is a very fast video and audio converter that can also grab from
20 a live audio/video source. It can also convert between arbitrary sample
21 rates and resize video on the fly with a high quality polyphase filter.
23 @command{ffmpeg} reads from an arbitrary number of input "files" (which can be regular
24 files, pipes, network streams, grabbing devices, etc.), specified by the
25 @code{-i} option, and writes to an arbitrary number of output "files", which are
26 specified by a plain output filename. Anything found on the command line which
27 cannot be interpreted as an option is considered to be an output filename.
29 Each input or output file can, in principle, contain any number of streams of
30 different types (video/audio/subtitle/attachment/data). The allowed number and/or
31 types of streams may be limited by the container format. Selecting which
32 streams from which inputs will go into which output is either done automatically
33 or with the @code{-map} option (see the Stream selection chapter).
35 To refer to input files in options, you must use their indices (0-based). E.g.
36 the first input file is @code{0}, the second is @code{1}, etc. Similarly, streams
37 within a file are referred to by their indices. E.g. @code{2:3} refers to the
38 fourth stream in the third input file. Also see the Stream specifiers chapter.
40 As a general rule, options are applied to the next specified
41 file. Therefore, order is important, and you can have the same
42 option on the command line multiple times. Each occurrence is
43 then applied to the next input or output file.
44 Exceptions from this rule are the global options (e.g. verbosity level),
45 which should be specified first.
47 Do not mix input and output files -- first specify all input files, then all
48 output files. Also do not mix options which belong to different files. All
49 options apply ONLY to the next input or output file and are reset between files.
53 To set the video bitrate of the output file to 64 kbit/s:
55 ffmpeg -i input.avi -b:v 64k -bufsize 64k output.avi
59 To force the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
61 ffmpeg -i input.avi -r 24 output.avi
65 To force the frame rate of the input file (valid for raw formats only)
66 to 1 fps and the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
68 ffmpeg -r 1 -i input.m2v -r 24 output.avi
72 The format option may be needed for raw input files.
74 @c man end DESCRIPTION
76 @chapter Detailed description
77 @c man begin DETAILED DESCRIPTION
79 The transcoding process in @command{ffmpeg} for each output can be described by
80 the following diagram:
83 _______ ______________
85 | input | demuxer | encoded data | decoder
86 | file | ---------> | packets | -----+
87 |_______| |______________| |
94 ________ ______________ |
96 | output | <-------- | encoded data | <----+
97 | file | muxer | packets | encoder
98 |________| |______________|
103 @command{ffmpeg} calls the libavformat library (containing demuxers) to read
104 input files and get packets containing encoded data from them. When there are
105 multiple input files, @command{ffmpeg} tries to keep them synchronized by
106 tracking lowest timestamp on any active input stream.
108 Encoded packets are then passed to the decoder (unless streamcopy is selected
109 for the stream, see further for a description). The decoder produces
110 uncompressed frames (raw video/PCM audio/...) which can be processed further by
111 filtering (see next section). After filtering, the frames are passed to the
112 encoder, which encodes them and outputs encoded packets. Finally those are
113 passed to the muxer, which writes the encoded packets to the output file.
116 Before encoding, @command{ffmpeg} can process raw audio and video frames using
117 filters from the libavfilter library. Several chained filters form a filter
118 graph. @command{ffmpeg} distinguishes between two types of filtergraphs:
121 @subsection Simple filtergraphs
122 Simple filtergraphs are those that have exactly one input and output, both of
123 the same type. In the above diagram they can be represented by simply inserting
124 an additional step between decoding and encoding:
127 _________ ______________
129 | decoded | | encoded data |
130 | frames |\ _ | packets |
131 |_________| \ /||______________|
133 simple _\|| | / encoder
134 filtergraph | filtered |/
140 Simple filtergraphs are configured with the per-stream @option{-filter} option
141 (with @option{-vf} and @option{-af} aliases for video and audio respectively).
142 A simple filtergraph for video can look for example like this:
145 _______ _____________ _______ ________
147 | input | ---> | deinterlace | ---> | scale | ---> | output |
148 |_______| |_____________| |_______| |________|
152 Note that some filters change frame properties but not frame contents. E.g. the
153 @code{fps} filter in the example above changes number of frames, but does not
154 touch the frame contents. Another example is the @code{setpts} filter, which
155 only sets timestamps and otherwise passes the frames unchanged.
157 @subsection Complex filtergraphs
158 Complex filtergraphs are those which cannot be described as simply a linear
159 processing chain applied to one stream. This is the case, for example, when the graph has
160 more than one input and/or output, or when output stream type is different from
161 input. They can be represented with the following diagram:
166 | input 0 |\ __________
168 \ _________ /| output 0 |
170 _________ \| complex | /
172 | input 1 |---->| filter |\
173 |_________| | | \ __________
176 _________ / |_________| |__________|
183 Complex filtergraphs are configured with the @option{-filter_complex} option.
184 Note that this option is global, since a complex filtergraph, by its nature,
185 cannot be unambiguously associated with a single stream or file.
187 The @option{-lavfi} option is equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
189 A trivial example of a complex filtergraph is the @code{overlay} filter, which
190 has two video inputs and one video output, containing one video overlaid on top
191 of the other. Its audio counterpart is the @code{amix} filter.
194 Stream copy is a mode selected by supplying the @code{copy} parameter to the
195 @option{-codec} option. It makes @command{ffmpeg} omit the decoding and encoding
196 step for the specified stream, so it does only demuxing and muxing. It is useful
197 for changing the container format or modifying container-level metadata. The
198 diagram above will, in this case, simplify to this:
201 _______ ______________ ________
203 | input | demuxer | encoded data | muxer | output |
204 | file | ---------> | packets | -------> | file |
205 |_______| |______________| |________|
209 Since there is no decoding or encoding, it is very fast and there is no quality
210 loss. However, it might not work in some cases because of many factors. Applying
211 filters is obviously also impossible, since filters work on uncompressed data.
213 @c man end DETAILED DESCRIPTION
215 @chapter Stream selection
216 @c man begin STREAM SELECTION
218 By default, @command{ffmpeg} includes only one stream of each type (video, audio, subtitle)
219 present in the input files and adds them to each output file. It picks the
220 "best" of each based upon the following criteria: for video, it is the stream
221 with the highest resolution, for audio, it is the stream with the most channels, for
222 subtitles, it is the first subtitle stream. In the case where several streams of
223 the same type rate equally, the stream with the lowest index is chosen.
225 You can disable some of those defaults by using the @code{-vn/-an/-sn} options. For
226 full manual control, use the @code{-map} option, which disables the defaults just
229 @c man end STREAM SELECTION
234 @include fftools-common-opts.texi
236 @section Main options
240 @item -f @var{fmt} (@emph{input/output})
241 Force input or output file format. The format is normally auto detected for input
242 files and guessed from the file extension for output files, so this option is not
243 needed in most cases.
245 @item -i @var{filename} (@emph{input})
248 @item -y (@emph{global})
249 Overwrite output files without asking.
251 @item -n (@emph{global})
252 Do not overwrite output files, and exit immediately if a specified
253 output file already exists.
255 @item -c[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
256 @itemx -codec[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
257 Select an encoder (when used before an output file) or a decoder (when used
258 before an input file) for one or more streams. @var{codec} is the name of a
259 decoder/encoder or a special value @code{copy} (output only) to indicate that
260 the stream is not to be re-encoded.
264 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy OUTPUT
266 encodes all video streams with libx264 and copies all audio streams.
268 For each stream, the last matching @code{c} option is applied, so
270 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c copy -c:v:1 libx264 -c:a:137 libvorbis OUTPUT
272 will copy all the streams except the second video, which will be encoded with
273 libx264, and the 138th audio, which will be encoded with libvorbis.
275 @item -t @var{duration} (@emph{input/output})
276 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), limit the @var{duration} of
277 data read from the input file.
279 When used as an output option (before an output filename), stop writing the
280 output after its duration reaches @var{duration}.
282 @var{duration} may be a number in seconds, or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
284 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
286 @item -to @var{position} (@emph{output})
287 Stop writing the output at @var{position}.
288 @var{position} may be a number in seconds, or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
290 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
292 @item -fs @var{limit_size} (@emph{output})
293 Set the file size limit, expressed in bytes.
295 @item -ss @var{position} (@emph{input/output})
296 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), seeks in this input file to
297 @var{position}. Note the in most formats it is not possible to seek exactly, so
298 @command{ffmpeg} will seek to the closest seek point before @var{position}.
299 When transcoding and @option{-accurate_seek} is enabled (the default), this
300 extra segment between the seek point and @var{position} will be decoded and
301 discarded. When doing stream copy or when @option{-noaccurate_seek} is used, it
304 When used as an output option (before an output filename), decodes but discards
305 input until the timestamps reach @var{position}.
307 @var{position} may be either in seconds or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
309 @item -itsoffset @var{offset} (@emph{input})
310 Set the input time offset.
312 @var{offset} must be a time duration specification,
313 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
315 The offset is added to the timestamps of the input files. Specifying
316 a positive offset means that the corresponding streams are delayed by
317 the time duration specified in @var{offset}.
319 @item -timestamp @var{date} (@emph{output})
320 Set the recording timestamp in the container.
322 @var{date} must be a time duration specification,
323 see @ref{date syntax,,the Date section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
325 @item -metadata[:metadata_specifier] @var{key}=@var{value} (@emph{output,per-metadata})
326 Set a metadata key/value pair.
328 An optional @var{metadata_specifier} may be given to set metadata
329 on streams or chapters. See @code{-map_metadata} documentation for
332 This option overrides metadata set with @code{-map_metadata}. It is
333 also possible to delete metadata by using an empty value.
335 For example, for setting the title in the output file:
337 ffmpeg -i in.avi -metadata title="my title" out.flv
340 To set the language of the first audio stream:
342 ffmpeg -i INPUT -metadata:s:a:0 language=eng OUTPUT
345 @item -target @var{type} (@emph{output})
346 Specify target file type (@code{vcd}, @code{svcd}, @code{dvd}, @code{dv},
347 @code{dv50}). @var{type} may be prefixed with @code{pal-}, @code{ntsc-} or
348 @code{film-} to use the corresponding standard. All the format options
349 (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are then set automatically. You can just type:
352 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg
355 Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know
356 they do not conflict with the standard, as in:
359 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg
362 @item -dframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
363 Set the number of data frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:d}.
365 @item -frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{framecount} (@emph{output,per-stream})
366 Stop writing to the stream after @var{framecount} frames.
368 @item -q[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
369 @itemx -qscale[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
370 Use fixed quality scale (VBR). The meaning of @var{q}/@var{qscale} is
372 If @var{qscale} is used without a @var{stream_specifier} then it applies only
373 to the video stream, this is to maintain compatibility with previous behavior
374 and as specifying the same codec specific value to 2 different codecs that is
375 audio and video generally is not what is intended when no stream_specifier is
378 @anchor{filter_option}
379 @item -filter[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output,per-stream})
380 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
383 @var{filtergraph} is a description of the filtergraph to apply to
384 the stream, and must have a single input and a single output of the
385 same type of the stream. In the filtergraph, the input is associated
386 to the label @code{in}, and the output to the label @code{out}. See
387 the ffmpeg-filters manual for more information about the filtergraph
390 See the @ref{filter_complex_option,,-filter_complex option} if you
391 want to create filtergraphs with multiple inputs and/or outputs.
393 @item -filter_script[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{output,per-stream})
394 This option is similar to @option{-filter}, the only difference is that its
395 argument is the name of the file from which a filtergraph description is to be
398 @item -pre[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{preset_name} (@emph{output,per-stream})
399 Specify the preset for matching stream(s).
401 @item -stats (@emph{global})
402 Print encoding progress/statistics. It is on by default, to explicitly
403 disable it you need to specify @code{-nostats}.
405 @item -progress @var{url} (@emph{global})
406 Send program-friendly progress information to @var{url}.
408 Progress information is written approximately every second and at the end of
409 the encoding process. It is made of "@var{key}=@var{value}" lines. @var{key}
410 consists of only alphanumeric characters. The last key of a sequence of
411 progress information is always "progress".
414 Enable interaction on standard input. On by default unless standard input is
415 used as an input. To explicitly disable interaction you need to specify
418 Disabling interaction on standard input is useful, for example, if
419 ffmpeg is in the background process group. Roughly the same result can
420 be achieved with @code{ffmpeg ... < /dev/null} but it requires a
423 @item -debug_ts (@emph{global})
424 Print timestamp information. It is off by default. This option is
425 mostly useful for testing and debugging purposes, and the output
426 format may change from one version to another, so it should not be
427 employed by portable scripts.
429 See also the option @code{-fdebug ts}.
431 @item -attach @var{filename} (@emph{output})
432 Add an attachment to the output file. This is supported by a few formats
433 like Matroska for e.g. fonts used in rendering subtitles. Attachments
434 are implemented as a specific type of stream, so this option will add
435 a new stream to the file. It is then possible to use per-stream options
436 on this stream in the usual way. Attachment streams created with this
437 option will be created after all the other streams (i.e. those created
438 with @code{-map} or automatic mappings).
440 Note that for Matroska you also have to set the mimetype metadata tag:
442 ffmpeg -i INPUT -attach DejaVuSans.ttf -metadata:s:2 mimetype=application/x-truetype-font out.mkv
444 (assuming that the attachment stream will be third in the output file).
446 @item -dump_attachment[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{input,per-stream})
447 Extract the matching attachment stream into a file named @var{filename}. If
448 @var{filename} is empty, then the value of the @code{filename} metadata tag
451 E.g. to extract the first attachment to a file named 'out.ttf':
453 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t:0 out.ttf -i INPUT
455 To extract all attachments to files determined by the @code{filename} tag:
457 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t "" -i INPUT
460 Technical note -- attachments are implemented as codec extradata, so this
461 option can actually be used to extract extradata from any stream, not just
466 @section Video Options
469 @item -vframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
470 Set the number of video frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:v}.
471 @item -r[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{fps} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
472 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation).
474 As an input option, ignore any timestamps stored in the file and instead
475 generate timestamps assuming constant frame rate @var{fps}.
476 This is not the same as the @option{-framerate} option used for some input formats
477 like image2 or v4l2 (it used to be the same in older versions of FFmpeg).
478 If in doubt use @option{-framerate} instead of the input option @option{-r}.
480 As an output option, duplicate or drop input frames to achieve constant output
481 frame rate @var{fps}.
483 @item -s[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{size} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
486 As an input option, this is a shortcut for the @option{video_size} private
487 option, recognized by some demuxers for which the frame size is either not
488 stored in the file or is configurable -- e.g. raw video or video grabbers.
490 As an output option, this inserts the @code{scale} video filter to the
491 @emph{end} of the corresponding filtergraph. Please use the @code{scale} filter
492 directly to insert it at the beginning or some other place.
494 The format is @samp{wxh} (default - same as source).
496 @item -aspect[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{aspect} (@emph{output,per-stream})
497 Set the video display aspect ratio specified by @var{aspect}.
499 @var{aspect} can be a floating point number string, or a string of the
500 form @var{num}:@var{den}, where @var{num} and @var{den} are the
501 numerator and denominator of the aspect ratio. For example "4:3",
502 "16:9", "1.3333", and "1.7777" are valid argument values.
504 If used together with @option{-vcodec copy}, it will affect the aspect ratio
505 stored at container level, but not the aspect ratio stored in encoded
506 frames, if it exists.
508 @item -vn (@emph{output})
509 Disable video recording.
511 @item -vcodec @var{codec} (@emph{output})
512 Set the video codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:v}.
514 @item -pass[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
515 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
516 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
517 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
518 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
519 at the exact requested bitrate.
520 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
521 examples for Windows and Unix:
523 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
524 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
527 @item -passlogfile[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{prefix} (@emph{output,per-stream})
528 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
529 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
530 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
533 @item -vf @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
534 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
537 This is an alias for @code{-filter:v}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
540 @section Advanced Video options
543 @item -pix_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{format} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
544 Set pixel format. Use @code{-pix_fmts} to show all the supported
546 If the selected pixel format can not be selected, ffmpeg will print a
547 warning and select the best pixel format supported by the encoder.
548 If @var{pix_fmt} is prefixed by a @code{+}, ffmpeg will exit with an error
549 if the requested pixel format can not be selected, and automatic conversions
550 inside filtergraphs are disabled.
551 If @var{pix_fmt} is a single @code{+}, ffmpeg selects the same pixel format
552 as the input (or graph output) and automatic conversions are disabled.
554 @item -sws_flags @var{flags} (@emph{input/output})
559 @item -rc_override[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{override} (@emph{output,per-stream})
560 Rate control override for specific intervals, formatted as "int,int,int"
561 list separated with slashes. Two first values are the beginning and
562 end frame numbers, last one is quantizer to use if positive, or quality
566 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
567 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
568 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
569 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
570 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
572 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
574 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
575 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
576 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
577 @item -top[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
578 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
579 @item -dc @var{precision}
581 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
582 Force video tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:v}.
583 @item -qphist (@emph{global})
585 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
588 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{time}[,@var{time}...] (@emph{output,per-stream})
589 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] expr:@var{expr} (@emph{output,per-stream})
590 Force key frames at the specified timestamps, more precisely at the first
591 frames after each specified time.
593 If the argument is prefixed with @code{expr:}, the string @var{expr}
594 is interpreted like an expression and is evaluated for each frame. A
595 key frame is forced in case the evaluation is non-zero.
597 If one of the times is "@code{chapters}[@var{delta}]", it is expanded into
598 the time of the beginning of all chapters in the file, shifted by
599 @var{delta}, expressed as a time in seconds.
600 This option can be useful to ensure that a seek point is present at a
601 chapter mark or any other designated place in the output file.
603 For example, to insert a key frame at 5 minutes, plus key frames 0.1 second
604 before the beginning of every chapter:
606 -force_key_frames 0:05:00,chapters-0.1
609 The expression in @var{expr} can contain the following constants:
612 the number of current processed frame, starting from 0
614 the number of forced frames
616 the number of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
617 keyframe was forced yet
619 the time of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
620 keyframe was forced yet
622 the time of the current processed frame
625 For example to force a key frame every 5 seconds, you can specify:
627 -force_key_frames expr:gte(t,n_forced*5)
630 To force a key frame 5 seconds after the time of the last forced one,
631 starting from second 13:
633 -force_key_frames expr:if(isnan(prev_forced_t),gte(t,13),gte(t,prev_forced_t+5))
636 Note that forcing too many keyframes is very harmful for the lookahead
637 algorithms of certain encoders: using fixed-GOP options or similar
638 would be more efficient.
640 @item -copyinkf[:@var{stream_specifier}] (@emph{output,per-stream})
641 When doing stream copy, copy also non-key frames found at the
644 @item -hwaccel[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel} (@emph{input,per-stream})
645 Use hardware acceleration to decode the matching stream(s). The allowed values
646 of @var{hwaccel} are:
649 Do not use any hardware acceleration (the default).
652 Automatically select the hardware acceleration method.
655 Use Apple VDA hardware acceleration.
658 Use VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix) hardware acceleration.
661 Use DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) hardware acceleration.
664 This option has no effect if the selected hwaccel is not available or not
665 supported by the chosen decoder.
667 Note that most acceleration methods are intended for playback and will not be
668 faster than software decoding on modern CPUs. Additionally, @command{ffmpeg}
669 will usually need to copy the decoded frames from the GPU memory into the system
670 memory, resulting in further performance loss. This option is thus mainly
673 @item -hwaccel_device[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel_device} (@emph{input,per-stream})
674 Select a device to use for hardware acceleration.
676 This option only makes sense when the @option{-hwaccel} option is also
677 specified. Its exact meaning depends on the specific hardware acceleration
682 For VDPAU, this option specifies the X11 display/screen to use. If this option
683 is not specified, the value of the @var{DISPLAY} environment variable is used
686 For DXVA2, this option should contain the number of the display adapter to use.
687 If this option is not specified, the default adapter is used.
691 @section Audio Options
694 @item -aframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
695 Set the number of audio frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:a}.
696 @item -ar[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{freq} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
697 Set the audio sampling frequency. For output streams it is set by
698 default to the frequency of the corresponding input stream. For input
699 streams this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw
700 demuxers and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
701 @item -aq @var{q} (@emph{output})
702 Set the audio quality (codec-specific, VBR). This is an alias for -q:a.
703 @item -ac[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{channels} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
704 Set the number of audio channels. For output streams it is set by
705 default to the number of input audio channels. For input streams
706 this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw demuxers
707 and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
708 @item -an (@emph{output})
709 Disable audio recording.
710 @item -acodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
711 Set the audio codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:a}.
712 @item -sample_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{sample_fmt} (@emph{output,per-stream})
713 Set the audio sample format. Use @code{-sample_fmts} to get a list
714 of supported sample formats.
716 @item -af @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
717 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
720 This is an alias for @code{-filter:a}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
723 @section Advanced Audio options
726 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
727 Force audio tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:a}.
728 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
730 @item -guess_layout_max @var{channels} (@emph{input,per-stream})
731 If some input channel layout is not known, try to guess only if it
732 corresponds to at most the specified number of channels. For example, 2
733 tells to @command{ffmpeg} to recognize 1 channel as mono and 2 channels as
734 stereo but not 6 channels as 5.1. The default is to always try to guess. Use
735 0 to disable all guessing.
738 @section Subtitle options
741 @item -scodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
742 Set the subtitle codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:s}.
743 @item -sn (@emph{output})
744 Disable subtitle recording.
745 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
749 @section Advanced Subtitle options
753 @item -fix_sub_duration
754 Fix subtitles durations. For each subtitle, wait for the next packet in the
755 same stream and adjust the duration of the first to avoid overlap. This is
756 necessary with some subtitles codecs, especially DVB subtitles, because the
757 duration in the original packet is only a rough estimate and the end is
758 actually marked by an empty subtitle frame. Failing to use this option when
759 necessary can result in exaggerated durations or muxing failures due to
760 non-monotonic timestamps.
762 Note that this option will delay the output of all data until the next
763 subtitle packet is decoded: it may increase memory consumption and latency a
766 @item -canvas_size @var{size}
767 Set the size of the canvas used to render subtitles.
771 @section Advanced options
774 @item -map [-]@var{input_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}][,@var{sync_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}]] | @var{[linklabel]} (@emph{output})
776 Designate one or more input streams as a source for the output file. Each input
777 stream is identified by the input file index @var{input_file_id} and
778 the input stream index @var{input_stream_id} within the input
779 file. Both indices start at 0. If specified,
780 @var{sync_file_id}:@var{stream_specifier} sets which input stream
781 is used as a presentation sync reference.
783 The first @code{-map} option on the command line specifies the
784 source for output stream 0, the second @code{-map} option specifies
785 the source for output stream 1, etc.
787 A @code{-} character before the stream identifier creates a "negative" mapping.
788 It disables matching streams from already created mappings.
790 An alternative @var{[linklabel]} form will map outputs from complex filter
791 graphs (see the @option{-filter_complex} option) to the output file.
792 @var{linklabel} must correspond to a defined output link label in the graph.
794 For example, to map ALL streams from the first input file to output
796 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 output
799 For example, if you have two audio streams in the first input file,
800 these streams are identified by "0:0" and "0:1". You can use
801 @code{-map} to select which streams to place in an output file. For
804 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:1 out.wav
806 will map the input stream in @file{INPUT} identified by "0:1" to
807 the (single) output stream in @file{out.wav}.
809 For example, to select the stream with index 2 from input file
810 @file{a.mov} (specified by the identifier "0:2"), and stream with
811 index 6 from input @file{b.mov} (specified by the identifier "1:6"),
812 and copy them to the output file @file{out.mov}:
814 ffmpeg -i a.mov -i b.mov -c copy -map 0:2 -map 1:6 out.mov
817 To select all video and the third audio stream from an input file:
819 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a:2 OUTPUT
822 To map all the streams except the second audio, use negative mappings
824 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -map -0:a:1 OUTPUT
827 To pick the English audio stream:
829 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:m:language:eng OUTPUT
832 Note that using this option disables the default mappings for this output file.
834 @item -map_channel [@var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id}|-1][:@var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}]
835 Map an audio channel from a given input to an output. If
836 @var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier} is not set, the audio channel will
837 be mapped on all the audio streams.
839 Using "-1" instead of
840 @var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id} will map a muted
843 For example, assuming @var{INPUT} is a stereo audio file, you can switch the
844 two audio channels with the following command:
846 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.1 -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT
849 If you want to mute the first channel and keep the second:
851 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel -1 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT
854 The order of the "-map_channel" option specifies the order of the channels in
855 the output stream. The output channel layout is guessed from the number of
856 channels mapped (mono if one "-map_channel", stereo if two, etc.). Using "-ac"
857 in combination of "-map_channel" makes the channel gain levels to be updated if
858 input and output channel layouts don't match (for instance two "-map_channel"
859 options and "-ac 6").
861 You can also extract each channel of an input to specific outputs; the following
862 command extracts two channels of the @var{INPUT} audio stream (file 0, stream 0)
863 to the respective @var{OUTPUT_CH0} and @var{OUTPUT_CH1} outputs:
865 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT_CH0 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT_CH1
868 The following example splits the channels of a stereo input into two separate
869 streams, which are put into the same output file:
871 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
874 Note that currently each output stream can only contain channels from a single
875 input stream; you can't for example use "-map_channel" to pick multiple input
876 audio channels contained in different streams (from the same or different files)
877 and merge them into a single output stream. It is therefore not currently
878 possible, for example, to turn two separate mono streams into a single stereo
879 stream. However splitting a stereo stream into two single channel mono streams
882 If you need this feature, a possible workaround is to use the @emph{amerge}
883 filter. For example, if you need to merge a media (here @file{input.mkv}) with 2
884 mono audio streams into one single stereo channel audio stream (and keep the
885 video stream), you can use the following command:
887 ffmpeg -i input.mkv -filter_complex "[0:1] [0:2] amerge" -c:a pcm_s16le -c:v copy output.mkv
890 @item -map_metadata[:@var{metadata_spec_out}] @var{infile}[:@var{metadata_spec_in}] (@emph{output,per-metadata})
891 Set metadata information of the next output file from @var{infile}. Note that
892 those are file indices (zero-based), not filenames.
893 Optional @var{metadata_spec_in/out} parameters specify, which metadata to copy.
894 A metadata specifier can have the following forms:
897 global metadata, i.e. metadata that applies to the whole file
899 @item @var{s}[:@var{stream_spec}]
900 per-stream metadata. @var{stream_spec} is a stream specifier as described
901 in the @ref{Stream specifiers} chapter. In an input metadata specifier, the first
902 matching stream is copied from. In an output metadata specifier, all matching
903 streams are copied to.
905 @item @var{c}:@var{chapter_index}
906 per-chapter metadata. @var{chapter_index} is the zero-based chapter index.
908 @item @var{p}:@var{program_index}
909 per-program metadata. @var{program_index} is the zero-based program index.
911 If metadata specifier is omitted, it defaults to global.
913 By default, global metadata is copied from the first input file,
914 per-stream and per-chapter metadata is copied along with streams/chapters. These
915 default mappings are disabled by creating any mapping of the relevant type. A negative
916 file index can be used to create a dummy mapping that just disables automatic copying.
918 For example to copy metadata from the first stream of the input file to global metadata
921 ffmpeg -i in.ogg -map_metadata 0:s:0 out.mp3
924 To do the reverse, i.e. copy global metadata to all audio streams:
926 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -map_metadata:s:a 0:g out.mkv
928 Note that simple @code{0} would work as well in this example, since global
929 metadata is assumed by default.
931 @item -map_chapters @var{input_file_index} (@emph{output})
932 Copy chapters from input file with index @var{input_file_index} to the next
933 output file. If no chapter mapping is specified, then chapters are copied from
934 the first input file with at least one chapter. Use a negative file index to
935 disable any chapter copying.
937 @item -benchmark (@emph{global})
938 Show benchmarking information at the end of an encode.
939 Shows CPU time used and maximum memory consumption.
940 Maximum memory consumption is not supported on all systems,
941 it will usually display as 0 if not supported.
942 @item -benchmark_all (@emph{global})
943 Show benchmarking information during the encode.
944 Shows CPU time used in various steps (audio/video encode/decode).
945 @item -timelimit @var{duration} (@emph{global})
946 Exit after ffmpeg has been running for @var{duration} seconds.
947 @item -dump (@emph{global})
948 Dump each input packet to stderr.
949 @item -hex (@emph{global})
950 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
951 @item -re (@emph{input})
952 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device.
953 or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used
954 with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet
956 By default @command{ffmpeg} attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible.
957 This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate
958 of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).
960 Loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image
961 streams. This option is used for automatic FFserver testing.
962 This option is deprecated, use -loop 1.
963 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
964 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
965 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
966 This option is deprecated, use -loop.
967 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
969 For compatibility reasons old values can be specified as numbers.
970 Newly added values will have to be specified as strings always.
974 Each frame is passed with its timestamp from the demuxer to the muxer.
976 Frames will be duplicated and dropped to achieve exactly the requested
979 Frames are passed through with their timestamp or dropped so as to
980 prevent 2 frames from having the same timestamp.
982 As passthrough but destroys all timestamps, making the muxer generate
983 fresh timestamps based on frame-rate.
985 Chooses between 1 and 2 depending on muxer capabilities. This is the
989 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
990 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
993 With -map you can select from which stream the timestamps should be
994 taken. You can leave either video or audio unchanged and sync the
995 remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
997 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
998 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
999 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
1000 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
1001 without any later correction.
1003 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1004 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1007 This option has been deprecated. Use the @code{aresample} audio filter instead.
1010 Do not process input timestamps, but keep their values without trying
1011 to sanitize them. In particular, do not remove the initial start time
1014 Note that, depending on the @option{vsync} option or on specific muxer
1015 processing (e.g. in case the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1016 is enabled) the output timestamps may mismatch with the input
1017 timestamps even when this option is selected.
1019 @item -start_at_zero
1020 When used with @option{copyts}, shift input timestamps so they start at zero.
1022 This means that using e.g. @code{-ss 50} will make output timestamps start at
1023 50 seconds, regardless of what timestamp the input file started at.
1025 @item -copytb @var{mode}
1026 Specify how to set the encoder timebase when stream copying. @var{mode} is an
1027 integer numeric value, and can assume one of the following values:
1031 Use the demuxer timebase.
1033 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1034 demuxer. This is sometimes required to avoid non monotonically increasing
1035 timestamps when copying video streams with variable frame rate.
1038 Use the decoder timebase.
1040 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1044 Try to make the choice automatically, in order to generate a sane output.
1047 Default value is -1.
1049 @item -shortest (@emph{output})
1050 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
1051 @item -dts_delta_threshold
1052 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
1053 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1054 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
1055 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1056 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
1057 @item -streamid @var{output-stream-index}:@var{new-value} (@emph{output})
1058 Assign a new stream-id value to an output stream. This option should be
1059 specified prior to the output filename to which it applies.
1060 For the situation where multiple output files exist, a streamid
1061 may be reassigned to a different value.
1063 For example, to set the stream 0 PID to 33 and the stream 1 PID to 36 for
1064 an output mpegts file:
1066 ffmpeg -i infile -streamid 0:33 -streamid 1:36 out.ts
1069 @item -bsf[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{bitstream_filters} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1070 Set bitstream filters for matching streams. @var{bitstream_filters} is
1071 a comma-separated list of bitstream filters. Use the @code{-bsfs} option
1072 to get the list of bitstream filters.
1074 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -c:v copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
1077 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -bsf:s mov2textsub -c:s copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
1080 @item -tag[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec_tag} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
1081 Force a tag/fourcc for matching streams.
1083 @item -timecode @var{hh}:@var{mm}:@var{ss}SEP@var{ff}
1084 Specify Timecode for writing. @var{SEP} is ':' for non drop timecode and ';'
1087 ffmpeg -i input.mpg -timecode 01:02:03.04 -r 30000/1001 -s ntsc output.mpg
1090 @anchor{filter_complex_option}
1091 @item -filter_complex @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1092 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1093 outputs. For simple graphs -- those with one input and one output of the same
1094 type -- see the @option{-filter} options. @var{filtergraph} is a description of
1095 the filtergraph, as described in the ``Filtergraph syntax'' section of the
1096 ffmpeg-filters manual.
1098 Input link labels must refer to input streams using the
1099 @code{[file_index:stream_specifier]} syntax (i.e. the same as @option{-map}
1100 uses). If @var{stream_specifier} matches multiple streams, the first one will be
1101 used. An unlabeled input will be connected to the first unused input stream of
1104 Output link labels are referred to with @option{-map}. Unlabeled outputs are
1105 added to the first output file.
1107 Note that with this option it is possible to use only lavfi sources without
1110 For example, to overlay an image over video
1112 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex '[0:v][1:v]overlay[out]' -map
1115 Here @code{[0:v]} refers to the first video stream in the first input file,
1116 which is linked to the first (main) input of the overlay filter. Similarly the
1117 first video stream in the second input is linked to the second (overlay) input
1120 Assuming there is only one video stream in each input file, we can omit input
1121 labels, so the above is equivalent to
1123 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay[out]' -map
1127 Furthermore we can omit the output label and the single output from the filter
1128 graph will be added to the output file automatically, so we can simply write
1130 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay' out.mkv
1133 To generate 5 seconds of pure red video using lavfi @code{color} source:
1135 ffmpeg -filter_complex 'color=c=red' -t 5 out.mkv
1138 @item -lavfi @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1139 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1140 outputs. Equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
1142 @item -filter_complex_script @var{filename} (@emph{global})
1143 This option is similar to @option{-filter_complex}, the only difference is that
1144 its argument is the name of the file from which a complex filtergraph
1145 description is to be read.
1147 @item -accurate_seek (@emph{input})
1148 This option enables or disables accurate seeking in input files with the
1149 @option{-ss} option. It is enabled by default, so seeking is accurate when
1150 transcoding. Use @option{-noaccurate_seek} to disable it, which may be useful
1151 e.g. when copying some streams and transcoding the others.
1153 @item -override_ffserver (@emph{global})
1154 Overrides the input specifications from @command{ffserver}. Using this
1155 option you can map any input stream to @command{ffserver} and control
1156 many aspects of the encoding from @command{ffmpeg}. Without this
1157 option @command{ffmpeg} will transmit to @command{ffserver} what is
1158 requested by @command{ffserver}.
1160 The option is intended for cases where features are needed that cannot be
1161 specified to @command{ffserver} but can be to @command{ffmpeg}.
1163 @item -sdp_file @var{file} (@emph{global})
1164 Print sdp information to @var{file}.
1165 This allows dumping sdp information when at least one output isn't an
1168 @item -discard (@emph{input})
1169 Allows discarding specific streams or frames of streams at the demuxer.
1170 Not all demuxers support this.
1177 Default, which discards no frames.
1180 Discard all non-reference frames.
1183 Discard all bidirectional frames.
1186 Discard all frames excepts keyframes.
1194 As a special exception, you can use a bitmap subtitle stream as input: it
1195 will be converted into a video with the same size as the largest video in
1196 the file, or 720x576 if no video is present. Note that this is an
1197 experimental and temporary solution. It will be removed once libavfilter has
1198 proper support for subtitles.
1200 For example, to hardcode subtitles on top of a DVB-T recording stored in
1201 MPEG-TS format, delaying the subtitles by 1 second:
1203 ffmpeg -i input.ts -filter_complex \
1204 '[#0x2ef] setpts=PTS+1/TB [sub] ; [#0x2d0] [sub] overlay' \
1205 -sn -map '#0x2dc' output.mkv
1207 (0x2d0, 0x2dc and 0x2ef are the MPEG-TS PIDs of respectively the video,
1208 audio and subtitles streams; 0:0, 0:3 and 0:7 would have worked too)
1210 @section Preset files
1211 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
1212 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
1213 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
1214 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
1215 the @file{presets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
1217 There are two types of preset files: ffpreset and avpreset files.
1219 @subsection ffpreset files
1220 ffpreset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre},
1221 @code{spre}, and @code{fpre} options. The @code{fpre} option takes the
1222 filename of the preset instead of a preset name as input and can be
1223 used for any kind of codec. For the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and
1224 @code{spre} options, the options specified in a preset file are
1225 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
1228 The argument passed to the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and @code{spre}
1229 preset options identifies the preset file to use according to the
1232 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
1233 directories @file{$FFMPEG_DATADIR} (if set), and @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in
1234 the datadir defined at configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg})
1235 or in a @file{ffpresets} folder along the executable on win32,
1236 in that order. For example, if the argument is @code{libvpx-1080p}, it will
1237 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1239 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1240 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
1241 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
1242 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
1243 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-vpre 1080p},
1244 then it will search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1246 @subsection avpreset files
1247 avpreset files are specified with the @code{pre} option. They work similar to
1248 ffpreset files, but they only allow encoder- specific options. Therefore, an
1249 @var{option}=@var{value} pair specifying an encoder cannot be used.
1251 When the @code{pre} option is specified, ffmpeg will look for files with the
1252 suffix .avpreset in the directories @file{$AVCONV_DATADIR} (if set), and
1253 @file{$HOME/.avconv}, and in the datadir defined at configuration time (usually
1254 @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}), in that order.
1256 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.avpreset in
1257 the above-mentioned directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec
1258 to which the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select the
1259 video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-pre 1080p}, then it will
1260 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.avpreset}.
1262 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1263 @var{arg}.avpreset in the same directories.
1272 For streaming at very low bitrates, use a low frame rate
1273 and a small GOP size. This is especially true for RealVideo where
1274 the Linux player does not seem to be very fast, so it can miss
1275 frames. An example is:
1278 ffmpeg -g 3 -r 3 -t 10 -b:v 50k -s qcif -f rv10 /tmp/b.rm
1282 The parameter 'q' which is displayed while encoding is the current
1283 quantizer. The value 1 indicates that a very good quality could
1284 be achieved. The value 31 indicates the worst quality. If q=31 appears
1285 too often, it means that the encoder cannot compress enough to meet
1286 your bitrate. You must either increase the bitrate, decrease the
1287 frame rate or decrease the frame size.
1290 If your computer is not fast enough, you can speed up the
1291 compression at the expense of the compression ratio. You can use
1292 '-me zero' to speed up motion estimation, and '-g 0' to disable
1293 motion estimation completely (you have only I-frames, which means it
1294 is about as good as JPEG compression).
1297 To have very low audio bitrates, reduce the sampling frequency
1298 (down to 22050 Hz for MPEG audio, 22050 or 11025 for AC-3).
1301 To have a constant quality (but a variable bitrate), use the option
1302 '-qscale n' when 'n' is between 1 (excellent quality) and 31 (worst
1309 @c man begin EXAMPLES
1311 @section Video and Audio grabbing
1313 If you specify the input format and device then ffmpeg can grab video
1317 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1320 Or with an ALSA audio source (mono input, card id 1) instead of OSS:
1322 ffmpeg -f alsa -ac 1 -i hw:1 -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1325 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
1326 launching ffmpeg with any TV viewer such as
1327 @uref{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/, xawtv} by Gerd Knorr. You also
1328 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
1331 @section X11 grabbing
1333 Grab the X11 display with ffmpeg via
1336 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
1339 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
1340 the DISPLAY environment variable.
1343 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
1346 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
1347 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
1349 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
1351 Any supported file format and protocol can serve as input to ffmpeg:
1356 You can use YUV files as input:
1359 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
1362 It will use the files:
1364 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
1365 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
1368 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
1369 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
1370 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
1371 if ffmpeg cannot guess it.
1374 You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
1377 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
1380 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
1381 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
1382 horizontal resolution.
1385 You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
1388 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
1392 You can set several input files and output files:
1395 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
1398 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
1402 You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
1405 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
1408 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
1411 You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
1412 mapping from input stream to output streams:
1415 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -map 0:a -b:a 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -map 0:a -b:a 128k /tmp/b.mp2
1418 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
1419 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
1420 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
1423 You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
1426 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
1429 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
1430 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
1431 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
1432 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
1433 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
1434 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
1435 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
1436 to get the desired audio language.
1438 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -formats}.
1441 You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
1443 For extracting images from a video:
1445 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
1448 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
1449 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
1450 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
1452 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
1453 above command in combination with the -vframes or -t option, or in
1454 combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
1456 For creating a video from many images:
1458 ffmpeg -f image2 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -r 12 -s WxH foo.avi
1461 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
1462 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
1463 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
1464 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
1466 When importing an image sequence, -i also supports expanding
1467 shell-like wildcard patterns (globbing) internally, by selecting the
1468 image2-specific @code{-pattern_type glob} option.
1470 For example, for creating a video from filenames matching the glob pattern
1473 ffmpeg -f image2 -pattern_type glob -i 'foo-*.jpeg' -r 12 -s WxH foo.avi
1477 You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
1480 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -map 1:1 -map 1:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -c copy -y test12.nut
1483 The resulting output file @file{test12.nut} will contain the first four streams
1484 from the input files in reverse order.
1487 To force CBR video output:
1489 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
1493 The four options lmin, lmax, mblmin and mblmax use 'lambda' units,
1494 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
1496 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
1502 @include config.texi
1504 @ifset config-avutil
1507 @ifset config-avcodec
1508 @include codecs.texi
1509 @include bitstream_filters.texi
1511 @ifset config-avformat
1512 @include formats.texi
1513 @include protocols.texi
1515 @ifset config-avdevice
1516 @include devices.texi
1518 @ifset config-swresample
1519 @include resampler.texi
1521 @ifset config-swscale
1522 @include scaler.texi
1524 @ifset config-avfilter
1525 @include filters.texi
1533 @url{ffmpeg.html,ffmpeg}
1535 @ifset config-not-all
1536 @url{ffmpeg-all.html,ffmpeg-all},
1538 @url{ffplay.html,ffplay}, @url{ffprobe.html,ffprobe}, @url{ffserver.html,ffserver},
1539 @url{ffmpeg-utils.html,ffmpeg-utils},
1540 @url{ffmpeg-scaler.html,ffmpeg-scaler},
1541 @url{ffmpeg-resampler.html,ffmpeg-resampler},
1542 @url{ffmpeg-codecs.html,ffmpeg-codecs},
1543 @url{ffmpeg-bitstream-filters.html,ffmpeg-bitstream-filters},
1544 @url{ffmpeg-formats.html,ffmpeg-formats},
1545 @url{ffmpeg-devices.html,ffmpeg-devices},
1546 @url{ffmpeg-protocols.html,ffmpeg-protocols},
1547 @url{ffmpeg-filters.html,ffmpeg-filters}
1554 @ifset config-not-all
1557 ffplay(1), ffprobe(1), ffserver(1),
1558 ffmpeg-utils(1), ffmpeg-scaler(1), ffmpeg-resampler(1),
1559 ffmpeg-codecs(1), ffmpeg-bitstream-filters(1), ffmpeg-formats(1),
1560 ffmpeg-devices(1), ffmpeg-protocols(1), ffmpeg-filters(1)
1563 @include authors.texi
1568 @settitle ffmpeg video converter