1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
2 @documentencoding UTF-8
4 @settitle ffmpeg Documentation
6 @center @titlefont{ffmpeg Documentation}
15 ffmpeg [@var{global_options}] @{[@var{input_file_options}] -i @file{input_file}@} ... @{[@var{output_file_options}] @file{output_file}@} ...
18 @c man begin DESCRIPTION
20 @command{ffmpeg} is a very fast video and audio converter that can also grab from
21 a live audio/video source. It can also convert between arbitrary sample
22 rates and resize video on the fly with a high quality polyphase filter.
24 @command{ffmpeg} reads from an arbitrary number of input "files" (which can be regular
25 files, pipes, network streams, grabbing devices, etc.), specified by the
26 @code{-i} option, and writes to an arbitrary number of output "files", which are
27 specified by a plain output filename. Anything found on the command line which
28 cannot be interpreted as an option is considered to be an output filename.
30 Each input or output file can, in principle, contain any number of streams of
31 different types (video/audio/subtitle/attachment/data). The allowed number and/or
32 types of streams may be limited by the container format. Selecting which
33 streams from which inputs will go into which output is either done automatically
34 or with the @code{-map} option (see the Stream selection chapter).
36 To refer to input files in options, you must use their indices (0-based). E.g.
37 the first input file is @code{0}, the second is @code{1}, etc. Similarly, streams
38 within a file are referred to by their indices. E.g. @code{2:3} refers to the
39 fourth stream in the third input file. Also see the Stream specifiers chapter.
41 As a general rule, options are applied to the next specified
42 file. Therefore, order is important, and you can have the same
43 option on the command line multiple times. Each occurrence is
44 then applied to the next input or output file.
45 Exceptions from this rule are the global options (e.g. verbosity level),
46 which should be specified first.
48 Do not mix input and output files -- first specify all input files, then all
49 output files. Also do not mix options which belong to different files. All
50 options apply ONLY to the next input or output file and are reset between files.
54 To set the video bitrate of the output file to 64 kbit/s:
56 ffmpeg -i input.avi -b:v 64k -bufsize 64k output.avi
60 To force the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
62 ffmpeg -i input.avi -r 24 output.avi
66 To force the frame rate of the input file (valid for raw formats only)
67 to 1 fps and the frame rate of the output file to 24 fps:
69 ffmpeg -r 1 -i input.m2v -r 24 output.avi
73 The format option may be needed for raw input files.
75 @c man end DESCRIPTION
77 @chapter Detailed description
78 @c man begin DETAILED DESCRIPTION
80 The transcoding process in @command{ffmpeg} for each output can be described by
81 the following diagram:
84 _______ ______________
86 | input | demuxer | encoded data | decoder
87 | file | ---------> | packets | -----+
88 |_______| |______________| |
95 ________ ______________ |
97 | output | <-------- | encoded data | <----+
98 | file | muxer | packets | encoder
99 |________| |______________|
104 @command{ffmpeg} calls the libavformat library (containing demuxers) to read
105 input files and get packets containing encoded data from them. When there are
106 multiple input files, @command{ffmpeg} tries to keep them synchronized by
107 tracking lowest timestamp on any active input stream.
109 Encoded packets are then passed to the decoder (unless streamcopy is selected
110 for the stream, see further for a description). The decoder produces
111 uncompressed frames (raw video/PCM audio/...) which can be processed further by
112 filtering (see next section). After filtering, the frames are passed to the
113 encoder, which encodes them and outputs encoded packets. Finally those are
114 passed to the muxer, which writes the encoded packets to the output file.
117 Before encoding, @command{ffmpeg} can process raw audio and video frames using
118 filters from the libavfilter library. Several chained filters form a filter
119 graph. @command{ffmpeg} distinguishes between two types of filtergraphs:
122 @subsection Simple filtergraphs
123 Simple filtergraphs are those that have exactly one input and output, both of
124 the same type. In the above diagram they can be represented by simply inserting
125 an additional step between decoding and encoding:
128 _________ ______________
130 | decoded | | encoded data |
131 | frames |\ _ | packets |
132 |_________| \ /||______________|
134 simple _\|| | / encoder
135 filtergraph | filtered |/
141 Simple filtergraphs are configured with the per-stream @option{-filter} option
142 (with @option{-vf} and @option{-af} aliases for video and audio respectively).
143 A simple filtergraph for video can look for example like this:
146 _______ _____________ _______ ________
148 | input | ---> | deinterlace | ---> | scale | ---> | output |
149 |_______| |_____________| |_______| |________|
153 Note that some filters change frame properties but not frame contents. E.g. the
154 @code{fps} filter in the example above changes number of frames, but does not
155 touch the frame contents. Another example is the @code{setpts} filter, which
156 only sets timestamps and otherwise passes the frames unchanged.
158 @subsection Complex filtergraphs
159 Complex filtergraphs are those which cannot be described as simply a linear
160 processing chain applied to one stream. This is the case, for example, when the graph has
161 more than one input and/or output, or when output stream type is different from
162 input. They can be represented with the following diagram:
167 | input 0 |\ __________
169 \ _________ /| output 0 |
171 _________ \| complex | /
173 | input 1 |---->| filter |\
174 |_________| | | \ __________
177 _________ / |_________| |__________|
184 Complex filtergraphs are configured with the @option{-filter_complex} option.
185 Note that this option is global, since a complex filtergraph, by its nature,
186 cannot be unambiguously associated with a single stream or file.
188 The @option{-lavfi} option is equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
190 A trivial example of a complex filtergraph is the @code{overlay} filter, which
191 has two video inputs and one video output, containing one video overlaid on top
192 of the other. Its audio counterpart is the @code{amix} filter.
195 Stream copy is a mode selected by supplying the @code{copy} parameter to the
196 @option{-codec} option. It makes @command{ffmpeg} omit the decoding and encoding
197 step for the specified stream, so it does only demuxing and muxing. It is useful
198 for changing the container format or modifying container-level metadata. The
199 diagram above will, in this case, simplify to this:
202 _______ ______________ ________
204 | input | demuxer | encoded data | muxer | output |
205 | file | ---------> | packets | -------> | file |
206 |_______| |______________| |________|
210 Since there is no decoding or encoding, it is very fast and there is no quality
211 loss. However, it might not work in some cases because of many factors. Applying
212 filters is obviously also impossible, since filters work on uncompressed data.
214 @c man end DETAILED DESCRIPTION
216 @chapter Stream selection
217 @c man begin STREAM SELECTION
219 By default, @command{ffmpeg} includes only one stream of each type (video, audio, subtitle)
220 present in the input files and adds them to each output file. It picks the
221 "best" of each based upon the following criteria: for video, it is the stream
222 with the highest resolution, for audio, it is the stream with the most channels, for
223 subtitles, it is the first subtitle stream. In the case where several streams of
224 the same type rate equally, the stream with the lowest index is chosen.
226 You can disable some of those defaults by using the @code{-vn/-an/-sn} options. For
227 full manual control, use the @code{-map} option, which disables the defaults just
230 @c man end STREAM SELECTION
235 @include fftools-common-opts.texi
237 @section Main options
241 @item -f @var{fmt} (@emph{input/output})
242 Force input or output file format. The format is normally auto detected for input
243 files and guessed from the file extension for output files, so this option is not
244 needed in most cases.
246 @item -i @var{filename} (@emph{input})
249 @item -y (@emph{global})
250 Overwrite output files without asking.
252 @item -n (@emph{global})
253 Do not overwrite output files, and exit immediately if a specified
254 output file already exists.
256 @item -c[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
257 @itemx -codec[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
258 Select an encoder (when used before an output file) or a decoder (when used
259 before an input file) for one or more streams. @var{codec} is the name of a
260 decoder/encoder or a special value @code{copy} (output only) to indicate that
261 the stream is not to be re-encoded.
265 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c:v libx264 -c:a copy OUTPUT
267 encodes all video streams with libx264 and copies all audio streams.
269 For each stream, the last matching @code{c} option is applied, so
271 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -c copy -c:v:1 libx264 -c:a:137 libvorbis OUTPUT
273 will copy all the streams except the second video, which will be encoded with
274 libx264, and the 138th audio, which will be encoded with libvorbis.
276 @item -t @var{duration} (@emph{input/output})
277 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), limit the @var{duration} of
278 data read from the input file.
280 When used as an output option (before an output filename), stop writing the
281 output after its duration reaches @var{duration}.
283 @var{duration} may be a number in seconds, or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
285 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
287 @item -to @var{position} (@emph{output})
288 Stop writing the output at @var{position}.
289 @var{position} may be a number in seconds, or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
291 -to and -t are mutually exclusive and -t has priority.
293 @item -fs @var{limit_size} (@emph{output})
294 Set the file size limit, expressed in bytes.
296 @item -ss @var{position} (@emph{input/output})
297 When used as an input option (before @code{-i}), seeks in this input file to
298 @var{position}. Note the in most formats it is not possible to seek exactly, so
299 @command{ffmpeg} will seek to the closest seek point before @var{position}.
300 When transcoding and @option{-accurate_seek} is enabled (the default), this
301 extra segment between the seek point and @var{position} will be decoded and
302 discarded. When doing stream copy or when @option{-noaccurate_seek} is used, it
305 When used as an output option (before an output filename), decodes but discards
306 input until the timestamps reach @var{position}.
308 @var{position} may be either in seconds or in @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} form.
310 @item -itsoffset @var{offset} (@emph{input})
311 Set the input time offset.
313 @var{offset} must be a time duration specification,
314 see @ref{time duration syntax,,the Time duration section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
316 The offset is added to the timestamps of the input files. Specifying
317 a positive offset means that the corresponding streams are delayed by
318 the time duration specified in @var{offset}.
320 @item -timestamp @var{date} (@emph{output})
321 Set the recording timestamp in the container.
323 @var{date} must be a time duration specification,
324 see @ref{date syntax,,the Date section in the ffmpeg-utils(1) manual,ffmpeg-utils}.
326 @item -metadata[:metadata_specifier] @var{key}=@var{value} (@emph{output,per-metadata})
327 Set a metadata key/value pair.
329 An optional @var{metadata_specifier} may be given to set metadata
330 on streams or chapters. See @code{-map_metadata} documentation for
333 This option overrides metadata set with @code{-map_metadata}. It is
334 also possible to delete metadata by using an empty value.
336 For example, for setting the title in the output file:
338 ffmpeg -i in.avi -metadata title="my title" out.flv
341 To set the language of the first audio stream:
343 ffmpeg -i INPUT -metadata:s:a:0 language=eng OUTPUT
346 @item -target @var{type} (@emph{output})
347 Specify target file type (@code{vcd}, @code{svcd}, @code{dvd}, @code{dv},
348 @code{dv50}). @var{type} may be prefixed with @code{pal-}, @code{ntsc-} or
349 @code{film-} to use the corresponding standard. All the format options
350 (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are then set automatically. You can just type:
353 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg
356 Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know
357 they do not conflict with the standard, as in:
360 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg
363 @item -dframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
364 Set the number of data frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:d}.
366 @item -frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{framecount} (@emph{output,per-stream})
367 Stop writing to the stream after @var{framecount} frames.
369 @item -q[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
370 @itemx -qscale[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{q} (@emph{output,per-stream})
371 Use fixed quality scale (VBR). The meaning of @var{q}/@var{qscale} is
373 If @var{qscale} is used without a @var{stream_specifier} then it applies only
374 to the video stream, this is to maintain compatibility with previous behavior
375 and as specifying the same codec specific value to 2 different codecs that is
376 audio and video generally is not what is intended when no stream_specifier is
379 @anchor{filter_option}
380 @item -filter[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output,per-stream})
381 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
384 @var{filtergraph} is a description of the filtergraph to apply to
385 the stream, and must have a single input and a single output of the
386 same type of the stream. In the filtergraph, the input is associated
387 to the label @code{in}, and the output to the label @code{out}. See
388 the ffmpeg-filters manual for more information about the filtergraph
391 See the @ref{filter_complex_option,,-filter_complex option} if you
392 want to create filtergraphs with multiple inputs and/or outputs.
394 @item -filter_script[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{output,per-stream})
395 This option is similar to @option{-filter}, the only difference is that its
396 argument is the name of the file from which a filtergraph description is to be
399 @item -pre[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{preset_name} (@emph{output,per-stream})
400 Specify the preset for matching stream(s).
402 @item -stats (@emph{global})
403 Print encoding progress/statistics. It is on by default, to explicitly
404 disable it you need to specify @code{-nostats}.
406 @item -progress @var{url} (@emph{global})
407 Send program-friendly progress information to @var{url}.
409 Progress information is written approximately every second and at the end of
410 the encoding process. It is made of "@var{key}=@var{value}" lines. @var{key}
411 consists of only alphanumeric characters. The last key of a sequence of
412 progress information is always "progress".
415 Enable interaction on standard input. On by default unless standard input is
416 used as an input. To explicitly disable interaction you need to specify
419 Disabling interaction on standard input is useful, for example, if
420 ffmpeg is in the background process group. Roughly the same result can
421 be achieved with @code{ffmpeg ... < /dev/null} but it requires a
424 @item -debug_ts (@emph{global})
425 Print timestamp information. It is off by default. This option is
426 mostly useful for testing and debugging purposes, and the output
427 format may change from one version to another, so it should not be
428 employed by portable scripts.
430 See also the option @code{-fdebug ts}.
432 @item -attach @var{filename} (@emph{output})
433 Add an attachment to the output file. This is supported by a few formats
434 like Matroska for e.g. fonts used in rendering subtitles. Attachments
435 are implemented as a specific type of stream, so this option will add
436 a new stream to the file. It is then possible to use per-stream options
437 on this stream in the usual way. Attachment streams created with this
438 option will be created after all the other streams (i.e. those created
439 with @code{-map} or automatic mappings).
441 Note that for Matroska you also have to set the mimetype metadata tag:
443 ffmpeg -i INPUT -attach DejaVuSans.ttf -metadata:s:2 mimetype=application/x-truetype-font out.mkv
445 (assuming that the attachment stream will be third in the output file).
447 @item -dump_attachment[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{filename} (@emph{input,per-stream})
448 Extract the matching attachment stream into a file named @var{filename}. If
449 @var{filename} is empty, then the value of the @code{filename} metadata tag
452 E.g. to extract the first attachment to a file named 'out.ttf':
454 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t:0 out.ttf -i INPUT
456 To extract all attachments to files determined by the @code{filename} tag:
458 ffmpeg -dump_attachment:t "" -i INPUT
461 Technical note -- attachments are implemented as codec extradata, so this
462 option can actually be used to extract extradata from any stream, not just
467 @section Video Options
470 @item -vframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
471 Set the number of video frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:v}.
472 @item -r[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{fps} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
473 Set frame rate (Hz value, fraction or abbreviation).
475 As an input option, ignore any timestamps stored in the file and instead
476 generate timestamps assuming constant frame rate @var{fps}.
477 This is not the same as the @option{-framerate} option used for some input formats
478 like image2 or v4l2 (it used to be the same in older versions of FFmpeg).
479 If in doubt use @option{-framerate} instead of the input option @option{-r}.
481 As an output option, duplicate or drop input frames to achieve constant output
482 frame rate @var{fps}.
484 @item -s[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{size} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
487 As an input option, this is a shortcut for the @option{video_size} private
488 option, recognized by some demuxers for which the frame size is either not
489 stored in the file or is configurable -- e.g. raw video or video grabbers.
491 As an output option, this inserts the @code{scale} video filter to the
492 @emph{end} of the corresponding filtergraph. Please use the @code{scale} filter
493 directly to insert it at the beginning or some other place.
495 The format is @samp{wxh} (default - same as source).
497 @item -aspect[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{aspect} (@emph{output,per-stream})
498 Set the video display aspect ratio specified by @var{aspect}.
500 @var{aspect} can be a floating point number string, or a string of the
501 form @var{num}:@var{den}, where @var{num} and @var{den} are the
502 numerator and denominator of the aspect ratio. For example "4:3",
503 "16:9", "1.3333", and "1.7777" are valid argument values.
505 If used together with @option{-vcodec copy}, it will affect the aspect ratio
506 stored at container level, but not the aspect ratio stored in encoded
507 frames, if it exists.
509 @item -vn (@emph{output})
510 Disable video recording.
512 @item -vcodec @var{codec} (@emph{output})
513 Set the video codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:v}.
515 @item -pass[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
516 Select the pass number (1 or 2). It is used to do two-pass
517 video encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first
518 pass into a log file (see also the option -passlogfile),
519 and in the second pass that log file is used to generate the video
520 at the exact requested bitrate.
521 On pass 1, you may just deactivate audio and set output to null,
522 examples for Windows and Unix:
524 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y NUL
525 ffmpeg -i foo.mov -c:v libxvid -pass 1 -an -f rawvideo -y /dev/null
528 @item -passlogfile[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{prefix} (@emph{output,per-stream})
529 Set two-pass log file name prefix to @var{prefix}, the default file name
530 prefix is ``ffmpeg2pass''. The complete file name will be
531 @file{PREFIX-N.log}, where N is a number specific to the output
534 @item -vf @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
535 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
538 This is an alias for @code{-filter:v}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
541 @section Advanced Video options
544 @item -pix_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{format} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
545 Set pixel format. Use @code{-pix_fmts} to show all the supported
547 If the selected pixel format can not be selected, ffmpeg will print a
548 warning and select the best pixel format supported by the encoder.
549 If @var{pix_fmt} is prefixed by a @code{+}, ffmpeg will exit with an error
550 if the requested pixel format can not be selected, and automatic conversions
551 inside filtergraphs are disabled.
552 If @var{pix_fmt} is a single @code{+}, ffmpeg selects the same pixel format
553 as the input (or graph output) and automatic conversions are disabled.
555 @item -sws_flags @var{flags} (@emph{input/output})
560 @item -rc_override[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{override} (@emph{output,per-stream})
561 Rate control override for specific intervals, formatted as "int,int,int"
562 list separated with slashes. Two first values are the beginning and
563 end frame numbers, last one is quantizer to use if positive, or quality
567 Force interlacing support in encoder (MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 only).
568 Use this option if your input file is interlaced and you want
569 to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses.
570 The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with
571 @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces losses.
573 Calculate PSNR of compressed frames.
575 Dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}.
576 @item -vstats_file @var{file}
577 Dump video coding statistics to @var{file}.
578 @item -top[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{n} (@emph{output,per-stream})
579 top=1/bottom=0/auto=-1 field first
580 @item -dc @var{precision}
582 @item -vtag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
583 Force video tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:v}.
584 @item -qphist (@emph{global})
586 @item -vbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
589 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{time}[,@var{time}...] (@emph{output,per-stream})
590 @item -force_key_frames[:@var{stream_specifier}] expr:@var{expr} (@emph{output,per-stream})
591 Force key frames at the specified timestamps, more precisely at the first
592 frames after each specified time.
594 If the argument is prefixed with @code{expr:}, the string @var{expr}
595 is interpreted like an expression and is evaluated for each frame. A
596 key frame is forced in case the evaluation is non-zero.
598 If one of the times is "@code{chapters}[@var{delta}]", it is expanded into
599 the time of the beginning of all chapters in the file, shifted by
600 @var{delta}, expressed as a time in seconds.
601 This option can be useful to ensure that a seek point is present at a
602 chapter mark or any other designated place in the output file.
604 For example, to insert a key frame at 5 minutes, plus key frames 0.1 second
605 before the beginning of every chapter:
607 -force_key_frames 0:05:00,chapters-0.1
610 The expression in @var{expr} can contain the following constants:
613 the number of current processed frame, starting from 0
615 the number of forced frames
617 the number of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
618 keyframe was forced yet
620 the time of the previous forced frame, it is @code{NAN} when no
621 keyframe was forced yet
623 the time of the current processed frame
626 For example to force a key frame every 5 seconds, you can specify:
628 -force_key_frames expr:gte(t,n_forced*5)
631 To force a key frame 5 seconds after the time of the last forced one,
632 starting from second 13:
634 -force_key_frames expr:if(isnan(prev_forced_t),gte(t,13),gte(t,prev_forced_t+5))
637 Note that forcing too many keyframes is very harmful for the lookahead
638 algorithms of certain encoders: using fixed-GOP options or similar
639 would be more efficient.
641 @item -copyinkf[:@var{stream_specifier}] (@emph{output,per-stream})
642 When doing stream copy, copy also non-key frames found at the
645 @item -hwaccel[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel} (@emph{input,per-stream})
646 Use hardware acceleration to decode the matching stream(s). The allowed values
647 of @var{hwaccel} are:
650 Do not use any hardware acceleration (the default).
653 Automatically select the hardware acceleration method.
656 Use Apple VDA hardware acceleration.
659 Use VDPAU (Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix) hardware acceleration.
662 Use DXVA2 (DirectX Video Acceleration) hardware acceleration.
665 This option has no effect if the selected hwaccel is not available or not
666 supported by the chosen decoder.
668 Note that most acceleration methods are intended for playback and will not be
669 faster than software decoding on modern CPUs. Additionally, @command{ffmpeg}
670 will usually need to copy the decoded frames from the GPU memory into the system
671 memory, resulting in further performance loss. This option is thus mainly
674 @item -hwaccel_device[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{hwaccel_device} (@emph{input,per-stream})
675 Select a device to use for hardware acceleration.
677 This option only makes sense when the @option{-hwaccel} option is also
678 specified. Its exact meaning depends on the specific hardware acceleration
683 For VDPAU, this option specifies the X11 display/screen to use. If this option
684 is not specified, the value of the @var{DISPLAY} environment variable is used
687 For DXVA2, this option should contain the number of the display adapter to use.
688 If this option is not specified, the default adapter is used.
692 @section Audio Options
695 @item -aframes @var{number} (@emph{output})
696 Set the number of audio frames to output. This is an alias for @code{-frames:a}.
697 @item -ar[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{freq} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
698 Set the audio sampling frequency. For output streams it is set by
699 default to the frequency of the corresponding input stream. For input
700 streams this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw
701 demuxers and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
702 @item -aq @var{q} (@emph{output})
703 Set the audio quality (codec-specific, VBR). This is an alias for -q:a.
704 @item -ac[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{channels} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
705 Set the number of audio channels. For output streams it is set by
706 default to the number of input audio channels. For input streams
707 this option only makes sense for audio grabbing devices and raw demuxers
708 and is mapped to the corresponding demuxer options.
709 @item -an (@emph{output})
710 Disable audio recording.
711 @item -acodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
712 Set the audio codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:a}.
713 @item -sample_fmt[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{sample_fmt} (@emph{output,per-stream})
714 Set the audio sample format. Use @code{-sample_fmts} to get a list
715 of supported sample formats.
717 @item -af @var{filtergraph} (@emph{output})
718 Create the filtergraph specified by @var{filtergraph} and use it to
721 This is an alias for @code{-filter:a}, see the @ref{filter_option,,-filter option}.
724 @section Advanced Audio options
727 @item -atag @var{fourcc/tag} (@emph{output})
728 Force audio tag/fourcc. This is an alias for @code{-tag:a}.
729 @item -absf @var{bitstream_filter}
731 @item -guess_layout_max @var{channels} (@emph{input,per-stream})
732 If some input channel layout is not known, try to guess only if it
733 corresponds to at most the specified number of channels. For example, 2
734 tells to @command{ffmpeg} to recognize 1 channel as mono and 2 channels as
735 stereo but not 6 channels as 5.1. The default is to always try to guess. Use
736 0 to disable all guessing.
739 @section Subtitle options
742 @item -scodec @var{codec} (@emph{input/output})
743 Set the subtitle codec. This is an alias for @code{-codec:s}.
744 @item -sn (@emph{output})
745 Disable subtitle recording.
746 @item -sbsf @var{bitstream_filter}
750 @section Advanced Subtitle options
754 @item -fix_sub_duration
755 Fix subtitles durations. For each subtitle, wait for the next packet in the
756 same stream and adjust the duration of the first to avoid overlap. This is
757 necessary with some subtitles codecs, especially DVB subtitles, because the
758 duration in the original packet is only a rough estimate and the end is
759 actually marked by an empty subtitle frame. Failing to use this option when
760 necessary can result in exaggerated durations or muxing failures due to
761 non-monotonic timestamps.
763 Note that this option will delay the output of all data until the next
764 subtitle packet is decoded: it may increase memory consumption and latency a
767 @item -canvas_size @var{size}
768 Set the size of the canvas used to render subtitles.
772 @section Advanced options
775 @item -map [-]@var{input_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}][,@var{sync_file_id}[:@var{stream_specifier}]] | @var{[linklabel]} (@emph{output})
777 Designate one or more input streams as a source for the output file. Each input
778 stream is identified by the input file index @var{input_file_id} and
779 the input stream index @var{input_stream_id} within the input
780 file. Both indices start at 0. If specified,
781 @var{sync_file_id}:@var{stream_specifier} sets which input stream
782 is used as a presentation sync reference.
784 The first @code{-map} option on the command line specifies the
785 source for output stream 0, the second @code{-map} option specifies
786 the source for output stream 1, etc.
788 A @code{-} character before the stream identifier creates a "negative" mapping.
789 It disables matching streams from already created mappings.
791 An alternative @var{[linklabel]} form will map outputs from complex filter
792 graphs (see the @option{-filter_complex} option) to the output file.
793 @var{linklabel} must correspond to a defined output link label in the graph.
795 For example, to map ALL streams from the first input file to output
797 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 output
800 For example, if you have two audio streams in the first input file,
801 these streams are identified by "0:0" and "0:1". You can use
802 @code{-map} to select which streams to place in an output file. For
805 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:1 out.wav
807 will map the input stream in @file{INPUT} identified by "0:1" to
808 the (single) output stream in @file{out.wav}.
810 For example, to select the stream with index 2 from input file
811 @file{a.mov} (specified by the identifier "0:2"), and stream with
812 index 6 from input @file{b.mov} (specified by the identifier "1:6"),
813 and copy them to the output file @file{out.mov}:
815 ffmpeg -i a.mov -i b.mov -c copy -map 0:2 -map 1:6 out.mov
818 To select all video and the third audio stream from an input file:
820 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:v -map 0:a:2 OUTPUT
823 To map all the streams except the second audio, use negative mappings
825 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -map -0:a:1 OUTPUT
828 To pick the English audio stream:
830 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0:m:language:eng OUTPUT
833 Note that using this option disables the default mappings for this output file.
835 @item -map_channel [@var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id}|-1][:@var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}]
836 Map an audio channel from a given input to an output. If
837 @var{output_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier} is not set, the audio channel will
838 be mapped on all the audio streams.
840 Using "-1" instead of
841 @var{input_file_id}.@var{stream_specifier}.@var{channel_id} will map a muted
844 For example, assuming @var{INPUT} is a stereo audio file, you can switch the
845 two audio channels with the following command:
847 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.1 -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT
850 If you want to mute the first channel and keep the second:
852 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel -1 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT
855 The order of the "-map_channel" option specifies the order of the channels in
856 the output stream. The output channel layout is guessed from the number of
857 channels mapped (mono if one "-map_channel", stereo if two, etc.). Using "-ac"
858 in combination of "-map_channel" makes the channel gain levels to be updated if
859 input and output channel layouts don't match (for instance two "-map_channel"
860 options and "-ac 6").
862 You can also extract each channel of an input to specific outputs; the following
863 command extracts two channels of the @var{INPUT} audio stream (file 0, stream 0)
864 to the respective @var{OUTPUT_CH0} and @var{OUTPUT_CH1} outputs:
866 ffmpeg -i INPUT -map_channel 0.0.0 OUTPUT_CH0 -map_channel 0.0.1 OUTPUT_CH1
869 The following example splits the channels of a stereo input into two separate
870 streams, which are put into the same output file:
872 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
875 Note that currently each output stream can only contain channels from a single
876 input stream; you can't for example use "-map_channel" to pick multiple input
877 audio channels contained in different streams (from the same or different files)
878 and merge them into a single output stream. It is therefore not currently
879 possible, for example, to turn two separate mono streams into a single stereo
880 stream. However splitting a stereo stream into two single channel mono streams
883 If you need this feature, a possible workaround is to use the @emph{amerge}
884 filter. For example, if you need to merge a media (here @file{input.mkv}) with 2
885 mono audio streams into one single stereo channel audio stream (and keep the
886 video stream), you can use the following command:
888 ffmpeg -i input.mkv -filter_complex "[0:1] [0:2] amerge" -c:a pcm_s16le -c:v copy output.mkv
891 @item -map_metadata[:@var{metadata_spec_out}] @var{infile}[:@var{metadata_spec_in}] (@emph{output,per-metadata})
892 Set metadata information of the next output file from @var{infile}. Note that
893 those are file indices (zero-based), not filenames.
894 Optional @var{metadata_spec_in/out} parameters specify, which metadata to copy.
895 A metadata specifier can have the following forms:
898 global metadata, i.e. metadata that applies to the whole file
900 @item @var{s}[:@var{stream_spec}]
901 per-stream metadata. @var{stream_spec} is a stream specifier as described
902 in the @ref{Stream specifiers} chapter. In an input metadata specifier, the first
903 matching stream is copied from. In an output metadata specifier, all matching
904 streams are copied to.
906 @item @var{c}:@var{chapter_index}
907 per-chapter metadata. @var{chapter_index} is the zero-based chapter index.
909 @item @var{p}:@var{program_index}
910 per-program metadata. @var{program_index} is the zero-based program index.
912 If metadata specifier is omitted, it defaults to global.
914 By default, global metadata is copied from the first input file,
915 per-stream and per-chapter metadata is copied along with streams/chapters. These
916 default mappings are disabled by creating any mapping of the relevant type. A negative
917 file index can be used to create a dummy mapping that just disables automatic copying.
919 For example to copy metadata from the first stream of the input file to global metadata
922 ffmpeg -i in.ogg -map_metadata 0:s:0 out.mp3
925 To do the reverse, i.e. copy global metadata to all audio streams:
927 ffmpeg -i in.mkv -map_metadata:s:a 0:g out.mkv
929 Note that simple @code{0} would work as well in this example, since global
930 metadata is assumed by default.
932 @item -map_chapters @var{input_file_index} (@emph{output})
933 Copy chapters from input file with index @var{input_file_index} to the next
934 output file. If no chapter mapping is specified, then chapters are copied from
935 the first input file with at least one chapter. Use a negative file index to
936 disable any chapter copying.
938 @item -benchmark (@emph{global})
939 Show benchmarking information at the end of an encode.
940 Shows CPU time used and maximum memory consumption.
941 Maximum memory consumption is not supported on all systems,
942 it will usually display as 0 if not supported.
943 @item -benchmark_all (@emph{global})
944 Show benchmarking information during the encode.
945 Shows CPU time used in various steps (audio/video encode/decode).
946 @item -timelimit @var{duration} (@emph{global})
947 Exit after ffmpeg has been running for @var{duration} seconds.
948 @item -dump (@emph{global})
949 Dump each input packet to stderr.
950 @item -hex (@emph{global})
951 When dumping packets, also dump the payload.
952 @item -re (@emph{input})
953 Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device.
954 or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used
955 with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet
957 By default @command{ffmpeg} attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible.
958 This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate
959 of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).
961 Loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image
962 streams. This option is used for automatic FFserver testing.
963 This option is deprecated, use -loop 1.
964 @item -loop_output @var{number_of_times}
965 Repeatedly loop output for formats that support looping such as animated GIF
966 (0 will loop the output infinitely).
967 This option is deprecated, use -loop.
968 @item -vsync @var{parameter}
970 For compatibility reasons old values can be specified as numbers.
971 Newly added values will have to be specified as strings always.
975 Each frame is passed with its timestamp from the demuxer to the muxer.
977 Frames will be duplicated and dropped to achieve exactly the requested
980 Frames are passed through with their timestamp or dropped so as to
981 prevent 2 frames from having the same timestamp.
983 As passthrough but destroys all timestamps, making the muxer generate
984 fresh timestamps based on frame-rate.
986 Chooses between 1 and 2 depending on muxer capabilities. This is the
990 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
991 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
994 With -map you can select from which stream the timestamps should be
995 taken. You can leave either video or audio unchanged and sync the
996 remaining stream(s) to the unchanged one.
998 @item -frame_drop_threshold @var{parameter}
999 Frame drop threshold, which specifies how much behind video frames can
1000 be before they are dropped. In frame rate units, so 1.0 is one frame.
1001 The default is -1.1. One possible usecase is to avoid framedrops in case
1002 of noisy timestamps or to increase frame drop precision in case of exact
1005 @item -async @var{samples_per_second}
1006 Audio sync method. "Stretches/squeezes" the audio stream to match the timestamps,
1007 the parameter is the maximum samples per second by which the audio is changed.
1008 -async 1 is a special case where only the start of the audio stream is corrected
1009 without any later correction.
1011 Note that the timestamps may be further modified by the muxer, after this.
1012 For example, in the case that the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1015 This option has been deprecated. Use the @code{aresample} audio filter instead.
1018 Do not process input timestamps, but keep their values without trying
1019 to sanitize them. In particular, do not remove the initial start time
1022 Note that, depending on the @option{vsync} option or on specific muxer
1023 processing (e.g. in case the format option @option{avoid_negative_ts}
1024 is enabled) the output timestamps may mismatch with the input
1025 timestamps even when this option is selected.
1027 @item -start_at_zero
1028 When used with @option{copyts}, shift input timestamps so they start at zero.
1030 This means that using e.g. @code{-ss 50} will make output timestamps start at
1031 50 seconds, regardless of what timestamp the input file started at.
1033 @item -copytb @var{mode}
1034 Specify how to set the encoder timebase when stream copying. @var{mode} is an
1035 integer numeric value, and can assume one of the following values:
1039 Use the demuxer timebase.
1041 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1042 demuxer. This is sometimes required to avoid non monotonically increasing
1043 timestamps when copying video streams with variable frame rate.
1046 Use the decoder timebase.
1048 The time base is copied to the output encoder from the corresponding input
1052 Try to make the choice automatically, in order to generate a sane output.
1055 Default value is -1.
1057 @item -shortest (@emph{output})
1058 Finish encoding when the shortest input stream ends.
1059 @item -dts_delta_threshold
1060 Timestamp discontinuity delta threshold.
1061 @item -muxdelay @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1062 Set the maximum demux-decode delay.
1063 @item -muxpreload @var{seconds} (@emph{input})
1064 Set the initial demux-decode delay.
1065 @item -streamid @var{output-stream-index}:@var{new-value} (@emph{output})
1066 Assign a new stream-id value to an output stream. This option should be
1067 specified prior to the output filename to which it applies.
1068 For the situation where multiple output files exist, a streamid
1069 may be reassigned to a different value.
1071 For example, to set the stream 0 PID to 33 and the stream 1 PID to 36 for
1072 an output mpegts file:
1074 ffmpeg -i infile -streamid 0:33 -streamid 1:36 out.ts
1077 @item -bsf[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{bitstream_filters} (@emph{output,per-stream})
1078 Set bitstream filters for matching streams. @var{bitstream_filters} is
1079 a comma-separated list of bitstream filters. Use the @code{-bsfs} option
1080 to get the list of bitstream filters.
1082 ffmpeg -i h264.mp4 -c:v copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb -an out.h264
1085 ffmpeg -i file.mov -an -vn -bsf:s mov2textsub -c:s copy -f rawvideo sub.txt
1088 @item -tag[:@var{stream_specifier}] @var{codec_tag} (@emph{input/output,per-stream})
1089 Force a tag/fourcc for matching streams.
1091 @item -timecode @var{hh}:@var{mm}:@var{ss}SEP@var{ff}
1092 Specify Timecode for writing. @var{SEP} is ':' for non drop timecode and ';'
1095 ffmpeg -i input.mpg -timecode 01:02:03.04 -r 30000/1001 -s ntsc output.mpg
1098 @anchor{filter_complex_option}
1099 @item -filter_complex @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1100 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1101 outputs. For simple graphs -- those with one input and one output of the same
1102 type -- see the @option{-filter} options. @var{filtergraph} is a description of
1103 the filtergraph, as described in the ``Filtergraph syntax'' section of the
1104 ffmpeg-filters manual.
1106 Input link labels must refer to input streams using the
1107 @code{[file_index:stream_specifier]} syntax (i.e. the same as @option{-map}
1108 uses). If @var{stream_specifier} matches multiple streams, the first one will be
1109 used. An unlabeled input will be connected to the first unused input stream of
1112 Output link labels are referred to with @option{-map}. Unlabeled outputs are
1113 added to the first output file.
1115 Note that with this option it is possible to use only lavfi sources without
1118 For example, to overlay an image over video
1120 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex '[0:v][1:v]overlay[out]' -map
1123 Here @code{[0:v]} refers to the first video stream in the first input file,
1124 which is linked to the first (main) input of the overlay filter. Similarly the
1125 first video stream in the second input is linked to the second (overlay) input
1128 Assuming there is only one video stream in each input file, we can omit input
1129 labels, so the above is equivalent to
1131 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay[out]' -map
1135 Furthermore we can omit the output label and the single output from the filter
1136 graph will be added to the output file automatically, so we can simply write
1138 ffmpeg -i video.mkv -i image.png -filter_complex 'overlay' out.mkv
1141 To generate 5 seconds of pure red video using lavfi @code{color} source:
1143 ffmpeg -filter_complex 'color=c=red' -t 5 out.mkv
1146 @item -lavfi @var{filtergraph} (@emph{global})
1147 Define a complex filtergraph, i.e. one with arbitrary number of inputs and/or
1148 outputs. Equivalent to @option{-filter_complex}.
1150 @item -filter_complex_script @var{filename} (@emph{global})
1151 This option is similar to @option{-filter_complex}, the only difference is that
1152 its argument is the name of the file from which a complex filtergraph
1153 description is to be read.
1155 @item -accurate_seek (@emph{input})
1156 This option enables or disables accurate seeking in input files with the
1157 @option{-ss} option. It is enabled by default, so seeking is accurate when
1158 transcoding. Use @option{-noaccurate_seek} to disable it, which may be useful
1159 e.g. when copying some streams and transcoding the others.
1161 @item -override_ffserver (@emph{global})
1162 Overrides the input specifications from @command{ffserver}. Using this
1163 option you can map any input stream to @command{ffserver} and control
1164 many aspects of the encoding from @command{ffmpeg}. Without this
1165 option @command{ffmpeg} will transmit to @command{ffserver} what is
1166 requested by @command{ffserver}.
1168 The option is intended for cases where features are needed that cannot be
1169 specified to @command{ffserver} but can be to @command{ffmpeg}.
1171 @item -sdp_file @var{file} (@emph{global})
1172 Print sdp information to @var{file}.
1173 This allows dumping sdp information when at least one output isn't an
1176 @item -discard (@emph{input})
1177 Allows discarding specific streams or frames of streams at the demuxer.
1178 Not all demuxers support this.
1185 Default, which discards no frames.
1188 Discard all non-reference frames.
1191 Discard all bidirectional frames.
1194 Discard all frames excepts keyframes.
1202 As a special exception, you can use a bitmap subtitle stream as input: it
1203 will be converted into a video with the same size as the largest video in
1204 the file, or 720x576 if no video is present. Note that this is an
1205 experimental and temporary solution. It will be removed once libavfilter has
1206 proper support for subtitles.
1208 For example, to hardcode subtitles on top of a DVB-T recording stored in
1209 MPEG-TS format, delaying the subtitles by 1 second:
1211 ffmpeg -i input.ts -filter_complex \
1212 '[#0x2ef] setpts=PTS+1/TB [sub] ; [#0x2d0] [sub] overlay' \
1213 -sn -map '#0x2dc' output.mkv
1215 (0x2d0, 0x2dc and 0x2ef are the MPEG-TS PIDs of respectively the video,
1216 audio and subtitles streams; 0:0, 0:3 and 0:7 would have worked too)
1218 @section Preset files
1219 A preset file contains a sequence of @var{option}=@var{value} pairs,
1220 one for each line, specifying a sequence of options which would be
1221 awkward to specify on the command line. Lines starting with the hash
1222 ('#') character are ignored and are used to provide comments. Check
1223 the @file{presets} directory in the FFmpeg source tree for examples.
1225 There are two types of preset files: ffpreset and avpreset files.
1227 @subsection ffpreset files
1228 ffpreset files are specified with the @code{vpre}, @code{apre},
1229 @code{spre}, and @code{fpre} options. The @code{fpre} option takes the
1230 filename of the preset instead of a preset name as input and can be
1231 used for any kind of codec. For the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and
1232 @code{spre} options, the options specified in a preset file are
1233 applied to the currently selected codec of the same type as the preset
1236 The argument passed to the @code{vpre}, @code{apre}, and @code{spre}
1237 preset options identifies the preset file to use according to the
1240 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{arg}.ffpreset in the
1241 directories @file{$FFMPEG_DATADIR} (if set), and @file{$HOME/.ffmpeg}, and in
1242 the datadir defined at configuration time (usually @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg})
1243 or in a @file{ffpresets} folder along the executable on win32,
1244 in that order. For example, if the argument is @code{libvpx-1080p}, it will
1245 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1247 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1248 @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.ffpreset in the above-mentioned
1249 directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec to which
1250 the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select
1251 the video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-vpre 1080p},
1252 then it will search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.ffpreset}.
1254 @subsection avpreset files
1255 avpreset files are specified with the @code{pre} option. They work similar to
1256 ffpreset files, but they only allow encoder- specific options. Therefore, an
1257 @var{option}=@var{value} pair specifying an encoder cannot be used.
1259 When the @code{pre} option is specified, ffmpeg will look for files with the
1260 suffix .avpreset in the directories @file{$AVCONV_DATADIR} (if set), and
1261 @file{$HOME/.avconv}, and in the datadir defined at configuration time (usually
1262 @file{PREFIX/share/ffmpeg}), in that order.
1264 First ffmpeg searches for a file named @var{codec_name}-@var{arg}.avpreset in
1265 the above-mentioned directories, where @var{codec_name} is the name of the codec
1266 to which the preset file options will be applied. For example, if you select the
1267 video codec with @code{-vcodec libvpx} and use @code{-pre 1080p}, then it will
1268 search for the file @file{libvpx-1080p.avpreset}.
1270 If no such file is found, then ffmpeg will search for a file named
1271 @var{arg}.avpreset in the same directories.
1280 For streaming at very low bitrates, use a low frame rate
1281 and a small GOP size. This is especially true for RealVideo where
1282 the Linux player does not seem to be very fast, so it can miss
1283 frames. An example is:
1286 ffmpeg -g 3 -r 3 -t 10 -b:v 50k -s qcif -f rv10 /tmp/b.rm
1290 The parameter 'q' which is displayed while encoding is the current
1291 quantizer. The value 1 indicates that a very good quality could
1292 be achieved. The value 31 indicates the worst quality. If q=31 appears
1293 too often, it means that the encoder cannot compress enough to meet
1294 your bitrate. You must either increase the bitrate, decrease the
1295 frame rate or decrease the frame size.
1298 If your computer is not fast enough, you can speed up the
1299 compression at the expense of the compression ratio. You can use
1300 '-me zero' to speed up motion estimation, and '-g 0' to disable
1301 motion estimation completely (you have only I-frames, which means it
1302 is about as good as JPEG compression).
1305 To have very low audio bitrates, reduce the sampling frequency
1306 (down to 22050 Hz for MPEG audio, 22050 or 11025 for AC-3).
1309 To have a constant quality (but a variable bitrate), use the option
1310 '-qscale n' when 'n' is between 1 (excellent quality) and 31 (worst
1317 @c man begin EXAMPLES
1319 @section Video and Audio grabbing
1321 If you specify the input format and device then ffmpeg can grab video
1325 ffmpeg -f oss -i /dev/dsp -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1328 Or with an ALSA audio source (mono input, card id 1) instead of OSS:
1330 ffmpeg -f alsa -ac 1 -i hw:1 -f video4linux2 -i /dev/video0 /tmp/out.mpg
1333 Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before
1334 launching ffmpeg with any TV viewer such as
1335 @uref{http://linux.bytesex.org/xawtv/, xawtv} by Gerd Knorr. You also
1336 have to set the audio recording levels correctly with a
1339 @section X11 grabbing
1341 Grab the X11 display with ffmpeg via
1344 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0 /tmp/out.mpg
1347 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as
1348 the DISPLAY environment variable.
1351 ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size cif -framerate 25 -i :0.0+10,20 /tmp/out.mpg
1354 0.0 is display.screen number of your X11 server, same as the DISPLAY environment
1355 variable. 10 is the x-offset and 20 the y-offset for the grabbing.
1357 @section Video and Audio file format conversion
1359 Any supported file format and protocol can serve as input to ffmpeg:
1364 You can use YUV files as input:
1367 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg
1370 It will use the files:
1372 /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V,
1373 /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc...
1376 The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are
1377 raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video
1378 decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option
1379 if ffmpeg cannot guess it.
1382 You can input from a raw YUV420P file:
1385 ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi
1388 test.yuv is a file containing raw YUV planar data. Each frame is composed
1389 of the Y plane followed by the U and V planes at half vertical and
1390 horizontal resolution.
1393 You can output to a raw YUV420P file:
1396 ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi hugefile.yuv
1400 You can set several input files and output files:
1403 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg
1406 Converts the audio file a.wav and the raw YUV video file a.yuv
1410 You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time:
1413 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2
1416 Converts a.wav to MPEG audio at 22050 Hz sample rate.
1419 You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a
1420 mapping from input stream to output streams:
1423 ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -map 0:a -b:a 64k /tmp/a.mp2 -map 0:a -b:a 128k /tmp/b.mp2
1426 Converts a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and to b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map
1427 file:index' specifies which input stream is used for each output
1428 stream, in the order of the definition of output streams.
1431 You can transcode decrypted VOBs:
1434 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
1437 This is a typical DVD ripping example; the input is a VOB file, the
1438 output an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio. Note that in this
1439 command we use B-frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, and
1440 GOP size is 300 which means one intra frame every 10 seconds for 29.97fps
1441 input video. Furthermore, the audio stream is MP3-encoded so you need
1442 to enable LAME support by passing @code{--enable-libmp3lame} to configure.
1443 The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding
1444 to get the desired audio language.
1446 NOTE: To see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -formats}.
1449 You can extract images from a video, or create a video from many images:
1451 For extracting images from a video:
1453 ffmpeg -i foo.avi -r 1 -s WxH -f image2 foo-%03d.jpeg
1456 This will extract one video frame per second from the video and will
1457 output them in files named @file{foo-001.jpeg}, @file{foo-002.jpeg},
1458 etc. Images will be rescaled to fit the new WxH values.
1460 If you want to extract just a limited number of frames, you can use the
1461 above command in combination with the -vframes or -t option, or in
1462 combination with -ss to start extracting from a certain point in time.
1464 For creating a video from many images:
1466 ffmpeg -f image2 -i foo-%03d.jpeg -r 12 -s WxH foo.avi
1469 The syntax @code{foo-%03d.jpeg} specifies to use a decimal number
1470 composed of three digits padded with zeroes to express the sequence
1471 number. It is the same syntax supported by the C printf function, but
1472 only formats accepting a normal integer are suitable.
1474 When importing an image sequence, -i also supports expanding
1475 shell-like wildcard patterns (globbing) internally, by selecting the
1476 image2-specific @code{-pattern_type glob} option.
1478 For example, for creating a video from filenames matching the glob pattern
1481 ffmpeg -f image2 -pattern_type glob -i 'foo-*.jpeg' -r 12 -s WxH foo.avi
1485 You can put many streams of the same type in the output:
1488 ffmpeg -i test1.avi -i test2.avi -map 1:1 -map 1:0 -map 0:1 -map 0:0 -c copy -y test12.nut
1491 The resulting output file @file{test12.nut} will contain the first four streams
1492 from the input files in reverse order.
1495 To force CBR video output:
1497 ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -b 4000k -minrate 4000k -maxrate 4000k -bufsize 1835k out.m2v
1501 The four options lmin, lmax, mblmin and mblmax use 'lambda' units,
1502 but you may use the QP2LAMBDA constant to easily convert from 'q' units:
1504 ffmpeg -i src.ext -lmax 21*QP2LAMBDA dst.ext
1510 @include config.texi
1512 @ifset config-avutil
1515 @ifset config-avcodec
1516 @include codecs.texi
1517 @include bitstream_filters.texi
1519 @ifset config-avformat
1520 @include formats.texi
1521 @include protocols.texi
1523 @ifset config-avdevice
1524 @include devices.texi
1526 @ifset config-swresample
1527 @include resampler.texi
1529 @ifset config-swscale
1530 @include scaler.texi
1532 @ifset config-avfilter
1533 @include filters.texi
1541 @url{ffmpeg.html,ffmpeg}
1543 @ifset config-not-all
1544 @url{ffmpeg-all.html,ffmpeg-all},
1546 @url{ffplay.html,ffplay}, @url{ffprobe.html,ffprobe}, @url{ffserver.html,ffserver},
1547 @url{ffmpeg-utils.html,ffmpeg-utils},
1548 @url{ffmpeg-scaler.html,ffmpeg-scaler},
1549 @url{ffmpeg-resampler.html,ffmpeg-resampler},
1550 @url{ffmpeg-codecs.html,ffmpeg-codecs},
1551 @url{ffmpeg-bitstream-filters.html,ffmpeg-bitstream-filters},
1552 @url{ffmpeg-formats.html,ffmpeg-formats},
1553 @url{ffmpeg-devices.html,ffmpeg-devices},
1554 @url{ffmpeg-protocols.html,ffmpeg-protocols},
1555 @url{ffmpeg-filters.html,ffmpeg-filters}
1562 @ifset config-not-all
1565 ffplay(1), ffprobe(1), ffserver(1),
1566 ffmpeg-utils(1), ffmpeg-scaler(1), ffmpeg-resampler(1),
1567 ffmpeg-codecs(1), ffmpeg-bitstream-filters(1), ffmpeg-formats(1),
1568 ffmpeg-devices(1), ffmpeg-protocols(1), ffmpeg-filters(1)
1571 @include authors.texi
1576 @settitle ffmpeg video converter