4 This section documents the syntax and formats employed by the FFmpeg
7 @anchor{quoting_and_escaping}
8 @section Quoting and escaping
10 FFmpeg adopts the following quoting and escaping mechanism, unless
11 explicitly specified. The following rules are applied:
15 @samp{'} and @samp{\} are special characters (respectively used for
16 quoting and escaping). In addition to them, there might be other
17 special characters depending on the specific syntax where the escaping
18 and quoting are employed.
21 A special character is escaped by prefixing it with a @samp{\}.
24 All characters enclosed between @samp{''} are included literally in the
25 parsed string. The quote character @samp{'} itself cannot be quoted,
26 so you may need to close the quote and escape it.
29 Leading and trailing whitespaces, unless escaped or quoted, are
30 removed from the parsed string.
33 Note that you may need to add a second level of escaping when using
34 the command line or a script, which depends on the syntax of the
35 adopted shell language.
37 The function @code{av_get_token} defined in
38 @file{libavutil/avstring.h} can be used to parse a token quoted or
39 escaped according to the rules defined above.
41 The tool @file{tools/ffescape} in the FFmpeg source tree can be used
42 to automatically quote or escape a string in a script.
48 Escape the string @code{Crime d'Amour} containing the @code{'} special
55 The string above contains a quote, so the @code{'} needs to be escaped
62 Include leading or trailing whitespaces using quoting:
64 ' this string starts and ends with whitespaces '
68 Escaping and quoting can be mixed together:
70 ' The string '\'string\'' is a string '
74 To include a literal @samp{\} you can use either escaping or quoting:
76 'c:\foo' can be written as c:\\foo
83 The accepted syntax is:
85 [(YYYY-MM-DD|YYYYMMDD)[T|t| ]]((HH:MM:SS[.m...]]])|(HHMMSS[.m...]]]))[Z]
89 If the value is "now" it takes the current time.
91 Time is local time unless Z is appended, in which case it is
93 If the year-month-day part is not specified it takes the current
96 @anchor{time duration syntax}
97 @section Time duration
99 There are two accepted syntaxes for expressing time duration.
102 [-][@var{HH}:]@var{MM}:@var{SS}[.@var{m}...]
105 @var{HH} expresses the number of hours, @var{MM} the number of minutes
106 for a maximum of 2 digits, and @var{SS} the number of seconds for a
107 maximum of 2 digits. The @var{m} at the end expresses decimal value for
113 [-]@var{S}+[.@var{m}...]
116 @var{S} expresses the number of seconds, with the optional decimal part
119 In both expressions, the optional @samp{-} indicates negative duration.
123 The following examples are all valid time duration:
130 12 hours, 03 minutes and 45 seconds
136 @anchor{video size syntax}
138 Specify the size of the sourced video, it may be a string of the form
139 @var{width}x@var{height}, or the name of a size abbreviation.
141 The following abbreviations are recognized:
251 @anchor{video rate syntax}
254 Specify the frame rate of a video, expressed as the number of frames
255 generated per second. It has to be a string in the format
256 @var{frame_rate_num}/@var{frame_rate_den}, an integer number, a float
257 number or a valid video frame rate abbreviation.
259 The following abbreviations are recognized:
279 @anchor{ratio syntax}
282 A ratio can be expressed as an expression, or in the form
283 @var{numerator}:@var{denominator}.
285 Note that a ratio with infinite (1/0) or negative value is
286 considered valid, so you should check on the returned value if you
287 want to exclude those values.
289 The undefined value can be expressed using the "0:0" string.
291 @anchor{color syntax}
294 It can be the name of a color as defined below (case insensitive match) or a
295 @code{[0x|#]RRGGBB[AA]} sequence, possibly followed by @@ and a string
296 representing the alpha component.
298 The alpha component may be a string composed by "0x" followed by an
299 hexadecimal number or a decimal number between 0.0 and 1.0, which
300 represents the opacity value (@samp{0x00} or @samp{0.0} means completely
301 transparent, @samp{0xff} or @samp{1.0} completely opaque). If the alpha
302 component is not specified then @samp{0xff} is assumed.
304 The string @samp{random} will result in a random color.
306 The following names of colors are recognized:
440 @item LightGoldenRodYellow
470 @item MediumAquaMarine
480 @item MediumSlateBlue
482 @item MediumSpringGreen
484 @item MediumTurquoise
486 @item MediumVioletRed
590 @anchor{channel layout syntax}
591 @section Channel Layout
593 A channel layout specifies the spatial disposition of the channels in
594 a multi-channel audio stream. To specify a channel layout, FFmpeg
595 makes use of a special syntax.
597 Individual channels are identified by an id, as given by the table
615 front right-of-center
647 surround direct right
652 Standard channel layout compositions can be specified by using the
653 following identifiers:
690 FL+FR+FC+LFE+BC+SL+SR
692 FL+FR+FC+LFE+BL+BR+BC
694 FL+FR+LFE+FLC+FRC+SL+SR
698 FL+FR+FC+FLC+FRC+SL+SR
700 FL+FR+FC+LFE+BL+BR+SL+SR
702 FL+FR+FC+LFE+BL+BR+FLC+FRC
704 FL+FR+FC+LFE+FLC+FRC+SL+SR
706 FL+FR+FC+BL+BR+BC+SL+SR
711 A custom channel layout can be specified as a sequence of terms, separated by
712 '+' or '|'. Each term can be:
715 the name of a standard channel layout (e.g. @samp{mono},
716 @samp{stereo}, @samp{4.0}, @samp{quad}, @samp{5.0}, etc.)
719 the name of a single channel (e.g. @samp{FL}, @samp{FR}, @samp{FC}, @samp{LFE}, etc.)
722 a number of channels, in decimal, optionally followed by 'c', yielding
723 the default channel layout for that number of channels (see the
724 function @code{av_get_default_channel_layout})
727 a channel layout mask, in hexadecimal starting with "0x" (see the
728 @code{AV_CH_*} macros in @file{libavutil/channel_layout.h}.
731 Starting from libavutil version 53 the trailing character "c" to
732 specify a number of channels will be required, while a channel layout
733 mask could also be specified as a decimal number (if and only if not
736 See also the function @code{av_get_channel_layout} defined in
737 @file{libavutil/channel_layout.h}.
740 @chapter Expression Evaluation
741 @c man begin EXPRESSION EVALUATION
743 When evaluating an arithmetic expression, FFmpeg uses an internal
744 formula evaluator, implemented through the @file{libavutil/eval.h}
747 An expression may contain unary, binary operators, constants, and
750 Two expressions @var{expr1} and @var{expr2} can be combined to form
751 another expression "@var{expr1};@var{expr2}".
752 @var{expr1} and @var{expr2} are evaluated in turn, and the new
753 expression evaluates to the value of @var{expr2}.
755 The following binary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-},
756 @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{^}.
758 The following unary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-}.
760 The following functions are available:
763 Compute absolute value of @var{x}.
766 Compute arccosine of @var{x}.
769 Compute arcsine of @var{x}.
772 Compute arctangent of @var{x}.
774 @item between(x, min, max)
775 Return 1 if @var{x} is greater than or equal to @var{min} and lesser than or
776 equal to @var{max}, 0 otherwise.
780 Compute bitwise and/or operation on @var{x} and @var{y}.
782 The results of the evaluation of @var{x} and @var{y} are converted to
783 integers before executing the bitwise operation.
785 Note that both the conversion to integer and the conversion back to
786 floating point can lose precision. Beware of unexpected results for
787 large numbers (usually 2^53 and larger).
790 Round the value of expression @var{expr} upwards to the nearest
791 integer. For example, "ceil(1.5)" is "2.0".
793 @item clip(x, min, max)
794 Return the value of @var{x} clipped between @var{min} and @var{max}.
797 Compute cosine of @var{x}.
800 Compute hyperbolic cosine of @var{x}.
803 Return 1 if @var{x} and @var{y} are equivalent, 0 otherwise.
806 Compute exponential of @var{x} (with base @code{e}, the Euler's number).
809 Round the value of expression @var{expr} downwards to the nearest
810 integer. For example, "floor(-1.5)" is "-2.0".
813 Compute Gauss function of @var{x}, corresponding to
814 @code{exp(-x*x/2) / sqrt(2*PI)}.
817 Return the greatest common divisor of @var{x} and @var{y}. If both @var{x} and
818 @var{y} are 0 or either or both are less than zero then behavior is undefined.
821 Return 1 if @var{x} is greater than @var{y}, 0 otherwise.
824 Return 1 if @var{x} is greater than or equal to @var{y}, 0 otherwise.
827 This function is similar to the C function with the same name; it returns
828 "sqrt(@var{x}*@var{x} + @var{y}*@var{y})", the length of the hypotenuse of a
829 right triangle with sides of length @var{x} and @var{y}, or the distance of the
830 point (@var{x}, @var{y}) from the origin.
833 Evaluate @var{x}, and if the result is non-zero return the result of
834 the evaluation of @var{y}, return 0 otherwise.
837 Evaluate @var{x}, and if the result is non-zero return the evaluation
838 result of @var{y}, otherwise the evaluation result of @var{z}.
841 Evaluate @var{x}, and if the result is zero return the result of the
842 evaluation of @var{y}, return 0 otherwise.
845 Evaluate @var{x}, and if the result is zero return the evaluation
846 result of @var{y}, otherwise the evaluation result of @var{z}.
849 Return 1.0 if @var{x} is +/-INFINITY, 0.0 otherwise.
852 Return 1.0 if @var{x} is NAN, 0.0 otherwise.
855 Load the value of the internal variable with number
856 @var{var}, which was previously stored with st(@var{var}, @var{expr}).
857 The function returns the loaded value.
860 Compute natural logarithm of @var{x}.
863 Return 1 if @var{x} is lesser than @var{y}, 0 otherwise.
866 Return 1 if @var{x} is lesser than or equal to @var{y}, 0 otherwise.
869 Return the maximum between @var{x} and @var{y}.
872 Return the minimum between @var{x} and @var{y}.
875 Compute the remainder of division of @var{x} by @var{y}.
878 Return 1.0 if @var{expr} is zero, 0.0 otherwise.
881 Compute the power of @var{x} elevated @var{y}, it is equivalent to
882 "(@var{x})^(@var{y})".
886 Print the value of expression @var{t} with loglevel @var{l}. If
887 @var{l} is not specified then a default log level is used.
888 Returns the value of the expression printed.
890 Prints t with loglevel l
893 Return a pseudo random value between 0.0 and 1.0. @var{x} is the index of the
894 internal variable which will be used to save the seed/state.
896 @item root(expr, max)
897 Find an input value for which the function represented by @var{expr}
898 with argument @var{ld(0)} is 0 in the interval 0..@var{max}.
900 The expression in @var{expr} must denote a continuous function or the
903 @var{ld(0)} is used to represent the function input value, which means
904 that the given expression will be evaluated multiple times with
905 various input values that the expression can access through
906 @code{ld(0)}. When the expression evaluates to 0 then the
907 corresponding input value will be returned.
910 Compute sine of @var{x}.
913 Compute hyperbolic sine of @var{x}.
916 Compute the square root of @var{expr}. This is equivalent to
920 Compute expression @code{1/(1 + exp(4*x))}.
923 Store the value of the expression @var{expr} in an internal
924 variable. @var{var} specifies the number of the variable where to
925 store the value, and it is a value ranging from 0 to 9. The function
926 returns the value stored in the internal variable.
927 Note, Variables are currently not shared between expressions.
930 Compute tangent of @var{x}.
933 Compute hyperbolic tangent of @var{x}.
935 @item taylor(expr, x)
936 @item taylor(expr, x, id)
937 Evaluate a Taylor series at @var{x}, given an expression representing
938 the @code{ld(id)}-th derivative of a function at 0.
940 When the series does not converge the result is undefined.
942 @var{ld(id)} is used to represent the derivative order in @var{expr},
943 which means that the given expression will be evaluated multiple times
944 with various input values that the expression can access through
945 @code{ld(id)}. If @var{id} is not specified then 0 is assumed.
947 Note, when you have the derivatives at y instead of 0,
948 @code{taylor(expr, x-y)} can be used.
951 Return the current (wallclock) time in seconds.
954 Round the value of expression @var{expr} towards zero to the nearest
955 integer. For example, "trunc(-1.5)" is "-1.0".
957 @item while(cond, expr)
958 Evaluate expression @var{expr} while the expression @var{cond} is
959 non-zero, and returns the value of the last @var{expr} evaluation, or
960 NAN if @var{cond} was always false.
963 The following constants are available:
966 area of the unit disc, approximately 3.14
968 exp(1) (Euler's number), approximately 2.718
970 golden ratio (1+sqrt(5))/2, approximately 1.618
973 Assuming that an expression is considered "true" if it has a non-zero
976 @code{*} works like AND
978 @code{+} works like OR
980 For example the construct:
989 In your C code, you can extend the list of unary and binary functions,
990 and define recognized constants, so that they are available for your
993 The evaluator also recognizes the International System unit prefixes.
994 If 'i' is appended after the prefix, binary prefixes are used, which
995 are based on powers of 1024 instead of powers of 1000.
996 The 'B' postfix multiplies the value by 8, and can be appended after a
997 unit prefix or used alone. This allows using for example 'KB', 'MiB',
998 'G' and 'B' as number postfix.
1000 The list of available International System prefixes follows, with
1001 indication of the corresponding powers of 10 and of 2.
1045 @c man end EXPRESSION EVALUATION
1047 @chapter OpenCL Options
1048 @c man begin OPENCL OPTIONS
1050 When FFmpeg is configured with @code{--enable-opencl}, it is possible
1051 to set the options for the global OpenCL context.
1053 The list of supported options follows:
1057 Set build options used to compile the registered kernels.
1059 See reference "OpenCL Specification Version: 1.2 chapter 5.6.4".
1062 Select the index of the platform to run OpenCL code.
1064 The specified index must be one of the indexes in the device list
1065 which can be obtained with @code{ffmpeg -opencl_bench} or @code{av_opencl_get_device_list()}.
1068 Select the index of the device used to run OpenCL code.
1070 The specified index must be one of the indexes in the device list which
1071 can be obtained with @code{ffmpeg -opencl_bench} or @code{av_opencl_get_device_list()}.
1075 @c man end OPENCL OPTIONS