\input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*- @settitle FFmpeg Documentation @titlepage @sp 7 @center @titlefont{FFmpeg Documentation} @sp 3 @end titlepage @chapter Introduction FFmpeg is a very fast video and audio converter. It can also grab from a live audio/video source. The command line interface is designed to be intuitive, in the sense that ffmpeg tries to figure out all the parameters, when possible. You have usually to give only the target bitrate you want. FFmpeg can also convert from any sample rate to any other, and resize video on the fly with a high quality polyphase filter. @chapter Quick Start @c man begin EXAMPLES @section Video and Audio grabbing FFmpeg can use a video4linux compatible video source and any Open Sound System audio source: @example ffmpeg /tmp/out.mpg @end example Note that you must activate the right video source and channel before launching ffmpeg. You can use any TV viewer such as xawtv (@url{http://bytesex.org/xawtv/}) by Gerd Knorr which I find very good. You must also set correctly the audio recording levels with a standard mixer. @section Video and Audio file format conversion * ffmpeg can use any supported file format and protocol as input: Examples: * You can input from YUV files: @example ffmpeg -i /tmp/test%d.Y /tmp/out.mpg @end example It will use the files: @example /tmp/test0.Y, /tmp/test0.U, /tmp/test0.V, /tmp/test1.Y, /tmp/test1.U, /tmp/test1.V, etc... @end example The Y files use twice the resolution of the U and V files. They are raw files, without header. They can be generated by all decent video decoders. You must specify the size of the image with the @option{-s} option if ffmpeg cannot guess it. * You can input from a RAW YUV420P file: @example ffmpeg -i /tmp/test.yuv /tmp/out.avi @end example The RAW YUV420P is a file containing RAW YUV planar, for each frame first come the Y plane followed by U and V planes, which are half vertical and horizontal resolution. * You can output to a RAW YUV420P file: @example ffmpeg -i mydivx.avi -o hugefile.yuv @end example * You can set several input files and output files: @example ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -s 640x480 -i /tmp/a.yuv /tmp/a.mpg @end example Convert the audio file a.wav and the raw yuv video file a.yuv to mpeg file a.mpg * You can also do audio and video conversions at the same time: @example ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ar 22050 /tmp/a.mp2 @end example Convert the sample rate of a.wav to 22050 Hz and encode it to MPEG audio. * You can encode to several formats at the same time and define a mapping from input stream to output streams: @example ffmpeg -i /tmp/a.wav -ab 64 /tmp/a.mp2 -ab 128 /tmp/b.mp2 -map 0:0 -map 0:0 @end example Convert a.wav to a.mp2 at 64 kbits and b.mp2 at 128 kbits. '-map file:index' specify which input stream is used for each output stream, in the order of the definition of output streams. * You can transcode decrypted VOBs @example ffmpeg -i snatch_1.vob -f avi -vcodec mpeg4 -b 800 -g 300 -bf 2 -acodec mp3 -ab 128 snatch.avi @end example This is a typical DVD ripper example, input from a VOB file, output to an AVI file with MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio, note that in this command we use B frames so the MPEG-4 stream is DivX5 compatible, GOP size is 300 that means an INTRA frame every 10 seconds for 29.97 fps input video. Also the audio stream is MP3 encoded so you need LAME support which is enabled using @code{--enable-mp3lame} when configuring. The mapping is particularly useful for DVD transcoding to get the desired audio language. NOTE: to see the supported input formats, use @code{ffmpeg -formats}. @c man end @chapter Invocation @section Syntax The generic syntax is: @example @c man begin SYNOPSIS ffmpeg [[infile options][@option{-i} @var{infile}]]... @{[outfile options] @var{outfile}@}... @c man end @end example @c man begin DESCRIPTION If no input file is given, audio/video grabbing is done. As a general rule, options are applied to the next specified file. For example, if you give the @option{-b 64} option, it sets the video bitrate of the next file. Format option may be needed for raw input files. By default, ffmpeg tries to convert as losslessly as possible: it uses the same audio and video parameter for the outputs as the one specified for the inputs. @c man end @c man begin OPTIONS @section Main options @table @option @item -L show license @item -h show help @item -formats show available formats, codecs, protocols, ... @item -f fmt force format @item -i filename input file name @item -y overwrite output files @item -t duration set the recording time in seconds. @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported. @item -ss position seek to given time position. @code{hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported. @item -title string set the title @item -author string set the author @item -copyright string set the copyright @item -comment string set the comment @item -target type specify target file type ("vcd", "svcd", "dvd", "pal-vcd", "ntsc-svcd", ... ). All the format options (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are automatically set by this option. You can just type: @example ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd /tmp/vcd.mpg @end example Nevertheless you can specify additional options as long as you know they do not compromise the standard, as in: @example ffmpeg -i myfile.avi -target vcd -bf 2 /tmp/vcd.mpg @end example @item -hq activate high quality settings @item -itsoffset offset set the input time offset in seconds. @code{[-]hh:mm:ss[.xxx]} syntax is also supported. This option affects all the input files that follow it. The offset is added to the input files' timestamps; specifying a positive offset means that the corresponding streams are delayed by 'offset' seconds. @end table @section Video Options @table @option @item -b bitrate set the video bitrate in kbit/s (default = 200 kb/s) @item -r fps set frame rate (default = 25) @item -s size set frame size. The format is @samp{WxH} (default 160x128). The following abbreviations are recognized: @table @samp @item sqcif 128x96 @item qcif 176x144 @item cif 352x288 @item 4cif 704x576 @end table @item -aspect aspect set aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9 or 1.3333, 1.7777) @item -croptop size set top crop band size (in pixels) @item -cropbottom size set bottom crop band size (in pixels) @item -cropleft size set left crop band size (in pixels) @item -cropright size set right crop band size (in pixels) @item -padtop size set top pad band size (in pixels) @item -padbottom size set bottom pad band size (in pixels) @item -padleft size set left pad band size (in pixels) @item -padright size set right pad band size (in pixels) @item -padcolor (hex color) set color of padded bands. The value for pad color is expressed as a six digit hexidecimal number where the first two digits represent red, middle two digits green and last two digits blue. Defaults to 000000 (black) @item -vn disable video recording @item -bt tolerance set video bitrate tolerance (in kbit/s) @item -maxrate bitrate set max video bitrate tolerance (in kbit/s) @item -minrate bitrate set min video bitrate tolerance (in kbit/s) @item -bufsize size set ratecontrol buffere size (in kbit) @item -vcodec codec force video codec to @var{codec}. Use the @code{copy} special value to tell that the raw codec data must be copied as is. @item -sameq use same video quality as source (implies VBR) @item -pass n select the pass number (1 or 2). It is useful to do two pass encoding. The statistics of the video are recorded in the first pass and the video at the exact requested bit rate is generated in the second pass. @item -passlogfile file select two pass log file name to @var{file}. @end table @section Advanced Video Options @table @option @item -g gop_size set the group of picture size @item -intra use only intra frames @item -qscale q use fixed video quantiser scale (VBR) @item -qmin q min video quantiser scale (VBR) @item -qmax q max video quantiser scale (VBR) @item -qdiff q max difference between the quantiser scale (VBR) @item -qblur blur video quantiser scale blur (VBR) @item -qcomp compression video quantiser scale compression (VBR) @item -rc_init_cplx complexity initial complexity for 1-pass encoding @item -b_qfactor factor qp factor between p and b frames @item -i_qfactor factor qp factor between p and i frames @item -b_qoffset offset qp offset between p and b frames @item -i_qoffset offset qp offset between p and i frames @item -rc_eq equation set rate control equation (@pxref{FFmpeg formula evaluator}). Default is @code{tex^qComp}. @item -rc_override override rate control override for specific intervals @item -me method set motion estimation method to @var{method}. Available methods are (from lower to best quality): @table @samp @item zero Try just the (0, 0) vector. @item phods @item log @item x1 @item epzs (default method) @item full exhaustive search (slow and marginally better than epzs) @end table @item -dct_algo algo set dct algorithm to @var{algo}. Available values are: @table @samp @item 0 FF_DCT_AUTO (default) @item 1 FF_DCT_FASTINT @item 2 FF_DCT_INT @item 3 FF_DCT_MMX @item 4 FF_DCT_MLIB @item 5 FF_DCT_ALTIVEC @end table @item -idct_algo algo set idct algorithm to @var{algo}. Available values are: @table @samp @item 0 FF_IDCT_AUTO (default) @item 1 FF_IDCT_INT @item 2 FF_IDCT_SIMPLE @item 3 FF_IDCT_SIMPLEMMX @item 4 FF_IDCT_LIBMPEG2MMX @item 5 FF_IDCT_PS2 @item 6 FF_IDCT_MLIB @item 7 FF_IDCT_ARM @item 8 FF_IDCT_ALTIVEC @item 9 FF_IDCT_SH4 @item 10 FF_IDCT_SIMPLEARM @end table @item -er n set error resilience to @var{n}. @table @samp @item 1 FF_ER_CAREFULL (default) @item 2 FF_ER_COMPLIANT @item 3 FF_ER_AGGRESSIVE @item 4 FF_ER_VERY_AGGRESSIVE @end table @item -ec bit_mask set error concealment to @var{bit_mask}. @var{bit_mask} is a bit mask of the following values: @table @samp @item 1 FF_EC_GUESS_MVS (default=enabled) @item 2 FF_EC_DEBLOCK (default=enabled) @end table @item -bf frames use 'frames' B frames (supported for MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4) @item -mbd mode macroblock decision @table @samp @item 0 FF_MB_DECISION_SIMPLE: use mb_cmp (cannot change it yet in ffmpeg) @item 1 FF_MB_DECISION_BITS: chooses the one which needs the fewest bits @item 2 FF_MB_DECISION_RD: rate distoration @end table @item -4mv use four motion vector by macroblock (only MPEG-4) @item -part use data partitioning (only MPEG-4) @item -bug param workaround not auto detected encoder bugs @item -strict strictness how strictly to follow the standarts @item -aic enable Advanced intra coding (h263+) @item -umv enable Unlimited Motion Vector (h263+) @item -deinterlace deinterlace pictures @item -interlace force interlacing support in encoder (only MPEG-2 and MPEG-4). Use this option if your input file is interlaced and if you want to keep the interlaced format for minimum losses. The alternative is to deinterlace the input stream with @option{-deinterlace}, but deinterlacing introduces more losses. @item -psnr calculate PSNR of compressed frames @item -vstats dump video coding statistics to @file{vstats_HHMMSS.log}. @item -vhook module insert video processing @var{module}. @var{module} contains the module name and its parameters separated by spaces. @end table @section Audio Options @table @option @item -ar freq set the audio sampling freq (default = 44100 Hz) @item -ab bitrate set the audio bitrate in kbit/s (default = 64) @item -ac channels set the number of audio channels (default = 1) @item -an disable audio recording @item -acodec codec force audio codec to @var{codec}. Use the @code{copy} special value to tell that the raw codec data must be copied as is. @end table @section Audio/Video grab options @table @option @item -vd device set video grab device (e.g. @file{/dev/video0}) @item -vc channel set video grab channel (DV1394 only) @item -tvstd standard set television standard (NTSC, PAL (SECAM)) @item -dv1394 set DV1394 grab @item -ad device set audio device (e.g. @file{/dev/dsp}) @end table @section Advanced options @table @option @item -map file:stream set input stream mapping @item -debug print specific debug info @item -benchmark add timings for benchmarking @item -hex dump each input packet @item -bitexact only use bit exact algorithms (for codec testing) @item -ps size set packet size in bits @item -re read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device. @item -loop loop over the input stream. Currently it works only for image streams. This option is used for ffserver automatic testing. @end table @node FFmpeg formula evaluator @section FFmpeg formula evaluator When evaluating a rate control string, FFmpeg uses an internal formula evaluator. The following binary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{*}, @code{/}, @code{^}. The following unary operators are available: @code{+}, @code{-}, @code{(...)}. The following functions are available: @table @var @item sinh(x) @item cosh(x) @item tanh(x) @item sin(x) @item cos(x) @item tan(x) @item exp(x) @item log(x) @item squish(x) @item gauss(x) @item abs(x) @item max(x, y) @item min(x, y) @item gt(x, y) @item lt(x, y) @item eq(x, y) @item bits2qp(bits) @item qp2bits(qp) @end table The following constants are available: @table @var @item PI @item E @item iTex @item pTex @item tex @item mv @item fCode @item iCount @item mcVar @item var @item isI @item isP @item isB @item avgQP @item qComp @item avgIITex @item avgPITex @item avgPPTex @item avgBPTex @item avgTex @end table @c man end @ignore @setfilename ffmpeg @settitle FFmpeg video converter @c man begin SEEALSO ffserver(1), ffplay(1) and the html documentation of @file{ffmpeg}. @c man end @c man begin AUTHOR Fabrice Bellard @c man end @end ignore @section Protocols The filename can be @file{-} to read from the standard input or to write to the standard output. ffmpeg handles also many protocols specified with the URL syntax. Use 'ffmpeg -formats' to have a list of the supported protocols. The protocol @code{http:} is currently used only to communicate with ffserver (see the ffserver documentation). When ffmpeg will be a video player it will also be used for streaming :-) @chapter Tips @itemize @item For streaming at very low bit rate application, use a low frame rate and a small gop size. This is especially true for real video where the Linux player does not seem to be very fast, so it can miss frames. An example is: @example ffmpeg -g 3 -r 3 -t 10 -b 50 -s qcif -f rv10 /tmp/b.rm @end example @item The parameter 'q' which is displayed while encoding is the current quantizer. The value of 1 indicates that a very good quality could be achieved. The value of 31 indicates the worst quality. If q=31 too often, it means that the encoder cannot compress enough to meet your bit rate. You must either increase the bit rate, decrease the frame rate or decrease the frame size. @item If your computer is not fast enough, you can speed up the compression at the expense of the compression ratio. You can use '-me zero' to speed up motion estimation, and '-intra' to disable completely motion estimation (you have only I frames, which means it is about as good as JPEG compression). @item To have very low bitrates in audio, reduce the sampling frequency (down to 22050 kHz for mpeg audio, 22050 or 11025 for ac3). @item To have a constant quality (but a variable bitrate), use the option '-qscale n' when 'n' is between 1 (excellent quality) and 31 (worst quality). @item When converting video files, you can use the '-sameq' option which uses in the encoder the same quality factor than in the decoder. It allows to be almost lossless in encoding. @end itemize @chapter Supported File Formats and Codecs You can use the @code{-formats} option to have an exhaustive list. @section File Formats FFmpeg supports the following file formats through the @code{libavformat} library: @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 @item Supported File Format @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments @item MPEG audio @tab X @tab X @item MPEG1 systems @tab X @tab X @tab muxed audio and video @item MPEG2 PS @tab X @tab X @tab also known as @code{VOB} file @item MPEG2 TS @tab @tab X @tab also known as DVB Transport Stream @item ASF@tab X @tab X @item AVI@tab X @tab X @item WAV@tab X @tab X @item Macromedia Flash@tab X @tab X @tab Only embedded audio is decoded @item FLV @tab X @tab X @tab Macromedia Flash video files @item Real Audio and Video @tab X @tab X @item Raw AC3 @tab X @tab X @item Raw MJPEG @tab X @tab X @item Raw MPEG video @tab X @tab X @item Raw PCM8/16 bits, mulaw/Alaw@tab X @tab X @item Raw CRI ADX audio @tab X @tab X @item SUN AU format @tab X @tab X @item NUT @tab X @tab X @tab NUT Open Container Format @item Quicktime @tab X @tab X @item MPEG4 @tab X @tab X @tab MPEG4 is a variant of Quicktime @item Raw MPEG4 video @tab X @tab X @item DV @tab X @tab X @item 4xm @tab @tab X @tab 4X Technologies format, used in some games @item Playstation STR @tab @tab X @item Id RoQ @tab @tab X @tab used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games @item Interplay MVE @tab @tab X @tab format used in various Interplay computer games @item WC3 Movie @tab @tab X @tab multimedia format used in Origin's Wing Commander III computer game @item Sega FILM/CPK @tab @tab X @tab used in many Sega Saturn console games @item Westwood Studios VQA/AUD @tab @tab X @tab Multimedia formats used in Westwood Studios games @item Id Cinematic (.cin) @tab @tab X @tab Used in Quake II @item FLIC format @tab @tab X @tab .fli/.flc files @item Sierra VMD @tab @tab X @tab used in Sierra CD-ROM games @item Sierra Online @tab @tab X @tab .sol files used in Sierra Online games @item Matroska @tab @tab X @item Electronic Arts Multimedia @tab @tab X @tab used in various EA games; files have extensions like WVE and UV2 @item Nullsoft Video (NSV) format @tab @tab X @end multitable @code{X} means that the encoding (resp. decoding) is supported. @section Image Formats FFmpeg can read and write images for each frame of a video sequence. The following image formats are supported: @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 @item Supported Image Format @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments @item PGM, PPM @tab X @tab X @item PAM @tab X @tab X @tab PAM is a PNM extension with alpha support @item PGMYUV @tab X @tab X @tab PGM with U and V components in YUV 4:2:0 @item JPEG @tab X @tab X @tab Progressive JPEG is not supported @item .Y.U.V @tab X @tab X @tab One raw file per component @item Animated GIF @tab X @tab X @tab Only uncompressed GIFs are generated @item PNG @tab X @tab X @tab 2 bit and 4 bit/pixel not supported yet @item SGI @tab X @tab X @tab SGI RGB image format @end multitable @code{X} means that the encoding (resp. decoding) is supported. @section Video Codecs @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .7 @item Supported Codec @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments @item MPEG1 video @tab X @tab X @item MPEG2 video @tab X @tab X @item MPEG4 @tab X @tab X @tab Also known as DIVX4/5 @item MSMPEG4 V1 @tab X @tab X @item MSMPEG4 V2 @tab X @tab X @item MSMPEG4 V3 @tab X @tab X @tab Also known as DIVX3 @item WMV7 @tab X @tab X @item WMV8 @tab X @tab X @tab Not completely working @item H.261 @tab X @tab X @item H.263(+) @tab X @tab X @tab Also known as Real Video 1.0 @item H.264 @tab @tab X @item MJPEG @tab X @tab X @item Lossless MJPEG @tab X @tab X @item Apple MJPEG-B @tab @tab X @item Sunplus MJPEG @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: SP5X @item DV @tab X @tab X @item Huff YUV @tab X @tab X @item FFmpeg Video 1 @tab X @tab X @tab Experimental lossless codec (fourcc: FFV1) @item FFmpeg Snow @tab X @tab X @tab Experimental wavelet codec (fourcc: SNOW) @item Asus v1 @tab X @tab X @tab fourcc: ASV1 @item Asus v2 @tab X @tab X @tab fourcc: ASV2 @item Creative YUV @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: CYUV @item Sorenson Video 1 @tab X @tab X @tab fourcc: SVQ1 @item Sorenson Video 3 @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: SVQ3 @item On2 VP3 @tab @tab X @tab still experimental @item Theora @tab @tab X @tab still experimental @item Intel Indeo 3 @tab @tab X @tab only works on i386 right now @item FLV @tab X @tab X @tab Sorenson H.263 used in Flash @item ATI VCR1 @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: VCR1 @item ATI VCR2 @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: VCR2 @item Cirrus Logic AccuPak @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: CLJR @item 4X Video @tab @tab X @tab used in certain computer games @item Sony Playstation MDEC @tab @tab X @item Id RoQ @tab @tab X @tab used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games @item Xan/WC3 @tab @tab X @tab used in Wing Commander III .MVE files @item Interplay Video @tab @tab X @tab used in Interplay .MVE files @item Apple Animation @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: 'rle ' @item Apple Graphics @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: 'smc ' @item Apple Video @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: rpza @item Apple QuickDraw @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: qdrw @item Cinepak @tab @tab X @item Microsoft RLE @tab @tab X @item Microsoft Video-1 @tab @tab X @item Westwood VQA @tab @tab X @item Id Cinematic Video @tab @tab X @tab used in Quake II @item Planar RGB @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: 8BPS @item FLIC video @tab @tab X @item Duck TrueMotion v1 @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: DUCK @item VMD Video @tab @tab X @tab used in Sierra VMD files @item MSZH @tab @tab X @tab Part of LCL @item ZLIB @tab X @tab X @tab Part of LCL, encoder experimental @item TechSmith Camtasia @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: TSCC @item IBM Ultimotion @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: ULTI @item Miro VideoXL @tab @tab X @tab fourcc: VIXL @item QPEG @tab @tab X @tab fourccs: QPEG, Q1.0, Q1.1 @end multitable @code{X} means that the encoding (resp. decoding) is supported. Check at @url{http://www.mplayerhq.hu/~michael/codec-features.html} to get a precise comparison of FFmpeg MPEG4 codec compared to the other solutions. @section Audio Codecs @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .1 .7 @item Supported Codec @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments @item MPEG audio layer 2 @tab IX @tab IX @item MPEG audio layer 1/3 @tab IX @tab IX @tab MP3 encoding is supported through the external library LAME @item AC3 @tab IX @tab IX @tab liba52 is used internally for decoding @item Vorbis @tab X @tab X @tab supported through the external library libvorbis @item WMA V1/V2 @tab @tab X @item AAC @tab X @tab X @tab supported through the external library libfaac/libfaad @item Microsoft ADPCM @tab X @tab X @item MS IMA ADPCM @tab X @tab X @item QT IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @item 4X IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @item G.726 ADPCM @tab X @tab X @item Duck DK3 IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in some Sega Saturn console games @item Duck DK4 IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in some Sega Saturn console games @item Westwood Studios IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in Westwood Studios games like Command and Conquer @item SMJPEG IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in certain Loki game ports @item CD-ROM XA ADPCM @tab @tab X @item CRI ADX ADPCM @tab X @tab X @tab used in Sega Dreamcast games @item Electronic Arts ADPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in various EA titles @item Creative ADPCM @tab @tab X @item RA144 @tab @tab X @tab Real 14400 bit/s codec @item RA288 @tab @tab X @tab Real 28800 bit/s codec @item RADnet @tab X @tab IX @tab Real lowbitrate AC3 codec, liba52 is used for decoding @item AMR-NB @tab X @tab X @tab supported through an external library @item AMR-WB @tab X @tab X @tab supported through an external library @item DV audio @tab @tab X @item Id RoQ DPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games @item Interplay MVE DPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in various Interplay computer games @item Xan DPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in Origin's Wing Commander IV AVI files @item Sierra Online DPCM @tab @tab X @tab used in Sierra Online game audio files @item Apple MACE 3 @tab @tab X @item Apple MACE 6 @tab @tab X @item FLAC @tab @tab X @item FFmpeg Sonic @tab X @tab X @tab Experimental lossy/lossless codec @end multitable @code{X} means that the encoding (resp. decoding) is supported. @code{I} means that an integer only version is available too (ensures highest performances on systems without hardware floating point support). @chapter Platform Specific information @section Linux ffmpeg should be compiled with at least GCC 2.95.3. GCC 3.2 is the preferred compiler now for ffmpeg. All future optimizations will depend on features only found in GCC 3.2. @section BSD @section Windows @subsection Native Windows compilation @itemize @item Install the current versions of MSYS and MinGW from @url{http://www.mingw.org/}. You can find detailed installation instructions in the download section and the FAQ. @item If you want to test the FFmpeg Simple Media Player, also download the MinGW development library of SDL 1.2.x (@file{SDL-devel-1.2.x-mingw32.tar.gz}) from @url{http://www.libsdl.org}. Unpack it in a temporary place, and unpack the archive @file{i386-mingw32msvc.tar.gz} in the MinGW tool directory. Edit the @file{sdl-config} script so that it gives the correct SDL directory when invoked. @item Extract the current version of FFmpeg (the latest release version or the current CVS snapshot whichever is recommended). @item Start the MSYS shell (file @file{msys.bat}). @item Change to the FFMPEG directory and follow the instructions of how to compile ffmpeg (file @file{INSTALL}). Usually, launching @file{./configure} and @file{make} suffices. If you have problems using SDL, verify that @file{sdl-config} can be launched from the MSYS command line. @item You can install FFmpeg in @file{Program Files/FFmpeg} by typing @file{make install}. Don't forget to copy @file{SDL.dll} at the place you launch @file{ffplay}. @end itemize Notes: @itemize @item The target @file{make wininstaller} can be used to create a Nullsoft based Windows installer for FFmpeg and FFplay. @file{SDL.dll} must be copied in the ffmpeg directory in order to build the installer. @item By using @code{./configure --enable-shared} when configuring ffmpeg, you can build @file{avcodec.dll} and @file{avformat.dll}. With @code{make install} you install the FFmpeg DLLs and the associated headers in @file{Program Files/FFmpeg}. @item Visual C++ compatibility: if you used @code{./configure --enable-shared} when configuring FFmpeg, then FFmpeg tries to use the Microsoft Visual C++ @code{lib} tool to build @code{avcodec.lib} and @code{avformat.lib}. With these libraries, you can link your Visual C++ code directly with the FFmpeg DLLs. @end itemize @subsection Cross compilation for Windows with Linux You must use the MinGW cross compilation tools available at @url{http://www.mingw.org/}. Then configure ffmpeg with the following options: @example ./configure --enable-mingw32 --cross-prefix=i386-mingw32msvc- @end example (you can change the cross-prefix according to the prefix choosen for the MinGW tools). Then you can easily test ffmpeg with wine (@url{http://www.winehq.com/}). @section MacOS X @section BeOS The configure script should guess the configuration itself. Networking support is currently not finished. errno issues fixed by Andrew Bachmann. Old stuff: François Revol - revol at free dot fr - April 2002 The configure script should guess the configuration itself, however I still didn't tested building on net_server version of BeOS. ffserver is broken (needs poll() implementation). There is still issues with errno codes, which are negative in BeOs, and that ffmpeg negates when returning. This ends up turning errors into valid results, then crashes. (To be fixed) @chapter Developers Guide @section API @itemize @item libavcodec is the library containing the codecs (both encoding and decoding). See @file{libavcodec/apiexample.c} to see how to use it. @item libavformat is the library containing the file formats handling (mux and demux code for several formats). See @file{ffplay.c} to use it in a player. See @file{output_example.c} to use it to generate audio or video streams. @end itemize @section Integrating libavcodec or libavformat in your program You can integrate all the source code of the libraries to link them statically to avoid any version problem. All you need is to provide a 'config.mak' and a 'config.h' in the parent directory. See the defines generated by ./configure to understand what is needed. You can use libavcodec or libavformat in your commercial program, but @emph{any patch you make must be published}. The best way to proceed is to send your patches to the ffmpeg mailing list. @node Coding Rules @section Coding Rules ffmpeg is programmed in the ISO C90 language with a few additional features from ISO C99, namely: @itemize @bullet @item the @samp{inline} keyword; @item @samp{//} comments; @item designated struct initializers (@samp{struct s x = @{ .i = 17 @};}) @item compound literals (@samp{x = (struct s) { 17, 23 @};}) @end itemize These features are supported by all compilers we care about, so we won't accept patches to remove their use unless they absolutely don't impair clarity and performance. All code must compile with gcc 2.95 and gcc 3.3. Currently, ffmpeg also compiles with several other compilers, such as the Compaq ccc compiler or Sun Studio 9, and we would like to keep it that way unless it would be exceedingly involved. To ensure compatibility, please don't use any additional C99 features or gcc extensions. Watch out especially for: @itemize @bullet @item mixing statements and declarations; @item @samp{long long} (use @samp{int64_t} instead); @item @samp{__attribute__} not protected by @samp{#ifdef __GNUC__} or similar; @item gcc statement expressions (@samp{(x = (@{ int y = 4; y; @})}). @end itemize Indent size is 4. The TAB character should not be used. The presentation is the one specified by 'indent -i4 -kr'. Main priority in ffmpeg is simplicity and small code size (=less bugs). Comments: use the JavaDoc/Doxygen format (see examples below) so that a documentation can be generated automatically. All non trivial functions should have a comment above it explaining what the function does, even if its just one sentance. All Structures and their member variables should be documented too. @example /**  * @file mpeg.c  * mpeg codec.  * @author ...  */ /**  * Summary sentance.  * more text ...  * ...  */ typedef struct Foobar{     int var1; /**< var1 description */     int var2; ///< var2 description     /** var3 description */     int var3; } Foobar; /**  * Summary sentance.  * more text ...  * ...  * @param my_parameter description of my_parameter  * @return return value description  */ int myfunc(int my_parameter) ... @end example fprintf and printf are forbidden in libavformat and libavcodec, please use av_log() instead. @section Submitting patches First, (@pxref{Coding Rules}) above if you didn't yet. When you submit your patch, try to send a unified diff (diff '-up' option). I cannot read other diffs :-) Run the regression tests before submitting a patch so that you can verify that there are no big problems. Patches should be posted as base64 encoded attachments (or any other encoding which ensures that the patch wont be trashed during transmission) to the ffmpeg-devel mailinglist, see @url{http://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel} It also helps quite a bit if you tell us what the patch does (for example 'replaces lrint by lrintf') , and why (for example '*bsd isnt c99 compliant and has no lrint()') We reply to all patches submitted and either apply or reject with some explanation why, but sometimes we are quite busy so it can take a week or 2 @section Regression tests Before submitting a patch (or committing with CVS), you should at least test that you did not break anything. The regression test build a synthetic video stream and a synthetic audio stream. Then these are encoded then decoded with all codecs or formats. The CRC (or MD5) of each generated file is recorded in a result file. Then a 'diff' is launched with the reference results and the result file. The regression test then goes on to test the ffserver code with a limited set of streams. It is important that this step runs correctly as well. Run 'make test' to test all the codecs and formats. Run 'make fulltest' to test all the codecs, formats and ffserver. [Of course, some patches may change the regression tests results. In this case, the regression tests reference results shall be modified accordingly]. @bye