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      FFmpeg FAQ
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      <h1>
      FFmpeg FAQ
      </h1>


<a name="SEC_Top"></a>

<div class="element-contents" id="SEC_Contents">
<h2 class="contents-heading">Table of Contents</h2>

<div class="contents">

<ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
  <li><a id="toc-General-Questions" href="#General-Questions">1 General Questions</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Why-doesn_0027t-FFmpeg-support-feature-_005bxyz_005d_003f" href="#Why-doesn_0027t-FFmpeg-support-feature-_005bxyz_005d_003f">1.1 Why doesn&rsquo;t FFmpeg support feature [xyz]?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-FFmpeg-does-not-support-codec-XXX_002e-Can-you-include-a-Windows-DLL-loader-to-support-it_003f" href="#FFmpeg-does-not-support-codec-XXX_002e-Can-you-include-a-Windows-DLL-loader-to-support-it_003f">1.2 FFmpeg does not support codec XXX. Can you include a Windows DLL loader to support it?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I-cannot-read-this-file-although-this-format-seems-to-be-supported-by-ffmpeg_002e" href="#I-cannot-read-this-file-although-this-format-seems-to-be-supported-by-ffmpeg_002e">1.3 I cannot read this file although this format seems to be supported by ffmpeg.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Which-codecs-are-supported-by-Windows_003f" href="#Which-codecs-are-supported-by-Windows_003f">1.4 Which codecs are supported by Windows?</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Compilation" href="#Compilation">2 Compilation</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-error_003a-can_0027t-find-a-register-in-class-_0027GENERAL_005fREGS_0027-while-reloading-_0027asm_0027" href="#error_003a-can_0027t-find-a-register-in-class-_0027GENERAL_005fREGS_0027-while-reloading-_0027asm_0027">2.1 <code class="code">error: can't find a register in class 'GENERAL_REGS' while reloading 'asm'</code></a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I-have-installed-this-library-with-my-distro_0027s-package-manager_002e-Why-does-configure-not-see-it_003f" href="#I-have-installed-this-library-with-my-distro_0027s-package-manager_002e-Why-does-configure-not-see-it_003f">2.2 I have installed this library with my distro&rsquo;s package manager. Why does <code class="command">configure</code> not see it?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-make-pkg_002dconfig-find-my-libraries_003f" href="#How-do-I-make-pkg_002dconfig-find-my-libraries_003f">2.3 How do I make <code class="command">pkg-config</code> find my libraries?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-use-pkg_002dconfig-when-cross_002dcompiling_003f" href="#How-do-I-use-pkg_002dconfig-when-cross_002dcompiling_003f">2.4 How do I use <code class="command">pkg-config</code> when cross-compiling?</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Usage" href="#Usage">3 Usage</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-ffmpeg-does-not-work_003b-what-is-wrong_003f" href="#ffmpeg-does-not-work_003b-what-is-wrong_003f">3.1 ffmpeg does not work; what is wrong?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-encode-single-pictures-into-movies_003f" href="#How-do-I-encode-single-pictures-into-movies_003f">3.2 How do I encode single pictures into movies?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-encode-movie-to-single-pictures_003f" href="#How-do-I-encode-movie-to-single-pictures_003f">3.3 How do I encode movie to single pictures?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-do-I-see-a-slight-quality-degradation-with-multithreaded-MPEG_002a-encoding_003f" href="#Why-do-I-see-a-slight-quality-degradation-with-multithreaded-MPEG_002a-encoding_003f">3.4 Why do I see a slight quality degradation with multithreaded MPEG* encoding?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-can-I-read-from-the-standard-input-or-write-to-the-standard-output_003f" href="#How-can-I-read-from-the-standard-input-or-write-to-the-standard-output_003f">3.5 How can I read from the standard input or write to the standard output?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-_002df-jpeg-doesn_0027t-work_002e" href="#g_t_002df-jpeg-doesn_0027t-work_002e">3.6 -f jpeg doesn&rsquo;t work.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-can-I-not-change-the-frame-rate_003f" href="#Why-can-I-not-change-the-frame-rate_003f">3.7 Why can I not change the frame rate?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-encode-Xvid-or-DivX-video-with-ffmpeg_003f" href="#How-do-I-encode-Xvid-or-DivX-video-with-ffmpeg_003f">3.8 How do I encode Xvid or DivX video with ffmpeg?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d4_003f" href="#Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d4_003f">3.9 Which are good parameters for encoding high quality MPEG-4?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d1_002fMPEG_002d2_003f" href="#Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d1_002fMPEG_002d2_003f">3.10 Which are good parameters for encoding high quality MPEG-1/MPEG-2?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Interlaced-video-looks-very-bad-when-encoded-with-ffmpeg_002c-what-is-wrong_003f" href="#Interlaced-video-looks-very-bad-when-encoded-with-ffmpeg_002c-what-is-wrong_003f">3.11 Interlaced video looks very bad when encoded with ffmpeg, what is wrong?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-can-I-read-DirectShow-files_003f" href="#How-can-I-read-DirectShow-files_003f">3.12 How can I read DirectShow files?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-can-I-join-video-files_003f" href="#How-can-I-join-video-files_003f">3.13 How can I join video files?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-can-I-concatenate-video-files_003f" href="#How-can-I-concatenate-video-files_003f">3.14 How can I concatenate video files?</a>
    <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
      <li><a id="toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-filter" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-filter">3.14.1 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">filter</em></a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-demuxer" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-demuxer">3.14.2 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">demuxer</em></a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-protocol-_0028file-level_0029" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-protocol-_0028file-level_0029">3.14.3 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">protocol</em> (file level)</a></li>
      <li><a id="toc-Concatenating-using-raw-audio-and-video" href="#Concatenating-using-raw-audio-and-video">3.14.4 Concatenating using raw audio and video</a></li>
    </ul></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Using-_002df-lavfi_002c-audio-becomes-mono-for-no-apparent-reason_002e" href="#Using-_002df-lavfi_002c-audio-becomes-mono-for-no-apparent-reason_002e">3.15 Using <samp class="option">-f lavfi</samp>, audio becomes mono for no apparent reason.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-does-FFmpeg-not-see-the-subtitles-in-my-VOB-file_003f" href="#Why-does-FFmpeg-not-see-the-subtitles-in-my-VOB-file_003f">3.16 Why does FFmpeg not see the subtitles in my VOB file?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-was-the-ffmpeg-_002dsameq-option-removed_003f-What-to-use-instead_003f" href="#Why-was-the-ffmpeg-_002dsameq-option-removed_003f-What-to-use-instead_003f">3.17 Why was the <code class="command">ffmpeg</code> <samp class="option">-sameq</samp> option removed? What to use instead?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I-have-a-stretched-video_002c-why-does-scaling-not-fix-it_003f" href="#I-have-a-stretched-video_002c-why-does-scaling-not-fix-it_003f">3.18 I have a stretched video, why does scaling not fix it?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-run-ffmpeg-as-a-background-task_003f" href="#How-do-I-run-ffmpeg-as-a-background-task_003f">3.19 How do I run ffmpeg as a background task?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-prevent-ffmpeg-from-suspending-with-a-message-like-suspended-_0028tty-output_0029_003f" href="#How-do-I-prevent-ffmpeg-from-suspending-with-a-message-like-suspended-_0028tty-output_0029_003f">3.20 How do I prevent ffmpeg from suspending with a message like <em class="emph">suspended (tty output)</em>?</a></li>
  </ul></li>
  <li><a id="toc-Development" href="#Development">4 Development</a>
  <ul class="toc-numbered-mark">
    <li><a id="toc-Are-there-examples-illustrating-how-to-use-the-FFmpeg-libraries_002c-particularly-libavcodec-and-libavformat_003f" href="#Are-there-examples-illustrating-how-to-use-the-FFmpeg-libraries_002c-particularly-libavcodec-and-libavformat_003f">4.1 Are there examples illustrating how to use the FFmpeg libraries, particularly libavcodec and libavformat?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Can-you-support-my-C-compiler-XXX_003f" href="#Can-you-support-my-C-compiler-XXX_003f">4.2 Can you support my C compiler XXX?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Is-Microsoft-Visual-C_002b_002b-supported_003f" href="#Is-Microsoft-Visual-C_002b_002b-supported_003f">4.3 Is Microsoft Visual C++ supported?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Can-you-add-automake_002c-libtool-or-autoconf-support_003f" href="#Can-you-add-automake_002c-libtool-or-autoconf-support_003f">4.4 Can you add automake, libtool or autoconf support?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-not-rewrite-FFmpeg-in-object_002doriented-C_002b_002b_003f" href="#Why-not-rewrite-FFmpeg-in-object_002doriented-C_002b_002b_003f">4.5 Why not rewrite FFmpeg in object-oriented C++?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-are-the-ffmpeg-programs-devoid-of-debugging-symbols_003f" href="#Why-are-the-ffmpeg-programs-devoid-of-debugging-symbols_003f">4.6 Why are the ffmpeg programs devoid of debugging symbols?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I-do-not-like-the-LGPL_002c-can-I-contribute-code-under-the-GPL-instead_003f" href="#I-do-not-like-the-LGPL_002c-can-I-contribute-code-under-the-GPL-instead_003f">4.7 I do not like the LGPL, can I contribute code under the GPL instead?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-from-the-libraries-themselves_002e" href="#I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-from-the-libraries-themselves_002e">4.8 I&rsquo;m using FFmpeg from within my C application but the linker complains about missing symbols from the libraries themselves.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-which-seem-to-be-available_002e" href="#I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-which-seem-to-be-available_002e">4.9 I&rsquo;m using FFmpeg from within my C++ application but the linker complains about missing symbols which seem to be available.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I_0027m-using-libavutil-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-compiler-complains-about-_0027UINT64_005fC_0027-was-not-declared-in-this-scope" href="#I_0027m-using-libavutil-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-compiler-complains-about-_0027UINT64_005fC_0027-was-not-declared-in-this-scope">4.10 I&rsquo;m using libavutil from within my C++ application but the compiler complains about &rsquo;UINT64_C&rsquo; was not declared in this scope</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-I-have-a-file-in-memory-_002f-a-API-different-from-_002aopen_002f_002aread_002f-libc-how-do-I-use-it-with-libavformat_003f" href="#I-have-a-file-in-memory-_002f-a-API-different-from-_002aopen_002f_002aread_002f-libc-how-do-I-use-it-with-libavformat_003f">4.11 I have a file in memory / a API different from *open/*read/ libc how do I use it with libavformat?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Where-is-the-documentation-about-ffv1_002c-msmpeg4_002c-asv1_002c-4xm_003f" href="#Where-is-the-documentation-about-ffv1_002c-msmpeg4_002c-asv1_002c-4xm_003f">4.12 Where is the documentation about ffv1, msmpeg4, asv1, 4xm?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-How-do-I-feed-H_002e263_002dRTP-_0028and-other-codecs-in-RTP_0029-to-libavcodec_003f" href="#How-do-I-feed-H_002e263_002dRTP-_0028and-other-codecs-in-RTP_0029-to-libavcodec_003f">4.13 How do I feed H.263-RTP (and other codecs in RTP) to libavcodec?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-AVStream_002er_005fframe_005frate-is-wrong_002c-it-is-much-larger-than-the-frame-rate_002e" href="#AVStream_002er_005fframe_005frate-is-wrong_002c-it-is-much-larger-than-the-frame-rate_002e">4.14 AVStream.r_frame_rate is wrong, it is much larger than the frame rate.</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-is-make-fate-not-running-all-tests_003f" href="#Why-is-make-fate-not-running-all-tests_003f">4.15 Why is <code class="code">make fate</code> not running all tests?</a></li>
    <li><a id="toc-Why-is-make-fate-not-finding-the-samples_003f" href="#Why-is-make-fate-not-finding-the-samples_003f">4.16 Why is <code class="code">make fate</code> not finding the samples?</a></li>
  </ul></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>

<a name="General-Questions"></a>
<h2 class="chapter">1 General Questions<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#General-Questions" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-General-Questions" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h2>

<a name="Why-doesn_0027t-FFmpeg-support-feature-_005bxyz_005d_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">1.1 Why doesn&rsquo;t FFmpeg support feature [xyz]?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-doesn_0027t-FFmpeg-support-feature-_005bxyz_005d_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-doesn_0027t-FFmpeg-support-feature-_005bxyz_005d_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Because no one has taken on that task yet. FFmpeg development is
driven by the tasks that are important to the individual developers.
If there is a feature that is important to you, the best way to get
it implemented is to undertake the task yourself or sponsor a developer.
</p>
<a name="FFmpeg-does-not-support-codec-XXX_002e-Can-you-include-a-Windows-DLL-loader-to-support-it_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">1.2 FFmpeg does not support codec XXX. Can you include a Windows DLL loader to support it?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#FFmpeg-does-not-support-codec-XXX_002e-Can-you-include-a-Windows-DLL-loader-to-support-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-FFmpeg-does-not-support-codec-XXX_002e-Can-you-include-a-Windows-DLL-loader-to-support-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>No. Windows DLLs are not portable, bloated and often slow.
Moreover FFmpeg strives to support all codecs natively.
A DLL loader is not conducive to that goal.
</p>
<a name="I-cannot-read-this-file-although-this-format-seems-to-be-supported-by-ffmpeg_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">1.3 I cannot read this file although this format seems to be supported by ffmpeg.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I-cannot-read-this-file-although-this-format-seems-to-be-supported-by-ffmpeg_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I-cannot-read-this-file-although-this-format-seems-to-be-supported-by-ffmpeg_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Even if ffmpeg can read the container format, it may not support all its
codecs. Please consult the supported codec list in the ffmpeg
documentation.
</p>
<a name="Which-codecs-are-supported-by-Windows_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">1.4 Which codecs are supported by Windows?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Which-codecs-are-supported-by-Windows_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Which-codecs-are-supported-by-Windows_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Windows does not support standard formats like MPEG very well, unless you
install some additional codecs.
</p>
<p>The following list of video codecs should work on most Windows systems:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><samp class="option">msmpeg4v2</samp></dt>
<dd><p>.avi/.asf
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">msmpeg4</samp></dt>
<dd><p>.asf only
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">wmv1</samp></dt>
<dd><p>.asf only
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">wmv2</samp></dt>
<dd><p>.asf only
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">mpeg4</samp></dt>
<dd><p>Only if you have some MPEG-4 codec like ffdshow or Xvid installed.
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">mpeg1video</samp></dt>
<dd><p>.mpg only
</p></dd>
</dl>
<p>Note, ASF files often have .wmv or .wma extensions in Windows. It should also
be mentioned that Microsoft claims a patent on the ASF format, and may sue
or threaten users who create ASF files with non-Microsoft software. It is
strongly advised to avoid ASF where possible.
</p>
<p>The following list of audio codecs should work on most Windows systems:
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><samp class="option">adpcm_ima_wav</samp></dt>
<dt><samp class="option">adpcm_ms</samp></dt>
<dt><samp class="option">pcm_s16le</samp></dt>
<dd><p>always
</p></dd>
<dt><samp class="option">libmp3lame</samp></dt>
<dd><p>If some MP3 codec like LAME is installed.
</p></dd>
</dl>


<a name="Compilation"></a>
<h2 class="chapter">2 Compilation<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Compilation" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Compilation" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h2>

<a name="error_003a-can_0027t-find-a-register-in-class-_0027GENERAL_005fREGS_0027-while-reloading-_0027asm_0027"></a>
<h3 class="section">2.1 <code class="code">error: can't find a register in class 'GENERAL_REGS' while reloading 'asm'</code><span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#error_003a-can_0027t-find-a-register-in-class-_0027GENERAL_005fREGS_0027-while-reloading-_0027asm_0027" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-error_003a-can_0027t-find-a-register-in-class-_0027GENERAL_005fREGS_0027-while-reloading-_0027asm_0027" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>This is a bug in gcc. Do not report it to us. Instead, please report it to
the gcc developers. Note that we will not add workarounds for gcc bugs.
</p>
<p>Also note that (some of) the gcc developers believe this is not a bug or
not a bug they should fix:
<a class="url" href="https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=11203">https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=11203</a>.
Then again, some of them do not know the difference between an undecidable
problem and an NP-hard problem...
</p>
<a name="I-have-installed-this-library-with-my-distro_0027s-package-manager_002e-Why-does-configure-not-see-it_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">2.2 I have installed this library with my distro&rsquo;s package manager. Why does <code class="command">configure</code> not see it?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I-have-installed-this-library-with-my-distro_0027s-package-manager_002e-Why-does-configure-not-see-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I-have-installed-this-library-with-my-distro_0027s-package-manager_002e-Why-does-configure-not-see-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Distributions usually split libraries in several packages. The main package
contains the files necessary to run programs using the library. The
development package contains the files necessary to build programs using the
library. Sometimes, docs and/or data are in a separate package too.
</p>
<p>To build FFmpeg, you need to install the development package. It is usually
called <samp class="file">libfoo-dev</samp> or <samp class="file">libfoo-devel</samp>. You can remove it after the
build is finished, but be sure to keep the main package.
</p>
<a name="How-do-I-make-pkg_002dconfig-find-my-libraries_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">2.3 How do I make <code class="command">pkg-config</code> find my libraries?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-make-pkg_002dconfig-find-my-libraries_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-make-pkg_002dconfig-find-my-libraries_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Somewhere along with your libraries, there is a <samp class="file">.pc</samp> file (or several)
in a <samp class="file">pkgconfig</samp> directory. You need to set environment variables to
point <code class="command">pkg-config</code> to these files.
</p>
<p>If you need to <em class="emph">add</em> directories to <code class="command">pkg-config</code>&rsquo;s search list
(typical use case: library installed separately), add it to
<code class="code">$PKG_CONFIG_PATH</code>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/x264/lib/pkgconfig:/opt/opus/lib/pkgconfig
</pre></div>

<p>If you need to <em class="emph">replace</em> <code class="command">pkg-config</code>&rsquo;s search list
(typical use case: cross-compiling), set it in
<code class="code">$PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR</code>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">export PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR=/home/me/cross/usr/lib/pkgconfig:/home/me/cross/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig
</pre></div>

<p>If you need to know the library&rsquo;s internal dependencies (typical use: static
linking), add the <code class="code">--static</code> option to <code class="command">pkg-config</code>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">./configure --pkg-config-flags=--static
</pre></div>

<a name="How-do-I-use-pkg_002dconfig-when-cross_002dcompiling_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">2.4 How do I use <code class="command">pkg-config</code> when cross-compiling?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-use-pkg_002dconfig-when-cross_002dcompiling_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-use-pkg_002dconfig-when-cross_002dcompiling_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>The best way is to install <code class="command">pkg-config</code> in your cross-compilation
environment. It will automatically use the cross-compilation libraries.
</p>
<p>You can also use <code class="command">pkg-config</code> from the host environment by
specifying explicitly <code class="code">--pkg-config=pkg-config</code> to <code class="command">configure</code>.
In that case, you must point <code class="command">pkg-config</code> to the correct directories
using the <code class="code">PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR</code>, as explained in the previous entry.
</p>
<p>As an intermediate solution, you can place in your cross-compilation
environment a script that calls the host <code class="command">pkg-config</code> with
<code class="code">PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR</code> set. That script can look like that:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">#!/bin/sh
PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR=/path/to/cross/lib/pkgconfig
export PKG_CONFIG_LIBDIR
exec /usr/bin/pkg-config &quot;$@&quot;
</pre></div>

<a name="Usage"></a>
<h2 class="chapter">3 Usage<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Usage" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Usage" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h2>

<a name="ffmpeg-does-not-work_003b-what-is-wrong_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.1 ffmpeg does not work; what is wrong?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#ffmpeg-does-not-work_003b-what-is-wrong_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-ffmpeg-does-not-work_003b-what-is-wrong_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Try a <code class="code">make distclean</code> in the ffmpeg source directory before the build.
If this does not help see
(<a class="url" href="https://ffmpeg.org/bugreports.html">https://ffmpeg.org/bugreports.html</a>).
</p>
<a name="How-do-I-encode-single-pictures-into-movies_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.2 How do I encode single pictures into movies?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-encode-single-pictures-into-movies_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-encode-single-pictures-into-movies_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>First, rename your pictures to follow a numerical sequence.
For example, img1.jpg, img2.jpg, img3.jpg,...
Then you may run:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -f image2 -i img%d.jpg /tmp/a.mpg
</pre></div>

<p>Notice that &lsquo;<samp class="samp">%d</samp>&rsquo; is replaced by the image number.
</p>
<p><samp class="file">img%03d.jpg</samp> means the sequence <samp class="file">img001.jpg</samp>, <samp class="file">img002.jpg</samp>, etc.
</p>
<p>Use the <samp class="option">-start_number</samp> option to declare a starting number for
the sequence. This is useful if your sequence does not start with
<samp class="file">img001.jpg</samp> but is still in a numerical order. The following
example will start with <samp class="file">img100.jpg</samp>:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -f image2 -start_number 100 -i img%d.jpg /tmp/a.mpg
</pre></div>

<p>If you have large number of pictures to rename, you can use the
following command to ease the burden. The command, using the bourne
shell syntax, symbolically links all files in the current directory
that match <code class="code">*jpg</code> to the <samp class="file">/tmp</samp> directory in the sequence of
<samp class="file">img001.jpg</samp>, <samp class="file">img002.jpg</samp> and so on.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">x=1; for i in *jpg; do counter=$(printf %03d $x); ln -s &quot;$i&quot; /tmp/img&quot;$counter&quot;.jpg; x=$(($x+1)); done
</pre></div>

<p>If you want to sequence them by oldest modified first, substitute
<code class="code">$(ls -r -t *jpg)</code> in place of <code class="code">*jpg</code>.
</p>
<p>Then run:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -f image2 -i /tmp/img%03d.jpg /tmp/a.mpg
</pre></div>

<p>The same logic is used for any image format that ffmpeg reads.
</p>
<p>You can also use <code class="command">cat</code> to pipe images to ffmpeg:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">cat *.jpg | ffmpeg -f image2pipe -c:v mjpeg -i - output.mpg
</pre></div>

<a name="How-do-I-encode-movie-to-single-pictures_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.3 How do I encode movie to single pictures?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-encode-movie-to-single-pictures_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-encode-movie-to-single-pictures_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Use:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i movie.mpg movie%d.jpg
</pre></div>

<p>The <samp class="file">movie.mpg</samp> used as input will be converted to
<samp class="file">movie1.jpg</samp>, <samp class="file">movie2.jpg</samp>, etc...
</p>
<p>Instead of relying on file format self-recognition, you may also use
</p><dl class="table">
<dt><samp class="option">-c:v ppm</samp></dt>
<dt><samp class="option">-c:v png</samp></dt>
<dt><samp class="option">-c:v mjpeg</samp></dt>
</dl>
<p>to force the encoding.
</p>
<p>Applying that to the previous example:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i movie.mpg -f image2 -c:v mjpeg menu%d.jpg
</pre></div>

<p>Beware that there is no &quot;jpeg&quot; codec. Use &quot;mjpeg&quot; instead.
</p>
<a name="Why-do-I-see-a-slight-quality-degradation-with-multithreaded-MPEG_002a-encoding_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.4 Why do I see a slight quality degradation with multithreaded MPEG* encoding?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-do-I-see-a-slight-quality-degradation-with-multithreaded-MPEG_002a-encoding_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-do-I-see-a-slight-quality-degradation-with-multithreaded-MPEG_002a-encoding_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>For multithreaded MPEG* encoding, the encoded slices must be independent,
otherwise thread n would practically have to wait for n-1 to finish, so it&rsquo;s
quite logical that there is a small reduction of quality. This is not a bug.
</p>
<a name="How-can-I-read-from-the-standard-input-or-write-to-the-standard-output_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.5 How can I read from the standard input or write to the standard output?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-can-I-read-from-the-standard-input-or-write-to-the-standard-output_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-can-I-read-from-the-standard-input-or-write-to-the-standard-output_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Use <samp class="file">-</samp> as file name.
</p>
<a name="g_t_002df-jpeg-doesn_0027t-work_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.6 -f jpeg doesn&rsquo;t work.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#_002df-jpeg-doesn_0027t-work_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-_002df-jpeg-doesn_0027t-work_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Try &rsquo;-f image2 test%d.jpg&rsquo;.
</p>
<a name="Why-can-I-not-change-the-frame-rate_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.7 Why can I not change the frame rate?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-can-I-not-change-the-frame-rate_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-can-I-not-change-the-frame-rate_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Some codecs, like MPEG-1/2, only allow a small number of fixed frame rates.
Choose a different codec with the -c:v command line option.
</p>
<a name="How-do-I-encode-Xvid-or-DivX-video-with-ffmpeg_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.8 How do I encode Xvid or DivX video with ffmpeg?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-encode-Xvid-or-DivX-video-with-ffmpeg_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-encode-Xvid-or-DivX-video-with-ffmpeg_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Both Xvid and DivX (version 4+) are implementations of the ISO MPEG-4
standard (note that there are many other coding formats that use this
same standard). Thus, use &rsquo;-c:v mpeg4&rsquo; to encode in these formats. The
default fourcc stored in an MPEG-4-coded file will be &rsquo;FMP4&rsquo;. If you want
a different fourcc, use the &rsquo;-vtag&rsquo; option. E.g., &rsquo;-vtag xvid&rsquo; will
force the fourcc &rsquo;xvid&rsquo; to be stored as the video fourcc rather than the
default.
</p>
<a name="Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d4_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.9 Which are good parameters for encoding high quality MPEG-4?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d4_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d4_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>&rsquo;-mbd rd -flags +mv4+aic -trellis 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 300 -pass 1/2&rsquo;,
things to try: &rsquo;-bf 2&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags qp_rd&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags mv0&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags skip_rd&rsquo;.
</p>
<a name="Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d1_002fMPEG_002d2_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.10 Which are good parameters for encoding high quality MPEG-1/MPEG-2?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d1_002fMPEG_002d2_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Which-are-good-parameters-for-encoding-high-quality-MPEG_002d1_002fMPEG_002d2_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>&rsquo;-mbd rd -trellis 2 -cmp 2 -subcmp 2 -g 100 -pass 1/2&rsquo;
but beware the &rsquo;-g 100&rsquo; might cause problems with some decoders.
Things to try: &rsquo;-bf 2&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags qp_rd&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags mv0&rsquo;, &rsquo;-mpv_flags skip_rd&rsquo;.
</p>
<a name="Interlaced-video-looks-very-bad-when-encoded-with-ffmpeg_002c-what-is-wrong_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.11 Interlaced video looks very bad when encoded with ffmpeg, what is wrong?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Interlaced-video-looks-very-bad-when-encoded-with-ffmpeg_002c-what-is-wrong_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Interlaced-video-looks-very-bad-when-encoded-with-ffmpeg_002c-what-is-wrong_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>You should use &rsquo;-flags +ilme+ildct&rsquo; and maybe &rsquo;-flags +alt&rsquo; for interlaced
material, and try &rsquo;-top 0/1&rsquo; if the result looks really messed-up.
</p>
<a name="How-can-I-read-DirectShow-files_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.12 How can I read DirectShow files?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-can-I-read-DirectShow-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-can-I-read-DirectShow-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>If you have built FFmpeg with <code class="code">./configure --enable-avisynth</code>
(only possible on MinGW/Cygwin platforms),
then you may use any file that DirectShow can read as input.
</p>
<p>Just create an &quot;input.avs&quot; text file with this single line ...
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">DirectShowSource(&quot;C:\path to your file\yourfile.asf&quot;)
</pre></div>
<p>... and then feed that text file to ffmpeg:
</p><div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i input.avs
</pre></div>

<p>For ANY other help on AviSynth, please visit the
<a class="uref" href="http://www.avisynth.org/">AviSynth homepage</a>.
</p>
<a name="How-can-I-join-video-files_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.13 How can I join video files?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-can-I-join-video-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-can-I-join-video-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>To &quot;join&quot; video files is quite ambiguous. The following list explains the
different kinds of &quot;joining&quot; and points out how those are addressed in
FFmpeg. To join video files may mean:
</p>
<ul class="itemize mark-bullet">
<li>To put them one after the other: this is called to <em class="emph">concatenate</em> them
(in short: concat) and is addressed
<a class="ref" href="#How-can-I-concatenate-video-files">in this very faq</a>.

</li><li>To put them together in the same file, to let the user choose between the
different versions (example: different audio languages): this is called to
<em class="emph">multiplex</em> them together (in short: mux), and is done by simply
invoking ffmpeg with several <samp class="option">-i</samp> options.

</li><li>For audio, to put all channels together in a single stream (example: two
mono streams into one stereo stream): this is sometimes called to
<em class="emph">merge</em> them, and can be done using the
<a class="url" href="ffmpeg-filters.html#amerge"><code class="code">amerge</code></a> filter.

</li><li>For audio, to play one on top of the other: this is called to <em class="emph">mix</em>
them, and can be done by first merging them into a single stream and then
using the <a class="url" href="ffmpeg-filters.html#pan"><code class="code">pan</code></a> filter to mix
the channels at will.

</li><li>For video, to display both together, side by side or one on top of a part of
the other; it can be done using the
<a class="url" href="ffmpeg-filters.html#overlay"><code class="code">overlay</code></a> video filter.

</li></ul>

<a class="anchor" id="How-can-I-concatenate-video-files"></a><a name="How-can-I-concatenate-video-files_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.14 How can I concatenate video files?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-can-I-concatenate-video-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-can-I-concatenate-video-files_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>There are several solutions, depending on the exact circumstances.
</p>
<a name="Concatenating-using-the-concat-filter"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">3.14.1 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">filter</em><span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-filter" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-filter" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h4>

<p>FFmpeg has a <a class="url" href="ffmpeg-filters.html#concat"><code class="code">concat</code></a> filter designed specifically for that, with examples in the
documentation. This operation is recommended if you need to re-encode.
</p>
<a name="Concatenating-using-the-concat-demuxer"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">3.14.2 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">demuxer</em><span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-demuxer" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-demuxer" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h4>

<p>FFmpeg has a <a class="url" href="ffmpeg-formats.html#concat"><code class="code">concat</code></a> demuxer which you can use when you want to avoid a re-encode and
your format doesn&rsquo;t support file level concatenation.
</p>
<a name="Concatenating-using-the-concat-protocol-_0028file-level_0029"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">3.14.3 Concatenating using the concat <em class="emph">protocol</em> (file level)<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Concatenating-using-the-concat-protocol-_0028file-level_0029" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Concatenating-using-the-concat-protocol-_0028file-level_0029" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h4>

<p>FFmpeg has a <a class="url" href="ffmpeg-protocols.html#concat"><code class="code">concat</code></a> protocol designed specifically for that, with examples in the
documentation.
</p>
<p>A few multimedia containers (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, DV) allow one to concatenate
video by merely concatenating the files containing them.
</p>
<p>Hence you may concatenate your multimedia files by first transcoding them to
these privileged formats, then using the humble <code class="code">cat</code> command (or the
equally humble <code class="code">copy</code> under Windows), and finally transcoding back to your
format of choice.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i input1.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate1.mpg
ffmpeg -i input2.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate2.mpg
cat intermediate1.mpg intermediate2.mpg &gt; intermediate_all.mpg
ffmpeg -i intermediate_all.mpg -qscale:v 2 output.avi
</pre></div>

<p>Additionally, you can use the <code class="code">concat</code> protocol instead of <code class="code">cat</code> or
<code class="code">copy</code> which will avoid creation of a potentially huge intermediate file.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i input1.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate1.mpg
ffmpeg -i input2.avi -qscale:v 1 intermediate2.mpg
ffmpeg -i concat:&quot;intermediate1.mpg|intermediate2.mpg&quot; -c copy intermediate_all.mpg
ffmpeg -i intermediate_all.mpg -qscale:v 2 output.avi
</pre></div>

<p>Note that you may need to escape the character &quot;|&quot; which is special for many
shells.
</p>
<p>Another option is usage of named pipes, should your platform support it:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">mkfifo intermediate1.mpg
mkfifo intermediate2.mpg
ffmpeg -i input1.avi -qscale:v 1 -y intermediate1.mpg &lt; /dev/null &amp;
ffmpeg -i input2.avi -qscale:v 1 -y intermediate2.mpg &lt; /dev/null &amp;
cat intermediate1.mpg intermediate2.mpg |\
ffmpeg -f mpeg -i - -c:v mpeg4 -c:a libmp3lame output.avi
</pre></div>

<a name="Concatenating-using-raw-audio-and-video"></a>
<h4 class="subsection">3.14.4 Concatenating using raw audio and video<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Concatenating-using-raw-audio-and-video" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Concatenating-using-raw-audio-and-video" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h4>

<p>Similarly, the yuv4mpegpipe format, and the raw video, raw audio codecs also
allow concatenation, and the transcoding step is almost lossless.
When using multiple yuv4mpegpipe(s), the first line needs to be discarded
from all but the first stream. This can be accomplished by piping through
<code class="code">tail</code> as seen below. Note that when piping through <code class="code">tail</code> you
must use command grouping, <code class="code">{  ;}</code>, to background properly.
</p>
<p>For example, let&rsquo;s say we want to concatenate two FLV files into an
output.flv file:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">mkfifo temp1.a
mkfifo temp1.v
mkfifo temp2.a
mkfifo temp2.v
mkfifo all.a
mkfifo all.v
ffmpeg -i input1.flv -vn -f u16le -c:a pcm_s16le -ac 2 -ar 44100 - &gt; temp1.a &lt; /dev/null &amp;
ffmpeg -i input2.flv -vn -f u16le -c:a pcm_s16le -ac 2 -ar 44100 - &gt; temp2.a &lt; /dev/null &amp;
ffmpeg -i input1.flv -an -f yuv4mpegpipe - &gt; temp1.v &lt; /dev/null &amp;
{ ffmpeg -i input2.flv -an -f yuv4mpegpipe - &lt; /dev/null | tail -n +2 &gt; temp2.v ; } &amp;
cat temp1.a temp2.a &gt; all.a &amp;
cat temp1.v temp2.v &gt; all.v &amp;
ffmpeg -f u16le -c:a pcm_s16le -ac 2 -ar 44100 -i all.a \
       -f yuv4mpegpipe -i all.v \
       -y output.flv
rm temp[12].[av] all.[av]
</pre></div>

<a name="Using-_002df-lavfi_002c-audio-becomes-mono-for-no-apparent-reason_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.15 Using <samp class="option">-f lavfi</samp>, audio becomes mono for no apparent reason.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Using-_002df-lavfi_002c-audio-becomes-mono-for-no-apparent-reason_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Using-_002df-lavfi_002c-audio-becomes-mono-for-no-apparent-reason_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Use <samp class="option">-dumpgraph -</samp> to find out exactly where the channel layout is
lost.
</p>
<p>Most likely, it is through <code class="code">auto-inserted aresample</code>. Try to understand
why the converting filter was needed at that place.
</p>
<p>Just before the output is a likely place, as <samp class="option">-f lavfi</samp> currently
only support packed S16.
</p>
<p>Then insert the correct <code class="code">aformat</code> explicitly in the filtergraph,
specifying the exact format.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">aformat=sample_fmts=s16:channel_layouts=stereo
</pre></div>

<a name="Why-does-FFmpeg-not-see-the-subtitles-in-my-VOB-file_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.16 Why does FFmpeg not see the subtitles in my VOB file?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-does-FFmpeg-not-see-the-subtitles-in-my-VOB-file_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-does-FFmpeg-not-see-the-subtitles-in-my-VOB-file_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>VOB and a few other formats do not have a global header that describes
everything present in the file. Instead, applications are supposed to scan
the file to see what it contains. Since VOB files are frequently large, only
the beginning is scanned. If the subtitles happen only later in the file,
they will not be initially detected.
</p>
<p>Some applications, including the <code class="code">ffmpeg</code> command-line tool, can only
work with streams that were detected during the initial scan; streams that
are detected later are ignored.
</p>
<p>The size of the initial scan is controlled by two options: <code class="code">probesize</code>
(default ~5&nbsp;Mo) and <code class="code">analyzeduration</code> (default 5,000,000&nbsp;µs = 5&nbsp;s). For
the subtitle stream to be detected, both values must be large enough.
</p>
<a name="Why-was-the-ffmpeg-_002dsameq-option-removed_003f-What-to-use-instead_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.17 Why was the <code class="command">ffmpeg</code> <samp class="option">-sameq</samp> option removed? What to use instead?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-was-the-ffmpeg-_002dsameq-option-removed_003f-What-to-use-instead_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-was-the-ffmpeg-_002dsameq-option-removed_003f-What-to-use-instead_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>The <samp class="option">-sameq</samp> option meant &quot;same quantizer&quot;, and made sense only in a
very limited set of cases. Unfortunately, a lot of people mistook it for
&quot;same quality&quot; and used it in places where it did not make sense: it had
roughly the expected visible effect, but achieved it in a very inefficient
way.
</p>
<p>Each encoder has its own set of options to set the quality-vs-size balance,
use the options for the encoder you are using to set the quality level to a
point acceptable for your tastes. The most common options to do that are
<samp class="option">-qscale</samp> and <samp class="option">-qmax</samp>, but you should peruse the documentation
of the encoder you chose.
</p>
<a name="I-have-a-stretched-video_002c-why-does-scaling-not-fix-it_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.18 I have a stretched video, why does scaling not fix it?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I-have-a-stretched-video_002c-why-does-scaling-not-fix-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I-have-a-stretched-video_002c-why-does-scaling-not-fix-it_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>A lot of video codecs and formats can store the <em class="emph">aspect ratio</em> of the
video: this is the ratio between the width and the height of either the full
image (DAR, display aspect ratio) or individual pixels (SAR, sample aspect
ratio). For example, EGA screens at resolution 640×350 had 4:3 DAR and 35:48
SAR.
</p>
<p>Most still image processing work with square pixels, i.e. 1:1 SAR, but a lot
of video standards, especially from the analogic-numeric transition era, use
non-square pixels.
</p>
<p>Most processing filters in FFmpeg handle the aspect ratio to avoid
stretching the image: cropping adjusts the DAR to keep the SAR constant,
scaling adjusts the SAR to keep the DAR constant.
</p>
<p>If you want to stretch, or “unstretch”, the image, you need to override the
information with the
<a class="url" href="ffmpeg-filters.html#setdar_002c-setsar"><code class="code">setdar or setsar filters</code></a>.
</p>
<p>Do not forget to examine carefully the original video to check whether the
stretching comes from the image or from the aspect ratio information.
</p>
<p>For example, to fix a badly encoded EGA capture, use the following commands,
either the first one to upscale to square pixels or the second one to set
the correct aspect ratio or the third one to avoid transcoding (may not work
depending on the format / codec / player / phase of the moon):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i ega_screen.nut -vf scale=640:480,setsar=1 ega_screen_scaled.nut
ffmpeg -i ega_screen.nut -vf setdar=4/3 ega_screen_anamorphic.nut
ffmpeg -i ega_screen.nut -aspect 4/3 -c copy ega_screen_overridden.nut
</pre></div>

<a class="anchor" id="background-task"></a><a name="How-do-I-run-ffmpeg-as-a-background-task_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.19 How do I run ffmpeg as a background task?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-run-ffmpeg-as-a-background-task_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-run-ffmpeg-as-a-background-task_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>ffmpeg normally checks the console input, for entries like &quot;q&quot; to stop
and &quot;?&quot; to give help, while performing operations. ffmpeg does not have a way of
detecting when it is running as a background task.
When it checks the console input, that can cause the process running ffmpeg
in the background to suspend.
</p>
<p>To prevent those input checks, allowing ffmpeg to run as a background task,
use the <a class="url" href="ffmpeg.html#stdin-option"><code class="code">-nostdin</code> option</a>
in the ffmpeg invocation. This is effective whether you run ffmpeg in a shell
or invoke ffmpeg in its own process via an operating system API.
</p>
<p>As an alternative, when you are running ffmpeg in a shell, you can redirect
standard input to <code class="code">/dev/null</code> (on Linux and macOS)
or <code class="code">NUL</code> (on Windows). You can do this redirect either
on the ffmpeg invocation, or from a shell script which calls ffmpeg.
</p>
<p>For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -nostdin -i INPUT OUTPUT
</pre></div>

<p>or (on Linux, macOS, and other UNIX-like shells):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i INPUT OUTPUT &lt;/dev/null
</pre></div>

<p>or (on Windows):
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">ffmpeg -i INPUT OUTPUT &lt;NUL
</pre></div>

<a name="How-do-I-prevent-ffmpeg-from-suspending-with-a-message-like-suspended-_0028tty-output_0029_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">3.20 How do I prevent ffmpeg from suspending with a message like <em class="emph">suspended (tty output)</em>?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-prevent-ffmpeg-from-suspending-with-a-message-like-suspended-_0028tty-output_0029_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-prevent-ffmpeg-from-suspending-with-a-message-like-suspended-_0028tty-output_0029_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>If you run ffmpeg in the background, you may find that its process suspends.
There may be a message like <em class="emph">suspended (tty output)</em>. The question is how
to prevent the process from being suspended.
</p>
<p>For example:
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">% ffmpeg -i INPUT OUTPUT &amp;&gt; ~/tmp/log.txt &amp;
[1] 93352
%
[1]  + suspended (tty output)  ffmpeg -i INPUT OUTPUT &amp;&gt;
</pre></div>

<p>The message &quot;tty output&quot; notwithstanding, the problem here is that
ffmpeg normally checks the console input when it runs. The operating system
detects this, and suspends the process until you can bring it to the
foreground and attend to it.
</p>
<p>The solution is to use the right techniques to tell ffmpeg not to consult
console input. You can use the
<a class="url" href="ffmpeg.html#stdin-option"><code class="code">-nostdin</code> option</a>,
or redirect standard input with <code class="code">&lt; /dev/null</code>.
See FAQ
<a class="ref" href="#background-task"><em class="emph">How do I run ffmpeg as a background task?</em></a>
for details.
</p>
<a name="Development"></a>
<h2 class="chapter">4 Development<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Development" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Development" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h2>

<a name="Are-there-examples-illustrating-how-to-use-the-FFmpeg-libraries_002c-particularly-libavcodec-and-libavformat_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.1 Are there examples illustrating how to use the FFmpeg libraries, particularly libavcodec and libavformat?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Are-there-examples-illustrating-how-to-use-the-FFmpeg-libraries_002c-particularly-libavcodec-and-libavformat_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Are-there-examples-illustrating-how-to-use-the-FFmpeg-libraries_002c-particularly-libavcodec-and-libavformat_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Yes. Check the <samp class="file">doc/examples</samp> directory in the source
repository, also available online at:
<a class="url" href="https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/tree/master/doc/examples">https://github.com/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/tree/master/doc/examples</a>.
</p>
<p>Examples are also installed by default, usually in
<code class="code">$PREFIX/share/ffmpeg/examples</code>.
</p>
<p>Also you may read the Developers Guide of the FFmpeg documentation. Alternatively,
examine the source code for one of the many open source projects that
already incorporate FFmpeg at (<a class="url" href="projects.html">projects.html</a>).
</p>
<a name="Can-you-support-my-C-compiler-XXX_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.2 Can you support my C compiler XXX?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Can-you-support-my-C-compiler-XXX_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Can-you-support-my-C-compiler-XXX_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>It depends. If your compiler is C99-compliant, then patches to support
it are likely to be welcome if they do not pollute the source code
with <code class="code">#ifdef</code>s related to the compiler.
</p>
<a name="Is-Microsoft-Visual-C_002b_002b-supported_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.3 Is Microsoft Visual C++ supported?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Is-Microsoft-Visual-C_002b_002b-supported_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Is-Microsoft-Visual-C_002b_002b-supported_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Yes. Please see the <a class="uref" href="platform.html">Microsoft Visual C++</a>
section in the FFmpeg documentation.
</p>
<a name="Can-you-add-automake_002c-libtool-or-autoconf-support_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.4 Can you add automake, libtool or autoconf support?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Can-you-add-automake_002c-libtool-or-autoconf-support_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Can-you-add-automake_002c-libtool-or-autoconf-support_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>No. These tools are too bloated and they complicate the build.
</p>
<a name="Why-not-rewrite-FFmpeg-in-object_002doriented-C_002b_002b_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.5 Why not rewrite FFmpeg in object-oriented C++?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-not-rewrite-FFmpeg-in-object_002doriented-C_002b_002b_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-not-rewrite-FFmpeg-in-object_002doriented-C_002b_002b_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>FFmpeg is already organized in a highly modular manner and does not need to
be rewritten in a formal object language. Further, many of the developers
favor straight C; it works for them. For more arguments on this matter,
read <a class="uref" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20111004021423/http://kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/lkml/#s15">&quot;Programming Religion&quot;</a>.
</p>
<a name="Why-are-the-ffmpeg-programs-devoid-of-debugging-symbols_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.6 Why are the ffmpeg programs devoid of debugging symbols?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-are-the-ffmpeg-programs-devoid-of-debugging-symbols_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-are-the-ffmpeg-programs-devoid-of-debugging-symbols_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>The build process creates <code class="command">ffmpeg_g</code>, <code class="command">ffplay_g</code>, etc. which
contain full debug information. Those binaries are stripped to create
<code class="command">ffmpeg</code>, <code class="command">ffplay</code>, etc. If you need the debug information, use
the *_g versions.
</p>
<a name="I-do-not-like-the-LGPL_002c-can-I-contribute-code-under-the-GPL-instead_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.7 I do not like the LGPL, can I contribute code under the GPL instead?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I-do-not-like-the-LGPL_002c-can-I-contribute-code-under-the-GPL-instead_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I-do-not-like-the-LGPL_002c-can-I-contribute-code-under-the-GPL-instead_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Yes, as long as the code is optional and can easily and cleanly be placed
under #if CONFIG_GPL without breaking anything. So, for example, a new codec
or filter would be OK under GPL while a bug fix to LGPL code would not.
</p>
<a name="I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-from-the-libraries-themselves_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.8 I&rsquo;m using FFmpeg from within my C application but the linker complains about missing symbols from the libraries themselves.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-from-the-libraries-themselves_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-from-the-libraries-themselves_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>FFmpeg builds static libraries by default. In static libraries, dependencies
are not handled. That has two consequences. First, you must specify the
libraries in dependency order: <code class="code">-lavdevice</code> must come before
<code class="code">-lavformat</code>, <code class="code">-lavutil</code> must come after everything else, etc.
Second, external libraries that are used in FFmpeg have to be specified too.
</p>
<p>An easy way to get the full list of required libraries in dependency order
is to use <code class="code">pkg-config</code>.
</p>
<div class="example">
<pre class="example-preformatted">c99 -o program program.c $(pkg-config --cflags --libs libavformat libavcodec)
</pre></div>

<p>See <samp class="file">doc/example/Makefile</samp> and <samp class="file">doc/example/pc-uninstalled</samp> for
more details.
</p>
<a name="I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-which-seem-to-be-available_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.9 I&rsquo;m using FFmpeg from within my C++ application but the linker complains about missing symbols which seem to be available.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-which-seem-to-be-available_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I_0027m-using-FFmpeg-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-linker-complains-about-missing-symbols-which-seem-to-be-available_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>FFmpeg is a pure C project, so to use the libraries within your C++ application
you need to explicitly state that you are using a C library. You can do this by
encompassing your FFmpeg includes using <code class="code">extern &quot;C&quot;</code>.
</p>
<p>See <a class="url" href="http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/mixing-c-and-cpp.html#faq-32.3">http://www.parashift.com/c++-faq-lite/mixing-c-and-cpp.html#faq-32.3</a>
</p>
<a name="I_0027m-using-libavutil-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-compiler-complains-about-_0027UINT64_005fC_0027-was-not-declared-in-this-scope"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.10 I&rsquo;m using libavutil from within my C++ application but the compiler complains about &rsquo;UINT64_C&rsquo; was not declared in this scope<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I_0027m-using-libavutil-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-compiler-complains-about-_0027UINT64_005fC_0027-was-not-declared-in-this-scope" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I_0027m-using-libavutil-from-within-my-C_002b_002b-application-but-the-compiler-complains-about-_0027UINT64_005fC_0027-was-not-declared-in-this-scope" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>FFmpeg is a pure C project using C99 math features, in order to enable C++
to use them you have to append -D__STDC_CONSTANT_MACROS to your CXXFLAGS
</p>
<a name="I-have-a-file-in-memory-_002f-a-API-different-from-_002aopen_002f_002aread_002f-libc-how-do-I-use-it-with-libavformat_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.11 I have a file in memory / a API different from *open/*read/ libc how do I use it with libavformat?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#I-have-a-file-in-memory-_002f-a-API-different-from-_002aopen_002f_002aread_002f-libc-how-do-I-use-it-with-libavformat_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-I-have-a-file-in-memory-_002f-a-API-different-from-_002aopen_002f_002aread_002f-libc-how-do-I-use-it-with-libavformat_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>You have to create a custom AVIOContext using <code class="code">avio_alloc_context</code>,
see <samp class="file">libavformat/aviobuf.c</samp> in FFmpeg and <samp class="file">libmpdemux/demux_lavf.c</samp> in MPlayer or MPlayer2 sources.
</p>
<a name="Where-is-the-documentation-about-ffv1_002c-msmpeg4_002c-asv1_002c-4xm_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.12 Where is the documentation about ffv1, msmpeg4, asv1, 4xm?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Where-is-the-documentation-about-ffv1_002c-msmpeg4_002c-asv1_002c-4xm_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Where-is-the-documentation-about-ffv1_002c-msmpeg4_002c-asv1_002c-4xm_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>see <a class="url" href="https://www.ffmpeg.org/~michael/">https://www.ffmpeg.org/~michael/</a>
</p>
<a name="How-do-I-feed-H_002e263_002dRTP-_0028and-other-codecs-in-RTP_0029-to-libavcodec_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.13 How do I feed H.263-RTP (and other codecs in RTP) to libavcodec?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#How-do-I-feed-H_002e263_002dRTP-_0028and-other-codecs-in-RTP_0029-to-libavcodec_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-How-do-I-feed-H_002e263_002dRTP-_0028and-other-codecs-in-RTP_0029-to-libavcodec_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Even if peculiar since it is network oriented, RTP is a container like any
other. You have to <em class="emph">demux</em> RTP before feeding the payload to libavcodec.
In this specific case please look at RFC 4629 to see how it should be done.
</p>
<a name="AVStream_002er_005fframe_005frate-is-wrong_002c-it-is-much-larger-than-the-frame-rate_002e"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.14 AVStream.r_frame_rate is wrong, it is much larger than the frame rate.<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#AVStream_002er_005fframe_005frate-is-wrong_002c-it-is-much-larger-than-the-frame-rate_002e" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-AVStream_002er_005fframe_005frate-is-wrong_002c-it-is-much-larger-than-the-frame-rate_002e" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p><code class="code">r_frame_rate</code> is NOT the average frame rate, it is the smallest frame rate
that can accurately represent all timestamps. So no, it is not
wrong if it is larger than the average!
For example, if you have mixed 25 and 30 fps content, then <code class="code">r_frame_rate</code>
will be 150 (it is the least common multiple).
If you are looking for the average frame rate, see <code class="code">AVStream.avg_frame_rate</code>.
</p>
<a name="Why-is-make-fate-not-running-all-tests_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.15 Why is <code class="code">make fate</code> not running all tests?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-is-make-fate-not-running-all-tests_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-is-make-fate-not-running-all-tests_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Make sure you have the fate-suite samples and the <code class="code">SAMPLES</code> Make variable
or <code class="code">FATE_SAMPLES</code> environment variable or the <code class="code">--samples</code>
<code class="command">configure</code> option is set to the right path.
</p>
<a name="Why-is-make-fate-not-finding-the-samples_003f"></a>
<h3 class="section">4.16 Why is <code class="code">make fate</code> not finding the samples?<span class="pull-right"><a class="anchor hidden-xs" href="#Why-is-make-fate-not-finding-the-samples_003f" aria-hidden="true">#</a> <a class="anchor hidden-xs"href="#toc-Why-is-make-fate-not-finding-the-samples_003f" aria-hidden="true">TOC</a></span></h3>

<p>Do you happen to have a <code class="code">~</code> character in the samples path to indicate a
home directory? The value is used in ways where the shell cannot expand it,
causing FATE to not find files. Just replace <code class="code">~</code> by the full path.
</p>
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        This document was generated using <a class="uref" href="https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/"><em class="emph">makeinfo</em></a>.
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