Category Archives: Programming

(FFmpeg) How to mix additional audio in an mp4?

Adding an additional audio source on top of the audio already in a video can be accomplished with the amix filter. This might be useful for adding background music to a commentary video as seen in the example below: A common issue that comes up with amix is the volume of one input over powers […]

(FFmpeg) How to use filters (-vf/-af vs -filter_complex)?

Converting between one file format to another is extremely useful and might be all that’s needed for your use of FFMPEG but where the real fun begins is in the filters. Filters are used to manipulate audio and video with the libavfilter library. A filter might result in a single change to an input file […]

How to install FFmpeg on Linux?

On Ubuntu or Debian based linux operating systems using apt-get installed makes installation of FFMPEG is easy: This will install the latest FFMPEG package but some linux users will want to install from source. FFMPEG requires compilation and installation of various codecs and libraries not bundled with FFMPEG source code. Linux users who want to […]

How to Install FFmpeg on MacOS?

Installation on MacOS is simple for users with homebrew installed. Homebrew is the package manager – users always wanted but yet to have natively. Think of it as an equivalent to apt-get on linux.  The installation command is as follows: As of March 25th, 2020, MacOS + homebrew install has disabled native dependencies support. If […]

How to Check the Installed FFmpeg Version?

At this point FFMPEG should be installed on your operating system of choice and ready for use. To double check installation, it’s always good to view the current version installed.  The output not only details the FFMPEG version but also the various configurations enabled and disabled as well as what codec are installed.

How to Use FFmpeg in Ruby?

Command line one-liners are great for quick and one off FFMPEG experiences but sooner or later you’re going to want to start building custom applications for efficiency. FFMPEG can be used with almost any programming language with a couple of simple tricks. Some languages might even have libraries of their own to extend FFMPEG natively. […]

How to check audio / video file information in FFmpeg?

Now that you understand the importance of knowing which codecs your file formats should conform to. It is useful to have the ability to check the input file format before using FFMPEG commands. Luckily this functionality is native to FFMPEG, the command is as follows: After the installed FFMPEG version and configuration information the Input […]

How to Use FFmpeg in Bash script?

Command line one-liners are great for quick and one off FFmpeg experiences but sooner or later you’re going to want to start building custom applications for efficiency. FFmpeg can be used with almost any programming language with a couple of simple tricks. Some languages might even have libraries of their own to extend FFmpeg natively. […]

What are all the formats FFmpeg supports?

Unlike codecs, formats are the digital input / output containers FFMPEG understands. While an mp4 file is the extension we are used to seeing, inside contains encoded video and audio with various codecs. For example, an mp4 file might contain one of the following audio codecs: ACC, AC3, ALS, MP3, ACC or plenty more. Depending […]

How to Use FFmpeg in Python?

Command line one-liners are great for quick and one off FFMPEG experiences but sooner or later you’re going to want to start building custom applications for efficiency. FFMPEG can be used with almost any programming language with a couple of simple tricks. Some languages might even have libraries of their own to extend FFMPEG natively. […]