ffmpeg - How to batch screen grab from multiple video files?

[Gameshow Host]

I'm trying to take screen grabs every 2 seconds from a bunch of video files.

Someone has already kindly provided me with this script for a .bat file:

"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n1 - %%05d.jpg"
pause

However, when I drag multiple videos to this .bat file, it only processes the first one.

Given that I know nothing about ffmpeg or scripting, could anyone please provide me with the exact code I need?

Also, I don't know if it's possible, but I'd also like the resulting file names to include the date of the original video, and (if possible) the playback time the grab was taken from.

[pandy]

There is separate thread related to your question - for sure you will find there answer and solution.
https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/356314-How-to-batch-convert-multiplex-any-files-with-ffmpeg

[jagabo]

I'm trying to take screen grabs every 2 seconds from a bunch of video files.

Someone has already kindly provided me with this script for a .bat file:

"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n1 - %%05d.jpg"
pause

However, when I drag multiple videos to this .bat file, it only processes the first one.

"%1" means the first argument on the command line -- that is, the first file. The same is true for "%~n1". The rest of the files are ignored. A cheap and ugly way to do what you want is to repeat the same line for each file, specifying successive arguments on each line:

"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n1 - %%05d.jpg"
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %2 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n2 - %%05d.jpg"
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %3 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n3 - %%05d.jpg"
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %4 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n4 - %%05d.jpg"
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %5 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n5 - %%05d.jpg"
pause

That will process up to 5 files. It's ugly because when you pass less than 5 files you will get error messages for the missing file names. You can add more lines to process more files but the limit is 9 using this method. You can make it a little cleaner by testing to see if the argument exist:

IF "%~1"=="" GOTO end
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n1 - %%05d.jpg"
IF "%~2"=="" GOTO end
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %2 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n2 - %%05d.jpg"
IF "%~3"=="" GOTO end
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %3 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n3 - %%05d.jpg"
IF "%~4"=="" GOTO end
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %4 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n4 - %%05d.jpg"
IF "%~5"=="" GOTO end
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i %5 -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%~n5 - %%05d.jpg"

:end
pause

If you want to process all the MP4 (or whatever extension) files in a folder you can use a for loop:

for %%F in (*.mp5) do (
"c:\program files\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe" -i "%%F" -vf fps=fps=1.0/2.0 -qscale:v 2 "%%~nF - %%05d.jpg"
)

[Gameshow Host]

Thank you both so much!

Jagabo's final script is just what I needed. I just changed the file extension in the code (to .mts) and it worked perfectly!

[jagabo]

Oops, I just noticed I typed *.mp5 into that last script when I meant to type *.mp4. In any case, use whatever extension is appropriate for your file type.