Basic FFMpeg Questions

[Maikeru-sama]

I have some questions (surprise surprise) about FFMpeg and video encoding.

I am familiar with FFMpeg audio command line arguments but new to FFMpeg video command line arguments.

FFMpeg Version = SVN-r12665

1) I found a website that had a sample command line and it had the argument "-hq" which is supposedly used to activate high quality settings, but when I use it in my command line, I get "unrecognized option", is this not supported in the FFMpeg version I have?

2) I cannot figure out the -passlogifle option. When I try "-passlogifle c:\mylog.log" it says "no such file or directory". When I actually create the file on my hard drive at that location, it still says the same thing, how does this argument work?

3) I am trying to find a sort of middle ground with regards to the command arguments that have decent reasonable encoding speed time along with good quality (CCE and HCenc process my files in 15-20 minutes). Does the following command line fit the aforementioned description (please not that the -passlogfile option does not work which is noted in #2 above):

"C:\ffmpeg.exe" -i "C:\mymovie.mp4.avs" -pass 2 -passlogfile ffmpeg2pass -b 3000 -minrate 2000 -maxrate 8000 -bufsize 224 -vcodec mpeg2video -s 720x480 -r 29.97 -aspect 4:3 -ab 128K -ar 48000 -ac 2 -acodec ac3 -y "C:\mymovie2.mp4.mpg"

Like always, I will continue to search the Internet.

[redwudz]

You may have already been here, but from a ffmpeg site: http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/documentation.html

[AlanHK]

Type
ffmpeg -h >ffmpeg.txt
to get a help file for your version of ffmpeg (annoyingly, different builds of ffmpeg may have a different command syntax).


Look at the various graphical frontend /GUIs for ffmpeg.
Many of these will create a command line as you choose options, which you can then copy and convert to a batch script.
eg: ffe, Super, MediaCoder, WinFF.

[Midzuki]

Like always, I will continue to search the Internet.

Here is a good URL:

http://www.bcit-broadcast.com/monash/jdxgen95.inf , which says:

Well, a few people in 1996 emailed me saying that jdxgen.exe failed when
running in a DOS window from Windows 95. I went home & tried it on the 
Win95 notebook belonging to my son. Sure enough, it crashed.

The crash occurs because the Windows 95 "DOS Window" is not a "real" DOS
- it is a shell emulating DOS, but still under the firm grip of the the
Win95 OS (and yah boo sucks to the Microsoft acolytes who flamed me by
news and mail for saying this.)

[Soopafresh]

1) I found a website that had a sample command line and it had the argument "-hq" which is supposedly used to activate high quality settings, but when I use it in my command line, I get "unrecognized option", is this not supported in the FFMpeg version I have?

Yeah, they got rid of that option some time ago.


ffmpeg is cool, but documentation is sparse, especially for Windows platforms.

[AlanHK]

ffmpeg is cool, but documentation is sparse, especially for Windows platforms.

Like I said:
ffmpeg -h >ffmpeg.txt
to give you the options your version supports.

That's the closest you'll get to an authoritative help page.

[Soopafresh]

And ffmpeg -formats >formats.txt to find out which codecs it decodes/encodes

[45tripp]

FFMpeg Version = SVN-r12665

firstly,
use the latest static build from here:
http://arrozcru.no-ip.org/ffmpeg_builds/

Look at the various graphical frontend /GUIs for ffmpeg.
Many of these will create a command line as you choose options, which you can then copy and convert to a batch script.
eg: ffe, Super, MediaCoder, WinFF.

secondly,
i find it annoying how Avanti is omitted from these lists:
Avanti

Like I said:
ffmpeg -h >ffmpeg.txt
to give you the options your version supports.

And ffmpeg -formats >formats.txt to find out which codecs it decodes/encodes

and
Avanti automatically creates these files,
to be at your disposal, for the corresponding ffmpeg version currently loaded in the gui.

1) I found a website that had a sample command line and it had the argument "-hq"

add the following equivalent:

-mbd 2 -flags trell

2) I cannot figure out the -passlogifle option. When I try "-passlogifle c:\mylog.log"

it works fine.
try again.

-passlogfile c:\mylog

i see in your posted example you have -pass 2
obviously you need the logfile from pass 1
also naming takes this format: %name%-o.log

"C:\ffmpeg.exe" -i "C:\mymovie.mp4.avs" -pass 2 -passlogfile ffmpeg2pass -b 3000 -minrate 2000 -maxrate 8000 -bufsize 224 -vcodec mpeg2video -s 720x480 -r 29.97 -aspect 4:3 -ab 128K -ar 48000 -ac 2 -acodec ac3 -y "C:\mymovie2.mp4.mpg"

if we are talking about the same source as before:
progressive 23.976,
then -r 29.97 is destructive.

ffmpeg doesn't have pulldown. you could try using mencoder which is in comparison better documented,
and can do pulldown.

Avanti has a pulldown utility btw
and has a job manager for batch encoding. (no batch pulldown though)

also if you're gonna feed ffmpeg with avisynth input,
might as well resize in avisynth, no need for the -s call.

and if you're not going to do any filtering in avisynth, why pass through it?

example:

"C:\ffmpeg.exe" -i "C:\mymovie.mp4" -pass 1 -passlogfile mylog -ar 48000 -sws_flags lanczos -s 720x480 -aspect 16:9 -vcodec mpeg2video -mbd 2 -flags trell -b 3000k -maxrate 8000k -bufsize 1835k -an -y "C:\mymovie2.m2v"

"C:\ffmpeg.exe" -i "C:\mymovie.mp4" -pass 2 -passlogfile mylog -ar 48000 -sws_flags lanczos -s 720x480 -aspect 16:9 -vcodec mpeg2video -mbd 2 -flags trell -b 3000k -maxrate 8000k -bufsize 1835k  -y "C:\mymovie2.m2v" -acodec ac3 -ab 128K "C:\mymovie2.ac3"

(edit to elementary)

Like always, I will continue to search the Internet.

we're better than the internet.
and dos too.


tripp

[AlanHK]

Look at the various graphical frontend /GUIs for ffmpeg.
Many of these will create a command line as you choose options, which you can then copy and convert to a batch script.
eg: ffe, Super, MediaCoder, WinFF.

secondly,
i find it annoying how Avanti is omitted from these lists:

Annoying?
Sorry to have offended you.