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  1. When I try to convert .mov to .flv and I drop the source video into ffmpegX, I cannot view either the source or the final preview. When I convert I get a .flv with no duration and it plays nothing. The .mov is viewable in Quicktime with no problems.

    In another thread with similar but not exact issues it was suggested to install flvtool2. I get a successful download of flvtool2. When I follow the instructions for the install on ffmpegX's site and I drop the downloaded flvtool2 folder into the Terminal app with a cd command I get a "no such file or directory" error and yet the folder is clearly there with contents. What am I doing wrong with the flvtool2 install and/or how do I get my .mov file converted to .flv successfully?
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    When I try to convert .mov to .flv and I drop the source video into ffmpegX, I cannot view either the source or the final preview. When I convert I get a .flv with no duration and it plays nothing. The .mov is viewable in Quicktime with no problems.
    https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/280572-Can-t-export-in-flash-format?#post1718111

    Originally Posted by Dogear
    In another thread with similar but not exact issues it was suggested to install flvtool2. I get a successful download of flvtool2. When I follow the instructions for the install on ffmpegX's site and I drop the downloaded flvtool2 folder into the Terminal app with a cd command I get a "no such file or directory" error and yet the folder is clearly there with contents. What am I doing wrong with the flvtool2 install?
    The should be a space character after the cd command, then drop the folder.
    flvtool2 adds metadata (duration, seek points, etc) to FLV files, after a successful conversion. The metadata will help playback (via the Flash browser plugin) e.g. by adding "time remaining", and visual scrubbing though the timeline.
    Last edited by Case; 1st Apr 2013 at 19:52.
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  3. Thanks! That solved my cd command error and I was able to successfully install flvtool2. However, I do not have Quicktime Pro for the invert mapping and therefore I am still getting the 0.0 length issue. I doubt if I will need to do this enough to justify buying Quicktime Pro.
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    I do not have Quicktime Pro for the invert mapping and therefore I am still getting the 0.0 length issue. I doubt if I will need to do this enough to justify buying Quicktime Pro.
    Instead of making FLV files, try creating MP4 files (H.264/AAC). They are just as suitable for Flash web video, while also viewable when users prefer HMTL5 video over Flash (think iOS).

    You may also want to look into qt-faststart, which should re-arrange the MP4, to have its metadata at the beginning of the file, so that playback can begin before the file is fully downloaded.
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  5. Thanks again for the help and suggestions. The MP4 suggestion is really good since I was just about to talk to the clients about making their site compatible for mobile devices. In ffmpegX there are the options for H.264 (mencoder), H.264 (ffmpeg) and H.264 (X264). I am too new to this to know the difference. Is one preferable over the the others? I am also looking into qt-faststart.
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    In ffmpegX there are the options for H.264 (mencoder), H.264 (ffmpeg) and H.264 (X264). Is one preferable over the the others?
    There are a couple of differences, which could make one option more suitable than the others.
    mencoder H.264, in this implementation, always writes AVC level 5.1, which is no problem for most software players, but that (needlessly high) level could lock out some hardware players. These mencoder H.264 files won't transfer to an iPhone 5 because of playback compatibility, according to iTunes.
    ffmpeg H.264 is only used by the PSP preset, not by other presets. Not sure why.
    x264 H.264 allows you to set the AVC level, which is why I prefer it.
    The AVC level sets a maximum on various properties, most notably the resolution and framerate. E.g. for a 480p video, level 3 is enough, and level 3 gives plenty of compatibility.

    Originally Posted by Dogear
    I am also looking into qt-faststart.
    Maybe this isn't needed for H.264 files produced by ffmpegX. It appears qtfaststart says “This file appears to already be setup for streaming!” for every one of my test files (mencoder and x264), and doesn't alter the file. I think ffmpegX uses an included tool called MP4Box to accomplish the same.
    Last edited by Case; 3rd Apr 2013 at 01:22.
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  7. Thanks Case. You have been very helpful. Of course, now the client is considering not adding the video after all. Oh well, I learned a lot in the process anyway.
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  8. I am still trying to do this just for my own knowledge. However, there is no soundtrack on the movie. So, how do I do the invert mapping when there is no sound track to extract?
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    There is no soundtrack on the movie. So, how do I do the invert mapping when there is no sound track to extract?
    When a source file only has video and no audio, you should disable audio in the conversion by de-selecting "Encode audio" in the Audio tab. For this you should not set "Invert mapping".
    Last edited by Case; 3rd Apr 2013 at 13:29.
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  10. OK, but my ultimate goal is to code a .flv file and even with de-selected "Encode Audio" I still get a zero length .flv file using ffmpegX.
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    OK, but my ultimate goal is to code a .flv file and even with de-selected "Encode Audio" I still get a zero length .flv file using ffmpegX.
    Perhaps a look at the Process Information log can help diagnose this better. You may access this log by clicking the blue "i" icon on the ffmpegX Progress window. Please copy and paste its content here.
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  12. Here is the Process Information:

    FFmpeg version CVS, Copyright (c) 2000-2004 Fabrice Bellard
    Mac OSX universal build for ffmpegX
    libavutil version: 49.0.0
    libavcodec version: 51.9.0
    libavformat version: 50.4.0
    Fri Apr 5 09:41:09 PDT 2013
    Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from '/Users/Rick/Desktop/justhair/Women with Hair loss 2.mov':
    Duration: 00:01:57.0, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 694 kb/s
    Stream #0.0(eng), 1.00 fps(r): Video: smp3 / 0x33706D73, 640x480
    Stream #0.1(eng), 0.07 fps(r): Video: qtrle, 640x480
    Stream #0.2(eng), 0.07 fps(r): Video: qtrle, 640x480
    Number of stream maps must match number of output streams

    Thanks for taking a look at it.
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    Stream #0.0(eng), 1.00 fps(r): Video: smp3 / 0x33706D73, 640x480
    Stream #0.1(eng), 0.07 fps(r): Video: qtrle, 640x480
    Stream #0.2(eng), 0.07 fps(r): Video: qtrle, 640x480
    It seems you have three video streams in your source file. The 2nd and 3rd use the Apple Animation codec (qtrle). These could be some overlay (e.g. text or logo) or a mask (changing the shape of the 640x480 video).
    I don't recognize the first stream (smp3), but perhaps QuickTime Player can tell you what kind of video that is (menu > Window > Show Movie Inspector ⌘I). It could be a legacy codec or a codec from some vendor.

    I don't think ffmpeg can convert it while merging these streams. But QuickTime probably can. Try exporting from QuickTime Player. The output file will be .m4v (= .mp4).
    If you want, you could convert the new file to .flv with ffmpegX.
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  14. That is what I did in the beginning of all this. The source is from PowerPoint, a presentation turned into a Quicktime movie (.mov) by the export as movie command in PowerPoint. Then I used export movie to Quicktime in Quicktime (.mp4), then that in ffmepgX converting to .flv. I also tried just sending the result from Powerpoint (.mov) through ffmpegX to .flv. In both cases I get a 0 duration. Here is the information from first exporting the .mp4 to .flv in ffmpegX:


    FFmpeg version CVS, Copyright (c) 2000-2004 Fabrice Bellard
    Mac OSX universal build for ffmpegX
    libavutil version: 49.0.0
    libavcodec version: 51.9.0
    libavformat version: 50.4.0
    Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from '/Users/Rick/Desktop/justhair/Women with Hair loss 2.mov':
    Duration: 00:01:57.0, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 266 kb/s
    Stream #0.0(eng), 30.00 fps(r): Video: h264, yuv420p, 640x480
    Number of stream maps must match number of output streams
    Fri Apr 5 11:56:41 PDT 2013
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    Originally Posted by Dogear View Post
    Input #0, mov:
    Stream #0.0(eng), 30.00 fps(r): Video: h264, yuv420p, 640x480
    Number of stream maps must match number of output streams
    I think this one should convert, if you turn off audio encoding.

    Originally Posted by Dogear
    Number of stream maps must match number of output streams
    This error usually means that ffmpegX tries to convert a different number of streams that the output should have. E.g. video to video + audio. And that won't work.
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  16. Oh, I am so sorry. I thought I had turned off the audio encoding. But, obviously I did not. It converted to flash with no problems. Thank you for all your patient help with this.
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    You're welcome. And good luck with your project.
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