1 \input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*-
3 @settitle General Documentation
6 @center @titlefont{General Documentation}
11 @chapter external libraries
13 FFmpeg can be hooked up with a number of external libraries to add support
14 for more formats. None of them are used by default, their use has to be
15 explicitly requested by passing the appropriate flags to @file{./configure}.
19 AMR comes in two different flavors, wideband and narrowband. FFmpeg can make
20 use of the AMR wideband (floating-point mode) and the AMR narrowband
21 (floating-point mode) reference decoders and encoders.
23 Go to @url{http://www.penguin.cz/~utx/amr} and follow the instructions for
24 installing the libraries. Then pass @code{--enable-libamr-nb} and/or
25 @code{--enable-libamr-wb} to configure to enable the libraries.
27 Note that libamr is copyrighted without any sort of license grant. This means
28 that you can use it if you legally obtained it but you are not allowed to
29 redistribute it in any way. @strong{Any FFmpeg binaries with libamr support
30 you create are non-free and unredistributable!}
33 @chapter Supported File Formats and Codecs
35 You can use the @code{-formats} option to have an exhaustive list.
39 FFmpeg supports the following file formats through the @code{libavformat}
42 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .4
43 @item Name @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments
45 @tab 4X Technologies format, used in some games.
46 @item Audio IFF (AIFF) @tab X @tab X
47 @item American Laser Games MM @tab @tab X
48 @tab Multimedia format used in games like Mad Dog McCree.
49 @item 3GPP AMR @tab X @tab X
50 @item ASF @tab X @tab X
51 @item AVI @tab X @tab X
52 @item AVISynth @tab @tab X
54 @tab Multimedia format used by the Creature Shock game.
55 @item Beam Software SIFF @tab @tab X
56 @tab Audio and video format used in some games by Beam Software.
57 @item Bethesda Softworks VID @tab @tab X
58 @tab Used in some games from Bethesda Softworks.
59 @item Brute Force & Ignorance @tab @tab X
60 @tab Used in the game Flash Traffic: City of Angels.
61 @item Interplay C93 @tab @tab X
62 @tab Used in the game Cyberia from Interplay.
63 @item Delphine Software International CIN @tab @tab X
64 @tab Multimedia format used by Delphine Software games.
65 @item CRC testing format @tab X @tab
66 @item Creative Voice @tab X @tab X
67 @tab Created for the Sound Blaster Pro.
68 @item CRYO APC @tab @tab X
69 @tab Audio format used in some games by CRYO Interactive Entertainment.
70 @item D-Cinema audio @tab X @tab X
71 @item DV video @tab X @tab X
73 @tab This format is used in the non-Windows version of the Feeble Files
74 game and different game cutscenes repacked for use with ScummVM.
75 @item Electronic Arts cdata @tab @tab X
76 @item Electronic Arts Multimedia @tab @tab X
77 @tab Used in various EA games; files have extensions like WVE and UV2.
78 @item FFM (FFserver live feed) @tab X @tab X
79 @item Flash (SWF) @tab X @tab X
80 @item Flash 9 (AVM2) @tab X @tab X
81 @tab Only embedded audio is decoded.
82 @item FLI/FLC/FLX animation @tab @tab X
84 @item FLV @tab X @tab X
85 @tab Macromedia Flash video files
86 @item framecrc testing format @tab X @tab
87 @item FunCom ISS @tab @tab X
88 @tab Audio format used in various games from FunCom like The Longest Journey.
89 @item GIF Animation @tab X @tab
90 @item GXF @tab X @tab X
91 @tab General eXchange Format SMPTE 360M, used by Thomson Grass Valley
93 @item id Cinematic @tab @tab X
94 @tab Used in Quake II.
95 @item id RoQ @tab X @tab X
96 @tab Used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games.
98 @tab Interchange File Format
99 @item Interplay MVE @tab @tab X
100 @tab Format used in various Interplay computer games.
101 @item LMLM4 @tab @tab X
102 @tab Used by Linux Media Labs MPEG-4 PCI boards
103 @item Matroska @tab X @tab X
104 @item Matroska audio @tab X @tab
105 @item MAXIS XA @tab @tab X
106 @tab Used in Sim City 3000; file extension .xa.
107 @item Monkey's Audio @tab @tab X
108 @item Motion Pixels MVI @tab @tab X
109 @item MOV/QuickTime/MP4 @tab X @tab X
110 @tab 3GP, 3GP2, PSP, iPod variants supported
111 @item MP2 @tab X @tab
112 @item MP3 @tab X @tab
113 @item MPEG audio @tab X @tab X
114 @item MPEG-1 System @tab X @tab X
115 @tab muxed audio and video, VCD format supported
116 @item MPEG-PS (program stream) @tab X @tab X
117 @tab also known as @code{VOB} file, SVCD and DVD format supported
118 @item MPEG-TS (transport stream) @tab X @tab X
119 @tab also known as DVB Transport Stream
120 @item MPEG-4 @tab X @tab X
121 @tab MPEG-4 is a variant of QuickTime.
122 @item MIME multipart JPEG @tab X @tab
123 @item MSN TCP webcam @tab @tab X
124 @tab Used by MSN Messenger webcam streams.
125 @item MTV @tab @tab X
126 @item Musepack @tab @tab X
127 @item Musepack SV8 @tab @tab X
128 @item Material eXchange Format (MXF) @tab X @tab X
129 @tab SMPTE 377M, used by D-Cinema, broadcast industry.
130 @item NC camera feed @tab @tab X
131 @tab NC (AVIP NC4600) camera streams
132 @item Nullsoft Streaming Video @tab @tab X
133 @item NuppelVideo @tab @tab X
134 @item NUT @tab X @tab X
135 @tab NUT Open Container Format
136 @item Ogg @tab X @tab X
137 @item TechnoTrend PVA @tab @tab X
138 @tab Used by TechnoTrend DVB PCI boards.
139 @item raw ADTS (AAC) @tab X @tab X
140 @item raw AC-3 @tab X @tab X
141 @item raw CRI ADX @tab X @tab X
142 @item raw Dirac @tab X @tab X
143 @item raw DNxHD @tab X @tab X
144 @item raw DTS @tab X @tab X
145 @item raw E-AC-3 @tab X @tab X
146 @item raw FLAC @tab X @tab X
147 @item raw GSM @tab @tab X
148 @item raw H.261 @tab X @tab X
149 @item raw H.263 @tab X @tab X
150 @item raw H.264 @tab X @tab X
151 @item raw Ingenient MJPEG @tab @tab X
152 @item raw MJPEG @tab X @tab X
153 @item raw MLP @tab @tab X
154 @item raw MPEG @tab @tab X
155 @item raw MPEG-1 @tab @tab X
156 @item raw MPEG-2 @tab @tab X
157 @item raw MPEG-4 @tab X @tab X
158 @item raw NULL @tab X @tab
159 @item raw video @tab X @tab X
160 @item raw id RoQ @tab X @tab
161 @item raw Shorten @tab @tab X
162 @item raw VC-1 @tab @tab X
163 @item raw PCM A-law @tab X @tab X
164 @item raw PCM mu-law @tab X @tab X
165 @item raw PCM signed 8 bit @tab X @tab X
166 @item raw PCM signed 16 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
167 @item raw PCM signed 16 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
168 @item raw PCM signed 24 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
169 @item raw PCM signed 24 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
170 @item raw PCM signed 32 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
171 @item raw PCM signed 32 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
172 @item raw PCM unsigned 8 bit @tab X @tab X
173 @item raw PCM unsigned 16 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
174 @item raw PCM unsigned 16 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
175 @item raw PCM unsigned 24 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
176 @item raw PCM unsigned 24 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
177 @item raw PCM unsigned 32 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
178 @item raw PCM unsigned 32 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
179 @item raw PCM floating-point 32 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
180 @item raw PCM floating-point 32 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
181 @item raw PCM floating-point 64 bit big-endian @tab X @tab X
182 @item raw PCM floating-point 64 bit little-endian @tab X @tab X
183 @item RDT @tab @tab X
184 @item REDCODE R3D @tab @tab X
185 @tab File format used by RED Digital cameras, contains JPEG 2000 frames and PCM audio.
186 @item RealMedia @tab X @tab X
187 @item Redirector @tab @tab X
188 @item Renderware TeXture Dictionary @tab @tab X
189 @item RL2 @tab @tab X
190 @tab Audio and video format used in some games by Entertainment Software Partners.
191 @item RPL/ARMovie @tab @tab X
192 @item RTP @tab @tab X
193 @item RTSP @tab @tab X
194 @item SDP @tab @tab X
195 @item Sega FILM/CPK @tab @tab X
196 @tab Used in many Sega Saturn console games.
197 @item Sierra SOL @tab @tab X
198 @tab .sol files used in Sierra Online games.
199 @item Sierra VMD @tab @tab X
200 @tab Used in Sierra CD-ROM games.
201 @item Smacker @tab @tab X
202 @tab Multimedia format used by many games.
203 @item Sony OpenMG (OMA) @tab @tab X
204 @tab Audio format used in Sony Sonic Stage and Sony Vegas.
205 @item Sony PlayStation STR @tab @tab X
206 @item SUN AU format @tab X @tab X
207 @item THP @tab @tab X
208 @tab Used on the Nintendo GameCube.
209 @item Tiertex Limited SEQ @tab @tab X
210 @tab Tiertex .seq files used in the DOS CD-ROM version of the game Flashback.
211 @item True Audio @tab @tab X
212 @item VC-1 test bitstream @tab X @tab X
213 @item WAV @tab X @tab X
214 @item WavPack @tab @tab X
215 @item Wing Commander III movie @tab @tab X
216 @tab Multimedia format used in Origin's Wing Commander III computer game.
217 @item Westwood Studios audio @tab @tab X
218 @tab Multimedia format used in Westwood Studios games.
219 @item Westwood Studios VQA @tab @tab X
220 @tab Multimedia format used in Westwood Studios games.
221 @item YUV4MPEG pipe @tab X @tab X
224 @code{X} means that encoding (resp. decoding) is supported.
226 @section Image Formats
228 FFmpeg can read and write images for each frame of a video sequence. The
229 following image formats are supported:
231 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .4
232 @item Name @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments
233 @item .Y.U.V @tab X @tab X @tab one raw file per component
234 @item animated GIF @tab X @tab X @tab Only uncompressed GIFs are generated.
235 @item JPEG @tab X @tab X @tab Progressive JPEG is not supported.
236 @item JPEG 2000 @tab @tab E @tab decoding supported through external library libopenjpeg
237 @item PAM @tab X @tab X @tab PAM is a PNM extension with alpha support.
238 @item PCX @tab @tab X @tab PC Paintbrush
239 @item PGM, PPM @tab X @tab X
240 @item PGMYUV @tab X @tab X @tab PGM with U and V components in YUV 4:2:0
241 @item PNG @tab X @tab X @tab 2/4 bpp not supported yet
242 @item PTX @tab @tab X @tab V.Flash PTX format
243 @item RAS @tab @tab X @tab Sun Rasterfile
244 @item SGI @tab X @tab X @tab SGI RGB image format
245 @item Targa @tab @tab X @tab Targa (.TGA) image format
246 @item TIFF @tab X @tab X @tab YUV, JPEG and some extension is not supported yet.
249 @code{X} means that encoding (resp. decoding) is supported.
251 @code{E} means that support is provided through an external library.
253 @section Video Codecs
255 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .4
256 @item Name @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments
257 @item 4X Video @tab @tab X
258 @tab Used in certain computer games.
259 @item American Laser Games MM @tab @tab X
260 @tab Used in games like Mad Dog McCree.
261 @item AMV @tab @tab X
262 @tab Used in Chinese MP3 players.
263 @item Apple Animation @tab X @tab X
265 @item Apple Graphics @tab @tab X
267 @item Apple MJPEG-B @tab @tab X
268 @item Apple QuickDraw @tab @tab X
270 @item Apple Video @tab @tab X
272 @item Asus v1 @tab X @tab X
274 @item Asus v2 @tab X @tab X
276 @item ATI VCR1 @tab @tab X
278 @item ATI VCR2 @tab @tab X
280 @item Autodesk RLE @tab @tab X
282 @item AVID DNxHD @tab X @tab X
284 @item AVS video @tab @tab X
285 @tab Video encoding used by the Creature Shock game.
286 @item Bethsoft VID @tab @tab X
287 @tab Used in some games from Bethesda Softworks.
288 @item C93 video @tab @tab X
289 @tab Codec used in Cyberia game.
290 @item CamStudio @tab @tab X
292 @item Cin video @tab @tab X
293 @tab Codec used in Delphine Software games.
294 @item Cinepak @tab @tab X
295 @item Cirrus Logic AccuPak @tab @tab X
297 @item Creative YUV @tab @tab X
299 @item Dirac @tab E @tab E
300 @tab supported through external libdirac/libschroedinger libraries
301 @item Duck TrueMotion v1 @tab @tab X
303 @item Duck TrueMotion v2 @tab @tab X
305 @item DV @tab X @tab X
306 @item DXA Video @tab @tab X
307 @tab Codec originally used in Feeble Files game.
308 @item Electronic Arts CMV @tab @tab X
309 @tab Used in NHL 95 game.
310 @item Electronic Arts TGV @tab @tab X
311 @item Electronic Arts TGQ @tab @tab X
312 @item Electronic Arts TQI @tab @tab X
313 @item FFmpeg Video 1 @tab X @tab X
314 @tab experimental lossless codec (fourcc: FFV1)
315 @item Flash Screen Video @tab X @tab X
317 @item FLIC video @tab @tab X
318 @item FLV @tab X @tab X
319 @tab Sorenson H.263 used in Flash
320 @item Fraps FPS1 @tab @tab X
321 @item H.261 @tab X @tab X
322 @item H.263(+) @tab X @tab X
323 @tab also known as RealVideo 1.0
324 @item H.264 @tab E @tab X
325 @tab encoding supported through external library libx264
326 @item HuffYUV @tab X @tab X
327 @item IBM Ultimotion @tab @tab X
329 @item id Cinematic video @tab @tab X
330 @tab Used in Quake II.
331 @item id RoQ @tab X @tab X
332 @tab Used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games.
333 @item Intel Indeo 3 @tab @tab X
334 @item Interplay Video @tab @tab X
335 @tab Used in Interplay .MVE files.
336 @item JPEG-LS @tab X @tab X
337 @tab fourcc: MJLS, lossless and near-lossless is supported.
338 @item KMVC @tab @tab X
339 @tab Codec used in Worms games.
340 @item LOCO @tab @tab X
341 @item lossless MJPEG @tab X @tab X
342 @item Microsoft RLE @tab @tab X
343 @item Microsoft Video-1 @tab @tab X
344 @item Mimic @tab @tab X
345 @tab Used in MSN Messenger Webcam streams.
346 @item Miro VideoXL @tab @tab X
348 @item MJPEG @tab X @tab X
349 @item Motion Pixels Video @tab @tab X
350 @item MPEG-1 @tab X @tab X
351 @item MPEG-2 @tab X @tab X
352 @item MPEG-4 @tab X @tab X
353 @item MSMPEG4 V1 @tab X @tab X
354 @item MSMPEG4 V2 @tab X @tab X
355 @item MSMPEG4 V3 @tab X @tab X
356 @item MSZH @tab @tab X
358 @item On2 VP3 @tab @tab X
359 @tab still experimental
360 @item On2 VP5 @tab @tab X
362 @item On2 VP6 @tab @tab X
363 @tab fourcc: VP60,VP61,VP62
364 @item planar RGB @tab @tab X
366 @item QPEG @tab @tab X
367 @tab fourccs: QPEG, Q1.0, Q1.1
368 @item RealVideo 1.0 @tab X @tab X
369 @item RealVideo 2.0 @tab X @tab X
370 @item RealVideo 3.0 @tab @tab X
371 @tab still far from ideal
372 @item RealVideo 4.0 @tab @tab X
373 @item Renderware TXD @tab @tab X
374 @tab Texture dictionaries used by the Renderware Engine.
375 @item RTjpeg @tab @tab X
376 @tab Video encoding used in NuppelVideo files.
377 @item Smacker video @tab @tab X
378 @tab Video encoding used in Smacker.
379 @item Snow @tab X @tab X
380 @tab experimental wavelet codec (fourcc: SNOW)
381 @item Sony PlayStation MDEC @tab @tab X
382 @item Sorenson Video 1 @tab X @tab X
384 @item Sorenson Video 3 @tab @tab X
386 @item Sunplus MJPEG @tab @tab X
388 @item TechSmith Camtasia @tab @tab X
390 @item Theora @tab E @tab X
391 @tab encoding supported through external library libtheora
392 @item THP @tab @tab X
393 @tab Used on the Nintendo GameCube.
394 @item Tiertex Seq video @tab @tab X
395 @tab Codec used in DOS CD-ROM FlashBack game.
396 @item VC-1 @tab @tab X
397 @item VMD Video @tab @tab X
398 @tab Used in Sierra VMD files.
399 @item VMware Video @tab @tab X
400 @tab Codec used in videos captured by VMware.
401 @item Westwood VQA @tab @tab X
402 @item Winnov WNV1 @tab @tab X
403 @item WMV7 @tab X @tab X
404 @item WMV8 @tab X @tab X
405 @item WMV9 @tab @tab X
406 @tab not completely working
407 @item Xan/WC3 @tab @tab X
408 @tab Used in Wing Commander III .MVE files.
409 @item YAMAHA SMAF @tab X @tab X
410 @item ZLIB @tab X @tab X
411 @tab part of LCL, encoder experimental
412 @item ZMBV @tab X @tab X
413 @tab Encoder works only in PAL8.
416 @code{X} means that encoding (resp. decoding) is supported.
418 @code{E} means that support is provided through an external library.
420 @section Audio Codecs
422 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .4
423 @item Name @tab Encoding @tab Decoding @tab Comments
424 @item 4X IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
425 @item 8SVX audio @tab @tab X
426 @item AAC @tab E @tab X
427 @tab encoding supported through external library libfaac
428 @item AC-3 @tab IX @tab IX
429 @item AMR-NB @tab E @tab E
430 @tab supported through external library libamrnb
431 @item AMR-WB @tab E @tab E
432 @tab supported through external library libamrwb
433 @item AMV IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
434 @tab Used in AMV files
435 @item Apple lossless audio @tab X @tab X
436 @tab QuickTime fourcc 'alac'
437 @item Apple MACE 3 @tab @tab X
438 @item Apple MACE 6 @tab @tab X
439 @item ATRAC 3 @tab @tab X
440 @item CD-ROM XA ADPCM @tab @tab X
441 @item Cin audio @tab @tab X
442 @tab Codec used in Delphine Software International games.
443 @item Creative ADPCM @tab @tab X
444 @tab 16 -> 4, 8 -> 4, 8 -> 3, 8 -> 2
445 @item CRI ADX ADPCM @tab X @tab X
446 @tab Used in Sega Dreamcast games.
447 @item DSP Group TrueSpeech @tab @tab X
448 @item DTS Coherent Audio @tab @tab X
449 @item Duck DK3 IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
450 @tab Used in some Sega Saturn console games.
451 @item Duck DK4 IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
452 @tab Used in some Sega Saturn console games.
453 @item DV audio @tab @tab X
454 @item Electronic Arts ADPCM @tab @tab X
455 @tab Used in various EA titles.
456 @item Enhanced AC-3 @tab @tab X
457 @item FLAC lossless audio @tab IX @tab X
458 @item G.726 ADPCM @tab X @tab X
459 @item GSM @tab E @tab E
460 @tab supported through external library libgsm
461 @item GSM_MS @tab E @tab E
462 @tab supported through external library libgsm
463 @item id RoQ DPCM @tab X @tab X
464 @tab Used in Quake III, Jedi Knight 2, other computer games.
465 @item Intel Music Coder @tab @tab X
466 @item Interplay MVE DPCM @tab @tab X
467 @tab Used in various Interplay computer games.
468 @item ISS IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
469 @tab Used in FunCom games.
470 @item MAXIS EA ADPCM @tab @tab X
471 @tab Used in Sim City 3000.
472 @item Microsoft ADPCM @tab X @tab X
473 @item MLP/TrueHD @tab @tab X
474 @tab Used in DVD-Audio and Blu-Ray discs.
475 @item Monkey's Audio @tab @tab X
476 @tab Only versions 3.97-3.99 are supported.
477 @item MPEG audio layer 3 @tab E @tab IX
478 @tab encoding supported through external library LAME
479 @item MPEG audio layer 2 @tab IX @tab IX
480 @item MS IMA ADPCM @tab X @tab X
481 @item Musepack @tab @tab X
482 @tab SV7 and SV8 are supported.
483 @item Nellymoser ASAO @tab X @tab X
484 @item QCELP / PureVoice @tab @tab X
485 @item Qdesign QDM2 @tab @tab X
486 @tab There are still some distortions.
487 @item QT IMA ADPCM @tab X @tab X
488 @item RA144 @tab @tab X
489 @tab Real 14400 bit/s codec
490 @item RA288 @tab @tab X
491 @tab Real 28800 bit/s codec
492 @item RADnet @tab IX @tab IX
493 @tab Real low bitrate AC-3 codec
494 @item Real COOK @tab @tab X
495 @tab All versions except 5.1 are supported.
496 @item Shorten @tab @tab X
497 @item Sierra Online DPCM @tab @tab X
498 @tab Used in Sierra Online game audio files.
499 @item Smacker audio @tab @tab X
500 @item SMJPEG IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
501 @tab Used in certain Loki game ports.
502 @item Sonic @tab X @tab X
503 @tab experimental codec
504 @item Sonic lossless @tab X @tab X
505 @tab experimental codec
506 @item Speex @tab @tab E
507 @tab supported through external library libspeex
508 @item THP ADPCM @tab @tab X
509 @tab Used on the Nintendo GameCube.
510 @item True Audio (TTA) @tab @tab X
511 @item Vorbis @tab X @tab X
512 @item WavPack @tab @tab X
513 @item Westwood Studios IMA ADPCM @tab @tab X
514 @tab Used in Westwood Studios games like Command and Conquer.
515 @item WMA v1/v2 @tab X @tab X
516 @item Xan DPCM @tab @tab X
517 @tab Used in Origin's Wing Commander IV AVI files.
520 @code{X} means that encoding (resp. decoding) is supported.
522 @code{E} means that support is provided through an external library.
524 @code{I} means that an integer-only version is available, too (ensures high
525 performance on systems without hardware floating point support).
527 @section Subtitle Formats
529 @multitable @columnfractions .4 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1
530 @item Name @tab Muxing @tab Demuxing @tab Encoding @tab Decoding
531 @item SSA/ASS @tab X @tab X
532 @item DVB @tab X @tab X @tab X @tab X
533 @item DVD @tab X @tab X @tab X @tab X
534 @item XSUB @tab @tab @tab @tab X
537 @code{X} means that the feature is supported.
539 @chapter Platform Specific information
543 BSD make will not build FFmpeg, you need to install and use GNU Make
548 To get help and instructions for building FFmpeg under Windows, check out
549 the FFmpeg Windows Help Forum at
550 @url{http://ffmpeg.arrozcru.org/}.
552 @subsection Native Windows compilation
554 FFmpeg can be built to run natively on Windows using the MinGW tools. Install
555 the latest versions of MSYS and MinGW from @url{http://www.mingw.org/}.
556 You can find detailed installation
557 instructions in the download section and the FAQ.
559 FFmpeg does not build out-of-the-box with the packages the automated MinGW
560 installer provides. It also requires coreutils to be installed and many other
561 packages updated to the latest version. The minimum version for some packages
566 @item msys-make 3.81-2 (note: not mingw32-make)
568 @item mingw-runtime 3.15
571 You will also need to pass @code{-fno-common} to the compiler to work around
572 a GCC bug (see @url{http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=37216}).
574 Within the MSYS shell, configure and make with:
577 ./configure --enable-memalign-hack --extra-cflags=-fno-common
582 This will install @file{ffmpeg.exe} along with many other development files
583 to @file{/usr/local}. You may specify another install path using the
584 @code{--prefix} option in @file{configure}.
590 @item In order to compile vhooks, you must have a POSIX-compliant libdl in
591 your MinGW system. Get dlfcn-win32 from
592 @url{http://code.google.com/p/dlfcn-win32}.
594 @item In order to compile FFplay, you must have the MinGW development library
595 of SDL. Get it from @url{http://www.libsdl.org}.
596 Edit the @file{bin/sdl-config} script so that it points to the correct prefix
597 where SDL was installed. Verify that @file{sdl-config} can be launched from
598 the MSYS command line.
600 @item By using @code{./configure --enable-shared} when configuring FFmpeg,
601 you can build libavutil, libavcodec and libavformat as DLLs.
605 @subsection Microsoft Visual C++ compatibility
607 As stated in the FAQ, FFmpeg will not compile under MSVC++. However, if you
608 want to use the libav* libraries in your own applications, you can still
609 compile those applications using MSVC++. But the libav* libraries you link
610 to @emph{must} be built with MinGW. However, you will not be able to debug
611 inside the libav* libraries, since MSVC++ does not recognize the debug
612 symbols generated by GCC.
613 We strongly recommend you to move over from MSVC++ to MinGW tools.
615 This description of how to use the FFmpeg libraries with MSVC++ is based on
616 Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition. If you have a different version,
617 you might have to modify the procedures slightly.
619 @subsubsection Using static libraries
621 Assuming you have just built and installed FFmpeg in @file{/usr/local}.
625 @item Create a new console application ("File / New / Project") and then
626 select "Win32 Console Application". On the appropriate page of the
627 Application Wizard, uncheck the "Precompiled headers" option.
629 @item Write the source code for your application, or, for testing, just
630 copy the code from an existing sample application into the source file
631 that MSVC++ has already created for you. For example, you can copy
632 @file{output_example.c} from the FFmpeg distribution.
634 @item Open the "Project / Properties" dialog box. In the "Configuration"
635 combo box, select "All Configurations" so that the changes you make will
636 affect both debug and release builds. In the tree view on the left hand
637 side, select "C/C++ / General", then edit the "Additional Include
638 Directories" setting to contain the path where the FFmpeg includes were
639 installed (i.e. @file{c:\msys\1.0\local\include}).
640 Do not add MinGW's include directory here, or the include files will
641 conflict with MSVC's.
643 @item Still in the "Project / Properties" dialog box, select
644 "Linker / General" from the tree view and edit the
645 "Additional Library Directories" setting to contain the @file{lib}
646 directory where FFmpeg was installed (i.e. @file{c:\msys\1.0\local\lib}),
647 the directory where MinGW libs are installed (i.e. @file{c:\mingw\lib}),
648 and the directory where MinGW's GCC libs are installed
649 (i.e. @file{C:\mingw\lib\gcc\mingw32\4.2.1-sjlj}). Then select
650 "Linker / Input" from the tree view, and add the files @file{libavformat.a},
651 @file{libavcodec.a}, @file{libavutil.a}, @file{libmingwex.a},
652 @file{libgcc.a}, and any other libraries you used (i.e. @file{libz.a})
653 to the end of "Additional Dependencies".
655 @item Now, select "C/C++ / Code Generation" from the tree view. Select
656 "Debug" in the "Configuration" combo box. Make sure that "Runtime
657 Library" is set to "Multi-threaded Debug DLL". Then, select "Release" in
658 the "Configuration" combo box and make sure that "Runtime Library" is
659 set to "Multi-threaded DLL".
661 @item Click "OK" to close the "Project / Properties" dialog box.
663 @item MSVC++ lacks some C99 header files that are fundamental for FFmpeg.
664 Get msinttypes from @url{http://code.google.com/p/msinttypes/downloads/list}
665 and install it in MSVC++'s include directory
666 (i.e. @file{C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\include}).
668 @item MSVC++ also does not understand the @code{inline} keyword used by
669 FFmpeg, so you must add this line before @code{#include}ing libav*:
671 #define inline _inline
674 @item Build your application, everything should work.
678 @subsubsection Using shared libraries
680 This is how to create DLL and LIB files that are compatible with MSVC++:
684 @item Add a call to @file{vcvars32.bat} (which sets up the environment
685 variables for the Visual C++ tools) as the first line of @file{msys.bat}.
686 The standard location for @file{vcvars32.bat} is
687 @file{C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat},
688 and the standard location for @file{msys.bat} is @file{C:\msys\1.0\msys.bat}.
689 If this corresponds to your setup, add the following line as the first line
693 call "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio 8\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat"
696 Alternatively, you may start the @file{Visual Studio 2005 Command Prompt},
697 and run @file{c:\msys\1.0\msys.bat} from there.
699 @item Within the MSYS shell, run @code{lib.exe}. If you get a help message
700 from @file{Microsoft (R) Library Manager}, this means your environment
701 variables are set up correctly, the @file{Microsoft (R) Library Manager}
702 is on the path and will be used by FFmpeg to create
703 MSVC++-compatible import libraries.
705 @item Build FFmpeg with
708 ./configure --enable-shared --enable-memalign-hack
713 Your install path (@file{/usr/local/} by default) should now have the
714 necessary DLL and LIB files under the @file{bin} directory.
718 To use those files with MSVC++, do the same as you would do with
719 the static libraries, as described above. But in Step 4,
720 you should only need to add the directory where the LIB files are installed
721 (i.e. @file{c:\msys\usr\local\bin}). This is not a typo, the LIB files are
722 installed in the @file{bin} directory. And instead of adding @file{libxx.a}
723 files, you should add @file{avcodec.lib}, @file{avformat.lib}, and
724 @file{avutil.lib}. There should be no need for @file{libmingwex.a},
725 @file{libgcc.a}, and @file{wsock32.lib}, nor any other external library
726 statically linked into the DLLs. The @file{bin} directory contains a bunch
727 of DLL files, but the ones that are actually used to run your application
728 are the ones with a major version number in their filenames
729 (i.e. @file{avcodec-51.dll}).
731 @subsection Cross compilation for Windows with Linux
733 You must use the MinGW cross compilation tools available at
734 @url{http://www.mingw.org/}.
736 Then configure FFmpeg with the following options:
738 ./configure --target-os=mingw32 --cross-prefix=i386-mingw32msvc-
740 (you can change the cross-prefix according to the prefix chosen for the
743 Then you can easily test FFmpeg with Wine
744 (@url{http://www.winehq.com/}).
746 @subsection Compilation under Cygwin
748 The main issue with the 1.5.x Cygwin versions is that newlib, its C library,
749 does not contain llrint(). You need to upgrade to the unstable 1.7.x versions,
750 or leverage the implementation in MinGW (as explained below).
752 Just install your Cygwin with all the "Base" packages, plus the
753 following "Devel" ones:
755 binutils, gcc-core, make, subversion, mingw-runtime, diffutils
758 The experimental gcc4 package is still buggy, hence please
759 use the official gcc 3.4.4 or a 4.2.x compiled from source by yourself.
761 Install the current binutils-20080624-2 as they work fine (the old
762 binutils-20060709-1 proved buggy on shared builds).
764 Then create a small library that just contains llrint():
767 ar x /usr/lib/mingw/libmingwex.a llrint.o
768 ar cq /usr/local/lib/libllrint.a llrint.o
774 ./configure --enable-static --disable-shared --extra-ldflags='-L /usr/local/lib' --extra-libs='-l llrint'
777 to make a static build or
780 ./configure --enable-shared --disable-static --extra-ldflags='-L /usr/local/lib' --extra-libs='-l llrint'
783 to build shared libraries.
785 If you want to build FFmpeg with additional libraries, download Cygwin
786 "Devel" packages for Ogg and Vorbis from any Cygwin packages repository:
788 libogg-devel, libvorbis-devel
791 These library packages are only available from Cygwin Ports
792 (@url{http://sourceware.org/cygwinports/}) :
795 yasm, libSDL-devel, libdirac-devel, libfaac-devel, libfaad-devel, libgsm-devel,
796 libmp3lame-devel, libschroedinger1.0-devel, speex-devel, libtheora-devel,
800 The recommendation for libnut and x264 is to build them from source by
801 yourself, as they evolve too quickly for Cygwin Ports to be up to date.
803 Cygwin 1.7.x has IPv6 support. You can add IPv6 to Cygwin 1.5.x by means
804 of the @code{libgetaddrinfo-devel} package, available at Cygwin Ports.
806 @subsection Crosscompilation for Windows under Cygwin
808 With Cygwin you can create Windows binaries that do not need the cygwin1.dll.
810 Just install your Cygwin as explained before, plus these additional
813 gcc-mingw-core, mingw-runtime, mingw-zlib
816 and add some special flags to your configure invocation.
818 For a static build run
820 ./configure --target-os=mingw32 --enable-memalign-hack --enable-static --disable-shared --extra-cflags=-mno-cygwin --extra-libs=-mno-cygwin
823 and for a build with shared libraries
825 ./configure --target-os=mingw32 --enable-memalign-hack --enable-shared --disable-static --extra-cflags=-mno-cygwin --extra-libs=-mno-cygwin
830 BeOS support is broken in mysterious ways.
834 For information about compiling FFmpeg on OS/2 see
835 @url{http://www.edm2.com/index.php/FFmpeg}.
837 @chapter Developers Guide
841 @item libavcodec is the library containing the codecs (both encoding and
842 decoding). Look at @file{libavcodec/apiexample.c} to see how to use it.
844 @item libavformat is the library containing the file format handling (mux and
845 demux code for several formats). Look at @file{ffplay.c} to use it in a
846 player. See @file{output_example.c} to use it to generate audio or video
851 @section Integrating libavcodec or libavformat in your program
853 You can integrate all the source code of the libraries to link them
854 statically to avoid any version problem. All you need is to provide a
855 'config.mak' and a 'config.h' in the parent directory. See the defines
856 generated by ./configure to understand what is needed.
858 You can use libavcodec or libavformat in your commercial program, but
859 @emph{any patch you make must be published}. The best way to proceed is
860 to send your patches to the FFmpeg mailing list.
863 @section Coding Rules
865 FFmpeg is programmed in the ISO C90 language with a few additional
866 features from ISO C99, namely:
869 the @samp{inline} keyword;
873 designated struct initializers (@samp{struct s x = @{ .i = 17 @};})
875 compound literals (@samp{x = (struct s) @{ 17, 23 @};})
878 These features are supported by all compilers we care about, so we will not
879 accept patches to remove their use unless they absolutely do not impair
880 clarity and performance.
882 All code must compile with GCC 2.95 and GCC 3.3. Currently, FFmpeg also
883 compiles with several other compilers, such as the Compaq ccc compiler
884 or Sun Studio 9, and we would like to keep it that way unless it would
885 be exceedingly involved. To ensure compatibility, please do not use any
886 additional C99 features or GCC extensions. Especially watch out for:
889 mixing statements and declarations;
891 @samp{long long} (use @samp{int64_t} instead);
893 @samp{__attribute__} not protected by @samp{#ifdef __GNUC__} or similar;
895 GCC statement expressions (@samp{(x = (@{ int y = 4; y; @})}).
899 The presentation is the one specified by 'indent -i4 -kr -nut'.
900 The TAB character is forbidden outside of Makefiles as is any
901 form of trailing whitespace. Commits containing either will be
902 rejected by the Subversion repository.
904 The main priority in FFmpeg is simplicity and small code size in order to
905 minimize the bug count.
907 Comments: Use the JavaDoc/Doxygen
908 format (see examples below) so that code documentation
909 can be generated automatically. All nontrivial functions should have a comment
910 above them explaining what the function does, even if it is just one sentence.
911 All structures and their member variables should be documented, too.
924 typedef struct Foobar@{
925 int var1; /**< var1 description */
926 int var2; ///< var2 description
927 /** var3 description */
935 * @@param my_parameter description of my_parameter
936 * @@return return value description
938 int myfunc(int my_parameter)
942 fprintf and printf are forbidden in libavformat and libavcodec,
943 please use av_log() instead.
945 Casts should be used only when necessary. Unneeded parentheses
946 should also be avoided if they don't make the code easier to understand.
948 @section Development Policy
952 Contributions should be licensed under the LGPL 2.1, including an
953 "or any later version" clause, or the MIT license. GPL 2 including
954 an "or any later version" clause is also acceptable, but LGPL is
957 You must not commit code which breaks FFmpeg! (Meaning unfinished but
958 enabled code which breaks compilation or compiles but does not work or
959 breaks the regression tests)
960 You can commit unfinished stuff (for testing etc), but it must be disabled
961 (#ifdef etc) by default so it does not interfere with other developers'
964 You do not have to over-test things. If it works for you, and you think it
965 should work for others, then commit. If your code has problems
966 (portability, triggers compiler bugs, unusual environment etc) they will be
967 reported and eventually fixed.
969 Do not commit unrelated changes together, split them into self-contained
970 pieces. Also do not forget that if part B depends on part A, but A does not
971 depend on B, then A can and should be committed first and separate from B.
972 Keeping changes well split into self-contained parts makes reviewing and
973 understanding them on the commit log mailing list easier. This also helps
974 in case of debugging later on.
975 Also if you have doubts about splitting or not splitting, do not hesitate to
976 ask/discuss it on the developer mailing list.
978 Do not change behavior of the program (renaming options etc) without
979 first discussing it on the ffmpeg-devel mailing list. Do not remove
980 functionality from the code. Just improve!
982 Note: Redundant code can be removed.
984 Do not commit changes to the build system (Makefiles, configure script)
985 which change behavior, defaults etc, without asking first. The same
986 applies to compiler warning fixes, trivial looking fixes and to code
987 maintained by other developers. We usually have a reason for doing things
988 the way we do. Send your changes as patches to the ffmpeg-devel mailing
989 list, and if the code maintainers say OK, you may commit. This does not
990 apply to files you wrote and/or maintain.
992 We refuse source indentation and other cosmetic changes if they are mixed
993 with functional changes, such commits will be rejected and removed. Every
994 developer has his own indentation style, you should not change it. Of course
995 if you (re)write something, you can use your own style, even though we would
996 prefer if the indentation throughout FFmpeg was consistent (Many projects
997 force a given indentation style - we do not.). If you really need to make
998 indentation changes (try to avoid this), separate them strictly from real
1001 NOTE: If you had to put if()@{ .. @} over a large (> 5 lines) chunk of code,
1002 then either do NOT change the indentation of the inner part within (do not
1003 move it to the right)! or do so in a separate commit
1005 Always fill out the commit log message. Describe in a few lines what you
1006 changed and why. You can refer to mailing list postings if you fix a
1007 particular bug. Comments such as "fixed!" or "Changed it." are unacceptable.
1009 If you apply a patch by someone else, include the name and email address in
1010 the log message. Since the ffmpeg-cvslog mailing list is publicly
1011 archived you should add some SPAM protection to the email address. Send an
1012 answer to ffmpeg-devel (or wherever you got the patch from) saying that
1013 you applied the patch.
1015 When applying patches that have been discussed (at length) on the mailing
1016 list, reference the thread in the log message.
1018 Do NOT commit to code actively maintained by others without permission.
1019 Send a patch to ffmpeg-devel instead. If no one answers within a reasonable
1020 timeframe (12h for build failures and security fixes, 3 days small changes,
1021 1 week for big patches) then commit your patch if you think it is OK.
1022 Also note, the maintainer can simply ask for more time to review!
1024 Subscribe to the ffmpeg-cvslog mailing list. The diffs of all commits
1025 are sent there and reviewed by all the other developers. Bugs and possible
1026 improvements or general questions regarding commits are discussed there. We
1027 expect you to react if problems with your code are uncovered.
1029 Update the documentation if you change behavior or add features. If you are
1030 unsure how best to do this, send a patch to ffmpeg-devel, the documentation
1031 maintainer(s) will review and commit your stuff.
1033 Try to keep important discussions and requests (also) on the public
1034 developer mailing list, so that all developers can benefit from them.
1036 Never write to unallocated memory, never write over the end of arrays,
1037 always check values read from some untrusted source before using them
1038 as array index or other risky things.
1040 Remember to check if you need to bump versions for the specific libav
1041 parts (libavutil, libavcodec, libavformat) you are changing. You need
1042 to change the version integer.
1043 Incrementing the first component means no backward compatibility to
1044 previous versions (e.g. removal of a function from the public API).
1045 Incrementing the second component means backward compatible change
1046 (e.g. addition of a function to the public API or extension of an
1047 existing data structure).
1048 Incrementing the third component means a noteworthy binary compatible
1049 change (e.g. encoder bug fix that matters for the decoder).
1051 Compiler warnings indicate potential bugs or code with bad style. If a type of
1052 warning always points to correct and clean code, that warning should
1053 be disabled, not the code changed.
1054 Thus the remaining warnings can either be bugs or correct code.
1055 If it is a bug, the bug has to be fixed. If it is not, the code should
1056 be changed to not generate a warning unless that causes a slowdown
1057 or obfuscates the code.
1059 If you add a new file, give it a proper license header. Do not copy and
1060 paste it from a random place, use an existing file as template.
1063 We think our rules are not too hard. If you have comments, contact us.
1065 Note, these rules are mostly borrowed from the MPlayer project.
1067 @section Submitting patches
1069 First, (@pxref{Coding Rules}) above if you did not yet.
1071 When you submit your patch, try to send a unified diff (diff '-up'
1072 option). We cannot read other diffs :-)
1074 Also please do not submit a patch which contains several unrelated changes.
1075 Split it into separate, self-contained pieces. This does not mean splitting
1076 file by file. Instead, make the patch as small as possible while still
1077 keeping it as a logical unit that contains an individual change, even
1078 if it spans multiple files. This makes reviewing your patches much easier
1079 for us and greatly increases your chances of getting your patch applied.
1081 Run the regression tests before submitting a patch so that you can
1082 verify that there are no big problems.
1084 Patches should be posted as base64 encoded attachments (or any other
1085 encoding which ensures that the patch will not be trashed during
1086 transmission) to the ffmpeg-devel mailing list, see
1087 @url{http://lists.mplayerhq.hu/mailman/listinfo/ffmpeg-devel}
1089 It also helps quite a bit if you tell us what the patch does (for example
1090 'replaces lrint by lrintf'), and why (for example '*BSD isn't C99 compliant
1091 and has no lrint()')
1093 Also please if you send several patches, send each patch as a separate mail,
1094 do not attach several unrelated patches to the same mail.
1096 @section New codecs or formats checklist
1100 Did you use av_cold for codec initialization and close functions?
1102 Did you add a long_name under NULL_IF_CONFIG_SMALL to the AVCodec or
1103 AVInputFormat/AVOutputFormat struct?
1105 Did you bump the minor version number in @file{avcodec.h} or
1108 Did you register it in @file{allcodecs.c} or @file{allformats.c}?
1110 Did you add the CodecID to @file{avcodec.h}?
1112 If it has a fourcc, did you add it to @file{libavformat/riff.c},
1113 even if it is only a decoder?
1115 Did you add a rule to compile the appropriate files in the Makefile?
1116 Remember to do this even if you're just adding a format to a file that is
1117 already being compiled by some other rule, like a raw demuxer.
1119 Did you add an entry to the table of supported formats or codecs in the
1122 Did you add an entry in the Changelog?
1124 If it depends on a parser or a library, did you add that dependency in
1127 Did you "svn add" the appropriate files before commiting?
1130 @section patch submission checklist
1134 Do the regression tests pass with the patch applied?
1136 Does @code{make checkheaders} pass with the patch applied?
1138 Is the patch a unified diff?
1140 Is the patch against latest FFmpeg SVN?
1142 Are you subscribed to ffmpeg-dev?
1143 (the list is subscribers only due to spam)
1145 Have you checked that the changes are minimal, so that the same cannot be
1146 achieved with a smaller patch and/or simpler final code?
1148 If the change is to speed critical code, did you benchmark it?
1150 If you did any benchmarks, did you provide them in the mail?
1152 Have you checked that the patch does not introduce buffer overflows or
1153 other security issues?
1155 Did you test your decoder or demuxer against damaged data? If no, see
1156 tools/trasher and the noise bitstream filter. Your decoder or demuxer
1157 should not crash or end in a (near) infinite loop when fed damaged data.
1159 Is the patch created from the root of the source tree, so it can be
1160 applied with @code{patch -p0}?
1162 Does the patch not mix functional and cosmetic changes?
1164 Did you add tabs or trailing whitespace to the code? Both are forbidden.
1166 Is the patch attached to the email you send?
1168 Is the mime type of the patch correct? It should be text/x-diff or
1169 text/x-patch or at least text/plain and not application/octet-stream.
1171 If the patch fixes a bug, did you provide a verbose analysis of the bug?
1173 If the patch fixes a bug, did you provide enough information, including
1174 a sample, so the bug can be reproduced and the fix can be verified?
1175 Note please do not attach samples >100k to mails but rather provide a
1176 URL, you can upload to ftp://upload.ffmpeg.org
1178 Did you provide a verbose summary about what the patch does change?
1180 Did you provide a verbose explanation why it changes things like it does?
1182 Did you provide a verbose summary of the user visible advantages and
1183 disadvantages if the patch is applied?
1185 Did you provide an example so we can verify the new feature added by the
1188 If you added a new file, did you insert a license header? It should be
1189 taken from FFmpeg, not randomly copied and pasted from somewhere else.
1191 You should maintain alphabetical order in alphabetically ordered lists as
1192 long as doing so does not break API/ABI compatibility.
1194 Lines with similar content should be aligned vertically when doing so
1195 improves readability.
1197 Did you provide a suggestion for a clear commit log message?
1200 @section Patch review process
1202 All patches posted to ffmpeg-devel will be reviewed, unless they contain a
1203 clear note that the patch is not for SVN.
1204 Reviews and comments will be posted as replies to the patch on the
1205 mailing list. The patch submitter then has to take care of every comment,
1206 that can be by resubmitting a changed patch or by discussion. Resubmitted
1207 patches will themselves be reviewed like any other patch. If at some point
1208 a patch passes review with no comments then it is approved, that can for
1209 simple and small patches happen immediately while large patches will generally
1210 have to be changed and reviewed many times before they are approved.
1211 After a patch is approved it will be committed to the repository.
1213 We will review all submitted patches, but sometimes we are quite busy so
1214 especially for large patches this can take several weeks.
1216 When resubmitting patches, please do not make any significant changes
1217 not related to the comments received during review. Such patches will
1218 be rejected. Instead, submit significant changes or new features as
1221 @section Regression tests
1223 Before submitting a patch (or committing to the repository), you should at least
1224 test that you did not break anything.
1226 The regression tests build a synthetic video stream and a synthetic
1227 audio stream. These are then encoded and decoded with all codecs or
1228 formats. The CRC (or MD5) of each generated file is recorded in a
1229 result file. A 'diff' is launched to compare the reference results and
1232 The regression tests then go on to test the FFserver code with a
1233 limited set of streams. It is important that this step runs correctly
1236 Run 'make test' to test all the codecs and formats.
1238 Run 'make fulltest' to test all the codecs, formats and FFserver.
1240 [Of course, some patches may change the results of the regression tests. In
1241 this case, the reference results of the regression tests shall be modified