FFmpeg

FFmpeg is an open source utility that allows Linux, Windows and Mac OS X users to playback, convert, record and stream video and audio files. It is used in almost all Linux distributions. It is a command-line software that can encode, decode, demux, mux, transcode, stream, play and filter almost any media format available. FFmpeg uses libavcodec, the most advanced audio/video codec library for Linux and UNIX-like systems.

Features at a glance

The software is comprised of a multimedia streaming server for live broadcasts, a simple media player based on the powerful SDL library, a simple multimedia stream analyzer, a library that contains functions for simplifying programming, and another library that includes muxers and demuxers for multimedia container formats. Additionally, it comes with support for input and output devices, media filters, a library for performing highly optimized image scaling and color space/pixel format conversion operations, and a library for performing highly optimized audio rematrixing, resampling and sample format conversions.

Used by a wide range of applications to manipulate video files

These days numerous audio/video conversion utilities, as well as video playback apps are based or use the FFmpeg project, in a way or another. For example, Cinelerra is a very powerful application that uses FFmpeg for professional video editing operations. Among other popular FFmpeg-based projects, we can mention VLC Media Player, the Chromium and Google Chrome web browsers, Electric Sheep, ffdshow, HandBrake, Kdenlive, libquicktime, MPlayer, MythTV, OpenH323, QtAV, VeeJay, xine, XBMC, as well as the GStreamer framework that is used in many modern Linux-based operating systems.

Comes pre-installed on many Linux distributions

Experienced Linux users can learn to use FFmpeg directly from the command-line, as the project provides a comprehensive manual and online documentation. It has been created by the same team of developers that started the MPlayer project, a powerful audio/video player on which many applications are based. FFmpeg comes pre-installed on many Linux distributions. If not, it will be automatically added when you install one of the aforementioned FFmpeg-based applications.

What is new in this release:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 56. 14.100
• libavcodec 58. 18.100
• libavformat 58. 12.100
• libavdevice 58. 3.100
• libavfilter 7. 16.100
• libswscale 5. 1.100
• libswresample 3. 1.100
• libpostproc 55. 1.100

What is new in version 4.0.1:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 56.14.100
• libavcodec 58.18.100
• libavformat 58.12.100
• libavdevice 58.3.100
• libavfilter 7.16.100
• libswscale 5.1.100
• libswresample 3.1.100
• libpostproc 55.1.100

What is new in version :

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55. 78.100
• libavcodec 57.107.100
• libavformat 57. 83.100
• libavdevice 57. 10.100
• libavfilter 6.107.100
• libavresample 3. 7. 0
• libswscale 4. 8.100
• libswresample 2. 9.100
• libpostproc 54. 7.100

What is new in version 3.3.4:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55. 58.100
• libavcodec 57. 89.100
• libavformat 57. 71.100
• libavdevice 57. 6.100
• libavfilter 6. 82.100
• libavresample 3. 5. 0
• libswscale 4. 6.100
• libswresample 2. 7.100
• libpostproc 54. 5.100

What is new in version 3.3.3:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.58.100
• libavcodec 57.89.100
• libavformat 57.71.100
• libavdevice 57.6.100
• libavfilter 6.82.100
• libavresample 3.5.0
• libswscale 4.6.100
• libswresample 2.7.100
• libpostproc 54.5.100

What is new in version 3.3.2:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.58.100
• libavcodec 57.89.100
• libavformat 57.71.100
• libavdevice 57.6.100
• libavfilter 6.82.100
• libavresample 3.5.0
• libswscale 4.6.100
• libswresample 2.7.100
• libpostproc 54.5.100

What is new in version 3.3:

• CrystalHD decoder moved to new decode API
• add internal ebur128 library, remove external libebur128 dependency
• Pro-MPEG CoP #3-R2 FEC protocol
• premultiply video filter
• Support for spherical videos
• configure now fails if autodetect-libraries are requested but not found
• PSD Decoder
• 16.8 floating point pcm decoder
• 24.0 floating point pcm decoder
• Apple Pixlet decoder
• QDMC audio decoder
• NewTek SpeedHQ decoder
• MIDI Sample Dump Standard demuxer
• readeia608 filter
• Sample Dump eXchange demuxer
• abitscope multimedia filter
• Scenarist Closed Captions demuxer and muxer
• threshold filter
• midequalizer filter
• Optimal Huffman tables for (M)JPEG encoding
• VAAPI-accelerated MPEG-2 and VP8 encoding
• FM Screen Capture Codec decoder
• native Opus encoder
• ScreenPressor decoder
• incomplete ClearVideo decoder
• Intel QSV video scaling and deinterlacing filters
• Support MOV with multiple sample description tables
• XPM decoder
• Removed the legacy X11 screen grabber, use XCB instead
• MPEG-7 Video Signature filter
• Removed asyncts filter (use af_aresample instead)
• Intel QSV-accelerated VP8 video decoding

What is new in version 3.2.4:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.34.100
• libavcodec 57.64.101
• libavformat 57.56.100
• libavdevice 57.1.100
• libavfilter 6.65.100
• libavresample 3.1.0
• libswscale 4.2.100
• libswresample 2.3.100
• libpostproc 54.1.100

What is new in version 3.2.2:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.34.100
• libavcodec 57.64.101
• libavformat 57.56.100
• libavdevice 57.1.100
• libavfilter 6.65.100
• libavresample 3.1.0
• libswscale 4.2.100
• libswresample 2.3.100
• libpostproc 54.1.100

What is new in version 3.2.1:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.34.100
• libavcodec 57.64.101
• libavformat 57.56.100
• libavdevice 57.1.100
• libavfilter 6.65.100
• libavresample 3.1.0
• libswscale 4.2.100
• libswresample 2.3.100
• libpostproc 54.1.100

What is new in version 3.2:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.34.100
• libavcodec 57.64.100
• libavformat 57.56.100
• libavdevice 57.1.100
• libavfilter 6.65.100
• libavresample 3.1.0
• libswscale 4.2.100
• libswresample 2.3.100
• libpostproc 54.1.100

What is new in version 3.1.3:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55. 28.100
• libavcodec 57. 48.101
• libavformat 57. 41.100
• libavdevice 57. 0.101
• libavfilter 6. 47.100
• libavresample 3. 0. 0
• libswscale 4. 1.100
• libswresample 2. 1.100
• libpostproc 54. 0.100

What is new in version 3.1.2:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55.28.100
• libavcodec 57.48.101
• libavformat 57.41.100
• libavdevice 57.0.101
• libavfilter 6.47.100
• libavresample 3.0.0
• libswscale 4.1.100
• libswresample 2.1.100
• libpostproc 54.0.100

What is new in version 3.1.1:

• libavutil 55.28.100
• libavcodec 57.48.101
• libavformat 57.41.100
• libavdevice 57.0.101
• libavfilter 6.47.100
• libavresample 3.0.0
• libswscale 4.1.100
• libswresample 2.1.100
• libpostproc 54.0.100

What is new in version 3.0.2:

What is new in version 3.0.1:

• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 55. 17.103
• libavcodec 57. 24.102
• libavformat 57. 25.100
• libavdevice 57. 0.101
• libavfilter 6. 31.100
• libavresample 3. 0. 0
• libswscale 4. 0.100
• libswresample 2. 0.101
• libpostproc 54. 0.100

What is new in version 3.0:

• Common Encryption (CENC) MP4 encoding and decoding support
• DXV decoding
• extrastereo filter
• ocr filter
• alimiter filter
• stereowiden filter
• stereotools filter
• rubberband filter
• tremolo filter
• agate filter
• chromakey filter
• maskedmerge filter
• Screenpresso SPV1 decoding
• chromaprint fingerprinting muxer
• ffplay dynamic volume control
• displace filter
• selectivecolor filter
• extensive native AAC encoder improvements and removal of experimental flag
• ADPCM PSX decoder
• 3dostr, dcstr, fsb, genh, vag, xvag, ads, msf, svag & vpk demuxer
• zscale filter
• wve demuxer
• zero-copy Intel QSV transcoding in ffmpeg
• shuffleframes filter
• SDX2 DPCM decoder
• vibrato filter
• innoHeim/Rsupport Screen Capture Codec decoder
• ADPCM AICA decoder
• Interplay ACM demuxer and audio decoder
• XMA1 & XMA2 decoder
• realtime filter
• anoisesrc audio filter source
• IVR demuxer
• compensationdelay filter
• acompressor filter
• support encoding 16-bit RLE SGI images
• apulsator filter
• sidechaingate audio filter
• mipsdspr1 option has been renamed to mipsdsp
• aemphasis filter
• mips32r5 option has been removed
• mips64r6 option has been removed
• DXVA2-accelerated VP9 decoding
• SOFAlizer: virtual binaural acoustics filter
• VAAPI VP9 hwaccel
• audio high-order multiband parametric equalizer
• automatic bitstream filtering
• showspectrumpic filter
• libstagefright support removed
• spectrumsynth filter
• ahistogram filter
• only seek with the right mouse button in ffplay
• toggle full screen when double-clicking with the left mouse button in ffplay
• afftfilt filter
• convolution filter
• libquvi support removed
• support for dvaudio in wav and avi
• libaacplus and libvo-aacenc support removed
• Cineform HD decoder
• new DCA decoder with full support for DTS-HD extensions
• significant performance improvements in Windows Television (WTV) demuxer
• nnedi deinterlacer
• streamselect video and astreamselect audio filter
• swaprect filter
• metadata video and ametadata audio filter
• SMPTE VC-2 HQ profile support for the Dirac decoder
• SMPTE VC-2 native encoder supporting the HQ profile

What is new in version 2.8.6:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-08-28, libav 11 as of 2015-08-28.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 31.100
• libavcodec 56. 60.100
• libavformat 56. 40.101
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 40.101
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 2.101
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.8.3:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-08-28, libav 11 as of 2015-08-28.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 31.100
• libavcodec 56. 60.100
• libavformat 56. 40.101
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 40.101
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 2.101
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.8:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-08-28, libav 11 as of 2015-08-28.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 31.100
• libavcodec 56. 60.100
• libavformat 56. 40.101
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 40.101
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 2.101
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.7.1:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-06-10, libav 11 as of 2015-06-11. It includes the following library versions...
• libavutil 54. 27.100
• libavcodec 56. 41.100
• libavformat 56. 36.100
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 16.101
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 2.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.6.3:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-03-06, libav 11 as of 2015-03-06.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 20.100
• libavcodec 56. 26.100
• libavformat 56. 25.101
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 11.102
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.6.1:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2015-03-06, libav 11 as of 2015-03-06. It includes the following library versions...
• libavutil 54. 20.100
• libavcodec 56. 26.100
• libavformat 56. 25.101
• libavdevice 56. 4.100
• libavfilter 5. 11.102
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.5.4:

• 2.5.4 was released on 2015-02-13. It is the latest stable FFmpeg release from the 2.5 release branch, which was cut from master on 2014-12-15. Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-12-03, libav 11 as of 2014-12-03.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 15.100
• libavcodec 56. 13.100
• libavformat 56. 15.102
• libavdevice 56. 3.100
• libavfilter 5. 2.103
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.5.3:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-12-03, libav 11 as of 2014-12-03. It includes the following library versions...
• libavutil 54. 15.100
• libavcodec 56. 13.100
• libavformat 56. 15.102
• libavdevice 56. 3.100
• libavfilter 5. 2.103
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.5.1:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-12-03, libav 11 as of 2014-12-03.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 15.100
• libavcodec 56. 13.100
• libavformat 56. 15.102
• libavdevice 56. 3.100
• libavfilter 5. 2.103
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 1.101
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 3.100

What is new in version 2.5:

• HEVC/H.265 RTP payload format (draft v6) packetizer
• SUP/PGS subtitle demuxer
• ffprobe -show_pixel_formats option
• CAST128 symmetric block cipher, ECB mode
• STL subtitle demuxer and decoder
• libutvideo YUV 4:2:2 10bit support
• XCB-based screen-grabber
• UDP-Lite support (RFC 3828)
• xBR scaling filter
• AVFoundation screen capturing support
• ffserver supports codec private options
• creating DASH compatible fragmented MP4, MPEG-DASH segmenting muxer
• WebP muxer with animated WebP support
• zygoaudio decoding support
• APNG demuxer
• postproc visualization support

What is new in version 2.4.4:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-09-14, libav 11 as of 2014-11-30.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 7.100
• libavcodec 56. 1.100
• libavformat 56. 4.101
• libavdevice 56. 0.100
• libavfilter 5. 1.100
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 0.100
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 0.100

What is new in version 2.4.3:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-09-14, libav 11 as of 2014-11-01.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 7.100
• libavcodec 56. 1.100
• libavformat 56. 4.101
• libavdevice 56. 0.100
• libavfilter 5. 1.100
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 0.100
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 0.100

What is new in version 2.4.2:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-09-14, libav 11 as of 2014-10-05.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 54. 7.100
• libavcodec 56. 1.100
• libavformat 56. 4.101
• libavdevice 56. 0.100
• libavfilter 5. 1.100
• libavresample 2. 1. 0
• libswscale 3. 0.100
• libswresample 1. 1.100
• libpostproc 53. 0.100

What is new in version 2.4:

• Icecast protocol
• ported lenscorrection filter from frei0r filter
• large optimizations in dctdnoiz to make it usable
• ICY metadata are now requested by default with the HTTP protocol
• support for using metadata in stream specifiers in fftools
• LZMA compression support in TIFF decoder
• support for H.261 RTP payload format (RFC 4587)
• HEVC/H.265 RTP payload format (draft v6) depacketizer
• added codecview filter to visualize information exported by some codecs
• Matroska 3D support thorugh side data
• HTML generation using texi2html is deprecated in favor of makeinfo/texi2any
• silenceremove filter

What is new in version 2.3.3:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-07-15, libav 10.2 as of 2014-07-15.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 52. 92.100
• libavcodec 55. 69.100
• libavformat 55. 48.100
• libavdevice 55. 13.102
• libavfilter 4. 11.100
• libavresample 1. 3. 0
• libswscale 2. 6.100
• libswresample 0. 19.100
• libpostproc 52. 3.100

What is new in version 2.3.2:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-07-15, libav 10.2 as of 2014-07-15.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 52. 92.100
• libavcodec 55. 69.100
• libavformat 55. 48.100
• libavdevice 55. 13.102
• libavfilter 4. 11.100
• libavresample 1. 3. 0
• libswscale 2. 6.100
• libswresample 0. 19.100
• libpostproc 52. 3.100

What is new in version 2.3:

• AC3 fixed-point decoding
• shuffleplanes filter
• subfile protocol
• Phantom Cine demuxer
• replaygain data export
• VP7 video decoder
• Alias PIX image encoder and decoder
• Improvements to the BRender PIX image decoder
• Improvements to the XBM decoder
• QTKit input device
• improvements to OpenEXR image decoder
• support decoding 16-bit RLE SGI images
• GDI screen grabbing for Windows
• alternative rendition support for HTTP Live Streaming
• AVFoundation input device
• Direct Stream Digital (DSD) decoder
• Magic Lantern Video (MLV) demuxer
• On2 AVC (Audio for Video) decoder
• support for decoding through DXVA2 in ffmpeg
• libbs2b-based stereo-to-binaural audio filter
• libx264 reference frames count limiting depending on level
• native Opus decoder
• display matrix export and rotation api
• WebVTT encoder
• showcqt multimedia filter
• zoompan filter - signalstats filter
• hqx filter (hq2x, hq3x, hq4x)
• flanger filter
• Image format auto-detection
• LRC demuxer and muxer
• Samba protocol (via libsmbclient)
• WebM DASH Manifest muxer
• libfribidi support in drawtext

What is new in version 2.2.5:

• Amongst lots of other changes, it includes all changes from ffmpeg-mt, libav master of 2014-03-01, libav 10.2 as of 2014-07-15.
• It includes the following library versions:
• libavutil 52. 66.100
• libavcodec 55. 52.102
• libavformat 55. 33.100
• libavdevice 55. 10.100
• libavfilter 4. 2.100
• libswscale 2. 5.102
• libswresample 0. 18.100
• libpostproc 52. 3.100