An Interview With the Developers of FFmpeg 80
An anonymous reader writes "Following the long-awaited release of FFmpeg 0.5, Phoronix has conducted an interview with three FFmpeg developers (Diego Biurrun, Baptiste Coudurier, and Robert Swain) about this project's recent release. In this interview they talk about moving to a 3/6-month release cycle, the criteria for version 1.0, Blu-Ray support on Linux, OpenCL and GPGPU acceleration, multi-threading FFmpeg, video APIs, their own video codecs, and legal challenges they have run into."
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Who modded parent insightful?
Numbers indicate nothing more than sequential release numbers.
You must be really distressed at Microsoft's race from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95, to Windows 2000, only to plummet back down to Windows 7.
Wait, maybe there is some significance to these numbers after all.
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There fixed that for you.
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:5, Insightful)
First, it is (arguably) the best out there.
Second, it is an extremely powerful, cross-platform transcoder for every format under the sun.
Third, it is an extremely diverse media player (mplayer)
Fouth, it is the bassis for a countless number of media player and transcoding projects.
As someone who manipulates digital video on both a person and professional level, ffmpeg is the #1 tool in my arsenal.
Congrats on 0.5!!!
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:4, Informative)
mplayer != ffmpeg. a "codec library" == the bassis for a countless number of media player and transcoding projects. I do not think these words mean what you think they mean. ffmpeg is primarily a codec. Encoder, and decoder. You might more accurately say it is a codec package because it provides the ffmpeg program (and others) and a collection of libraries (libavcodec, libavformat...) The package also provides a player, muxer, and a streamer; the player is ffplay, not mplayer.
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As someone who manipulates digital video on both a person and professional level, ffmpeg is the #1 tool in my arsenal.
Quick question, I know its off topic but do you know of any good way to convert a wmv file from MS Photostory3 to flv format? For some reason the file gets bigger, when it actually works. I Googled for answers but didn't find much. My only guess is that photostory3 is doing something funky in the wmv file. Though IMHO wmv is funky anyway. Alternativly if anyone knows of a good open source photostory3 replacement I'd love to know about it. I work for a school and so I am stuck dealing with Movie Make
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Don't confuse ffmpeg with libavcodec. Although libavcodec is part of of the ffmpeg distribution, and is used by many other program (mplayer especially), ffmpeg is more than that.
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:5, Informative)
Define "Long" and who was waiting for something that is still ".5" beta?
It is not in "beta", it is production quality. The fact that it is 0.5 indicates that it is not complete and perfect yet.
Oh, it is just another CODEC library.
It is not "just another", it is the most important and most used open-source codec library
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It's the "complete" part of that word that is the key one. I dare say that no software is ever going to be "perfect" ... or, for that matter, "complete" in the ultimate sense of the word. However, I'm guessing they have a list of functionality that they want to implement before they declare it to be FFmpeg 1.0; fulfilling their list of desired functionality makes it "complete."
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's a bit more than a codec library - without it you probably wouldn't have Youtube or VLC, as well as countless other online and offline applications.
No one would expect you to be grateful, but you might want to demonstrate some knowledge of a domain you're so quick to pass comment on.
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Nah, said dumbass AC just doesn't know the difference between FFmpeg and ffdshow(-tryouts). And even that hasn't caused much trouble in the last few years, and if everything else fails you can just whitelist it to the few media players you want to use it in...
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:5, Informative)
Right. What is FFMPEG? It's basically a package that allows you to convert from almost any audio or video file format to almost any audio or video file format. Not only that, but it's the audio/video converter that pretty much every other (excluding in-house proprietary) converters and players are based on. It's important.
As to why we care about a 0.5 release, FFMPEG has been around for years, but to my knowledge has not had "releases". There is the latest build, and that's it. The idea of having a stable "release" build is news in itself, whatever number you associate to it.
Yes, there's still a lot to do, so the 0.5 version number is probably warranted. For one thing, there are still a few formats out there that FFMPEG doesn't fully support, and not all of those that they support seem to have been optimized well enough for output quality IMO. However, it's amazing how much they've accomplished already. Life would be so much harder if not for these guys' work.
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Could someone please educate people on what version numbers mean?
There is not one meaning to version numbers. Never was, never will be.
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It is not in "beta", it is production quality. The fact that it is 0.5 indicates that it is not complete and perfect yet.
See, this is the reason why you should use version numbers like everyone else. Then you do not have to keep explaining over and over and over again that no, it's not beta even though the version number looks just like a beta version number.
"1.0" doesn't mean "complete and perfect". It merely means "first public release". ffmpeg passed that point long, long ago, and should have been named "1.0" then.
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It's just the usual goofy-ass Open Source versioning, where things stay sub-1.0 for years and years for no valid reason. 1.0 isn't supposed to mean "perfect." It's supposed to mean your first release.
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:4, Informative)
Saying FFMPEG is just a codec library is like saying a Ferrari is a shiny surface for adhering horsie stickers to.
The distinguishing features of FFMPEG are that it's cross-platform (many commercial Windows and Mac apps use it under the hood), it's astonishingly fast at transcoding, has very broad codec AND container support, is fairly simple yet has a very rich set of advanced features.
What other tool are you going to use to convert your AutoDesk Animator video library to Flash video and animated gifs?
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No, it's like saying that a Ferrari is a car. Most people do not see a problem with this.
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Define "Long" and who was waiting for something that is still ".5" beta?
Version numbers are pretty meaningless for a codec library anyway. Codec support can be in the [0...1] range from none to perfect, but as a whole it's not very meaningful. Updates are always welcome but I don't know any that waited for the release specifically.
What the hell is FFmpeg anyway? Oh, it is just another CODEC library. Yawn!
Yeah, just what does all the hard work so the media player can thrown up a window and call play(). Yawn indeed.
Re:Long Awaited? (Score:5, Insightful)
ffmpeg is to video, what imagemagick is to images.
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I thought ffmpeg only decodes/converts videos,
Well then you've thought wrong. It has numerous audio and video filters that are available to use during both playback and during decoding/encoding.
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Example [daantje.nl].
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You can use them together. I made DVD menus once by having ffmpeg output PPM to stdout, then a little perl and IM played with the images, and then I piped that back into another ffmpeg process. There was a little patch I had to make back then to ffmpeg but it worked great. This is how I got moving images into a static background in the menus before there was any other way to do it with free software. You could also export to bunch of numbered png or ppm files if you liked back then with no patches. At this
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Ok, so what is imagemagick? ;)
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It's like the FFmpeg of images.
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Whither Google? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Whither Google? (Score:5, Informative)
google has actually helped out a ton for ffmpeg
google is why ffmpeg can now decode wmv3 and real codecs (rv3/4).
more info and list of projects:
http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=FFmpeg_Summer_Of_Code [multimedia.cx]
VDPAU sounds cool (Score:2)
Anyone know what kind of performance increase VDPAU can give compared with software decoding?
That application I'm working on needs to decode lots of H.264 streams so being able to offload that to a GPU would be a godsend.
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Re:VDPAU sounds cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh, and this is using some cheap NVidia 8600 something-or-other card that I picked up new for ~$50. I, for one, was truly impressed by VDPAU and what it means for low-cost HD content.
Faster + less energy consumed. (Score:2, Interesting)
Pretty good, you can easily decode 1080p H264 video with a cheap nvidia card. It is also consume less power and cooler than using CPU for decoding, so VDPAU = great for HD video on laptop.
I also find it interesting that VDPAU can help decoding H264 video that I can't decode using its counterpart on Windows (DxVA) :)
Time to promote the ffmpeg hall of shame (Score:5, Informative)
hall of shame [ffmpeg.org]
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Paradoxically, it could be doing those sites a favour, as there isn't a 'nofollow' in the links, so all the PR is passed on.
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Heh, interestingly AVS Video Converter is in there - I've seen that advertised on Slashdot a bunch lately
FFMPEG == digital God (Score:2)
VDPAU and GSOC (Score:2)
X.org has posted some project ideas [freedesktop.org] for Google Summer of Code projects, including "VDPAU state tracker for Gallium. Admit it, it would be pretty cool."
Legal Issues? (Score:5, Interesting)
What *is* up with the patent issue? Is it possible to use FFMPEG legally in commercial software if you adhere to the GPL and buy licenses for the patents that you're using? Since I already paid for software that includes encoders for some of these patented codecs, does that allow me to legally use FFMPEG? In my lifetime, how many times do I have to pay the patent fees for MPEG2 encoding?
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The "official" answers to that are here: http://ffmpeg.org/legal.html
And no, I don't think you will find them useful, a lawyer is the right place to get legal advice.
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From the FFMPEG website:
Patent Mini-FAQ
A lot of legal questions surrounding patents arise when discussing multimedia technology. This mini-FAQ attempts to address these issues. Note that much of this discussion is based on precedent, or what has happened in the past under similar circumstances. Very little consideration is given to what could happen. If you use your imagination, you can visualize any dire scenario and cease doing any productive work.
Q: Does FFmpeg use patented algorithms?
A: We do not know, we are not lawyers so we are not qualified to answer this. Also we have never read patents to implement any part of FFmpeg, so even if we were qualified we could not answer it as we do not know what is patented. Furthermore the sheer number of software patents makes it impossible to read them all so no one (lawyer or not) could answer such a question with a definite no, those who do lie. What we do know is that various standards FFmpeg supports contain vague hints that any conforming implementation might be subject to some patent rights in some jurisdictions, examples for such statements are:
For H.264:
ITU draws attention to the possibility that the practice or implementation of this Recommendation may involve the use of a claimed Intellectual Property Right. ITU takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of claimed Intellectual Property Rights, whether asserted by ITU members or others outside of the Recommendation development process.
And for MPEG-4:
The user's attention is called to the possibility that, for some of the processes specified in this part of ISO/IEC 14496, conformance with this specification may require use of an invention covered by patent rights. By publication of this part of ISO/IEC 14496, no position is taken with respect to the validity of this claim or of any patent rights in connection therewith.
Q: Is it legal to use such patented algorithms?
A: Patent laws change wildly between jurisdictions. Besides, even in places where software patents are recognized, there is serious doubt about the legitimacy of such legislation. Note that patents on algorithms are illegal in many countries. Plus the use of patents to prevent the usage of a format or codec on a specific operating system or together with specific other software might violate antitrust laws.
Q: Bottom line: Should I be worried about patent issues if I use FFmpeg?
A: Are you a private user working with FFmpeg for your own personal purposes? If so, there is remarkably little reason to be concerned. Are you using FFmpeg in a commercial software product? Read on to the next question...
Q: Since FFmpeg is licensed under the LGPL, is it perfectly alright to incorporate the whole FFmpeg core into my own commercial product?
A: You might have a problem here. Sure, the LGPL allows you to incorporate the code. However, there have been cases where companies have used FFmpeg in their projects, usually for such capabilities as superior MPEG-4 decoding. These companies found out that once you start trying to make money from certain technologies, the alleged owners of the technologies will come after their protection money. Most notably, MPEG-LA (licensing authority) is vigilant and diligent about collecting for MPEG-related technologies.
Q: You called the patent license fee protection money, is this a joke?
A: No. The legal validity of these patents is highly questionable. Still in many current legal systems it is very easy to ruin a company with patents even if the patents are invalid. Paying the (small) license fee is much cheaper than a patent lawsuit during which you would not be able to sell your product as the patent would be valid until you win the lawsuit 5+ years in the future. That is assuming you did not go bankrupt in the meantime...
Q: Can I be safe if I have paid my protection money.
A: You can never be safe as long as your country recognizes software patents as valid. There are companies that own many patents, pay and cross-license for other companies patents, but even such companies are being found guilty of infringing some obscure little-known patent and end up paying millions for it. That's why lobbying against software patents is in your own interest. Of course none of this is related to you using FFmpeg or another codec implementation. If you want to be safe the only option is not to touch any software at all.
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There is this new thing on the internet, called "hyperlinks", so you don't have to copy content around anymore.
Now I could link to a introduction, but that would probably confuse you. So:
<<< imagine content of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink here >>>
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
In the "Legal Issues" section of the article, I expected to see something about the issue of FFMPEG potentially infringing on existing patents. Instead there's just some stuff about violating the GPL. Seems like a major oversight to me.
So that's not why I can't get ffmpeg to strip the "Copy once" broadcast flag out of my HD recording of 24 "Day 7: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM"?
I can hear all the audio, but I can't see anything other than the cable-inserted ads. VLC will play it but not transcode it. MPEG Streamclip will rip the audio but not the video. Mencode with copy and copy fails. Mplayer saving to tga files works but takes up too much disk space and QuickTime Player doesn't offer converting an image sequence to video at 59.97 fps.
I just want t
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If it were encrypted, VLC and MPlayer would not be able to play it, but they can and do.
But ffmpeg not knowing about the flag would explain why it wouldn't strip what it didn't know about. Not sure why Mencoder would choke with an audio complaint trying to do the same thing.
Hasn't anyone created a filter that just clears the broadcast flag from a recorded transport stream? If I had that then MPEG Streamclip would handle everything else for me.
ffmpeg allergic to releases (Score:2)
To anyone involved in maintaining ports of third-party software to a particular OS (or even a distro), working with a release of that software is quite important. Unfortunately, ffmpeg-developers couldn't be bothered with such things. Here is a rather arrogant response [mplayerhq.hu] I got two years ago from them:
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Wow. Just wow. So, you're all pissy because although they're giving you something amazing for free, they're not also giving you extra stuff that you want but they're not interested in. Do you also insult people at christmas when they don't give you exactly the presents you want?
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Having been contributing to Open Source for over a decade myself, I'm long past your stage. It is only "free" if your own time is worthless. Mine is not. If I spend hours porting ffmpeg-2008FOO to FreeBSD to make, say, mplayer work well and then realize, that I must repeat most of that porting effort to make cinerella (which comes with its own, slightly different ffmpeg-2008BAR) build correctly, I will wonder, why the h
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Notes on Compiling ffmpeg-0.5 for Mandriva 2009.0 (Score:1)
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-O3 and -funroll-loops are likely to increase code size, and thus increase cache pressure. Particularly for H.264 this in our limited experience is more likely to slow things down that speed them up. Generally it is a bad idea to "speed-optimize" without benchmarking.