linuxgeek: Re: [LINUX_Newbies] how to learn to convert a video HELP from Scott inside Videofiles

Friday, January 22, 2016

Re: [LINUX_Newbies] how to learn to convert a video HELP from Scott inside Videofiles

On Fri, Jan 22, 2016 at 01:16:30PM +0100, 'highskywhy@yahoo.de' highskywhy@yahoo.de [LINUX_Newbies] wrote:
> good morning
>
>
> I send later a longer video
> but not as a file but as a url.
>

That would usually be better. (Sending large files can be problematic in
emails.)

> Generally, if I'm
> > trying to do something with ffmpeg, I will google the topic and can usually
> > find a tutorial that explains that particular part.
> Thank You.
>
> >
> > > >
> > > > ffmpeg -i myfile.mpg -vcodec libx264 -acodec wmav2 myfile.wmv
> > > > >
> > > *
> > The most basic ffmpeg command is ffmpeg -i myfile.something
> > myfile.somethingnew
> *
> OK
>
> >
> > The -i is for the input file. If you want to convert, for example, an mkv
> > file to an mp4 file, you can just do ffmpeg -i myfile.mkv myfile.mp4. It
> > will convert the format. Generally, one does specify things like codec as
> > we've been doing with your files but if you don't specify, it will usually
> > just copy it.
> >
> > > >
> > > > To get bit rate and such, you can run the command
> > > >
> > > > ffmprobe -hide_banner myfile.wmv, which gives a lot of information
> > >
>
> The task is: ffmprobe.
>
> (Every Linux does know that?)

The ffmpeg program is not necessarily included with every version of Linux.
In addition, many distributions based on Debian, including some of the
Ubuntu programs, apparently got in an argument with the ffmpeg people, and
now they ship something callled avconv, which is very similar.

Also, the program is called ffprobe, (not ffmprobe).
> > > > > >

> > > > > > That is a deprecated video format, and I think there may have
> > been an
> > > > > > ffmpeg patch for it years ago, but I can't find it.
> > > > > >
> > > > Even so, it seems that at least some versions of ffmpeg can encode it
> > > > something else.
> > >
> > >
> > > What is the meaning of
> > >
> > > "some" versions?
> >
> > It seems that each version of Linux has its own version of ffmpeg, and one
> > can also just build ffmpeg from source. However, doing some more looking,
> > it seems as if encoding to wmv3 would be difficult, so if the other format
> > I mentioned in the later email works, use that.
> >
> But isnt there a general way to use it?

I'm not sure what you mean by general way. As I said, the original format
you asked for is deprecated, so I wouldn't try to use it since the second
one did work and is easy to find.

--
Scott Robbins
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