I've been batch converting flv to avi w/ a script, but the output sucks. The command isSo then I'd use avidemux's Auto option "DVD". I'd like to use those options in the script's ffmpeg command b/c the quality is pretty good. It will eliminate a BIG extra step in this process. (Of course if you'd like to share better settings, then many thanks.)

Avidemux set the video codec to DVD (lavc) & audio to mp2 (TwoLAME). The audio bitrate = 160. The Configuration for lavc is...
Encoding mode: Two pass - average bitrate
Avg Bitrate kb/s: 6000
Max bitrate: 8000
Min bitrate: 0
Use Xvid rate control (checked)
Buffer size: DVD 224 kB
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Interlacing: Progressive
Matrices: Default
GOP Size: 12

Can these options be part of the ffmpeg command?

TIA

ffmpeg basically IS lavc, that is, it's a frontend for the libav* series of codecs and format processors, as well as some external libraries. So yes, you should be able to pretty much pass all those options to it. Just read the man page carefully and build your command line up from there.

The command you've been using contains no setting information whatsover, just the input and output filenames, so ffmpeg is simply using its default settings, some of which are taken from the input file, and others that are built in. At the very least you probably need to set a higher bitrate for the output (I believe the default is a measly 200k), perhaps to 1500-2000k" or so. 6000k is probably much higher than necessary for an .flv input video, however, unless it's of really exceptional quality. It's a good setting for dvd conversions, but you quickly reach a point of diminishing returns when the input quality is limited.

The basics of my little script are now complete; thanks David H.
This command gave much better results:
Now it's time to play around. The ffmpeg man page says about the -target option: "All the format options (bitrate, codecs, buffer sizes) are then set automatically." IDK what the defaults are for ntsc-dvd; maybe part of the command is redundant? I'll some more.
Thanks again.

The "target" options are basically preset configurations. You can override any individual target setting simply by specifying it on the command line along with the target command. The output file information displayed when you run the command should tell you what settings are being used.

Yep; found it. It's mpg, so "${f%.flv}.mpg".

Ah, you wanted to know what the output format is for the filename? I might've noticed you were still using the .avi extension in your command if I'd been paying more attention.

But to be more specific, since that preset is for generating dvd-compatible video, that's what you're going to get, mpeg2 video and (usually) ac3 audio in an mpeg-ps container, which can be easily converted to a .vob container by most authoring programs.


BTW, running the "file" command on a multimedia file will also give you the basic file type, and for the more common formats you'll usually also get a few details like the exact codecs and bitrates used.

thanks, i'll try that for my problem.