Is there an issue with ffmpeg and Suse 10.3 (AC3 audio)?

jroyce · 11-23-2007, 07:08 AM

I've been trying to get ffmpeg to convert an AVI file to MPEG-2. FFMpeg keeps kicking out an error "Unknown decoder 'ac3'".

I think I have narrowed this down to a Suse/ffmpeg issue, because last night I successfully converted this file using ffmpeg under Ubuntu 7.04 on a different PC.

My command line is:

ffmpeg -target ntsc-dvd -i csi.807.hdtv-lol.[VTV].avi CSI_Season_8_Episode_7.mpg

and the output from ffmpeg:
ffmpeg -target ntsc-dvd -i csi.807.hdtv-lol.[VTV].avi CSI_Season_8_Episode_7.mpg
FFmpeg version SVN-r10937, Copyright (c) 2000-2007 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
configuration: --shlibdir=/usr/lib --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --libdir=/usr/lib --enable-shared --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libogg --enable-libvorbis --enable-libtheora --enable-libfaad --enable-libfaac --enable-libxvid --enable-liba52 --enable-swscaler --enable-pp --enable-gpl --enable-vhook --enable-x11grab --enable-libgsm --enable-libx264 --enable-libamr-nb --enable-libamr-wb
libavutil version: 49.5.0
libavcodec version: 51.47.2
libavformat version: 51.17.1
built on Nov 7 2007 00:38:44, gcc: 4.2.1 (SUSE Linux)
Unknown decoder 'ac3'

As you can see, ffmpeg was compiled with the "-enable-liba52' option, which is supposed to enable AC3 audio. I tried compiling ffmpeg from source as well, and this was no better.

If I type 'whereis liba52' I get:
liba52: /usr/lib/liba52.a /usr/lib/liba52.so /usr/lib/liba52.la

I've also tried to force the audio type using the -acodec ac3 option in ffmpeg but that doesn't work either.
I can play the file in Totem without any trouble. Both the sound and video are fine.

jschiwal · 11-23-2007, 07:46 AM

In yast2, there is a module in "Software" for adding community repositories. The packman and vlc repositories found there are better than others I tried after upgrading to 10.3. Their versions of ffmpeg are probably built the way you want.

Code:

locate liba52
/usr/lib64/liba52.a
/usr/lib64/liba52.la
/usr/lib64/liba52.so
/usr/lib64/liba52.so.0
/usr/lib64/liba52.so.0.0.0
/usr/lib64/vlc/audio_filter/liba52tofloat32_plugin.so
/usr/lib64/vlc/audio_filter/liba52tospdif_plugin.so
/usr/lib64/vlc/codec/liba52_plugin.so
/usr/lib64/vlc/demux/liba52sys_plugin.so
jschiwal@hpmedia:~> rpm -qf /usr/lib64/liba52.so
a52dec-0.7.4-3.pm.3

I have the dynamic liba52 library as well. The package is from a packman repository.

Code:

ffmpeg --version
FFmpeg version SVN-r10872, Copyright (c) 2000-2007 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
  configuration: --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --libdir=/usr/lib64 --shlibdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-pthreads --enable-libogg --enable-libvorbis --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libfaad --enable-libfaadbin --enable-libfaac --enable-libxvid --enable-libx264 --enable-liba52 --enable-liba52bin --enable-pp --enable-shared --enable-libdc1394 --enable-libtheora --enable-gpl

I'm not certain which repository ffmpeg came from, but as you can see it was built with --enable-liba52:

Code:

rpm -qf $(which ffmpeg)
ffmpeg-0.4.9.10872-2.2

jroyce · 11-23-2007, 07:55 AM

My version of ffmpeg did come from the RPM package on Packman, so I do not think that is the issue. I will try the dynamic version of the liba52 library as well and see if that helps.

I do notice that you have an older version of ffmpeg than I do. This is true of my Ubuntu version as well.

Is it possible for me to install an older version of the ffmpeg RPM? If so, how do I do this?

armandrix · 11-23-2007, 11:37 AM

Sometimes dependencies for packages can really annoy us. In distros witch packages managers can't do it all for users it's awful. But you use opensuse wich have great package manager, yast. It's better to keep with it than compile your own.

This case, ffmpeg provides you a lot of useful things, but to encode you'll need also libffmpeg. Here I have Packman's libffmpeg0 in wich turn needs ac52dec package. Encodings are all ok.

Had you check if you have these??, different packs provides different libraries and sometimes it gets a mess. try uninstall those compiled and get it all from yast, and check libffmpeg0 cause it isn't a dependency to ffmpeg. Some dependencies may be provided only in different achitetures.

I'm running in amd64 and all works well.

In yast2 package manager you can see a tab named "version" for a package. There you will find different available versions, just check the one you want and click "accept" if you're installing or "update" if it's already installed with different one.

Good luck

jroyce · 11-24-2007, 11:26 AM

Well. Now I am thoroughly disgusted as all along this has been an issue of syntax. I had been entering:

ffmpeg -target ntsc-dvd -i csi.807.hdtv-lol.[VTV].avi CSI_Season_8_Episode_7.mpg

but apparently ffmpeg wants the -i filename option first. It works if I type:

ffmpeg -i csi.807.hdtv-lol.[VTV].avi -target ntsc-dvd CSI_Season_8_Episode_7.mpg

Thanks everyone for the help. Back to more productive stuff now....