Understandably, most people are a trivial lost when it comes to using control-line programs like FFmpeg. But don't worry, I was in that location not likewise long ago, and now I'll attempt explain as thoroughly as I tin can how to install it and starting time using it.

But first, a little info from their site:

FFmpeg is the leading multimedia framework, able to decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux, stream, filter and play pretty much annihilation that humans and machines take created. Information technology supports the most obscure ancient formats up to the cutting border.

So really, you're doing yourself a huge favour by installing it, you just need a little help to get started.

(click to aggrandize each department)

i: Download

Head on over to http://ffmpeg.zeranoe.com/builds/ and download either the 32 or 64-bit Static version (depending on your organization). Most modern computers are 64-bit, only merely in case y'all're not sure, it's pretty easy to check.

At the time of writing this, the latest build is from 2014-05-30:

two: Unzip

To make the download size overnice and pocket-size, information technology's compressed into a .7z file, which is just like a .nil file merely smaller. Chances are y'all know exactly what this is and how to extract it, but if non, yous'll just demand to download a program called 7zip which will allow you to unzip it. I know it sounds like I'm sending you further downward the rabbit pigsty, but 7zip is another programme you'll not regret you installed.

Unzip information technology to a folder that's easy to find, similar directly to your C:\ bulldoze. It should create a folder similar ffmpeg-20140530-git-98a6806-win64-static, but just rename it to ffmpeg for simplicities sake. Y'all'll thank me later.

It should wait something like this:

3: Add to Path

Finally, we need to add the bin folder, which contains theffmpeg.exe file, to our system path to let us to run the commands easily.

Technically, yous could e'er do something like C:\ffmpeg\bin\ffmpeg.exe -codecs,
but it's much easier to type ffmpeg -codecs.

If you endeavour that right now, y'all'll get an error saying that the ffmpeg is non recognized as an internal or external control.

That basically ways windows has not idea what y'all're talking about.

All we demand to do is add C:\ffmpeg\bin to our organisation path, and it'll understand u.s..

And so, in the Commencement Menu, right click on Computer and cull Properties.

Then select Avant-garde arrangement settings:

Open up up the Environment Variables:

And then edit the Path variable:

The Path is just a listing of folders that contain commands you lot're allowed to use without typing in the full path of the exe files.

Then, become ahead and add C:\ffmpeg\bin to the end of the line, making sure that there's a semi-colon (;) after the previous folder:

iv: Use it!

Since FFmpeg is a command-line program, we're going to need to open a command line!

At that place are several ways to exercise this:

  1. Search in the start carte for command prompt or simply cmd
  2. Hit Win+R to open up the Run utility and type cmd at that place
  3. Shift+Right Click in a binder (without any files selected) and choose Open up command window hither. That's what I usually practise.

Once you've got a console open, check that FFmpeg is installed properly by typing ffmpeg -codecs, which volition show you all the codecs you have access to, including sound and video.

If it all the same tells you that it doesn't recognize the command, double cheque that you successfully added the ffmpeg bin binder to the system path.

If all is well – congratulations, information technology'southward installed!

Now you can play effectually with all sorts of things, like converting an image sequence into a video, a video into an image sequence, rotate and scale videos, notice information about a video, stabilize that shaky video you lot took at you lot Great Aunt'due south quaternary wedding, stream the webcam you planted in your girlfriend's ex-boyfriend's sleeping accommodation, or catechumen your 250 frame cube return to a super-crispy lossless h264 of unparalleled awesomeness.

There's really an endless number of things you can practice, so take a look at the documentation some time. But if that sounds like besides much hard work, hither's my own personal reference I keep to remind me of common tasks:

Make video from image sequence:
ffmpeg -i frame_%04d.png -c:v h264 test.mp4 – '%04d' is the padding, like 'frame_0001.png'

lossless h264:
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:v libx264 -preset veryslow -qp 0 vid.mkv
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:v libx264 -preset ultrafast -qp 0 vid.mkv – larger file size, only quicker to encode

quicktime (camtasia can use these):
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:five prores vid_prores.mov
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:v qtrle qtrle.mov – peradventure lossless compression

HTML5 supported video:
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:v libx264 -b:v 1M -c:a aac -r 10 output.mp4 – '-r 10' specifies a framerate of 10 fps
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -c:5 libvpx -b:v 2M -c:a libvorbis -r 10 output.webm
ffmpeg -i frame%04d.png -vf calibration=680:-i -c:v libvpx -b:5 2M output.webm – 680p (auto height), no audio

Make image sequence from video:
ffmpeg -i video.avi epitome%04d.png
ffmpeg -i video.avi .\imgs\paradigm%04d.png – outputs the images to a folder (the binder must already exist!)

Get info on video:
ffmpeg -i video.avi

Deshake video (stabalize):
ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf deshake output.mov

Side-by-side:
ffmpeg -i left_video.mov -vf "[in] calibration=iw/two:ih/2, pad=2*iw:ih [left];flick=right_video.mov, calibration=iw/2:ih/2 [correct];[left][right] overlay=main_w/2:0 [out]" sidebyside.mov

That's it!
If you weren't successful, simply post a comment below and I'll help y'all out :)