FFmpeg is a free, open-source command-line tool for handling multimedia files, such as audio and video. It is widely used for various tasks, such as transcoding, converting, and editing audio and video files. It can be used to convert files between different formats, stream video and audio over the internet, and even capture and record video and audio from various sources. FFmpeg supports a wide range of codecs and formats, including popular ones like MP3, MP4, H.264, and many others. It also provides a large collection of libraries and programs for handling multimedia files, which can be used to create custom multimedia applications. It can be run on various platforms such as Windows, Linux, and Mac.
FFmpeg example commands
To convert an MP4 file to a WAV file using ffmpeg, you can use the following command:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.wav
Let's break down the command:
- `ffmpeg`: invokes the ffmpeg command-line tool.
- `-i input.mp4`: specifies the input MP4 file.
- `output.wav`: specifies the output file name and format.
Make sure you replace `input.mp4` with the actual filename of your input MP4 file, and `output.wav` with the desired filename for the output WAV file.
This command will convert the audio stream of the MP4 file to a WAV file. The resulting WAV file will have the same audio format (sample rate, number of channels, etc.) as the input MP4 file.
To replace the audio of an MP4 file with a WAV file using ffmpeg and set the audio bitrate to 320k, you can use the following command:
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -i audio.wav -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 320k -map 0:v -map 1:a -shortest output.mp4
Let's break down the command:
- `ffmpeg`: invokes the ffmpeg command-line tool.
- `-i input.mp4`: specifies the input MP4 file.
- `-i audio.wav`: specifies the input WAV file.
- `-c:v copy`: copies the video stream without re-encoding.
- `-c:a aac`: sets the audio codec to AAC for the output file.
- `-b:a 320k`: sets the audio bitrate to 320k (320 kilobits per second).
- `-map 0:v`: maps the video stream from the input MP4 file.
- `-map 1:a`: maps the audio stream from the input WAV file.
- `-shortest`: makes the output duration match the shortest input duration (either the video or audio).
- `output.mp4`: specifies the output file name and format.
Make sure you replace `input.mp4` with the actual filename of your input MP4 file, `audio.wav` with the filename of your input WAV file, and `output.mp4` with the desired filename for the output MP4 file.
This command will replace the audio stream of the MP4 file with the WAV file, using AAC encoding with a bitrate of 320k. The resulting MP4 file will have the original video stream and the new audio stream.
Install FFmpeg on a Mac
There are a few different ways to install FFmpeg on a Mac, but one of the simplest and most popular methods is to use the Homebrew package manager. Here's how to install FFmpeg using Homebrew:
Open a Terminal window on your Mac.
Install Homebrew by running the following command:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/main/install.sh)"
Once Homebrew is installed, run the following command to install FFmpeg:
brew install ffmpeg
Wait for the installation to complete.
Verify that FFmpeg is installed by running the following command:
ffmpeg -version
This will install the latest version of FFmpeg on your Mac, and you can use it from the terminal or in your projects.