FFmpeg Tips

FFmpeg is one of my favorite tools, though it can be quite challenging to master. This page is dedicated to sharing the commands and knowledge I’ve accumulated from using FFmpeg.

Check back soon for more updates!

Encoding Videos

Here’s a simple reference for re-encoding videos.

WEBM

For WEBM files, there are three common codecs: VP8, VP9, and AV1¹.

VP8

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v libvpx -c:a libvorbis video.webm

VP9

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v libvpx-vp9 -c:a libopus video.webm

AV1

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v libsvtav1 -c:a libopus video.webm

MP4

For MP4 files, you can use the following codecs:

H.264 (x264)

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v libx264 -c:a aac video.mp4

H.265 (x265)

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v libx265 -c:a aac video.mp4

NVIDIA NVENC H.264

If you have an NVIDIA GPU, you can use the NVENC encoder for H.264:

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v h264_nvenc -c:a aac video.mp4

NVIDIA NVENC H.265

For H.265 using NVIDIA NVENC:

ffmpeg -i video.mkv -c:v hevc_nvenc -c:a aac video.mp4

Recording Screen

To record your screen, use the following command:

ffmpeg -y -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 test.mkv

You can also add -framerate 30 to set a custom frame rate.

Recording Microphone

To record audio from your microphone:

ffmpeg -f alsa -i default -c:a flac test.flac

Recording Screen and Microphone

To record both your screen and microphone:

ffmpeg -y -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 -f alsa -i default test.mkv

With specific codecs:

ffmpeg -y -f x11grab -s 1920x1080 -i :0.0 -f alsa -i default -c:a flac -c:v libx264 test.mkv