FFMPEG + Ubuntu

I assume you specifically don't want to use the existing repository version?

From the errors, could you perhaps have skipped a "configure" step? If I had to guess that seems the most likely point when those files would get created.

– David

Hi David,

you mean apt-get install ffmpeg? Again, I am a newbie and i just googled ffmpeg + ubuntu. Is it that simple? Will this install the available codecs and libraries?

Are there any differences from what is suggested in the ubuntu forum?

Very much appreciated.

-Mark

@mgoltra:

you mean apt-get install ffmpeg? Again, I am a newbie and i just googled ffmpeg + ubuntu. Is it that simple? Will this install the available codecs and libraries?
Well, that's a broad question, since "available" in ffmpeg covers both internal support as well as optional support for various external libraries. I don't have a 10.04 system handy, so am not sure exactly what options were used in building the version of ffmpeg currently in the lucid package, but I suspect it'll have the bulk of those available. You could always just install it and then check "ffmpeg -formats" to see if it has any that you need and/or was built with whatever other libraries (mp3lame, x264, etc…) you might want.

> Are there any differences from what is suggested in the ubuntu forum?
Sure - that post was how to install the latest version from source, including some specific other libraries, so it'll have any changes that aren't in the distribution repository yet. For example, looks like lucid/10.04 has ffmpeg 0.5.1 at the moment, whereas the latest source trees are 0.5.3 for the 0.5 branch, and 0.6.1 for the 0.6 branch. That only matters if you need features from the later version for your specific purpose.

It's just that building from source is a bit more work - and ffmpeg is a fairly complex package - than just installing your distribution version, so if the latter is sufficient for your needs, it could be easier. But there's nothing wrong with doing a source install if you can manage the process. (And again, if you walk back through the steps you were talking, I expect you'll find a "configure" step was accidentally missed)

– David

David,

Thank you again for you insight. I will give it a try. Is there anything else I have to do if I use apt-get install ffmpeg?

Thank you,

Mark

In terms of getting ffmpeg installed, no, I don't think there should be anything more.

Whether the resulting ffmpeg has all the capabilities and/or features that you want (as opposed to the latest source package) is something only you can answer for yourself.

– David