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Marcos Oliveira
Marcos Oliveira

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How to use FFmpeg with C++ (Windows and GNU/Linux)

#cpp #c #api #programming

📺 I Created a Dynamic Library with C++ for the FFmpeg C API to Make Integration Easier and Faster for Graphical Applications.

ffpp is a dynamic library written in C++ with an API for most major tasks using FFmpeg. Much faster for GUI applications than using processes.

ffpp

Running on Windows.

ffpp

Running on GNU/Linux.

Usage on Windows

Requires Clang

  1. Download libffppwin 
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://bit.ly/libffppwin" -OutFile "libffppwin.rar"
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  1. Extract the .rar

  2. Enter the folder:

cd .\libffppwin
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  1. Create a basic code, e.g., main.cpp: 
#include "ffpp/ffpp.hpp" #include <memory>  int main(){ auto ffpp = std::make_unique<FFPP>(); std::cout << "Duration: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::DURATION, "video.mp4") << '\n'; }
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Optional test video: video.mp4

  1. Compile and run: 
# PowerShell pwsh build.ps1 main.cpp # Or more files # Or: Windows [PowerShell](https://terminalroot.com/tags#powershell) powershell build.ps1 main.cpp # Or more files # Or directly .\build.ps1 main.cpp # Or more files
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If Windows Defender blocks execution, allow the script:

pwsh -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File build.ps1 main.cpp # Or more files
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The build.ps1 script compiles and runs the generated binary. Output example: Duration: 00:00:05

To build the libffmpeg and compile the DLL from scratch, check: build-win.md

On GNU/Linux

Dependencies:

On Arch: 

sudo pacman -S gcc ffmpeg make cmake pkg-config git
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On Debian/Ubuntu/Mint: 

sudo apt install build-essential ffmpeg make cmake pkg-config git
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Build and install

Run all the commands below:

git clone https://github.com/terroo/ffpp cd ffpp cmake . -B build cmake --build build sudo cmake --install build # Important after install # Something like: export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib # But system-wide: echo /usr/local/lib | sudo tee /etc/ld.so.conf.d/ffpp.conf sudo ldconfig
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Create a basic code, e.g., main.cpp:

#include <ffpp/ffpp.hpp> #include <memory>  int main(){ auto ffpp = std::make_unique<FFPP>(); std::cout << "Duration: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::DURATION, "video.mp4") << '\n'; }
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Optional test video: video.mp4

Compile and run:

g++ main.cpp -lavformat -lavcodec -lavutil -lswscale -lffpp ./a.out
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Example output: Duration: 00:00:05.

API Examples

Assuming you created the object on the heap (auto ffpp = std::make_unique<FFPP>();).

01. Convert MP4 to WMV: 

ffpp->ffpp_convert("video.mp4", "new.wmv");
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Converts only between these video formats: .mp4, .flv, .wmv, .mov

02. Extract frames: 

ffpp->ffpp_extract_frames("video.mp4", "my_frames_dir");
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.ppm images will be created inside the given folder (my_frames_dir/).

03. Get video information: 

std::cout << "Duration: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::DURATION, "video.mp4") << '\n'; std::cout << "Bitrate: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::BITRATE, "video.mp4") << '\n'; std::cout << "FPS: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::FPS, "video.mp4") << '\n'; std::cout << "Audio Frequency: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::AUDIO_FREQUENCY, "video.mp4") << '\n'; std::cout << "Resolution: " << ffpp->ffpp_info(FFPP_INFO::RESOLUTION, "video.mp4") << '\n';
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04. Cut a video from a time point with specific duration: 

ffpp->ffpp_cut("video.mp4", "00:00:10", 6, "output.mp4");
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Cuts the video starting at 10 seconds for a duration of 6 seconds.

📹 Watch the Video

https://youtu.be/3bm84QckF8E

The video is in Brazilian Portuguese, but you can enable YouTube auto-translation or audio track (if available).

👀 See Also

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