How to use ffmpeg if libmp3lame support is not present

Bogdan — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:41:07 +0000

I’m providing regularly updated compiled linux and freebsd ffmpeg binaries, and also described how to use ffmpeg on shared hostings if not all the required libraries (like libmp3lame) are present. However, the solution recommended might not “fit all”, so here is another one – simpler and even more portable/universal than setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH.

The solution is simple – I first proposed it in the Getting ffmpeg working with flashvideo on various platforms issue page on Drupal.org.

The idea is: if the original audio stream in the file is already compressed (most of the time it is), then you do not need to recompress it – and do not need libmp3lame or any other audio codec! To achieve the “ffmpeg direct stream copy” functionality, you can add one of the two options:
-vcodec copy will direct-stream-copy video (no re-compression),
-acodec copy will direct-stream-copy audio (no re-compression).

In other words, ffmpeg option -acodec copy should just copy the original audio from input file to output file without alteration, and will not require any audio codecs support.

Sample command line could be (in the example, a 1-minute fragment of the input file is just copied into the output file):

ffmpeg -t 00:01:00 -i movie.avi -vcodec copy -acodec copy preview.avi

This tip is based on the information initially obtained from the ffmpeg-user mailing list archive for June of 2005.

Autarchy of the Private Cave » direct stream copy

How to use ffmpeg if libmp3lame support is not present