Codecs, encoders and formats support in FFmpeg¶

The avtk.backends.ffmpeg.cap module can be used to discover versions of the available ffmpeg and ffprobe command-line tools, and list codecs, encoders and formats they support.

Example usage:

>>> from avtk.backends.ffmpeg import cap

>>> cap.get_ffmpeg_version()
'4.1.2'
>>> cap.get_ffprobe_version()
'4.1.2'
>>> 'vp9' in cap.get_available_codecs()
True
>>> 'libx264' in cap.get_availble_encoders()
True
>>> 'webm' in cap.get_available_formats()
True

class Codec(name, type, can_encode, can_decode, can_all_i, lossy, lossless, desc)¶

Describes a codec known to FFmpeg

This doesn’t mean it can be encoded or decoded. For encoding support, look at Encoder.

Attributes:

name - Codec (short) name
description - Codec description (long name)
type - Codec type, one of TYPE_AUDIO, TYPE_VIDEO or TYPE_SUBTITLE
can_encode - Whether ffmpeg can encode to this codec
can_decode - Whether ffmpeg can decode this codec
can_all_i - Whether the codec is all-intra (can have only I frames)
lossy - Whether the codec supports lossy encoding
lossless - Whether the codec supports lossless encoding

TYPE_AUDIO = 'audio'¶: Audio codec

TYPE_VIDEO = 'video'¶: Video codec

TYPE_SUBTITLE = 'subtitle'¶: Subtitle codec

class Encoder(name, type, desc)¶

Describes an available encoder

Attributes:

name - Encoder name
description - Encoder description
type - Encoder type, one of Codec.TYPE_AUDIO, Codec.TYPE_VIDEO or Codec.TYPE_SUBTITLE

class Format(name, can_mux, can_demux, desc)¶

Describes a format known to FFmpeg

Attributes:

name - Format name
description - Format description (long name)
can_mux - Whether ffmpeg can mux (pack) to this format
can_demux - Whether ffmpeg can demux (unpack) this format

get_available_codecs()¶

Discovers and returns a list of available codecs.

Result is cached between runs so the results will only be discovered once.

Returns: A list of available codecs
Return type: list(Codec)
Raises: ValueError – if ffmpeg utility cannot be found

get_available_formats()¶

Discovers and returns a list of available formats

Result is cached between runs so the results will only be discovered once.

Returns: A list of available formats
Return type: list(Format)
Raises: ValueError – if ffmpeg utility cannot be found

get_available_encoders()¶

Discovers and returns a list of available encoders

Result is cached between runs so the results will only be discovered once.

Returns: A list of available encoders
Return type: list(Encoder)
Raises: ValueError – if ffmpeg utility cannot be found

get_ffmpeg_version()¶

Returns version of installed ffmpeg tool

Returns: FFmpeg version in ‘x.y.z’ format
Return type: str
Raises: ValueError – if ffmpeg utility cannot be found

get_ffprobe_version()¶

Returns version of installed ffprobe tool

Returns: FFprobe version in ‘x.y.z’ format
Return type: str
Raises: ValueError – if ffprobe utility cannot be found