path: root/DOCS/mencoder.1

.\" MEncoder (C) 2000-2002 Arpad Gereoffy <sendmail@to.mplayer-users>
.\" This manpage was/is done by Gabucino
.\"
.TH "MEncoder" "1" "2002-05-03"

.SH NAME
mencoder \- Movie Encoder for Linux

.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.B mencoder
.RB [options]\ [\fIfile\fP\ |\ \fIURL\fP\ |\ \fIplaylist\fP\ |\ \-\ ]\ [\-o\ file]
.BR
.B mencoder
.RB [global\ options]\ \fIfile1\fP\ [specific\ options]\ [file2]\ [specific\ options]\ [\-o\ file]
.BR
.B mencoder
.RB [global\ options]\ {\fIgroup\ of\ files\ and\ options\fP}\ [group\ specific\ options]\ [\-o\ file]
.BR
.B mencoder
.RB [dvd|vcd|tv]://[title]\ [options]\ [\-o\ file]
.BR
.B mencoder
.RB [mms|http]://URL[:port]\ [options]\ [\-o\ file]

.SH DESCRIPTION
.B mencoder
MEncoder (MPlayer's Movie Encoder) is a simple movie encoder, designed to
encode MPlayer-playable movies (AVI/DVD/VCD/VOB/MPG/MOV/VIV/VIV/FLI/RM/NUV/NET)
to other MPlayer-playable formats (see below).  It encodes to DivX4 
(1, 2 or 3 passes), xvid, codecs of libavcodec, PCM/MP3/VBRMP3 audio. 
Also has stream copying abilities, a powerfull plugin system
(crop, expand, flip, postprocess, rotate, scale, rgb/yuv conversion) and more.

.SH "OPTIONS"
.I NOTE
Every "flag" option has "noflag" pair, e.g. -flag opposite is -noflag
.BR
.I NOTE
CHECK THE HTML DOCUMENTATION TOO!
.BR
.I NOTE
As MEncoder uses the same 'libmpdemux' as MPlayer, their options are
_sometimes the same_! So although for example the -sid option isn't
mentioned here, you can use it in MEncoder too! (for encoding DVD with
subtitles)
.TP
.B \-ac3file <filename>
.TP
.B \-ac <codec name>
Use specified codec (according to codecs.conf) for decoding input audio
stream.
.TP
.B \-afm <codec family>
Force decoding by using a specific codec FAMILY, and FALLBACK to default
if failed.  For examples see MPlayer manpage.
.TP
.B \-aid <stream id>
If the source media contains multiple audio streams (for example DVDs), encode
the specified one.
.TP
.B \-audiofile <filename>
Copy audio from external file.
.TP
.B \-chapter <chapter id>
Use with -dvd option (see above). Start encoding at the specified chapter.
.TP
.B \-divx4opts <options>
If encoding to DivX4, you can specify its parameters here, like:

  -divx4opts br=1800:deinterlace:key=250

Available options:

  help              get help
  br=<value>        specify bitrate in
                    kbit <4\-16000> or
                    bit  <16001\-24000000>
  key=<value>       maximum keyframe interval
                    (in frames)
  deinterlace       enable deinterlacing
                    (don't use, DivX4 is buggy!)
  q=<value>         quality (1\-fastest, 5\-best)
  min_quant=<value> minimum quantizer (0\-32)
  max_quant=<value> maximum quantizer (0\-32)
  rc_period=<value> rate control period
  rc_reaction_period=<value> 
                    rate control reaction period
  rc_reaction_ratio=<value> 
                    rate control reaction ratio
  crispness=<value> (0\-100)
.TP
.B \-dvd <title id>
Encode the specified DVD title.
.TP
.B \-dvdangle <angle id>
Use with -dvd option (see above), and if the DVD disc has multiple angles.
It will encode the angle specified here.
.TP
.B \-dvdkey <CSS key>
Used to decrypt CSS-encrypted streams on hard disk (with given CSS decrypt
key).
.TP
.B \-endpos <time>
Stop encoding at given time. Can be specified in many was :

    -endpos 56       encode only 56 seconds
    -endpos 01:10:00 encode only 1 hours

Can be used in conjuction with -ss!
.TP
.B \-ffourcc fourcc
Can be used to force the video fourcc of the output file. For example -ffourcc
div3 will have the output file contain "div3" as video fourcc.
.TP
.B \-frames <number>
Encode only given number of frames.
.TP
.B \-include
Specify config file to be parsed after the default
.TP
.B \-lameopts <options>
If encoding to MP3 with libmp3lame, you can specify its parameters here, like:

  -lameopts br=192:cbr

Available options:

    help            get help
    vbr=<value>     variable bitrate method
                      0=cbr
                      1=mt
                      2=rh(default)
                      3=abr
                      4=mtrh
    abr             average bitrate
    cbr             constant bitrate
    br=<value>      specify bitrate in
                    kbit <0-1024>
                    (only for CBR and ABR)
    q=<value>       Quality
                    (0-highest, 9-low)
                    (for VBR)
    aq=<value>      ?
    ratio=<value>   compression ratio <1-100>
    vol=<value>     set audio input gain <0-10>
    mode=<value>    0=stereo
                    1=joint-stereo
                    2=dualchannel
                    3=mono
                    (default: auto)
    padding=<value> 0=no
                    1=all
                    2=adjust
.TP
.B \-lavcopts <options>
If encoding with a codec from libavcodec, you can specify its parameters here,
like:

  -lavcopts vcodec=msmpeg4:vbitrate=1800:vhq:keyint=250

Available options:

  help             get help

  vcodec=<value>   use the specified codec :
                     mjpeg - Motion JPEG
                     h263 - H263
                     h263p - H263 Plus
                     mpeg4 - DivX 4/5
                     msmpeg4 - DivX 3
                     rv10 - an old RealVideo codec
                     mpeg1video - MPEG1 video :)
                   There's no default, you must
                   specify it.

  vbitrate=<value> specify bitrate in
                   kbit <4-16000> or
                   bit  <16001-24000000>
                   (warning: 1kbit = 1000 bits)
                   default = 800k

  vratetol=<value> approximated *filesize* tolerance
                   in kbits.
                   (warning: 1kbit = 1000 bits)
                   default = 1024*8 kbits = 1MByte

  keyint=<value>    interval between keyframes
                   (specify in frames, >300 are not
                   recommended)
                   default = 250 (one key frame every
                   ten seconds in a 25fps movie)

  vhq              high quality mode, macro blocks
                   will be encoded multiple times and
                   the smallest will be used.
                   default = HQ disabled

  vme=<value>      [0..5] motion estimation method :
                     0 - no ME at all
                     1 - ME_FULL
                     2 - ME_LOG
                     3 - ME_PHODS
                     4 - ME_EPZS
                     5 - ME_X1
                   EPZS usually gives best results,
                   but you can try X1 too. FULL is
                   very slow and the others are
                   experimental.
                   default = EPZS

  vqcomp=<value>   if the value is set to 1.0, the
                   quantizer will stay nearly
                   constant (high motion scenes will
                   look bad). If it's 0.0, the
                   quantizer will be changed
                   to make all frames approximately
                   equally sized (low motion scenes
                   will look bad).
                   default = 0.5

  vqblur=<value>   blurs the quantizer graph over
                   time.
                      0.0 : no blur
                      1.0 : average all past
                            quantizers
                   default = 0.5

  vqscale=<value>  [2..31] gives each frame the same
                   quantizer (selects fixed quantizer
                   mode).
                   default = 0 (fixed quantizer mode
                   disabled)

  vrc_strategy=<value>
                   [0..2] different strategies to
                   decide which frames should get
                   which quantizer.
                   default = 2

  v4mv             4 motion vectors per macroblock,
                   may gives you slightly better
                   quality, can only be used in HQ
                   mode and is buggy with B frames
                   currently.
                   default = disabled

  vpass=<value>    [1,2] select internal first pass
                   or second pass of 2-pass mode.
                   default = 0 (1-pass mode)

The next 3 options apply only to I & P frames :

  vqmin=<value>    [1..31] minimum quantizer,
                   default = 3

  vqmax=<value>    [1..31] maximum quantizer
                   default = 15

  vqdiff=<value>   [1..31] quantizer difference.
                   Limits the maximum quantizer
                   difference between frames.
                   default = 3

The following options apply only to B frames :

  vmax_b_frames=<value>
                   [0..4] maximum number of frames
                   between each I/P frame.
                   default = 0 (B-frames generation
                   disabled)

  vb_strategy=<value>
                   strategy to choose between
                   I/P/B frames :
                     0 allways use max B
                     1 avoid B frames in high
                       motion / scene change (can
                       lead to filesize miss
                       prediction)
                   default = 0

  vb_qfactor=XXX   quantizer factor between b
                   and i/p frames (larger means
                   higher quantizer for b frames)
                   default = 2.0

In fixed quantizer mode you can use those options :
  vqscale, vmax_b_frames, vhq, vme, keyint

You can use the following options only in pass 1 of 2-pass mode or in 1-pass mode :
  vqblur, vqdiff

You can use the following options only in pass 2 of 2-pass mode :
  vrc_strategy, vb_strategy

All other options can be used in all modes.
.TP
.B \-mc\ <seconds/frame>
Maximum sync correction per frame (in seconds).
Use -mc 0 to disable input A/V sync.
.TP
.B \-mf <multifile options>
Used when encoding from multiple JPEG files.
Its sub-options are:

  on             turns on multifile support
  w=<value>      width of the output file [autodetected]
  h=<value>      height of the output file [autodetected]
  fps=<value>    fps of the output file [default: 25fps]
  type=<value>   type of input files (jpeg, png)
.TP
.B \-nobps
Used only for AVIs. Doesn't use the bps value in the AVI header, instead
calculates it.
.TP
.B \-nosound
Encode only video, no audio stream.
.TP
.B \-o <filename>
Outputs to the given filename, instead of the default 'test.avi'.
.TP
.B \-oac <codec name>
Encode with the given codec (codec names are from codecs.conf,
use -ovc help to get a list of available codecs).
Examples:

  -oac copy      no encoding, just streamcopy
  -oac pcm       encode to uncompressed PCM
  -oac mp3lame   encode to MP3 (using Lame)
.TP
.B \-ofps <fps>
The output file will have different frame/sec than the source.
You MUST set it for variable fps (asf, some mov) and progressive
(29.97fps telecined mpeg) files.
.TP
.B \-ovc <codec name>
Encode with the given codec (codec names are from codecs.conf, 
use -ovc help to get a list of available codecs).
Examples:

  -ovc copy      no encoding, just streamcopy
  -ovc divx4     encode to DivX4/DivX5 or XviD
  -ovc rawrgb    encode to uncompressed RGB24
  -ovc lavc      encode with a libavcodec codec
.TP
.B \-pass <1/2>
With this you can encode 2pass DivX4 files. First encode with -pass 1, then
with the same parameters, encode with -pass 2.
NOTE: for libavcodec 2-pass use -lavcopts vpass=1/2 instead of -pass 1/2
.TP
.B \-passlogfile <filename>
When encoding in 2pass mode, MEncoder dumps first pass' informations
to the given file instead of the default divx2pass.log.
.TP
.B \-pp <value>
See man mplayer.
.TP
.B \-ss <time>
Seek to given time position. For example:

    -ss 56         seeks to 56 seconds
    -ss 01:10:00   seeks to 1 hour 10 min

Can start only from keyframes!
.TP
.B \-sub <filename>
Given VOBsub/text subtitle will be encoded INTO the output file. Text
subtitles need fonts properly installed.
.TP
.B \-sws <software scaler type>
Type of scaling method (use with -vop scale=w:h)

    0   fast bilinear (default)
    1   bilinear
    2   bicubic (best quality)
    3   ?
    4   nearest neighbor (bad quality)
    5   area averageing scaling support
.TP
.B \-v, \-\-verbose
Increase verbosity.
.TP
.B \-vc <codec name>
Use specified codec (according to codecs.conf) for decoding input video
stream.
.TP
.B \-vcd <track>
Encode the specified VCD track.
.TP
.B \-vfm <codec family>
Force decoding by using a specific codec FAMILY, and FALLBACK to default
if failed.  For examples see MPlayer manpage.
.TP
.B \-vid <stream id>
If the source media contains multiple video streams, encode the specified one.

.SH "EXAMPLES"
.B Encoding DVD title #2
mencoder -dvd 2 -o title2.avi
.TP
.B Encoding DVD title #2, only selected chapters
mencoder -dvd 2 -chapter 10-15 -o title2.avi
.TP
.B The same, but with libavcodec family, MJPEG compression
mencoder -dvd 2 -o title2.avi -ovc lavc -lavcopts vcodec=mjpeg -ffourcc mjpg
.TP
.B Encoding all *.jpg files in the current dir
mencoder \*.jpg -mf on:w=800:h=600:fps=25 -o output.avi
.TP
.B Encoding from HTTP
mencoder http://mplayer.hq/example.avi -o example.avi
.TP
.B Encoding from tuner (see documentation!)
mencoder -tv on:driver=v4l:width=640:height=480 -o tv.avi
.TP
.B Encoding from a pipe
rar p test-SVCD.rar | mencoder -divx4opts br=800 -ofps 24 -pass 1 -- -
.TP
.B Encoding multiple *.vob files
cat *.vob | mencoder <options> -
  
.SH BUGS
Probably. PLEASE, double-check the documentation (especially bugreports.html),
the FAQ and the mail archive before!

Send your complete bugreports to the MPlayer-users mailing list at
<mplayer-users@mplayerhq.hu>. We love complete bugreports :)

.SH AUTHORS
Check documentation!

MPlayer is (C) 2000\-2002
.I Arpad Gereoffy <sendmail@to.mplayer-users>

This manpage is written and maintained by
.I Gabucino <sendmail@to.mplayer\-users>.

.SH STANDARD DISCLAIMER
Use only at your own risk! There may be errors and inaccuracies that could 
be damaging to your system or your eye. Proceed with caution, and although
this is highly unlikely, the author doesn't take any responsibility for that!
.\" end of file