FFMPEG Conversion Options

Question

So, I've got some video files I want to convert so they match the formatting on another video file. I've got the format data (from ffprobe) for the video I want to match but I'm not sure how to use that to determine the options to convert my other videos. Any help?

Here are the settings on the file I want to match from ffprobe:

    Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'clip #19.mov':
      Metadata:
        major_brand     : qt  
        minor_version   : 537199360
        compatible_brands: qt  
        creation_time   : 2013-03-05 22:27:26
      Duration: 00:15:00.00, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 119406 kb/s
        Stream #0:0(eng): Video: prores (apcn / 0x6E637061), yuv422p10le, 1440x1080, 117804 kb/s, SAR 4:3 DAR 16:9, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 2997 tbn, 2997 tbc
        Metadata:
          creation_time   : 2013-03-05 22:27:26
          handler_name    : Apple Alias Data Handler
          timecode        : 00:00:00;00
        Stream #0:1(eng): Audio: pcm_s16le (sowt / 0x74776F73), 48000 Hz, 2 channels, s16, 1536 kb/s
        Metadata:
          creation_time   : 2013-03-05 22:27:26
          handler_name    : Apple Alias Data Handler
        Stream #0:2(eng): Data: none (tmcd / 0x64636D74)
        Metadata:
          creation_time   : 2013-03-05 22:27:26
          handler_name    : Apple Alias Data Handler
          timecode        : 00:00:00;00
    Unsupported codec with id 0 for input stream 2

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

---

LordNeckbeard, thanks for your help. This is the result I get when I run the command you presented:

    Input #0, mpegts, from '00052.mts':
      Duration: 00:01:18.08, start: 1.000033, bitrate: 10323 kb/s
      Program 1 
        Stream #0:0[0x1011]: Video: h264 (High) (HDMV / 0x564D4448), yuv420p, 1440x1080 [SAR 4:3 DAR 16:9], 59.94 fps, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 59.94 tbc
        Stream #0:1[0x1100]: Audio: ac3 (AC-3 / 0x332D4341), 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 256 kb/s
        Stream #0:2[0x1200]: Subtitle: hdmv_pgs_subtitle ([144][0][0][0] / 0x0090)
    [AVFilterGraph @ 0x7ff691c15440] No such filter: ''
    Error opening filters!

Answer 1

ffmpeg -i input -c:v prores -vf scale=1440:1080,fps=ntsc -c:a pcm_s16le -ar 48000 -ac 2 output.mov

Alternatively, you can remove ,fps=ntsc and use -r ntsc or -r 30000/1001 instead if you prefer, but I assume the results will be the same.

You can change the ProRes target bitrate with the -profile option:

-profile           <int>        E..V.. (from 0 to 3)
   proxy                        E..V..
   lt                           E..V..
   standard                     E..V..
   hq                           E..V..

For example, using -profile 3 will choose the Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) profile which will result in a higher bitrate than the default standard profile. See the Apple ProRes White Paper for profile details.

Note that trying to exactly duplicate settings may cause unexpected results: such as when emphatically forcing a scaling size (may affect aspect) or when changing frame rate (may drop or duplicate frames). Consider keeping the original frame size and frame rate if possible, and if supported by ProRes.