Compile FFmpeg on Ubuntu

This guide supports Ubuntu Precise Pangolin 12.04, Ubuntu Oneiric Ocelot 11.10, Ubuntu Natty Narwhal 11.04, and Ubuntu Maverick Meerkat 10.10.

Note: Copy and paste the whole code box for each step.

Preparation

Remove any existing packages:

sudo apt-get remove ffmpeg x264 libvpx-dev libx264-dev

Get the dependencies:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential checkinstall git libfaac-dev libjack-jackd2-dev \
  libmp3lame-dev libopencore-amrnb-dev libopencore-amrwb-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev \
  libva-dev libvdpau-dev libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev texi2html yasm zlib1g-dev

Installation

x264

H.264 video encoder. The following commands will get the current source files, compile, and install x264.

cd
git clone git://git.videolan.org/x264
cd x264
./configure --enable-static
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion="3:$(./version.sh | \
  awk -F'[" ]' '/POINT/{print $4"+git"$5}')" --backup=no --deldoc=yes \
  --fstrans=no --default

Note: See  using snapshots if you are having connection issues with the Git server.

libvpx

VP8 video encoder and decoder.

cd
git clone http://git.chromium.org/webm/libvpx.git
cd libvpx
./configure
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=libvpx --pkgversion="1:$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M)-git" --backup=no \
    --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no --default

FFmpeg

cd
git clone --depth 1 git://source.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg
cd ffmpeg
./configure --enable-gpl --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb \
    --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libx264 \
    --enable-nonfree --enable-version3 --enable-x11grab
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=ffmpeg --pkgversion="5:$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M)-git" --backup=no \
  --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no --default
hash x264 ffmpeg ffplay ffprobe

Installation is now complete and FFmpeg is now ready for use. You can keep the x264, libvpx, and ffmpeg directories in your home directory if you plan on updating later. See Updating FFmpeg below for more details. Some optional steps are next followed by instructions on updating FFmpeg and finally instructions on reverting all changes made by this guide.

Optional Installation

qt-faststart

This is a useful tool if you're showing your H.264 in MP4 videos on the web. It relocates some data in the video to allow playback to begin before the file is completely downloaded. Usage: qt-faststart input.mp4 output.mp4.

cd ~/ffmpeg
make tools/qt-faststart
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=qt-faststart --pkgversion="$(date +%Y%m%d%H%M)-git" --backup=no \
  --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no --default install -Dm755 tools/qt-faststart \
  /usr/local/bin/qt-faststart

Add lavf support to x264

This allows x264 to accept just about any input that FFmpeg can handle and is useful if you want to use x264 directly. See a  more detailed explanation of what this means.

cd ~/x264
make distclean
./configure --enable-static
make
sudo checkinstall --pkgname=x264 --pkgversion="3:$(./version.sh | \
  awk -F'[" ]' '/POINT/{print $4"+git"$5}')" --backup=no --deldoc=yes \
  --fstrans=no --default

Updating FFmpeg

Development of FFmpeg and x264 is active and an occasional update can give you new features and bug fixes. First, remove some packages and then update the dependencies:

sudo apt-get -y remove ffmpeg x264 libx264-dev libvpx-dev
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential git checkinstall yasm texi2html \
  libfaac-dev libjack-jackd2-dev libmp3lame-dev libopencore-amrnb-dev \
  libopencore-amrwb-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev libva-dev libvdpau-dev \
  libvorbis-dev libx11-dev libxfixes-dev zlib1g-dev

x264

cd ~/x264
make distclean
git pull

Now run ./configure, make, and make install as shown in the Install x264 section.

libvpx

cd ~/libvpx
make clean
git pull

Now run ./configure, make, and make install as shown in the Install libvpx section.

FFmpeg

cd ~/ffmpeg
make distclean
git pull

Now run ./configure, make, and make install as shown in the Install FFmpeg section.

Reverting Changes Made by This Guide

To remove FFmpeg/x264 and other packages added for this guide:

sudo apt-get -y autoremove x264 ffmpeg qt-faststart build-essential git checkinstall \
  yasm texi2html libfaac-dev libjack-jackd2-dev libmp3lame-dev libsdl1.2-dev libtheora-dev \
  libva-dev libvdpau-dev libvorbis-dev libvpx libx11-dev libxfixes-dev zlib1g-dev

Lastly, delete the x264, libvpx, and ffmpeg directories in your home folder.

If You Need Help

Feel free to ask your questions at the #ffmpeg IRC channel or the ffmpeg-user mailing list.