External resources
$ ls -la /external — links worth bookmarking, organized by topic.
Official FFmpeg documentation
FFmpeg official documentation ↗
ffmpeg.org/documentation.html
The canonical reference. Complete, dense, the ultimate source of truth.
FFmpeg Wiki ↗
trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki
Community-maintained wiki with practical guides and tutorials.
FFmpeg command-line reference ↗
ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html
Detailed reference for the
ffmpeg CLI itself, every flag.Community resources
ffmprovisr ↗
amiaopensource.github.io/ffmprovisr
A fantastic recipe collection from media archivists and preservation specialists. Tested commands for common workflows.
Smooth video with frame interpolation ↗
blog.programster.org/…frame-interpolation
Tutorial on using FFmpeg's
minterpolate filter to generate higher-framerate video from existing frames.BlueSwordM's SVT-AV1 guide ↗
gist.github.com/BlueSwordM
A practical beginner's guide to AV1 encoding with SVT-AV1. Essential parameters, preset selection, and optimization tips for live-action and anime.
Codec documentation
x264 / H.264 encoding guide ↗
trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/H.264
FFmpeg Wiki guide for H.264/AVC encoding parameters and presets.
x265 / H.265 encoding guide ↗
trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/H.265
FFmpeg Wiki guide for H.265/HEVC encoding.
VP9 encoding guide ↗
trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/VP9
FFmpeg Wiki guide for VP9 encoding.
AV1 encoding guide ↗
trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/AV1
FFmpeg Wiki guide for AV1 encoding.
Learning resources
FFmpeg official tutorial ↗
ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-all.html#Tutorial
Official beginner's tutorial from the FFmpeg project.
FFmpeg Basics (book) ↗
FFmpeg Basics by Frantisek Korbel
Comprehensive book covering FFmpeg fundamentals and multimedia handling.
Digital Video Introduction ↗
github.com/leandromoreira/digital_video_introduction
Excellent gentle introduction to digital video concepts. Worth reading before tweaking encoder flags.
Technical references
x264 settings reference ↗
chaneru.com/Roku/HLS/X264_Settings.htm
Detailed x264 parameter explanations — useful when the official help text isn't enough.
SVT-AV1 documentation ↗
gitlab.com/AOMediaCodec/SVT-AV1
Official SVT-AV1 encoder documentation.
libvpx VP9 parameters ↗
developers.google.com/media/vp9
Google's VP9 VOD encoding recommendations.
Tools & utilities
MediaInfo ↗
mediaarea.net/MediaInfo
Detailed technical information about video and audio files. The first tool to reach for when something looks off.
FFprobe ↗
ffmpeg.org/ffprobe.html
FFmpeg's stream analyzer. Inspect everything about a media file from the CLI.
HandBrake ↗
handbrake.fr
Open-source video transcoder with a GUI. Built on top of x264, x265, and other libraries.
ffmpeg-normalize ↗
github.com/slhck/ffmpeg-normalize
Python CLI wrapper that batch-normalizes audio loudness using EBU R128 (two-pass), RMS, or peak modes.