Configure FFmpeg on Linux: A Step-by-Step Guide

FFmpeg is an incredibly powerful and versatile tool for working with video and audio files, but installing it can sometimes seem like a daunting task, especially for those new to Linux. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of configuring FFmpeg on Ubuntu 19.04.

Before we begin, let's take a look at what FFmpeg is and what it can do. FFmpeg is a free and open-source project consisting of a vast software suite of libraries and programs for handling video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams. It's a video editing software that can be used to convert audio and video streams in Linux.

To start, you'll need to download the FFMPEG package using the wget command. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Open your terminal: The first step is to open your terminal on your Linux machine.

2. Use the wget command: Once your terminal is open, use the wget command to download the FFMPEG package. Here's an example of how you might do this:

```

wget http://ffmpeg.org/releases/ffmpeg-4.1.3.tar.bz2

```

This will download the latest version of FFMPEG (version 4.1.3 at the time of writing).

3. Extract the package: Once the download is complete, you'll need to extract the package using a tool like tar. Here's an example:

```

tar -xvf ffmpeg-4.1.3.tar.bz2

```

This will create a new directory containing the FFMPEG files.

4. Change into the directory: The next step is to change into the directory where you extracted the FFMPEG package using the cd command. Here's an example:

```

cd ffmpeg-4.1.3

```

5. Configure FFmpeg: With your terminal set up and ready, it's time to configure FFmpeg. You can do this by running the following command:

```

./configure --prefix=/usr/local/ffmpeg

```

This will configure FFMPEG for installation on your machine.

6. Compile and install FFmpeg: Once you've configured FFMPEG, you'll need to compile and install it using the make command. Here's an example:

```

make

sudo make install

```

This will compile and install FFMPEG on your system.

And that's it! With these steps complete, you should now have FFmpeg installed on your Ubuntu 19.04 machine. To view the contents of the package, simply run the following command in your terminal:

```

ls /usr/local/ffmpeg

```

This will list all of the files and directories contained within the FFMPEG installation.

With FFMpeg configured and installed, you're ready to start using it to convert audio and video streams on your Linux machine.

Configure ffmpeg linux