Custom FFmpeg Export Options

Peter 13Aug15: ToDo-2R I think I've gone as far as I'm going with this page - I've certainly gone as far as my understanding extends. I kind of figure that any user who ventures into this functionality should already have a good working knowledge of any configurable options for any format/codec combination they want to work with, it's dangerous territory otherwise ...

Peter 12Aug15: As far as I can see this has never been documented.

• Peter 12Aug15: there are a number of open Bugzilla entries associated with this that indicate that all may not be entirely well with this functionality:
  • from back in 2010 Bug 59 P3 Custom FFmpeg Export includes many invalid combinations. This looks pretty serious if it's still true
  • and also from 2010 Bug 135 P3 Custom FFmpeg Export dialogue does not respond to ENTER after clicking in the Formats or Codec selector in Linux
  • Bug 896 P3 Custom FFmpeg Export: Imported presets do not load
  • and one I added today Bug 1140 P4 - trivial, cosmetic, but very easily fixable fixed by Leland 26Aug15
  • another new one Bug 1142 P3 - imported presets for custom FFmpeg import overwrite existing presets without warning fixed by Leland 26Aug15 - but not tested yet

The Custom FFmpeg format options dialog appears in response to the Open custom FFmpeg format options button in the Export Audio or Export Multiple dialog Options pane when you have chosen Custom FFmpeg Export in the Save as type dropdown.

Presets

You can create and retrieve presets with Audacity and you can also export and import your presets to an external file thus allowing you to share presets with other users.

Use the Preset: dropdown menu to select the preset you want to work with by clicking on the black triangle at the right of the white box. You will also then need to use the Load Preset button for the preset to become active.

• Load Preset: loads the selected preset into Audacity for use in the subsequent audio export.
• Save Preset: saves a single preset to Audacity's internal storage. You will need to provide a name for the preset in the box next to Preset:. If you provide a preset name which already exists Audacity will ask if you want to overwrite it.
• Delete Preset: removes any previously created preset from Audacity's internal storage. You first need to select the preset from the Preset dropdown menu.
• Import Presets: imports an existing set of presets from an external file. Note that when you import presets they will be added to your existing list of presets and note very carefully that if any preset in your file to be imported has a preset name identical to any existing preset then it will simply overwrite it and you will not get a warning nor chance to abort that import or that particular preset import.
• Export Presets: exports a set of presets an external file in a folder and file name of your choice.

Peter 13Aug15: I have raised Bug 1142 P3 for the import overwrite without warning.

Formats

Use the Formats box on the left of the dialog to choose the format you want to use for your custom export by clicking on it from the list. Note that clicking on any particular format may reduce the adjacent list of codecs as not all formats work with all codecs.

Codecs

Use the Codecs box on the left of the dialog next to the Formats box to choose the codec you want to use for your custom export by clicking on it from the list. You can click to select a codec first but note that clicking on any particular codec may reduce the adjacent list of formats as not all formats work with all codecs.

General Options

This box has options that are configurable for all format and Codec combinations. For any particular combination of format and codec some options may not be available and they will be grayed out.

FLAC Options

This box has options that are only available when you select FLAC as your format and codec. For all other format and codec combinations it will be grayed out.

Known issues from the 2.1.1 Release Notes: Custom FFmpeg Export: many combinations of formats and codecs are incompatible, as are some combinations of general options and codecs. Some files may be exported as zero kb files In the "Custom FFmpeg Export" dialog, imported presets do not load. (Linux) Custom FFmpeg Export dialog does not respond to ENTER after clicking in the Formats or Codec selector.