Streaming Learning Center Releases New Book for FFmpeg Producers
New book by Jan Ozer helps producers learn to use FFmpeg fast
Galax, VA(16 Jun 2017)
FFmpeg powers some of the largest encoding farms in existence, including those built by Netflix and YouTube, and many commercial cloud encoders. FFmpeg is also deployed by many smaller sites who balk at paying between $5,000 - $25,000 for commercial software encoders. However, as a command line tool, FFmpeg can be challenging to learn and effectively use, particularly for programmers without backgrounds in video and streaming. Ditto for streaming experts with no knowledge of batch programming.
A new book by Jan Ozer entitled Learn to Produce Videos with FFmpeg in Thirty Minutes or Less, is designed to help both groups. As an overview, the book includes short chapters detailing FFmpeg options for each critical video configuration, including resolution, keyframe interval, bitrate control, and the like, and chapters on H.264, HEVC, and VP9 encoding. There’s also a chapter on producing adaptive bitrate packaging for HTTP Live Streaming covering FFmpeg and Apple HLS tools, and DASH via MP4Mox.
For programmers without video experience, there’s a chapter on streaming technology and best practices and configuration recommendations throughout the book. For programming newbies, there’s an introduction to batch programming on Windows, Linux, and the Mac. As a further learning aid, all command lines shown in the book are available for free download by those purchasing the book, which is available in paperback ($29.99) and PDF ($24.95).
The book is authored by Jan Ozer, a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine and owner of the Streaming Learning Center. Ozer is also the author of Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video. Much of the FFmpeg-based instruction is taken from this book.
“Multiple readers of Video Encoding by the Numbers commented that the FFmpeg-based instruction was so useful that I should create a separate book just for that,” commented the author. “So I did. It’s a short, focused book that really can get you encoding videos with FFmpeg in 30-minutes or less.”
About the Author
Jan Ozer is a leading expert on H.264 and HEVC encoding for live and on-demand production who consults widely on encoding-related topics. He has taught courses in video and streaming production since 1994—most recently at Streaming Media seminars in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. Ozer is a contributing editor to Streaming Media Magazine and has written or co-authored more than 20 books on digital-video-related topics, including Video Encoding by the Numbers: Eliminate the Guesswork from your Streaming Video (2017) and Producing Streaming Video for Multiple Screen Delivery (2013).
In addition to streaming live events, Jan shoots, edits, and produces events for local performers in southwest Virginia. He blogs at streaminglearningcenter.com.
For more information about the book, please click here. To request a review copy, or to contact the author, please email jozer@mindspring.com.