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Using FFmpeg with Red5 Pro for live streaming RTMP and RTSP


Introduction

FFmpeg is an open-source audio/video processing software which is capable of grabbing, publishing, downloading and transcoding media streams in real-time and via post-processing.

Given its vast range of supported codecs, FFmpeg can be used as an encoder/decoder in conjunction with Red5 pro to work with media streams. FFmpeg also popularly known as the Swiss knife of streaming.

FFmpeg commands are command line based. They are generally executed from your shell/command prompt. Alternately you can also execute these commands from a programming language API for executing command line processes.

The basic format of an FFmpeg command:

ffmpeg [input-flags] -i [input-source] [output-flags] [output-destination]

FFmpeg supports various types of streaming and non-streaming media inputs over a wide range of protocols. [input-flags] refers to special command line parameters that can be used to configure an input being read into FFmpeg. [input-source] refers to one or more input sources specified in the FFmpeg command. FFmpeg is capable of reading multiple inputs (streaming/non-streaming) through a single command. [output-flags] are used to configure the FFmpeg output such as quality, bitrate, format, container etcetera. And finally the [output-destination] specifies the format and container of the output media (streaming/non-streaming). Similar to inputs, FFmpeg is capable of providing multiple outputs as well. In the case of multiple outputs, combinations of [output-flags] and [output-destination] are repeated for each targeted output.

For more information on FFmpeg flags and outputs, please refer to the Recommended links section.