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All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG

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  All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-09 02:46 +0000
    Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-08 22:18 -0500
    Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG John McCue <jmclnx@gmail.com.invalid> - 2026-11-09 18:20 +0000
      Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-09 19:43 +0000
        Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2026-11-10 02:47 +0000
          Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-10 03:23 +0000
          Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-10 10:48 +0000
            Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-10 20:58 +0000
              Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2026-11-10 21:45 +0000
            Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-10 22:30 -0500
        Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Roger Blake <rogblake@iname.invalid> - 2026-11-12 23:01 +0000
      Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-11-09 22:50 +0000
        Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-09 22:14 -0500
        Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-10 03:50 +0000
          Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2026-11-09 23:23 -0500
            Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-10 05:09 +0000
    Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG not@telling.you.invalid (Computer Nerd Kev) - 2026-11-10 06:25 +1000
      Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> - 2026-11-09 20:46 +0000
    Re: All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG "Joel W. Crump" <joelcrump@gmail.com> - 2026-11-10 05:26 -0500

#95371 — All Eggs In One Basket: FFMPEG

FFMPEG is, AFAIK, the one-and-only comprehensive FOSS video
processing software:

<https://ffmpeg.org/>

FFMPEG is used by sundry other software packages and it also
powers many of the giant video streaming services.

But is it wise to have only a single entity, however competent?

I produce screen-grab videos for my web site and I use the
FFMPEG x11grab device in conjunction with Nvidia nvenc with
excellent results.  But recently, I discovered, and reported,
a SERIOUS BUG:

<https://code.ffmpeg.org/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/issues/23077>

After a lag of a few months, the bug has been confirmed.
However, no fix seems forthcoming.  The latest FFMPEG
release still exhibits the issue.

I can understand that FFMPEG is a huge project and only
the most urgent problems can be addresses quickly, but
since FFMPEG is the *only* GNU/Linux software that provides
X11 screen grabbing I am literally dead in the water
until a fix is implemented.

The situation is not good.  FOSS should encourage more
diversity in application software.  To have only a single
video processing tool is a disaster waiting to happen --
and it has happened.

Aside:

Note that the FFMPEG investigator is using a NVIDIA
RTX 5090 card.  Whew!  What a lucky mutherfucker!

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#95373

On 11/8/26 21:46, Distro Lackey wrote:
> FFMPEG is, AFAIK, the one-and-only comprehensive FOSS video
> processing software:
> 
> <https://ffmpeg.org/>
> 
> FFMPEG is used by sundry other software packages and it also
> powers many of the giant video streaming services.
> 
> But is it wise to have only a single entity, however competent?


   Strictly, no. However it DOES work and pretty
   well to boot. "Good Enough" can be Good Enough.

   There ARE alts that are FAIRLY well supported.
   If you hate FFMPEG *that* much, then ....

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#95389

Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> wrote:
> FFMPEG is, AFAIK, the one-and-only comprehensive FOSS video
> processing software:
> 
> <https://ffmpeg.org/>
> 
> FFMPEG is used by sundry other software packages and it also
> powers many of the giant video streaming services.
> 
> But is it wise to have only a single entity, however competent?
> 
> I produce screen-grab videos for my web site and I use the
> FFMPEG x11grab device in conjunction with Nvidia nvenc with
> excellent results.  But recently, I discovered, and reported,
> a SERIOUS BUG:
> 
> <https://code.ffmpeg.org/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/issues/23077>
> 
> After a lag of a few months, the bug has been confirmed.
> However, no fix seems forthcoming.  The latest FFMPEG
> release still exhibits the issue.
<snip>

Funny, just today I saw on mastodon an issue with GTK
that affects GNU Emacs.  The person submitted the issue
in 2019, they just got a response stating a patch was or
about to be created for GTK.

Seems these days we need to me patient :(

I think in 1995, I asked a question in comp.linux about
having the VTs split between a VGA and B&W monitor on a
368sx with 2 monitors.  A couple of days later a patch
was posted.  Seems projects have gotten so large it now
mirrors what happens on proprietary software.

-- 
[t]csh(1) - "An elegant shell, for a more... civilized age."
                        - Paraphrasing Star Wars

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#95390

On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 18:20:48 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:

> 
> Funny, just today I saw on mastodon an issue with GTK
> that affects GNU Emacs.  The person submitted the issue
> in 2019, they just got a response stating a patch was or
> about to be created for GTK.
> 
> Seems these days we need to me patient :(
> 

To be fair, the "Issues" section of ffmpeg.org lists 325 open
reports and most of those are confirmed bugs.  Since FFMPEG is
a FOSS project its manpower is limited and hence one must expect
delays.

What puzzles me is that my problem is a SERIOUS BUG.  Screen grabs
under X11 are no longer possible if audio grabbing is included.
Doesn't anyone else do screen grabs?  Other screen grab software,
such as OBS, use FFMPEG as a backend and should also experience
the issue.  I would therefore expect a resounding outcry.

Bug response depends on the project.  Bugs reported to the Linux
kernel mailing list, if sufficient supporting evidence is provided,
will be addressed literally within hours.  Projects that are
developed by a small number of people also tend to respond quickly.

I suspect that the slow response to the GTK bug referred to above 
is due to the pomposity of the Freedesktop/RedHat developers.
They will reject anything that does not conform to their idea
of "modern."

But overall, aside from the corporate controlled projects, the
FOSS response to bug reporting is quite admirable.

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#95400

On Mon, 09 Nov 2026 19:43:12 +0000, Distro Lackey wrote:

> What puzzles me is that my problem is a SERIOUS BUG.  Screen grabs under
> X11 are no longer possible if audio grabbing is included. Doesn't anyone
> else do screen grabs?

A related question is 'does anyone do screen grabs on X11?'  I don't want 
to get into that can'o'worms but is it possible the ffmpeg maintainers are 
paying more attention to Wayland problems?

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#95404

On 10 Nov 2026 02:47:01 GMT, rbowman wrote:

> 
> A related question is 'does anyone do screen grabs on X11?'  I don't want 
> to get into that can'o'worms but is it possible the ffmpeg maintainers are 
> paying more attention to Wayland problems?
>

If you read the bug report, the diagnostics reveal:

1) The introducing commit is d119ae2fd8, “fftools/ffmpeg: convert to
a threaded architecture.”

2) The local root cause is that downstream scheduling pauses audio
acquisition while NVENC buffers video.

3) This can be eliminated with the option "-delay 0" but then this may
also affect throughput.


Screen grabbing with wayland is nonsense because the security obsession
of the wayland developers causes each program to run in its own sandbox.
One program can't know what the other is doing and such communication
is necessary for screen grabbing.

Wayland is pure junk and should be avoided by any technically sane person.

Screen grabbing with X11 is simple and straightforward as it should be.

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#95418

On 2026-11-10, rbowman wrote:

> On Mon, 09 Nov 2026 19:43:12 +0000, Distro Lackey wrote:
>
>> What puzzles me is that my problem is a SERIOUS BUG.  Screen grabs under
>> X11 are no longer possible if audio grabbing is included. Doesn't anyone
>> else do screen grabs?
>
> A related question is 'does anyone do screen grabs on X11?'  I don't want 
> to get into that can'o'worms but is it possible the ffmpeg maintainers are 
> paying more attention to Wayland problems?

Does "screen grab" mean anything other than screenshot and possibly
recording video?

I've done both under X11, although the former much more than the latter
(for which I've IIRC used recordmydesktop, I wanted just video, but its
online manual page states it does support audio too).

-- 
Nuno Silva

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#95449

On Tue, 10 Nov 2026 10:48:45 +0000, Nuno Silva wrote:

> 
> (for which I've IIRC used recordmydesktop
>

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

"recordmydesktop" sounds like a kitchen program that is
tailored for brain-dead housewives.

What else can one expect from a Usenet group that can't progress
beyond 100-year-old mainframe technology?

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#95453

On 10/11/2026 20:58, Distro Lackey wrote:
> What else can one expect from a Usenet group that can't progress
> beyond 100-year-old mainframe technology?
> 

Well at least not the utter stupidity of some smartass who thinks 
Mainframes were invented in 1926.

-- 
"When one man dies it's a tragedy. When thousands die it's statistics."

Josef Stalin

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#95466

On 11/10/26 05:48, Nuno Silva wrote:
> On 2026-11-10, rbowman wrote:
> 
>> On Mon, 09 Nov 2026 19:43:12 +0000, Distro Lackey wrote:
>>
>>> What puzzles me is that my problem is a SERIOUS BUG.  Screen grabs under
>>> X11 are no longer possible if audio grabbing is included. Doesn't anyone
>>> else do screen grabs?
>>
>> A related question is 'does anyone do screen grabs on X11?'  I don't want
>> to get into that can'o'worms but is it possible the ffmpeg maintainers are
>> paying more attention to Wayland problems?
> 
> Does "screen grab" mean anything other than screenshot and possibly
> recording video?
> 
> I've done both under X11, although the former much more than the latter
> (for which I've IIRC used recordmydesktop, I wanted just video, but its
> online manual page states it does support audio too).

   Wrote a Python script ... the goal was to
   capture a SMALL camera video but the main
   goal was the AUDIO track. After a LOT of
   fooling around, FFMPEG now does that.

   Now capture RTSP video and save at a small
   frame size 1fps but WITH continuous audio.
   If evil perps show up it'll leave the cops
   with SOMETHING to work with. "Older Than"
   function nukes old vids.

   The prob with FFMPEG is that there are SO many
   ways to "get there". Some are easier and/or
   more efficient than others. The online suggestions
   are ALL OVER THE PLACE. Basically had to try a
   LOT of online 'suggestions' and then tweak - add
   and subtract and such - to get the DESIRED effect.

   But it WORKS, very reliably.

   FFMPEG is a sort of super-giant Swiss
   Army Knife. That's SORT OF good, but
   can also be very CONFUSING.

   Note FFMPEG shit is highly optimized for
   X11 ... distros that default to fuckin'
   Wayland, you'll need to change that.

   Note the recent PI-OS versions default to
   Wayland. Fucks up tons of stuff. Still
   hoping Wayland JUST DIES. I'll never
   use it for ANYTHING.

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#95588

On 2026-11-09, Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> wrote:
> What puzzles me is that my problem is a SERIOUS BUG.  Screen grabs
> under X11 are no longer possible if audio grabbing is included.
> Doesn't anyone else do screen grabs?

I use "SimpleScreenRecorder" to record video and audio. (I don't
know if it uses ffmpeg on the backend.) If I need a single frame
the resulting video file can be played in VLC which can grab a
frame as a photo.

-- 
  Roger Blake

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#95394

On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 18:20:48 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:

> Seems projects have gotten so large it now mirrors what happens on
> proprietary software.

Unlike proprietary software, nobody is stopping anyone from stepping
forward to offer a fix.

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#95403

On 11/9/26 17:50, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 18:20:48 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
> 
>> Seems projects have gotten so large it now mirrors what happens on
>> proprietary software.
> 
> Unlike proprietary software, nobody is stopping anyone from stepping
> forward to offer a fix.

   Quite true.

   NOT as many 'fixes' these days however. On the
   plus that kind of means that most core apps
   have almost reached perfection  :-)

   Seems most probs these days stem from the
   exact combo of HARDWARE in yer box. So
   many variants, weekly driver updates ....
   eternal moving target .......

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#95406

On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 22:50:31 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:

> On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 18:20:48 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
> 
>> Seems projects have gotten so large it now mirrors what happens on
>> proprietary software.
> 
> Unlike proprietary software, nobody is stopping anyone from stepping
> forward to offer a fix.
>

FFMPEG is in an entirely different league that other FOSS projects.

FFMPEG is almost unbelievable in the scope that it has attained.
It is globally critical.  Both YouTube and Netflix depend on it.

<https://www.buddhsentripathi.com/blogs/ffmpeg-video-streaming-platform>

Yet, supposedly, it is developed entirely by volunteers.

The significance of this is that only corporate sponsors are likely
to have the necessary resources to analyze and fix bugs.

Before too long, FFMPEG will have become something akin to the Linux
kernel in its import and its development.

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#95408

On 11/9/26 22:50, Distro Lackey wrote:
> On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 22:50:31 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> 
>> On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 18:20:48 -0000 (UTC), John McCue wrote:
>>
>>> Seems projects have gotten so large it now mirrors what happens on
>>> proprietary software.
>>
>> Unlike proprietary software, nobody is stopping anyone from stepping
>> forward to offer a fix.
>>
> 
> FFMPEG is in an entirely different league that other FOSS projects.
> 
> FFMPEG is almost unbelievable in the scope that it has attained.
> It is globally critical.  Both YouTube and Netflix depend on it.
> 
> <https://www.buddhsentripathi.com/blogs/ffmpeg-video-streaming-platform>

   An option for EVERYTHING - IF you can find it in
   the docs/discussions. Use it, with a LONG list of
   params, for several useful things.

   PROBLEM is that the various docs/discussions will
   often lead you to different places. Many ways, maybe
   TOO many ways, to Get It Done.

   One of my applications ... ultimately cut-down the
   FFMPEG line by nearly HALF. Now works better/faster.
   LOTS of experiments. All the docs said this or
   that or whatever ...

   Latest, wanted to capture an IP camera. However
   the goal wasn't fast/hi-rez video but MINIMAL
   video WITH the SOUND. It's my only front-yard
   camera exposed to the outside with audio. The
   goal was JUST enough vid 'for reference', the
   rest was the audio. FFMPEG did ultimately deliver,
   but it was a FIGHT. Everybody had the Better Idea
   on How To Do it.

> Yet, supposedly, it is developed entirely by volunteers.

   Don't think anyone is getting paid much of
   anything - it's all for The Cause.

> The significance of this is that only corporate sponsors are likely
> to have the necessary resources to analyze and fix bugs.
> 
> Before too long, FFMPEG will have become something akin to the Linux
> kernel in its import and its development.

   Umm ... not sure about THAT.

   However it IS very important for moving X to Y to Z
   in an efficient way nothing else really competes with.
   Indeed a "core utility" for the modern world.

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#95410

On Mon, 9 Nov 2026 23:23:40 -0500, c186282 wrote:

> 
>    An option for EVERYTHING - IF you can find it in
>    the docs/discussions. Use it, with a LONG list of
>    params, for several useful things.
> 
>    PROBLEM is that the various docs/discussions will
>    often lead you to different places. Many ways, maybe
>    TOO many ways, to Get It Done.
> 

Well, ffmpeg is not TurboTax.  A requisite for use is a thorough
understanding of digital video processing techniques.  Otherwise,
many frontends are available for the uninformed.

>
>    One of my applications ... ultimately cut-down the
>    FFMPEG line by nearly HALF. Now works better/faster.
>    LOTS of experiments. All the docs said this or
>    that or whatever ...
> 
>    Latest, wanted to capture an IP camera. However
>    the goal wasn't fast/hi-rez video but MINIMAL
>    video WITH the SOUND. It's my only front-yard
>    camera exposed to the outside with audio. The
>    goal was JUST enough vid 'for reference', the
>    rest was the audio. FFMPEG did ultimately deliver,
>    but it was a FIGHT. Everybody had the Better Idea
>    on How To Do it.
> 

For capturing video using the Linux kernel module v4l2
I used to use a program called "transcode," and the results
were definitely superior to those with ffmpeg.

Unfortunately, transcode, along with other video processors,
was buried by the surge of ffmpeg.

The last version of transcode is found here (I doubt if it can
be compiled):

<https://fr2.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=transcode>

That was my original point.  There should be more alternatives
but the world has shifted exclusively to ffmpeg.


>> Yet, supposedly, it is developed entirely by volunteers.
> 
>    Don't think anyone is getting paid much of
>    anything - it's all for The Cause.
> 

The grubbing corps couldn't care less about the "Cause."
If ffmpeg becomes too infiltrated by corporate sponsorship
then the "Cause" will cease to exist.

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#95391

Distro Lackey <dl@lackey.com> wrote:
> FFMPEG is, AFAIK, the one-and-only comprehensive FOSS video
> processing software:
> 
> <https://ffmpeg.org/>

What about Mencoder? Although I think they both use the same
libraries underneath.

> I produce screen-grab videos for my web site and I use the
> FFMPEG x11grab device in conjunction with Nvidia nvenc with
> excellent results.

A quick search suggests that Mencoder doesn't support screen
capture though.

-- 
__          __
#_ < |\| |< _#

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#95392

On 10 Nov 2026 06:25:04 +1000, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

> 
> What about Mencoder? 
>

Mencoder does not support Nvidia nvenc, which is the ability
to offload all video capture to the GPU.

Using the GPU to screen grab video is a boon in that the
CPU can run applications and produce video output without
any overhead encumbrance.

I can easily fallback to FFMPEG version 6.x.x. to screen
grab video with nvenc, but the sooner a fix is implemented
the better.

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#95415

On 11/8/2026 9:46 PM, Distro Lackey wrote:

> FFMPEG is, AFAIK, the one-and-only comprehensive FOSS video
> processing software:
> 
> <https://ffmpeg.org/>
> 
> FFMPEG is used by sundry other software packages and it also
> powers many of the giant video streaming services.
> 
> But is it wise to have only a single entity, however competent?
> 
> I produce screen-grab videos for my web site and I use the
> FFMPEG x11grab device in conjunction with Nvidia nvenc with
> excellent results.  But recently, I discovered, and reported,
> a SERIOUS BUG:
> 
> <https://code.ffmpeg.org/FFmpeg/FFmpeg/issues/23077>
> 
> After a lag of a few months, the bug has been confirmed.
> However, no fix seems forthcoming.  The latest FFMPEG
> release still exhibits the issue.
> 
> I can understand that FFMPEG is a huge project and only
> the most urgent problems can be addresses quickly, but
> since FFMPEG is the *only* GNU/Linux software that provides
> X11 screen grabbing I am literally dead in the water
> until a fix is implemented.
> 
> The situation is not good.  FOSS should encourage more
> diversity in application software.  To have only a single
> video processing tool is a disaster waiting to happen --
> and it has happened.
> 
> Aside:
> 
> Note that the FFMPEG investigator is using a NVIDIA
> RTX 5090 card.  Whew!  What a lucky mutherfucker!


Use the same brilliant solution you had, when you couldn't order 
groceries online with a browser running under Gentoo/LFS, use your spare 
Windows PC (pirated software, of course) to run an app to do the job.

-- 
Joel W. Crump

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