Advice for a FOSS project

[talsemgeest]

A pretty easy way to do it is this:

#all plugins must have this function defined! 
def convert( inputCodec, outputCodec, filename ): 
    errorHasOccurred = False
    errors = ""
    if inputCodec not in knownInputCodecs:
        errorHasOccurred = True
        errors += "inputCodec;"
    if outputCodec not in knownOutputCodecs:
        errorHasOccurred = True
        errors += "outputCodec;"

    #more error checking. 
    #Remember that all plugins should use the same names for their errors!

    if errorHasOccurred:
        return errors



    #perform the actual action. 
    #The details of this part are left up to the writer of the plugin.
    #Extra functions can be defined as necessary. "Convert" is the only one that is 
    #externally called from outside the plugin.

    return "success;"

Pretty simple spec, but you get the idea.

Ok, thanks for that, I get what you mean now.

Will you keep up with FFmpeg SVN or will you just stay with the new schedule of releases such as the recent FFmpeg 0.5? Personally I use SVN since development is active, but the releases would probably be easier to keep up with and most GUI users probably won't care. I recommend sticking with one or the other to prevent confusion like I sometimes see with the WinFF presets.

Are there differences in the commands between versions? Since choosing a version of ffmpeg doesn't have to be done until I go to package (probably around august-september), I will probably leave it until then to decide which is the best for my software. Still, it shouldn't really matter what is happening behind the scenes to the average user, they care more about the output video file than the backend software that does the hard work.

[paul.gevers]

Have support for most/all options PLEASE. WinFF only supports converting to a limited range of formats and only uses a tiny fraction of what ffmpeg's potential.

What options are you missing in WinFF? And which formats? You can write your own presets using ALL potential of ffmpeg (Howto make your own presets.) and if you are using predefined presets you can add additional options in the "Addition options" field.

If you are feeling that WinFF misses features, please file a wishlist bug in the bug tracker.

[paul.gevers]

Are there differences in the commands between versions? Since choosing a version of ffmpeg doesn't have to be done until I go to package (probably around august-september), I will probably leave it until then to decide which is the best for my software. Still, it shouldn't really matter what is happening behind the scenes to the average user, they care more about the output video file than the backend software that does the hard work.

As I understand it, if you are going to make a proper gui for ffmpeg, you should make a frontend for the library (libavcodec) instead of passing commands to ffmpeg (like Winff does). Commands change when the soname of the libraries are raised (which is done exactly to make sure you know the ABI is changed and you can still use your program.

[talsemgeest]

As I understand it, if you are going to make a proper gui for ffmpeg, you should make a frontend for the library (libavcodec) instead of passing commands to ffmpeg (like Winff does). Commands change when the soname of the libraries are raised (which is done exactly to make sure you know the ABI is changed and you can still use your program.

Ah, Ok, I see what you mean. So is libavcodec the only library I would have to interface with for this to work, or does ffmpeg use multiple libraries? But anyway, I'm sure I could learn how to pass the commands to libavcodec, provided it is not too complicated.

Thanks for the input Paul

[talsemgeest]

Ok, Im getting close to the stage of actually writing my software, but I need to check if there are any major options that are requested. Take a look at the screenshots and tell me if there is anything major missing.

[paul.gevers]

Take a look at the screenshots and tell me if there is anything major missing.

Not major, but ffmpeg allows for A LOT of (and IMPORTANT) tweaking of HOW a codec is supposed to encode the video. I don't see that possibility in your screenshots (yet). The problem with those additional parameters is that they usually (naming and such) depend on exactly which codec you are using. Also not all aspect ratios/resolutions are allowed in every codec.

Also the name "resolution" for the audio part, I find confusing, but that is just naming.

[talsemgeest]

Not major, but ffmpeg allows for A LOT of (and IMPORTANT) tweaking of HOW a codec is supposed to encode the video. I don't see that possibility in your screenshots (yet). The problem with those additional parameters is that they usually (naming and such) depend on exactly which codec you are using. Also not all aspect ratios/resolutions are allowed in every codec.

Also the name "resolution" for the audio part, I find confusing, but that is just naming.

Ok thanks Paul, I appreciate the help