HOWTO: Install and use the latest FFmpeg and x264

[andrew.46]

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[AlexOnVinyl]

When you compile x264 it should create the same files that libx264 and libx264-dev would create. If you add "--prefix=/usr" to the x264 configure line then these files will also install in the same location as the repo versions instead of the default /usr/local/lib. I'm unsure how to get Synaptic or apt to recognize this. I'm out of town until July 4 and can't test anything until then.

Will this guide work with 12.04LTS - I'm just running the commands now, and it seems to be doing its job, but then again, I'm a little clueless about whether or not its going to work.

Worst case scenario - how do I get rid of these and undo everything?

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Wow, that's an old quote of mine with questionable information (I prefer to keep compiled stuff in /usr/local and don't really recommend /usr).

I haven't tested the guide in 12.04 yet. I should do that soon, but I assume it should work just fine.

[mc4man]

I haven't tested the guide in 12.04 yet. I should do that soon, but I assume it should work just fine.

Just did a new 64 bit install of 12.04 - all's well with the guide, the vpx build was probably 90% warnings but went ok

A footnote of no concern - they finally spent 10 sec's adjusting the checkinstallrc so fstrans=no is now the default, probably best to just leave in the command for other users..

[Jose Catre-Vandis]

Just followed the 11.10 guide (32 bit) for 12.04 Xubuntu. Works a treat. Many thanks

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Just followed the 11.10 guide (32 bit) for 12.04 Xubuntu. Works a treat. Many thanks

I'm glad it worked for you. Coincidentally I updated the guide to 12.04: How to Compile FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu

"Updated" is an overstatement since the same instructions work for 12.04, 11.10, 11.04, and 10.10. All I did was download 12.04 and made sure everything worked (although mc4man already confirmed that).

[andrew.46]

Coincidentally I updated the guide to 12.04: How to Compile FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu

Good to see the new location is working out . Do you need --enable-libvpx in the FFmpeg ./configure string or is that still an optional extra?

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Good catch. Fixed. I decided to dump the "optional" junk as it was probably confusing some users.

[AlexOnVinyl]

Ok, I need a solid way to get the latest FFMpeg and x264 - because last time I followed the guide the way it was setup for Oneiric and then screwed up my whole gconf and had to reinstall everything.

I'm on 12.04LTS

Using: ffmpeg version 0.8.1-4:0.8.1-0ubuntu1
as far as x264 goes, I just grabbed what was off of the Medibuntu repo.

So please, for the safety of my system, and not having the grueling issues of using AptonCD to restore my .deb files without their dependencies in case of emergency, let's make a proper guide tailored towards 12.04.. otherwise I'm not going to take my chances again.

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Ok, I need a solid way to get the latest FFMpeg and x264 - because last time I followed the guide the way it was setup for Oneiric and then screwed up my whole gconf and had to reinstall everything.

Compiling ffmpeg and x264 should not do anything to gconf, and without detailed information about the issue and how to duplicate it I can not provide any useful suggestions.

I'm on 12.04LTS

The guide for Oneiric and Precise are the same.

Using: ffmpeg version 0.8.1-4:0.8.1-0ubuntu1
as far as x264 goes, I just grabbed what was off of the Medibuntu repo.

If the repository version works for you then you probably don't need to compile. Medibuntu does not provide x264, but it does provide libavcodec-extra-53 which can enable the libx264 encoder in the repository ffmpeg.

So please, for the safety of my system, and not having the grueling issues of using AptonCD to restore my .deb files without their dependencies in case of emergency, let's make a proper guide tailored towards 12.04.. otherwise I'm not going to take my chances again.

Again, I'm unsure what the issue is, but see How To Compile FFmpeg and x264 on Ubuntu for a guide suitable for 12.04. If there is anything wrong with it then let me know and I (or possibly someone else because it is a wiki) will try to fix it.