FFmpeg vs MEncoder; Which do you prefer to use?

[GammaRay256]

So which do you prefer to use? FFmpeg directly, or MEncoder?

I use FFmpeg most of the time, the command line options make more sense to me; I also like FFplay for playing most videos and audio because it is fast and lightweight.
The exception is DVDs, I use MEncoder to encode DVDs (and MPlayer or VLC to play DVDs).

I know FFmpeg is used by MEncoder; but the command line options for using each directly are significantly different and I'm wondering what most people prefer to use.

[loell]

which ever fits the known task, say i googled to convert a certain type of format and it suggest any of the two, i just copy/paste it.

[GammaRay256]

which ever fits the known task, say i googled to convert a certain type of format and it suggest any of the two, i just copy/paste it.

I agree, and I do the same if I don't know what to enter. But if I am performing an operation from memory, I can remember FFmpeg better. Also, when given a choice, I would probably choose FFmpeg over MEncoder.

Example:
ffmpeg -i input.flv -sameq -acodec mp3 -ab 128k out.mpg
A basic operation for converting a video with a less-supported format to a common format that most programs will support.

[netyire]

I like mencoder much more then ffmpeg, mostly due to having read more of it's documentation and having used it most of the time. I stumbled across it when looking up the mplayer project; only found out about ffmpeg when mencoder died on a bad flv file Guess familiarity breeds bias

Bias aside though, mencoder and ffmpeg both have their strong points. Mencoder has better video and audio filtering capabilities imho, ffmpeg trumps on file support and error resilience.

PS: Thanks for the nifty ffmpeg command!