HOWTO: Install and use the latest FFmpeg and x264

[@H.264]

:~/ffmpeg$ ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-gpl --enable-postproc --enable-libvorbis --enable-libtheora --disable-debug --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libfaad --enable-libfaac --enable-pthreads --enable-libx264
ERROR: LAME not found
If you think configure made a mistake, make sure you are using the latest
version from SVN.  If the latest version fails, report the problem to the
ffmpeg-user@mplayerhq.hu mailing list or IRC #ffmpeg on irc.freenode.net.
Include the log file "config.err" produced by configure as this will help
solving the problem.

Any idea what's wrong?

[synthaxx]

Any idea what's wrong?

Your probably trying to compile on Intrepid, in that case you need to do a:

sudo apt-get install libmp3lame-dev

That should fix it.

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Hi,

Thanks for the guide Fakeoutdoorsman . I did not use the checkinstall option as I am not a fan, and I will admit to using a few different options, but I would just like to mention that unlike a few people using Intrepid Ibex I can report that I did not have any x264 trouble with ffmpeg using the git x264.

Thanks for the update, Andrew. Good to hear it's working for you.

[HIGHLIFE]

Installation x264 in step 4 failed for me. Here is my log:

Selecting previously deselected package x264.
(Reading database ... 200661 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking x264 (from .../x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing /home/dcesiel/x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb (--install):
 trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/libx264.a', which is also in package libx264-dev
dpkg-deb: subprocess paste killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
 /home/dcesiel/x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb

How could I fix this?

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Installation x264 in step 4 failed for me. Here is my log:

Selecting previously deselected package x264.
(Reading database ... 200661 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking x264 (from .../x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb) ...
dpkg: error processing /home/dcesiel/x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb (--install):
 trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/libx264.a', which is also in package libx264-dev
dpkg-deb: subprocess paste killed by signal (Broken pipe)
Errors were encountered while processing:
 /home/dcesiel/x264/x264_20081104-1_i386.deb

How could I fix this?

Looks like you have libx264-dev installed. Remove it first before installing x264.

[@H.264]

How can i setup live update on ffmpeg+x264 only from official sites?
After installation always i'm getting update from Ubuntu nad always i have old configuration...

[nowhere@cox.net]

I also have a question about this process and updates. I just did a fresh install of Intrepid. I previously had Hardy and was encoding ipod videos all the time. I looked back in my bookmarks to see how I got it working and my bookmark pointed to this thread. I must have followed it before but updates never bothered me about updating ffmpeg or x264.

Now when I follow the intrepid howto here, I am constantly pestered to update these two. However, if I name them something else, dependencies to play videos are broken. I thought I could install both the svn and the repo versions but filenames are going to conflict since the howto instructs on how to install them in the repo locations.

Can someone give me concise advice on how to best install these two packages so they are available to other packages and I won't be bothered to update them all the time? I KNOW this has to be possible. We used to have to build all our own software before repos were around.

PS when I do sudo aptitude hold ffmpeg x264 it still bothers me to update. Do I need to reboot or something?

Thanks a ton!

[Lampi]

great howto, works just fine - now I'm curious:

does anyone make a next step towards building whole xine-lib 1.2 from scratch afterwards? I checked a dozen of howtos on this one, but none would cover the problems I encounter.

[nowhere@cox.net]

I see from this post

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...eg+ipod&page=2

that Medibuntu does not have an updated ffmpeg yet. I believe you used to be able to get an x264 enabled package there, mitigating the requirement to compile yourself and thus avoid the issues with the update bothering you.

I guess I will keep checking Medibuntu...

[FakeOutdoorsman]

Now when I follow the intrepid howto here, I am constantly pestered to update these two. However, if I name them something else, dependencies to play videos are broken.

I re-added a compile option to x264 (--enable-shared) so other programs, such as mplayer from the repository, can use the x264 library files.

PS when I do sudo aptitude hold ffmpeg x264 it still bothers me to update. Do I need to reboot or something?

Is aptitude still asking you to upgrade? Telling aptitude to hold the packages won't apply to apt-get, Synaptic, or the update manager thing in the toolbar. You can tell them to "hold" the package in Synaptic with "Package -> Lock Version".