Use Java FFmpeg wrapper, or simply use Java runtime to execute FFmpeg?

Question

I'm pretty new to Java, need to write a program that listen to video conversion instructions and convert the video once an new instruction arrives. (Instructions are stored in Amazon SQS, but it's irrelevant to my question)

I'm facing a choice, either use Java runtime to exec FFmpeg conversion (like from command line), or I can use a FFmpeg wrapper written in Java.

http://fmj-sf.net/ffmpeg-java/getting_started.php

I'd much prefer using Java runtime to exec FFmpeg directly, and avoid using java-ffmpeg wrapper as I have to learn the library.

So my question is this: Are there any benefits using java-ffmpeg wrapper over exec FFmpeg directly using Runtime?

I don't need FFmpeg to play videos, just convert videos.

score 38 · Accepted Answer · edited May 20 '22 at 06:40

38

If I'm not mistaken, the "ffmpeg-wrapper" project you linked to is out of date and not maintained. FFmpeg is a very active project, lot's of changes and releases all the time.

You should look at the Xuggler project, this provides a Java API for what you want to do, and they have tight integration with FFmpeg.

http://www.xuggle.com/xuggler/

Should you choose to go down the Runtime.exec() path, this Red5 thread should be useful:

http://www.nabble.com/java-call-ffmpeg-ts15886850.html

edited May 20 '22 at 06:40

Lii

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answered Aug 15 '09 at 08:19

Peter Thomas

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just took a brief look at xuggler documentation, exactly what I need. thanks for helping! – Beier Aug 15 '09 at 10:28
Great. Just be aware that it is GPL, you may need a commercial license in production. – Peter Thomas Aug 15 '09 at 10:36
2

Actually Xuggler is now LGPL (although it will be GPL if you use it with libx264) – Art Clarke Dec 11 '09 at 22:57
Xuggler is on hiatus now. http://www.xuggle.com/xuggler/status https://github.com/artclarke/xuggle-xuggler – Xinyuan.Yan Jun 23 '20 at 09:08
3

Looks like this is outdated now – Cardinal System Dec 18 '20 at 04:08

score 25 · Answer 2 · answered Aug 26 '15 at 15:03

I too am looking for something to wrap FFMPEG in Java. While searching, I found this: https://github.com/bramp/ffmpeg-cli-wrapper.

As of today, it seems to have been modified a month ago. So, hopefully it will stick around for a while.

A sample from their docs:

FFmpeg ffmpeg = new FFmpeg("/path/to/ffmpeg");
FFprobe ffprobe = new FFprobe("/path/to/ffprobe");

FFmpegBuilder builder = new FFmpegBuilder()
    .setInput(in)
    .overrideOutputFiles(true)
    .addOutput("output.mp4")
        .setFormat("mp4")
        .setTargetSize(250000)

        .disableSubtitle()

        .setAudioChannels(1)
        .setAudioCodec("libfdk_aac")
        .setAudioRate(48000)
        .setAudioBitrate(32768)

        .setVideoCodec("libx264")
        .setVideoFramerate(Fraction.getFraction(24, 1))
        .setVideoResolution(640, 480)

        .setStrict(FFmpegBuilder.Strict.EXPERIMENTAL)
        .done();

FFmpegExecutor executor = new FFmpegExecutor(ffmpeg, ffprobe);
executor.createTwoPassJob(builder).run();

does it has solution to extract the audio or video meta info? — VijayM, Sep 08 '15 at 06:35
yes using ffprobe go on website on github you will see an example — cyril, May 31 '17 at 11:26
The library doesn't support termination of the child process (should you wish to capture a video from your screen), nor does it expose the process to the client. Given that `ffmpeg` is very well documented, you're better off running `ffmpeg` manually via the `java.lang.Process` API. — Bass, Oct 05 '18 at 22:50

Stefan Endrullis · Answer 3 · 2020-01-16T09:10:49.200

There are a lot of Java libraries providing FFMPEG wrappers. However, most of these libraries are unfortunately outdated and use old FFMPEG versions which lack some important codecs (e.g. Xuggler, humble video, JavaAV, JavaAVC, and jave). So be careful when using those projects!

However, there is one FFMPEG wrapper that is still actively developed and supports FFMPEG 4:

JavaCPP FFMPEG - with fully bundled maven artefacts

Alternatively you can use a wrapper for the command line interface of FFMPEG, such as ffmpeg-cli-wrapper. Then it's in your hand to update ffmpeg manually without having to wait for a new release of the wrapper library.

Denis Kokorin · Answer 4 · 2018-04-29T10:37:28.203

14

I wrote my own Java ffmpeg command line wrapper: Jaffree. It works with both ffprobe and ffmpeg and supports programmatic video production and consumption. Also it has in my opinion more convenient fluid API.

Here is an ffprobe usage example:

FFprobeResult result = FFprobe.atPath(BIN)
        .setInputPath(VIDEO_MP4)
        .setShowStreams(true)
        .setShowError(true)
        .execute();

if (result.getError() != null) {
    //TODO handle ffprobe error message
    return;
}

for (Stream stream : probe.getStreams().getStream()) {
    //TODO analyze stream data
}

ProgressListener listener = new ProgressListener() {
    @Override
    public void onProgress(FFmpegProgress progress) {
        //TODO handle progress data
    }
};

And this is for ffmpeg:

FFmpegResult result = FFmpeg.atPath(BIN)
        .addInput(Input.fromPath(VIDEO_MP4))
        .addOutput(Output.toPath(outputPath)
                .addCodec(null, "copy")
        )
        .setProgressListener(listener)
        .execute();

edited Apr 29 '18 at 10:37

answered Jun 12 '17 at 18:01

Denis Kokorin

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Hi, how can one manage java interface library when ffprobe xsd changes over every ffmpeg version? P.S. My approach was similar to yours, but this issue makes me stick to one specific ffmpeg version. – saurabheights Jul 01 '17 at 20:19
I tested only on latest ffmpeg version, there is an option "bit exact output". – Denis Kokorin Jul 02 '17 at 11:27
Do you have examples on how this can be used with input being WebSocket or multiple MP4s? – Awad Apr 14 '22 at 21:41

score 8 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 06 '09 at 21:29

8

Also, as of Xuggler 3.3, Xuggler is LGPL meaning you don't need a commercial license.

answered Nov 06 '09 at 21:29

Art Clarke

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Does it support converting images and mp3 to a video file? thanks – Felix Apr 07 '13 at 03:43

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Apr 01 '10 at 11:12

4

you can try jave http://www.sauronsoftware.it/projects/jave

answered Apr 01 '10 at 11:12

sohilv

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[JAVE](https://github.com/a-schild/jave2) is only good because it bundles `ffmpeg` binaries for all mainstream platforms. Their Java API is a mess, however. – Bass Oct 05 '18 at 22:54

score 3 · Answer 7 · answered Aug 15 '09 at 07:34

The benefits of using the wrapper would be mainly that it offers more and fine-grained functionality not accessible via the command line (not relevant to you) and makes error handling and status control easier - you'll have to parse the command line tool's standard output and error streams.

score 0 · Answer 8 · answered May 31 '17 at 11:25

i try several ways, the most simple for me is ffmpeg-cli-wrapper, because it use default ffmpeg or specific one, moreover you can configure lot of configuration like scale, bitrate... get duration... JAVE from sauronsoftware make lot of error, XUGGLE and other i found it too complicated

Use Java FFmpeg wrapper, or simply use Java runtime to execute FFmpeg?

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