Wish: Update ffmpeg import from version 0.6 to 1.1 or later

[feelthebeat]

Hi,

Audacity is a great tool, so as FFMpeg.
Unfortunately, Audacity uses ffmpeg v0.6x for import.

Since then FFMpeg as added many codecs support (incl. for instance WMA Lossless) and also CLI synthax changes.
Updating to latest FFmpeg (currently 1.1) would allow many raw import.
You might argue that one could still use FFmpeg to first convert the source to an Audacity importable format, but consider that this is particullarly undesirable when already the raw source is "bad" and needs to be restored.

Thanks.

See also
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 16&t=63923

[Gale Andrews]

We can add your vote, but basically we do want to update to FFmpeg 1.x. However FFmpeg dynamic loading from Preferences is constrained by the fact that changes in later FFmpeg versions require considerable coding changes in Audacity. Also any FFmpeg version update has the potential to require yet more coding changes to suit.

Ideally we would like to switch to using the LAME and FFmpeg executables (or drop LAME and use liblame from the FFmpeg executable), rather than use dynamic libraries. This would use the same executable that you use when you export using (external program) and point Audacity to FFmpeg. This would let us support arbitrary versions of the libraries properly (the user simply downloads whatever version of FFmpeg they want).

However we do not have the developer resources to do this at the moment, as this would have to be integrated with GUI import and export.


Gale

[feelthebeat]

I know since 0.11 CLI synthax has changed quite a bit,
So maybe a more modest upgrade to 0.8 or 0.9 or even 0.10

But apparently 0.7 did not bring any API change
RE:
http://aballier.wordpress.com/2013/01/1 ... the-split/

[steve]

You can currently use other (newer) versions of FFMpeg using the command line export http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/ex ... ogram.html
This has the disadvantage that users need to know what command line arguments to enter, but it does work.

[Gale Andrews]

I know since 0.11 CLI synthax has changed quite a bit,
So maybe a more modest upgrade to 0.8 or 0.9 or even 0.10

But apparently 0.7 did not bring any API change

The command-line syntax is not the problem, rather the Audacity code that interfaces with the dynamic FFmpeg libraries that are used when loading FFmpeg from Preferences.

I've built FFmpeg 0.8 on Windows using MinGW and the Windows build of Audacity won't accept the shared libraries through Preferences. 0.7 shared libraries can be used from Preferences, although we don't link to such libraries.

You can currently use other (newer) versions of FFmpeg using the command line export

Yes but the user wants to import WMA Lossless as I understand it, even though the Audacity command-line exporter could be used with FFmpeg 1.x at the export step.

As well as converting the WMA Lossless files to WAV using FFmpeg (so you can import them into Audacity), you can use the Microsoft WMA Lossless to WAV command-line encoder:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/de ... x?id=22391 .


Gale

[feelthebeat]

steve wrote:
You can currently use other (newer) versions of FFmpeg using the command line export

Yes but the user wants to import WMA Lossless as I understand it, even though the Audacity command-line exporter could be used with FFmpeg 1.x at the export step.

I didn't know.

I mentionned WMA Lossless, because it first appeared as of FFMpeg v0.11 and it's a frequent codec, but many more are now supported, run

Code: Select all

ffmpeg -codecs

Now for my own use, it's AAC import that I do wish, currently I use FFMpeg to convert AAC into FLAC so to import in Audacity.