ffmpeg/README

FFmpeg version 0.9 - (c) 2000 Gerard Lantau.

1) Introduction
---------------

ffmpeg is a hyper fast realtime audio/video encoder and streaming
server. It can grab from a standard Video4Linux video source and
convert it into several file formats based on DCT/motion compensation
encoding. Sound is compressed in MPEG audio layer 2 or using an AC3
compatible stream.

What makes ffmpeg interesting ?

- Innovative streaming technology : multiformat, real time encoding,
  simple configuration.

- Simple and efficient video encoder: outputs MPEG1, H263 and Real
  Video(tm) compatible bitstreams using the same encoder core.

- Real time encoding (25 fps in 352x288 on a K6 500) using the video4linux API.

- Generates I and P frames, which means it is far better than a MJPEG
  encoder.

- Hyper fast MPEG audio layer 2 compression (50 times faster than
  realtime on a K6 500).

- Hyper fast AC3 compatible encoder.

- simple and very small portable C source code, easy to understand and
  to modify. It be may the smallest decent MPEG encoder :-)

ffmpeg is made of two programs:

* ffmpeg: soft VCR which encodes in real time to several formats.

* ffserver: live broadcast streaming server based on the ffmpeg core
encoders.

2) Documentation
----------------

read doc/ffmpeg.txt and doc/ffserver.txt to learn the basic features.

read ffmpeg

3) Licensing:
------------

* See the file COPYING. ffmpeg is licensed under the GNU General
  Public License.

* Source code from third parties: The DCT code comes from the Berkeley
  MPEG decoder and the JPEG encoder. 

* This code should be patent free since it is very simple. I took care
  to use the same video encoder core for all formats to show that they
  really ARE THE SAME except for the encoding huffman codes.

Gerard Lantau (glantau@users.sourceforge.net).