Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

[mikeslr]

Hi all,

Edit: August 23, 2015: Do you really need ffmpeg for TahrPup? ffmpeg is an application to decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux, stream, filter and play pretty much anything that humans and machines have created. Ubuntu Trusty Tahr, whose binaries were employed in the creation of TahrPup did not include ffmpeg, itself, but rather builtin a "fork" of ffmpeg that includes avconv and avplay. Tahrpup was published with pBurn 3.17.8, pMusic 4.6.1 and ffcovert which for some or all functions expects ffmpeg, but will function using avconv and avplay once "setup" to do so. Installing the "real" ffmpeg will, of course, increase Tahrpup's size by about 68 Mb, compressed, and I don't know if the "real" ffmpeg provides the ability to convert between any format not also provided by avconv. Setting up Tahrpup to use avconv involves creating a symlink, adding only a couple of bytes to your Pup's size. The easiest way to create the symlink is to upgrade to Tahr 6.03. The alternative is to browse to /usr/bin, open a terminal and type

ln -s avconv ffmpeg [press return]

Remember, if this symlink is created and you later decide to use the "real" ffmpeg, you may need to delete it before installing the ffmpeg pet created by rockedge which you can download from here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=852066#852066

As far as I know, you may still need ffmpeg for Vividpup. You can download ffmpeg-2.6.3.tar.brz from here, http://ffmpeg.org/download.html, unpack it, unpack the debs within, to access the executables and create a pet or sfs. This is a static build. There are no libraries. The executables can be placed in /usr/bin. Despite that the website provides documentation regarding ffplay, that component isn't included. After spending many hours tracking down debs/libraries-and-executables which would function with the SFS I constructed as above I ended up with a 26 Mb pet. It, together with the ffmpeg.sfs, wasn't able to accomplish anything beyond that accomplished by the avconv to ffmpeg symlink. Consequently, I see no reason to take up web-space and bandwidth to make those available.

Or continue reading.

There were a couple of posts on the Tahrpup thread(s) relating to problems with ffmpeg. My understanding was that the genesis of these problems had to do with the avconv fork from ffmpeg and debian's and Ubuntu's having built applications using the avconv fork while still referring to the underlying application as ffmpeg. That was the state of affairs when Ubuntu published Trusty Tahr. Its binaries were used in the creation of Tahrpup and LxPupTahr. The codec built into Tahrpup and its derivatives are the avconv version. For a discussion of my understanding and zigbert's clarification, start here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=844188#844188

Some multimedia applications include their own codec and do not require ffmpeg. One easy work-around where only codec conversion is needed was provided here: http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=751674&sid=b636d5e1d114dc70035acecac3d9ba9e#751674. It involves installing winff, and configuring it to use the avconv libs. See also, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=844775&sid=df3330835c10e41a80e85c681becb6ba#844775. Much to my surprise, for pBurn's ffmpeg requirement when the objective is to burn an audio CD, the following easy work-around actually worked. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=844467#844467 It involves creating a symlink named ffmpeg to the avconv binary.

It is recommended that, after you consider any “cautions”, if your needs are satisfied, those work-arounds may be preferable to downloading the linked ffmpeg4vivid.sfs

Edit: Better yet, almost immediately after I posted, 666philb --one of those who knows what he's doing-- published a pburn for tahrpup, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=845536#845536, which weighs-in at 1.4 mb. [In retrospect, perhaps I should have applied to this project the principle of benign neglect ].

Further edit: Another solution to Tahrpup's ffmpeg problem. See here, http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?p=821342&sid=52b1f0de382faffe6d3cf767c749b8c2#821342.
Sure wish I had known about it.
Sure wish people got into the habit of communicating solutions on all relevant threads.

Puppies, including the Tahrpups, have a number of home-grown applications which can't be configured to use the avconv libraries. Among them could be ffconvert and –with the exception of pBurn-- zigbert's fine applications. For those to continue to be fully useful in Tahrpup, an actual ffmpeg based on Ubuntu binaries may be necessary. Fortunately, with its publication of Vivid Vervet, Ubuntu again decided to change horses.

The best solution would be for someone who actually knows what he or she is doing to compile in Puppy a version of ffmpeg for Tahrpup and Vividpup from sources. The second best solution would be for someone with sufficient expertise to publish a “stripped” application –removing all files included in Ubuntu debs which aren't actually needed by Puppies. I haven't removed anything, not even documentation I know isn't necessary to run the application. The linked ffmpeg4vivid.sfs is, I think, the fourth build after reported missing libs were tracked down in the prior builds and tested under vividpup and Tahrpup. Considering that I am among those who actually don't need it, I've run out of patience.

The debs were those obtained via ppm running vividpup. Thirty debs were necessary for vivid, and an additional two for Tahrpup. For anyone considering building their own from Ubuntu debs, the accompanying screenshot shows the ones I've included in the SFS. Remember, I used Vivid debs. Those for Tahr or Unicorn may differ. You can figure out what additional libraries Tahrpup needs by downloading and dissembling the attached pet.

I've tested both its video and audio conversion ability, albeit, the latter was using winff's convert to Wav for CD and the output file played from my hard-drive using deadbeef.

In Tahrpup, after installing the additional libs and loading the SFS, the following applications performed as expected:
pMusic 4.6.1, Deadbeef, ffconvert, winff, Guayadeque music player, pupRadio. A music clip played in mhWaveEdit.

Untested in UnicornPup.

Please post your own experience for the benefit of others considering this app.

Do not expect me to provide any “fixes”. Considering the limited extent of my knowledge, I'm surprised it worked at all. Do let me know if there are download problems.

As always, use at your own risk.

You can also download from http://www.mediafire.com/download/jmdx60k5qgoc85u/ffmpeg4vivid.sfs

Pet containing additional libs needed by Tahrpup: http://www.mediafire.com/download/iud6ajgzpes7sd5/add-libs4Tahrpup.pet

I would not have attempted this project were it not for Lazy Puppy's excellent application, PaDS, http://murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=81511 by which multiple debs (and other packages) can easily be combined to create an SFS. Despite his having specifically advised me how to do so, it took me awhile to realize that after installing the PaDS app, all that was necessary was to place all the desired deb (or other packages) in one otherwise empty folder and then right-click that folder and select from the drop-down menu “Combine to SFS”. I kept looking for PaDS on the drop-down menu.

[zigbert]

Thank you
I have added links in pBurn and pMusic thread (also in main post) to this info


Sigmund

[rockedge]

Here is FFMPEG compiled and is available as a PET here :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By2RUsFzFaMkZDdyM25mQlM5LXc/view?usp=sharing

compiled with tahr 6.0.3 CE with devx 6.0.2.

68M in size...... I test installed it with a fresh tahr 6.0.2 and ffmpeg worked right out of the box.

[Pelo]

Thanks a lot for yr command, it works perfectly.
Our puppies producers care of their Money (devise is MB not dollars) in 2015.
Slacko 5.3.3 thin and Racy had ffmpeg, a browser included as Firefox or Seamonkey. I don't really where producers spend their money, their 200 MBs and more

[Pelo]

Pmusic is useless whithout audio, but still in the menu. (Pupjibaro jessie). Link does not work to activate it.
Mplayer is not in the debian jessie ppm
Run a Wary 511 click here if your newest Puppies don't do what you like, dear users.

[Pelo]

Relance

[hamoudoudou]

FFMPEG is essential in Puppy Linux if You are active with a computer, not only watching or Listening.

FFmpeg and libav
libav from the Ubuntu repositories

Ubuntu started shipping the libav fork instead of FFmpeg in recent releases. If you installed the ffmpeg package, then you actually installed the libav-tools package and a program that told you to use avconv instead of ffmpeg in the future, giving the impression that ffmpeg is deprecated, which it is not.

The transitional ffmpeg package seems to have been removed from trusty/Ubuntu 14.04 (compare the package files listing for saucy and trusty of the source package).

So one option is to install the libav-tools package and use avconv instead (NB that this is not "mainline" FFmpeg but a prominent fork instead).

[hamoudoudou]

Try Zesty, by Peebee, delivered with FFmpeg as defaut libraries.