CODEWITHSUNDEEP
ffmpeg
jabal
jabal

Reputation: 12347

What does the fps mean in the ffmpeg output?

I am streaming a static png file with ffmpeg and it uses basically all my CPU. It seems a bit greedy to me, and even though I limited the fps on the input and output size, I am seeing a huge fps printed out.

w:\ffmpeg\bin>ffmpeg.exe -loop 1 -framerate 1 -i w:\colorbar2.png -r 10 -vcodec libx264 -pix_fmt yuv420p -r 10 -f mpegts udp://127.0.0.1:10001?pkt_size=1316
ffmpeg version N-68778-g5c7227b Copyright (c) 2000-2014 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Dec 29 2014 22:12:54 with gcc 4.9.2 (GCC)

Input #0, png_pipe, from 'w:\colorbar2.png':
  Duration: N/A, bitrate: N/A
    Stream #0:0: Video: png, pal8, 320x240 [SAR 3779:3779 DAR 4:3], 1 fps, 1 tbr, 1 tbn, 1 tbc
[libx264 @ 00000000002fb320] using SAR=1/1
[libx264 @ 00000000002fb320] using cpu capabilities: MMX2 SSE2Fast SSSE3 SSE4.2 AVX
[libx264 @ 00000000002fb320] profile High, level 1.2
Output #0, mpegts, to 'udp://127.0.0.1:10001?pkt_size=1316':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Lavf56.16.102
    Stream #0:0: Video: h264 (libx264), yuv420p, 320x240 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], q=-1--1, 10 fps, 90k tbn, 10 tbc
    Metadata:
      encoder         : Lavc56.19.100 libx264
Stream mapping:
  Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (png (native) -> h264 (libx264))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
frame=561310 fps=579 q=25.0 size=  144960kB time=15:35:25.80 bitrate=  21.2kbits/s dup=505179 drop=0

As you can see the frame counter goes up quickly and fps=579 is reported on the last line. I am confused now, what does that fps mean, if above the low frame per secs are also mentioned (output 10fps, input 1 fps)

What am I doing wrong and how could I reduce CPU load more given that it's a static file that is being streamed.

Thanks!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 3367

Answers (1)

llogan
llogan

Reputation: 133743

ffmpeg attempts to decode and encode as fast as it can. Just because you set the output to be 10 frames per second does not mean that it will (de|en)code realtime at 10 frames per second.

Try the -re input option. From the ffmpeg cli-tool documentation:

Read input at native frame rate. Mainly used to simulate a grab device or live input stream (e.g. when reading from a file). Should not be used with actual grab devices or live input streams (where it can cause packet loss). By default ffmpeg attempts to read the input(s) as fast as possible. This option will slow down the reading of the input(s) to the native frame rate of the input(s). It is useful for real-time output (e.g. live streaming).

Example:

ffmpeg.exe -re -loop 1 -framerate 10 -i w:\colorbar2.png -c:v libx264 \
-tune stillimage -pix_fmt yuv420p -f mpegts udp://127.0.0.1:10001?pkt_size=1316

Upvotes: 5

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