Provided by: ffmpeg_4.2.7-0ubuntu0.1_amd64 
NAME
ffmpeg-bitstream-filters - FFmpeg bitstream filters
DESCRIPTION
This document describes the bitstream filters provided by the libavcodec library.
A bitstream filter operates on the encoded stream data, and performs bitstream level
modifications without performing decoding.
BITSTREAM FILTERS
When you configure your FFmpeg build, all the supported bitstream filters are enabled by
default. You can list all available ones using the configure option "--list-bsfs".
You can disable all the bitstream filters using the configure option "--disable-bsfs", and
selectively enable any bitstream filter using the option "--enable-bsf=BSF", or you can
disable a particular bitstream filter using the option "--disable-bsf=BSF".
The option "-bsfs" of the ff* tools will display the list of all the supported bitstream
filters included in your build.
The ff* tools have a -bsf option applied per stream, taking a comma-separated list of
filters, whose parameters follow the filter name after a '='.
ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v filter1[=opt1=str1:opt2=str2][,filter2] OUTPUT
Below is a description of the currently available bitstream filters, with their
parameters, if any.
aac_adtstoasc
Convert MPEG-2/4 AAC ADTS to an MPEG-4 Audio Specific Configuration bitstream.
This filter creates an MPEG-4 AudioSpecificConfig from an MPEG-2/4 ADTS header and removes
the ADTS header.
This filter is required for example when copying an AAC stream from a raw ADTS AAC or an
MPEG-TS container to MP4A-LATM, to an FLV file, or to MOV/MP4 files and related formats
such as 3GP or M4A. Please note that it is auto-inserted for MP4A-LATM and MOV/MP4 and
related formats.
av1_metadata
Modify metadata embedded in an AV1 stream.
td Insert or remove temporal delimiter OBUs in all temporal units of the stream.
insert
Insert a TD at the beginning of every TU which does not already have one.
remove
Remove the TD from the beginning of every TU which has one.
color_primaries
transfer_characteristics
matrix_coefficients
Set the color description fields in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2).
color_range
Set the color range in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2; note that this cannot be set
for streams using BT.709 primaries, sRGB transfer characteristic and identity (RGB)
matrix coefficients).
tv Limited range.
pc Full range.
chroma_sample_position
Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see AV1 section 6.4.2). This can only
be set for 4:2:0 streams.
vertical
Left position (matching the default in MPEG-2 and H.264).
colocated
Top-left position.
tick_rate
Set the tick rate (num_units_in_display_tick / time_scale) in the timing info in the
sequence header.
num_ticks_per_picture
Set the number of ticks in each picture, to indicate that the stream has a fixed
framerate. Ignored if tick_rate is not also set.
delete_padding
Deletes Padding OBUs.
chomp
Remove zero padding at the end of a packet.
dca_core
Extract the core from a DCA/DTS stream, dropping extensions such as DTS-HD.
dump_extra
Add extradata to the beginning of the filtered packets except when said packets already
exactly begin with the extradata that is intended to be added.
freq
The additional argument specifies which packets should be filtered. It accepts the
values:
k
keyframe
add extradata to all key packets
e
all add extradata to all packets
If not specified it is assumed k.
For example the following ffmpeg command forces a global header (thus disabling individual
packet headers) in the H.264 packets generated by the "libx264" encoder, but corrects them
by adding the header stored in extradata to the key packets:
ffmpeg -i INPUT -map 0 -flags:v +global_header -c:v libx264 -bsf:v dump_extra out.ts
eac3_core
Extract the core from a E-AC-3 stream, dropping extra channels.
extract_extradata
Extract the in-band extradata.
Certain codecs allow the long-term headers (e.g. MPEG-2 sequence headers, or H.264/HEVC
(VPS/)SPS/PPS) to be transmitted either "in-band" (i.e. as a part of the bitstream
containing the coded frames) or "out of band" (e.g. on the container level). This latter
form is called "extradata" in FFmpeg terminology.
This bitstream filter detects the in-band headers and makes them available as extradata.
remove
When this option is enabled, the long-term headers are removed from the bitstream
after extraction.
filter_units
Remove units with types in or not in a given set from the stream.
pass_types
List of unit types or ranges of unit types to pass through while removing all others.
This is specified as a '|'-separated list of unit type values or ranges of values with
'-'.
remove_types
Identical to pass_types, except the units in the given set removed and all others
passed through.
Extradata is unchanged by this transformation, but note that if the stream contains inline
parameter sets then the output may be unusable if they are removed.
For example, to remove all non-VCL NAL units from an H.264 stream:
ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v 'filter_units=pass_types=1-5' OUTPUT
To remove all AUDs, SEI and filler from an H.265 stream:
ffmpeg -i INPUT -c:v copy -bsf:v 'filter_units=remove_types=35|38-40' OUTPUT
hapqa_extract
Extract Rgb or Alpha part of an HAPQA file, without recompression, in order to create an
HAPQ or an HAPAlphaOnly file.
texture
Specifies the texture to keep.
color
alpha
Convert HAPQA to HAPQ
ffmpeg -i hapqa_inputfile.mov -c copy -bsf:v hapqa_extract=texture=color -tag:v HapY -metadata:s:v:0 encoder="HAPQ" hapq_file.mov
Convert HAPQA to HAPAlphaOnly
ffmpeg -i hapqa_inputfile.mov -c copy -bsf:v hapqa_extract=texture=alpha -tag:v HapA -metadata:s:v:0 encoder="HAPAlpha Only" hapalphaonly_file.mov
h264_metadata
Modify metadata embedded in an H.264 stream.
aud Insert or remove AUD NAL units in all access units of the stream.
insert
remove
sample_aspect_ratio
Set the sample aspect ratio of the stream in the VUI parameters.
video_format
video_full_range_flag
Set the video format in the stream (see H.264 section E.2.1 and table E-2).
colour_primaries
transfer_characteristics
matrix_coefficients
Set the colour description in the stream (see H.264 section E.2.1 and tables E-3, E-4
and E-5).
chroma_sample_loc_type
Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see H.264 section E.2.1 and figure E-1).
tick_rate
Set the tick rate (num_units_in_tick / time_scale) in the VUI parameters. This is the
smallest time unit representable in the stream, and in many cases represents the field
rate of the stream (double the frame rate).
fixed_frame_rate_flag
Set whether the stream has fixed framerate - typically this indicates that the
framerate is exactly half the tick rate, but the exact meaning is dependent on
interlacing and the picture structure (see H.264 section E.2.1 and table E-6).
crop_left
crop_right
crop_top
crop_bottom
Set the frame cropping offsets in the SPS. These values will replace the current ones
if the stream is already cropped.
These fields are set in pixels. Note that some sizes may not be representable if the
chroma is subsampled or the stream is interlaced (see H.264 section 7.4.2.1.1).
sei_user_data
Insert a string as SEI unregistered user data. The argument must be of the form
UUID+string, where the UUID is as hex digits possibly separated by hyphens, and the
string can be anything.
For example, 086f3693-b7b3-4f2c-9653-21492feee5b8+hello will insert the string
``hello'' associated with the given UUID.
delete_filler
Deletes both filler NAL units and filler SEI messages.
level
Set the level in the SPS. Refer to H.264 section A.3 and tables A-1 to A-5.
The argument must be the name of a level (for example, 4.2), a level_idc value (for
example, 42), or the special name auto indicating that the filter should attempt to
guess the level from the input stream properties.
h264_mp4toannexb
Convert an H.264 bitstream from length prefixed mode to start code prefixed mode (as
defined in the Annex B of the ITU-T H.264 specification).
This is required by some streaming formats, typically the MPEG-2 transport stream format
(muxer "mpegts").
For example to remux an MP4 file containing an H.264 stream to mpegts format with ffmpeg,
you can use the command:
ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -codec copy -bsf:v h264_mp4toannexb OUTPUT.ts
Please note that this filter is auto-inserted for MPEG-TS (muxer "mpegts") and raw H.264
(muxer "h264") output formats.
h264_redundant_pps
This applies a specific fixup to some Blu-ray streams which contain redundant PPSs
modifying irrelevant parameters of the stream which confuse other transformations which
require correct extradata.
A new single global PPS is created, and all of the redundant PPSs within the stream are
removed.
hevc_metadata
Modify metadata embedded in an HEVC stream.
aud Insert or remove AUD NAL units in all access units of the stream.
insert
remove
sample_aspect_ratio
Set the sample aspect ratio in the stream in the VUI parameters.
video_format
video_full_range_flag
Set the video format in the stream (see H.265 section E.3.1 and table E.2).
colour_primaries
transfer_characteristics
matrix_coefficients
Set the colour description in the stream (see H.265 section E.3.1 and tables E.3, E.4
and E.5).
chroma_sample_loc_type
Set the chroma sample location in the stream (see H.265 section E.3.1 and figure E.1).
tick_rate
Set the tick rate in the VPS and VUI parameters (num_units_in_tick / time_scale).
Combined with num_ticks_poc_diff_one, this can set a constant framerate in the stream.
Note that it is likely to be overridden by container parameters when the stream is in
a container.
num_ticks_poc_diff_one
Set poc_proportional_to_timing_flag in VPS and VUI and use this value to set
num_ticks_poc_diff_one_minus1 (see H.265 sections 7.4.3.1 and E.3.1). Ignored if
tick_rate is not also set.
crop_left
crop_right
crop_top
crop_bottom
Set the conformance window cropping offsets in the SPS. These values will replace the
current ones if the stream is already cropped.
These fields are set in pixels. Note that some sizes may not be representable if the
chroma is subsampled (H.265 section 7.4.3.2.1).
level
Set the level in the VPS and SPS. See H.265 section A.4 and tables A.6 and A.7.
The argument must be the name of a level (for example, 5.1), a general_level_idc value
(for example, 153 for level 5.1), or the special name auto indicating that the filter
should attempt to guess the level from the input stream properties.
hevc_mp4toannexb
Convert an HEVC/H.265 bitstream from length prefixed mode to start code prefixed mode (as
defined in the Annex B of the ITU-T H.265 specification).
This is required by some streaming formats, typically the MPEG-2 transport stream format
(muxer "mpegts").
For example to remux an MP4 file containing an HEVC stream to mpegts format with ffmpeg,
you can use the command:
ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4 -codec copy -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb OUTPUT.ts
Please note that this filter is auto-inserted for MPEG-TS (muxer "mpegts") and raw
HEVC/H.265 (muxer "h265" or "hevc") output formats.
imxdump
Modifies the bitstream to fit in MOV and to be usable by the Final Cut Pro decoder. This
filter only applies to the mpeg2video codec, and is likely not needed for Final Cut Pro 7
and newer with the appropriate -tag:v.
For example, to remux 30 MB/sec NTSC IMX to MOV:
ffmpeg -i input.mxf -c copy -bsf:v imxdump -tag:v mx3n output.mov
mjpeg2jpeg
Convert MJPEG/AVI1 packets to full JPEG/JFIF packets.
MJPEG is a video codec wherein each video frame is essentially a JPEG image. The
individual frames can be extracted without loss, e.g. by
ffmpeg -i ../some_mjpeg.avi -c:v copy frames_%d.jpg
Unfortunately, these chunks are incomplete JPEG images, because they lack the DHT segment
required for decoding. Quoting from
<http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000063.shtml>:
Avery Lee, writing in the rec.video.desktop newsgroup in 2001, commented that "MJPEG, or
at least the MJPEG in AVIs having the MJPG fourcc, is restricted JPEG with a fixed -- and
*omitted* -- Huffman table. The JPEG must be YCbCr colorspace, it must be 4:2:2, and it
must use basic Huffman encoding, not arithmetic or progressive. . . . You can indeed
extract the MJPEG frames and decode them with a regular JPEG decoder, but you have to
prepend the DHT segment to them, or else the decoder won't have any idea how to decompress
the data. The exact table necessary is given in the OpenDML spec."
This bitstream filter patches the header of frames extracted from an MJPEG stream
(carrying the AVI1 header ID and lacking a DHT segment) to produce fully qualified JPEG
images.
ffmpeg -i mjpeg-movie.avi -c:v copy -bsf:v mjpeg2jpeg frame_%d.jpg
exiftran -i -9 frame*.jpg
ffmpeg -i frame_%d.jpg -c:v copy rotated.avi
mjpegadump
Add an MJPEG A header to the bitstream, to enable decoding by Quicktime.
mov2textsub
Extract a representable text file from MOV subtitles, stripping the metadata header from
each subtitle packet.
See also the text2movsub filter.
mp3decomp
Decompress non-standard compressed MP3 audio headers.
mpeg2_metadata
Modify metadata embedded in an MPEG-2 stream.
display_aspect_ratio
Set the display aspect ratio in the stream.
The following fixed values are supported:
4/3
16/9
221/100
Any other value will result in square pixels being signalled instead (see H.262
section 6.3.3 and table 6-3).
frame_rate
Set the frame rate in the stream. This is constructed from a table of known values
combined with a small multiplier and divisor - if the supplied value is not exactly
representable, the nearest representable value will be used instead (see H.262 section
6.3.3 and table 6-4).
video_format
Set the video format in the stream (see H.262 section 6.3.6 and table 6-6).
colour_primaries
transfer_characteristics
matrix_coefficients
Set the colour description in the stream (see H.262 section 6.3.6 and tables 6-7, 6-8
and 6-9).
mpeg4_unpack_bframes
Unpack DivX-style packed B-frames.
DivX-style packed B-frames are not valid MPEG-4 and were only a workaround for the broken
Video for Windows subsystem. They use more space, can cause minor AV sync issues, require
more CPU power to decode (unless the player has some decoded picture queue to compensate
the 2,0,2,0 frame per packet style) and cause trouble if copied into a standard container
like mp4 or mpeg-ps/ts, because MPEG-4 decoders may not be able to decode them, since they
are not valid MPEG-4.
For example to fix an AVI file containing an MPEG-4 stream with DivX-style packed B-frames
using ffmpeg, you can use the command:
ffmpeg -i INPUT.avi -codec copy -bsf:v mpeg4_unpack_bframes OUTPUT.avi
noise
Damages the contents of packets or simply drops them without damaging the container. Can
be used for fuzzing or testing error resilience/concealment.
Parameters:
amount
A numeral string, whose value is related to how often output bytes will be modified.
Therefore, values below or equal to 0 are forbidden, and the lower the more frequent
bytes will be modified, with 1 meaning every byte is modified.
dropamount
A numeral string, whose value is related to how often packets will be dropped.
Therefore, values below or equal to 0 are forbidden, and the lower the more frequent
packets will be dropped, with 1 meaning every packet is dropped.
The following example applies the modification to every byte but does not drop any
packets.
ffmpeg -i INPUT -c copy -bsf noise[=1] output.mkv
null
This bitstream filter passes the packets through unchanged.
prores_metadata
Modify color property metadata embedded in prores stream.
color_primaries
Set the color primaries. Available values are:
auto
Keep the same color primaries property (default).
unknown
bt709
bt470bg
BT601 625
smpte170m
BT601 525
bt2020
smpte431
DCI P3
smpte432
P3 D65
transfer_characteristics
Set the color transfer. Available values are:
auto
Keep the same transfer characteristics property (default).
unknown
bt709
BT 601, BT 709, BT 2020
matrix_coefficients
Set the matrix coefficient. Available values are:
auto
Keep the same transfer characteristics property (default).
unknown
bt709
smpte170m
BT 601
bt2020nc
Set Rec709 colorspace for each frame of the file
ffmpeg -i INPUT -c copy -bsf:v prores_metadata=color_primaries=bt709:color_trc=bt709:colorspace=bt709 output.mov
remove_extra
Remove extradata from packets.
It accepts the following parameter:
freq
Set which frame types to remove extradata from.
k Remove extradata from non-keyframes only.
keyframe
Remove extradata from keyframes only.
e, all
Remove extradata from all frames.
text2movsub
Convert text subtitles to MOV subtitles (as used by the "mov_text" codec) with metadata
headers.
See also the mov2textsub filter.
trace_headers
Log trace output containing all syntax elements in the coded stream headers (everything
above the level of individual coded blocks). This can be useful for debugging low-level
stream issues.
Supports AV1, H.264, H.265, (M)JPEG, MPEG-2 and VP9, but depending on the build only a
subset of these may be available.
truehd_core
Extract the core from a TrueHD stream, dropping ATMOS data.
vp9_metadata
Modify metadata embedded in a VP9 stream.
color_space
Set the color space value in the frame header.
unknown
bt601
bt709
smpte170
smpte240
bt2020
rgb
color_range
Set the color range value in the frame header. Note that this cannot be set in RGB
streams.
tv
pc
vp9_superframe
Merge VP9 invisible (alt-ref) frames back into VP9 superframes. This fixes merging of
split/segmented VP9 streams where the alt-ref frame was split from its visible
counterpart.
vp9_superframe_split
Split VP9 superframes into single frames.
vp9_raw_reorder
Given a VP9 stream with correct timestamps but possibly out of order, insert additional
show-existing-frame packets to correct the ordering.
SEE ALSO
ffmpeg(1), ffplay(1), ffprobe(1), libavcodec(3)
AUTHORS
The FFmpeg developers.
For details about the authorship, see the Git history of the project
(git://source.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg), e.g. by typing the command git log in the FFmpeg source
directory, or browsing the online repository at <http://source.ffmpeg.org>.
Maintainers for the specific components are listed in the file MAINTAINERS in the source
code tree.
FFMPEG-BITSTREAM-FILTERS(1)