Encoding strategy — hardware acceleration, two-pass, CRF, presets.
Practical reference on video watermarking and overlay rendering — visible vs forensic watermarking, ffmpeg overlay filter, positioning conventions, multi-resolution scaling, and pipeline integration.
Practical reference on deinterlacing — yadif vs bwdif, motion-adaptive algorithms, telecined content (IVTC), and broadcast-to-streaming pipeline integration.
Practical guide to pinning encoder versions and detecting regressions — version selection, building from source, regression testing procedures, A/B test framework, rollback.
Practical guide to FFmpeg filter_complex graphs — split for branching, concat/hstack/overlay for merging, multi-input multi-output patterns, common pipeline use cases.
Practical guide to ffprobe — common inspection patterns, JSON output for scripting, stream-specific inspection, frame and packet analysis, production usage in pipelines.
Practical guide to CRF tuning for different content types — talking heads, sports, animation, screen content, mobile-only. CRF defaults per encoder and content-aware adjustments.
Practical reference on loudness normalization — LUFS/LKFS units, EBU R128 (-23 LUFS), ATSC A/85 (-24 LKFS), streaming targets (-16 LUFS), measurement, true peak limiting, FFmpeg loudnorm.
Practical reference on video resolution and aspect ratio — 480p/720p/1080p/1440p/4K UHD/DCI 4K/8K standards, pixel aspect ratio vs display aspect ratio, anamorphic, and ABR ladder design.
Practical reference on video frame rates — 24/25/30/50/60/120 fps standards, the NTSC fractional rates (23.976/29.97/59.94), conversion, VFR vs CFR, and encoding implications.
Practical reference on FFmpeg — project structure, libav* libraries, codec/format support, filter graphs, hardware acceleration, ffprobe and ffplay, the universal video tool.
Practical reference on video frame types — intra-coded I-frames, predicted P-frames, bi-directional B-frames, B-pyramid, decode vs display order, and the latency implications of B-frames.
Practical reference on Group of Pictures and keyframe interval — closed vs open GOP, IDR keyframes, segment alignment for ABR streaming, the latency vs compression tradeoff.
Practical reference on encoder presets — preset philosophy across encoders, what each preset enables, picking presets for VOD vs live, the speed-quality curve, and benchmark calibration.
Practical reference on two-pass video encoding — how it works, when target-bitrate VBR benefits, why CRF doesn't need it, the wall-time tradeoff, and the production decision.
Practical reference on video encoder rate control — CRF (constant rate factor), CBR (constant bitrate), VBR (variable bitrate), capped CRF for streaming, and which mode fits VOD vs live.