Install ffmpeg2theora with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• ffmpeg2theora

Project history

The official README states the original idea plainly: convert anything FFmpeg could decode into Theora, with a binary that could be deployed alongside sites such as v2v.cc so many people could encode clips with the same settings.

The changelog begins at 0.1 and shows a rapid 2004-era evolution: resize options, quality controls, stdin and Kino export work, presets, cropping, metadata, stream selection, and better support for FFmpeg API changes.

Adoption history

ffmpeg2theora belongs to the period when Ogg Theora/Vorbis was a prominent free-software web/video target. Its official materials mention a Kino export plugin, subtitles embedded in Ogg streams, frontend modes, and default `.ogv` output, all signs of practical adoption around desktop video and web publishing workflows.

Later changelog entries show maintenance following FFmpeg and libtheora changes through releases such as 0.27 with FFmpeg 0.6, 0.28 with FFmpeg 0.7, 0.29 with current FFmpeg API updates, and 0.30 with FFmpeg 2.9 compile fixes.

How it is used

The basic official usage is intentionally simple: run `ffmpeg2theora clip.avi` and get `clip.ogv`. The manpage documents options for output files, Ogg Skeleton metadata, seek indexes, start/end times, presets, quality/bitrate settings, scaling, cropping, deinterlacing, subtitles, and two-pass encoding.

Its package role is narrower than FFmpeg itself: install it when the desired output is specifically Ogg Theora/Vorbis and a dedicated converter is more convenient than composing a raw FFmpeg command.

Why package nerds care

ffmpeg2theora is historically interesting because it packages a policy decision on top of FFmpeg: decode broadly, encode to a free Ogg/Theora target with shared defaults.

For maintainers, it also illustrates the cost of small codec-wrapper tools that ride FFmpeg internals. The changelog repeatedly records updates needed as FFmpeg APIs, libtheora, and Ogg tooling changed.

Timeline

• 2004: 0.1 initial version appears in the official changelog.
• 2004: 0.5 adds Kino export work and stdin support.
• 2008: 0.21 switches the default extension to `.ogv` and enables Ogg Skeleton by default.
• 2009: 0.25 adds JSON source info, stream selection, libtheora 1.1 API work, and two-pass encoding.
• 2014: 0.30 ships bug fixes and FFmpeg 2.9 compile updates.

Related projects

• FFmpeg provides the decoding foundation.
• Theora, Vorbis, Ogg Skeleton, libkate, and Kino are related technologies or integrations documented by the project.

Sources

• https://gitlab.xiph.org/xiph/ffmpeg2theora
• https://gitlab.xiph.org/xiph/ffmpeg2theora/-/raw/master/README
• https://gitlab.xiph.org/xiph/ffmpeg2theora/-/raw/master/ChangeLog
• https://gitlab.xiph.org/xiph/ffmpeg2theora/-/raw/master/ffmpeg2theora.1