[SOLVED] - How to handle conversion of .flv and .mp4 files?

[vc]

Given the resources now available in PCLinuxOS 2010 (beta 2), how may the audio portion of an .flv or an .mp4 file be converted directly to a .flac output file?

[JohnBoy]

Use  pacpl  from the repository ........  it provides a right click menu with lots of choices under 'Actions'

or .....  WinFF also in the repository.

[vc]

Use  pacpl  from the repository ........  it provides a right click menu with lots of choices under 'Actions'

or .....  WinFF also in the repository.

Neither seems to be functional, unfortunately - pacpl did add its selections; I am able to right-click on an .flv file and select 'Actions~PACPL-Convert~To FLAC', which duly results in a window popping up that then asks me where I wish to save the output file.  I select the /home/me/Music directory, click OK, and another window later pops up asking me which level of FLAC compression should be applied.  I select '0', again click OK, and... it dies.

WinFF, which was functional previously (prior to performing a full system update in Synaptic, earlier today) now pops up a window which reports "Access violation."  I again click on OK, regardless, and... it dies.  It did not seem to have any 'convert to flac' option available previously anyway - only 'convert to mp3'.

[JohnBoy]

Use  pacpl  from the repository ........  it provides a right click menu with lots of choices under 'Actions'

or .....  WinFF also in the repository.

Neither seems to be functional, unfortunately - pacpl did add its selections; I am able to right-click on an .flv file and select 'Actions~PACPL-Convert~To FLAC', which duly results in a window popping up that then asks me where I wish to save the output file.  I select the /home/me/Music directory, click OK, and another window later pops up asking me which level of FLAC compression should be applied.  I select '0', again click OK, and... it dies.

Does it extract to any other format such as MP3?
Are you able to play FLAC files? ----  do you have the needed codecs/libraries installed to handle FLAC files?

[exwintech]

VC - You might try dropping your *.flv or *mp4 file into Avidemux. Check that it's being read properly by running the slider at the bottom across a bit and back. Go to the bar, Audio > Save. Browse to a destination - name the file and Save it.

> Open it in Audacity by dropping it in the window. You can then Select the exact part of the Audio you want to Save. Go to File > Export Selection, Click on that. (To save the entire extracted file, just use File > Export.) On the bottom tab select format, FLAC, etc. Then in Options (for FLAC) - select quality level. Level 8 is highest but will make a needlessly large file for an *.mp3 save.

> A 2.8MB *.mp3 file saved at FLAC Level 8 will give a FLAC file of about 22MB. If you use Level 5, about 3.3MB.

> If using the *Tube sites, if you have the option of downloading HQ FLV or HQ MP4, the latter will usually have the better Audio track.

Regards, Dave.

[JohnBoy]

I select '0', again click OK, and... it dies.

Selecting something other than 0 and PACPL works here.

Try it!

[Archie]

Try it on a Konsole.

Code:

ffmpeg -i <flv_or_mp4.file> <output_file.flac>

[vc]

Selecting something other than 0 and PACPL works here.

Try it!

Thank you, JohnBoy - I suppose it was merely my bad luck, to initially have chosen the one .flac compression level that is dysfunctional.  For the purpose of this thread, therefore, PACPL does seem adequate and I shall now mark the thread as [SOLVED], accordingly.

WinFF, however, is still not functional - I have utilised Synaptic to 'Completely Remove' it (and manually deleted the /home/me/.winff directory and files that Synaptic left behind, regardless), then re-installed it anew; yet it still fails to run and produces only the "Access Violation" popup message.  Something in the recent updates may have broken that particular app, somehow?

Regarding the other suggestions:  though I do wish to thank all for the respective assistances offered, the various editors seem to be a bit of an overkill for a simple conversion, and right-clicking upon a file is more convenient to me than opening a terminal.  The PACPL method appears to be satisfactory, so I shall make use of it.

[JohnBoy]

I can confirm that WinFF is now giving me the same Access Violation .....

[vc]

I can confirm that WinFF is now giving me the same Access Violation .....

I thank you for your confirmation JohnBoy, and hope that the problem may be rectified.  Perhaps it may seem a trivial matter to most; however, as I have recently discovered a number of rather surprising musical selections now available on YouTube I have also been busy with downloading their respective .flv and .mp4 files accordingly.  The only remaining issue was the .flac conversion, which has since been resolved satisfactorily.  Thank you again, JohnBoy!  I really thought this particular music had been lost forever - and now that I am able to listen to it again after so many years, I am quite determined to keep local copies of it.

[tuxfriend]

I can confirm that WinFF is now giving me the same Access Violation .....

I had that error yesterday. 

If you haven't known by now - the command line sometimes is the last resort. 

[JohnBoy]

I can confirm that WinFF is now giving me the same Access Violation .....

I had that error yesterday. 

If you haven't known by now - the command line sometimes is the last resort. 

This is a reported bug on Mandriva (and Ubuntu also) and maybe others.

Did using the command line do something for you?

Does nothing here except confirm the bug!   

[tuxfriend]

Does this work for you?

[JohnBoy]

Does this work for you?

No
"Oh no! It looks like the page you're trying to find isn't around anymore."   

...  anyway it seems it was about how to "convert flv files mpeg linux" which is not quite relevant to getting WinFF working ........  from command line or otherwise