How do I convert a .avi file to a .flv file?

Question

I've been sent a .avi file that I need to convert to flash format to put online. What free software is there that will do this? I have Ubuntu and Windows 7 to work with so any software for either system will do.

Answer 1

FFMPEG.

example:

/path/to/ffmpeg -i input.avi -f flv output.flv

Answer 2

ffmpeg is very good and works on Windows.

You'll need something like:

ffmpeg -y -i file.avi -acodec mp3 -ar 22050 -f flv file.flv

Answer 3

In addition to John T, mlambie and Chealion's answers, and if you're not so keen on the command line, I would recommend you to try SUPER, which is actually a GUI on top of ffmpeg (and other encoders).

Answer 4

Media Coder (Windows) is another good encoder, and it covers a lot of file formats in both audio and video.

There's only one downside, though: the main interface isn't user friendly. So if you think this one does the job for you, do make use of its browser-based wizard.

Answer 5

Is there a specific codec or does it matter which one is used?

Flash video can use one of three codecs:

• H.264 (Flash 9 Release 3 or newer)
• On2VP6 (Flash 7 or newer)
• Sorenson Spark (Flash 6 or newer)

You can convert into all 3 using ffmpeg and there are several GUIs available to handle the conversion using ffmpeg.

If you want to use Ubuntu you'll want to install ffmpeg first check out the Ubuntu Wiki

Once it's installed you can use a command such as:

/path/to/ffmpeg -i input.avi -ar 22050 -ab 96 -b 1200 -r 12 -f flv -s 320x240 -acodec mp3 -ac 1 output.flv

-ar = Audio rate
-ab = Audio bit rate
-b = bitrate
-s = size
-acodec = audio codec
-f = format

If you're more comfortable using a GUI with Windows you can try a variety of GUI frontends such as MeWiG or AVANTI

Answer 6

Any Video Converter is very good