How to Use ffmpeg to split video files by size
When you need to split video files by size, ffmpeg is a very powerful tool. Below are the steps to use ffmpeg to split video files into segments of fixed size.First, ensure that you have installed ffmpeg. You can download it from the ffmpeg official website and follow the installation instructions.Next, open your terminal or command prompt using the command-line tool.Step 1: Determine the Total Duration of the Video FileBefore splitting the file, you need to know the total duration of the video. You can use the following command to retrieve detailed information about the video:This command does not process the video but displays video information, including duration.Step 2: Calculate Split PointsIf you want to split the video by a specific size, such as one file per 500MB, you need to calculate the approximate duration of each segment based on the video's bitrate.For example, if your video bitrate is approximately 1000 kbps, it consumes approximately 125 KB per second. For a 500 MB video segment, you can estimate the duration of each segment as:Step 3: Split Video Using ffmpeg by TimeAfter knowing the approximate duration of each video segment, you can start splitting the video. Assuming we split based on the calculation above, each segment is approximately 4096 seconds:In this command:indicates using the same video and audio encoding.indicates selecting all streams (video, audio, subtitles, etc.).indicates each video file is approximately 4096 seconds.specifies the output format as multiple video segments.is the output file naming format, where indicates the number starts from 000 and increments.This allows you to split the video file according to the desired file size. Note that this method is based on time splitting, and the actual file size may have minor variations depending on the specific content and complexity of the video encoding.SummaryBy using ffmpeg's option, you can relatively easily split the video according to the expected size. Additionally, using avoids re-encoding, which allows faster processing while preserving the original video quality. This method is suitable for approximately splitting video files when you don't need precise control over the output file size.