Video encoding is a crucial process for converting video files into a different format or compressing them for easier storage and sharing. On macOS, one of the most powerful tools for video encoding is FFmpeg, a command-line utility that supports a wide range of video and audio formats.

Examples:

1. Installing FFmpeg on macOS:

   Before you can start encoding videos, you need to install FFmpeg. The easiest way to do this is via Homebrew, a popular package manager for macOS.

   Open the Terminal application and run the following commands:

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
   brew install ffmpeg

   These commands will install Homebrew and then use it to install FFmpeg.

2. Basic Video Encoding:

   Once FFmpeg is installed, you can start encoding videos. For example, to convert a video to the MP4 format, use the following command:

   ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 output.mp4

   In this command:

   • -i input.mov specifies the input file.
   • -c:v libx264 sets the video codec to H.264.
   • -preset slow optimizes the encoding speed and compression rate.
   • -crf 22 adjusts the quality of the output video (lower values result in higher quality).

3. Extracting Audio from a Video:

   To extract audio from a video file, you can use FFmpeg with the following command:

   ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -q:a 0 -map a output.mp3

   This command will extract the audio track from input.mp4 and save it as output.mp3.

4. Batch Encoding Multiple Videos:

   You can also batch encode multiple videos in a directory. Create a shell script with the following content:

   #!/bin/bash
   for file in *.mov; do
    ffmpeg -i "$file" -c:v libx264 -preset slow -crf 22 "${file%.mov}.mp4"
   done

   Save this script as batch_encode.sh, make it executable with chmod +x batch_encode.sh, and run it in the directory containing your .mov files.