Install FFmpeg 4.4 on Ubuntu 20.04

FFmpeg is an open-source collection of tools that allows to process video and audio files. These tools used for converting video and audio files from one format into another, resizing videos, streaming audio and video, and doing various other actions with media files.

This tutorial demonstrates how to install FFmpeg 4.4 on Ubuntu 20.04.

Install FFmpeg

Add the FFmpeg repository:

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:savoury1/ffmpeg4

Install FFmpeg 4.4:

sudo apt install -y ffmpeg

When it finished, we can check FFmpeg version:

ffmpeg -version

Available encoders and decoders can be checked using the following commands:

ffmpeg -encoders
ffmpeg -decoders

Testing FFmpeg

Download sample video file:

wget -O test.mp4 https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mediaelement/mediaelement-files/master/big_buck_bunny.mp4

Convert MP4 video file format to MKV using ffmpeg command:

ffmpeg -i test.mp4 out.mkv

Uninstall FFmpeg

If you want to completely remove FFmpeg and related dependencies, execute the following command:

sudo apt purge --autoremove -y ffmpeg

Remove GPG key and repository:

sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/savoury1_ubuntu_ffmpeg4.gpg
sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/sources.list.d/savoury1-ubuntu-ffmpeg4-focal.list