Easy Video Rotation on Linux Using FFmpeg

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by

William
in

Are you looking to rotate a video on your Linux system but not sure how to do it? Don’t worry; I’ve got you covered! In this guide, I’ll walk you through the simple steps to rotate your videos using the powerful ffmpeg tool.

What is FFmpeg?

ffmpeg is a versatile multimedia framework that can decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux, stream, filter, and play almost any media content. It’s widely used for various multimedia processing tasks, including video rotation.

Rotating a Video Using FFmpeg

Rotating a video using ffmpeg is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting it done:

Step 1: Install FFmpeg (if not already installed)

If you don’t have ffmpeg installed on your Linux system, you can install it using your distribution’s package manager. For example, on Ubuntu, you can install it by running:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

Step 2: Open a Terminal

Once ffmpeg is installed, open a terminal window. You’ll use the terminal to execute commands for rotating your video.

Step 3: Run the FFmpeg Command

To rotate a video using ffmpeg, you’ll use the following command:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "transpose=1" output.mp4

Let’s break down this command:

  • -i input.mp4: This specifies the input video file. Replace input.mp4 with the actual filename of your input video.
  • -vf "transpose=1": This applies a transpose filter to rotate the video. The value 1 corresponds to rotating the video 90 degrees clockwise. You can adjust this value for different rotations: 0 for 90 degrees counterclockwise, 2 for 90 degrees counterclockwise and flip horizontally, 3 for 90 degrees clockwise and flip horizontally.
  • output.mp4: This is the name of the output video file. Replace output.mp4 with your desired output filename.

Step 4: Wait for the Process to Complete

After running the ffmpeg command, wait for the process to complete. Depending on the size and length of your video, it may take some time to finish.

Step 5: Enjoy Your Rotated Video

Once the process is complete, you’ll have a newly rotated video file ready to go! You can now enjoy watching or sharing your rotated video on your Linux system.

Conclusion

Rotating a video on Linux doesn’t have to be complicated. With the ffmpeg tool, you can easily rotate your videos to the desired orientation in just a few simple steps. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced user, ffmpeg makes it easy to handle multimedia tasks efficiently.

I hope this guide has been helpful to you in rotating your videos on Linux using ffmpeg. If you have any questions or run into any issues along the way, feel free to reach out for assistance. Happy video editing!