View source for VLC HowTo/Transcode from Flash Video format

{{howto|Fix broken .flv files}}

You can use [[ffmpeg]] to change [[.flv]] files to [[.avi]] files (or one of many other types of files).

If you have problems playing .flv files, changing them to .avi will probably fix the problem.

== Windows ==

VideoLan '''cannot''' write .avi, as you can read in the forum this funcionality is not yet fixed.

=== Install ===
Precompiled windows binaries are avaliable at:
* http://arrozcru.no-ip.org/ffmpeg_builds/
Pick the file '''ffmpeg-SVN-r6708-static-gpl-win32.zip''' (about 5MB)

Extract the files from the .zip and copy ffmpeg.exe to your Windows directory (Windows folder), or somewhere else in your search path.
==== Ubuntu users ====
Ubuntu users can type "sudo apt-get install ffmpeg" in terminal to install ffmpeg from repository.

=== Run ===
Ffmpeg.exe is command-line based, so to use it you need to open a [[wikipedia:cmd.exe|command prompt]]. In the start menu pick "Run", and type
 cmd.exe
into the box and press enter. This opens a cool black box with white text. It'll say something like C:\>.

At the prompt, type
 cd "''somewhere''"
where "''somewhere''" is the path to the folder where you saved your files, it's probably something like
 cd "c:\windows\profiles\user\Desktop\"
Then press enter. You can find out the path (location) of a file by right clicking on the file and selecting properties.

Finally type
 ffmpeg -i "''your_file''.flv" "''your_file''.avi"
and press enter. This takes "''your_file''.flv" as the input file and spits out "''your_file''.avi" as an avi file. Job done (at last!)

Close the command prompt by closing the window as normal, or typing "exit".

=== Automating Conversion with VBScript ===
If you prefer to convert a file using the right-click menu, you can try this VBScript: [http://jeffersonscher.com/res/ConvertAndPlayInVLC_vbs.txt ConvertAndPlayInVLC_vbs.txt]. The following assumes that you have downloaded and unpacked the ffmpeg zip archive.

==== To Install the Script ====

# Download the script to the same folder where you have ffmpeg.exe (any folder, not necessarily in the search path)
# Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, rename the file from the .txt extension back to .vbs (if you cannot see the extension, use Tools > Folder Options..., View to stop hiding file extensions)
# Right-click the file and choose Create Shortcut
# Copy/Paste or Drag the shortcut to your SendTo folder (c:\Documents and Settings\''Username''\SendTo); you can rename it to something shorter if you like

==== To Use the Script ====

Right-click your .flv file, choose the Send To "fly-out" menu, and then your shortcut. The script will run ffmpeg.exe in a command window and then play the newly created avi file in VLC.