run 2 different versions of ffmpeg form same server

Question

I'm trying to run a second version of ffmpeg on a unix server without update or remove the old version.

In the server it's installed version 1.0.1, can I compile latest version of ffmpeg (current 2.5.4) on my machine (macbook) or can I use my raspberry (debian) to compile it and transfert the compiled source code to a certain directory on the server?

For example: I would like to use server's ffmpeg with

ffmpeg -i SOURCE_INPUT -OPTIONS_GO_HERE MY_GREAT_OUTPUT

and use the newest version with

/directory/of/ffmpeg/compiled/code/ffmpeg -i SOURCE_INPUT -OPTIONS_GO_HERE MY_GREAT_OUTPUT

If this it is possible, how can I do that? Thanks

Answer 1

The easiest method is to use a static build of ffmpeg. Just download, extract, and execute it.

You can move the binary wherever you prefer. To use it either:

• place it somewhere in your PATH,
• or navigate to the directory containing the binary and run ./ffmpeg,
• or provide the full path to the binary, such as /Users/Tenaciousd93/ffmpeg.

If the static build does not provide what you need, such as libfdk_aac encoding support, then you can compile on the server as shown in FFmpeg Wiki: OS X Compile Guide.