Find out what is FFMPEG and its capabilities at ffmpeg.org
When we generally upload our video files like .mp4, .mov, .3gp the files are uploaded but it will not generate any small thumbnail of it. To generate thumbnail we need a special tool which is done by FFMPEG. With the help of this we can read video files and get information of it. We can fetch particular scene at the specified video timeline.
FFMPEG is not like a WordPress plugin, it is a PHP extension need to be installed server side by server administrator. It is not so hard to install if you have shell access but requires knowledge of server administration. So it is suggested to contact server admin to install it for you.
After installation, you have to note down the ffmpeg server path which depends according to operating system. You have to note it down and put it as Flexi FFMPEG settings. I will describe it below about it.
FFMPEG in Flexi can be executed in 2 ways.
shell_exec & FFMPEG php library.
shell_exec
It is executed by the command line and need to be enabled by server administrator at php.ini file. It is faster then ffmpeg php library. But all the users do not able to open shell_exec due to shared hosting and security concerns. So here ffmpeg php library comes into action.
ffmpeg php library
You need to download a file (ffmpeg-flexi library : approx 10MB) and copy it to specified location.
You don’t need to have it if your shell_exec is enabled.
Flexi FREE vs Flexi-PRO
All Flexi user will have option to generate static image & animated video gif file of the video uploaded. The only difference is Flexi-PRO user will have option to generate higher quality gif files in comparison to Flexi FREE version.
Update previously generated thumbnails
Video thumbnails are generated during the time of upload at frontend. It will not generate any thumbnails when uploaded from backend. Hence the old generated thumbnails will not be touched and remains as it is even if you update any settings. It will only get applied to newly submitted video files supported by ffmpeg only.
