<p>You can encode to Theora video and Vorbis audio with <code>ffmpeg</code> if it has been compiled with <code>--enable-libtheora</code> and <code>--enable-libvorbis</code>. Depending on your <code>ffmpeg</code> version the default settings may not provide good enough quality. Therefore you must add some additional parameters to enable a constant quality type of mode for the video.</p>

<h2>Theora video</h2>

<p>Adjust video quality with the <code>-qscale:v</code> (or the alias <code>-q:v</code>) option. The valid range to set video quality with libtheora is -1 to 10. A higher value is a higher quality.</p>

<p><strong>Note:</strong> More modern alternatives such as VP8 can provide better quality at lower bitrates. See the <a href="https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/VP8">FFmpeg: VP8 in WebM Encoding Guide</a> for more info.</p>

<h2>Vorbis audio</h2>

<p>Adjust audio quality with the <code>-qscale:a</code> (or the alias <code>-q:a</code>) option for VBR audio. The valid range to set audio quality with libvorbis is 0 to 10. A higher value is higher quality. <a href="http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Recommended_Ogg_Vorbis#Recommended_Encoder_Settings">See the Recommended Vorbis Encoder Settings</a> to get an idea of what values to use. The default of <code>-q:a 3</code> will be used if you omit <code>-q:a</code> or <code>-b:a</code>.</p>

<p>Note that <code>ffmpeg</code> supports two Vorbis encoders: the external library libtheora (<code>-c:a libvorbis</code>) and the native Vorbis encoder (<code>-c:a vorbis -strict experimental</code>). The native encoder is experimental, does not compare well to libvorbis, and usage is not recommended.</p>

<h2>Example</h2>

<p>The following command will create a good quality output for both video and audio:</p>

<pre><code>ffmpeg -i input -c:v libtheora -c:a libvorbis -q:v 6 -q:a 5 output.ogg
</code></pre>

<h3>Getting <code>ffmpeg</code></h3>

<p>Make sure to always use a recent <code>ffmpeg</code> build and refer to the current documentation specific to your build since options can change. See the <a href="http://ffmpeg.org/download.html">FFmpeg download</a> page for various ways to acquire <code>ffmpeg</code> or follow one of the <a href="https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/CompilationGuide">FFmpeg compile guides</a>.</p>

<h3>Also see</h3>

<ul>
<li><a href="http://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-codecs.html#libtheora">FFmpeg documentation on libtheora</a></li>
<li><a href="http://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-codecs.html#libvorbis">FFmpeg documentation on libvorbis</a></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-20T17:40:38.087Z
2014-06-13T18:36:27.190Z
2014-06-13T18:36:27.190Z
llogan
<p>I'm converting mov (or flv or mp4) files into ogv. Unfortunately, the programs I've been using (Miro, FFMPEG's ogv plugin) have terrible encoding that appears extremely fuzzy.  Does anyone have recommendations for less compressed files in this format? Is it possible? Software recommendations?
Thanks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-05T17:03:26.130Z
Need details, such as specs of the input video format and encoder parameters too. Samples of the input and output will also help.
Gyan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-04-06T16:57:50.930Z
Yes, it is possible - ogv allows for high quality. Provide more info as to what you are currently doing.
Dr Mayhem
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-08-27T02:01:03.053Z
I don't see what benefit converting videos into OGV are. In fact's it's likely to be detrimental. Keep your media in MP4!
hendry
<conversion><quality>
High quality ogv files - possible?
SH56
# High quality ogv files - possible?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-04-05)

I'm converting mov (or flv or mp4) files into ogv. Unfortunately, the programs I've been using (Miro, FFMPEG's ogv plugin) have terrible encoding that appears extremely fuzzy. Does anyone have recommendations for less compressed files in this format? Is it possible? Software recommendations?
Thanks.

**Tags:** conversion, quality

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Need details, such as specs of the input video format and encoder parameters too. Samples of the input and output will also help.  
> **username_2**: Yes, it is possible - ogv allows for high quality. Provide more info as to what you are currently doing.  
> **username_3**: I don't see what benefit converting videos into OGV are. In fact's it's likely to be detrimental. Keep your media in MP4!  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2012-06-20. Score: 16 | Accepted answer

You can encode to Theora video and Vorbis audio with ffmpeg if it has been compiled with --enable-libtheora and --enable-libvorbis. Depending on your ffmpeg version the default settings may not provide good enough quality. Therefore you must add some additional parameters to enable a constant quality type of mode for the video.
Theora video
Adjust video quality with the -qscale:v (or the alias -q:v) option. The valid range to set video quality with libtheora is -1 to 10. A higher value is a higher quality.
Note: More modern alternatives such as VP8 can provide better quality at lower bitrates. See the FFmpeg: VP8 in WebM Encoding Guide for more info.
Vorbis audio
Adjust audio quality with the -qscale:a (or the alias -q:a) option for VBR audio. The valid range to set audio quality with libvorbis is 0 to 10. A higher value is higher quality. See the Recommended Vorbis Encoder Settings to get an idea of what values to use. The default of -q:a 3 will be used if you omit -q:a or -b:a.
Note that ffmpeg supports two Vorbis encoders: the external library libtheora (-c:a libvorbis) and the native Vorbis encoder (-c:a vorbis -strict experimental). The native encoder is experimental, does not compare well to libvorbis, and usage is not recommended.
Example
The following command will create a good quality output for both video and audio:
ffmpeg -i input -c:v libtheora -c:a libvorbis -q:v 6 -q:a 5 output.ogg

Getting ffmpeg
Make sure to always use a recent ffmpeg build and refer to the current documentation specific to your build since options can change. See the FFmpeg download page for various ways to acquire ffmpeg or follow one of the FFmpeg compile guides.
Also see

FFmpeg documentation on libtheora
FFmpeg documentation on libvorbis


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