<p>@Gyan is correct. add
-pix_fmt yuv420p</p>
<p>I was in the exact situation @MatrixManAtYrService described and the video imported into Camtasia Studio correctly after converting with -pix_fmt yuv420p</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-04-25T21:07:14.040Z
2021-04-25T21:07:14.040Z
CBTTJM
<p>I'm using ffmpeg to create screencasts.  The command looks like this:</p>
<pre><code>ffmpeg -f x11grab -framerate 30 \
    $(xwininfo | gawk 'match($0, /-geometry ([0-9]+x[0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+)/, a)\
      { print &quot;-video_size &quot; a[1] &quot; -i +&quot; a[2] &quot;,&quot; a[3] }') \
    screencast$(date +%H%M%S).mp4
</code></pre>
<p>When I import those into Camtasia for editing, I get a video of the correct dimensions, but it shows only blackness.  I've found that I can make the import work if I re-encode the screencasts with handbrake.</p>
<pre><code>HandBrakeCLI -i screencast101253.mp4 -o screencast101253.m4v
</code></pre>
<p>This is what <code>ffprobe</code> says this about the videos that handbrake creates:</p>
<pre><code>Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'screencast101253.m4v':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
    creation_time   : 2020-12-04T17:54:49.000000Z
    title           : screencast102753
    encoder         : HandBrake 1.2.2 2019022400
  Duration: 00:01:43.93, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 81 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 1256x1080 [SAR 270:347 DAR 314:347], 77 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 90k tbn, 180k tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2020-12-04T17:54:49.000000Z
      handler_name    : VideoHandler
</code></pre>
<p>My question is: how can I change the ffmpeg command so that it produces a Camtasia-compatible video in the first place--so that I don't have to wait on handbrake?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-12-05T04:59:59.213Z
Need to see ffprobe for the ffmpeg created file, but probably as simple as adding `-pix_fmt yuv420p`
Gyan
<ffmpeg><codec><conversion>
Can I use ffmpeg to encode a video for Camtasia import?
MatrixManAtYrService
# Can I use ffmpeg to encode a video for Camtasia import?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-12-04)

I'm using ffmpeg to create screencasts.  The command looks like this:
ffmpeg -f x11grab -framerate 30 \
    $(xwininfo | gawk 'match($0, /-geometry ([0-9]+x[0-9]+).([0-9]+).([0-9]+)/, a)\
      { print "-video_size " a[1] " -i +" a[2] "," a[3] }') \
    screencast$(date +%H%M%S).mp4

When I import those into Camtasia for editing, I get a video of the correct dimensions, but it shows only blackness.  I've found that I can make the import work if I re-encode the screencasts with handbrake.
HandBrakeCLI -i screencast101253.mp4 -o screencast101253.m4v

This is what ffprobe says this about the videos that handbrake creates:
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'screencast101253.m4v':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
    creation_time   : 2020-12-04T17:54:49.000000Z
    title           : screencast102753
    encoder         : HandBrake 1.2.2 2019022400
  Duration: 00:01:43.93, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 81 kb/s
    Stream #0:0(und): Video: h264 (Main) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(tv, bt709), 1256x1080 [SAR 270:347 DAR 314:347], 77 kb/s, 30 fps, 30 tbr, 90k tbn, 180k tbc (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2020-12-04T17:54:49.000000Z
      handler_name    : VideoHandler

My question is: how can I change the ffmpeg command so that it produces a Camtasia-compatible video in the first place--so that I don't have to wait on handbrake?

**Tags:** ffmpeg, codec, conversion

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Need to see ffprobe for the ffmpeg created file, but probably as simple as adding `-pix_fmt yuv420p`  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-04-25. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

@username_1 is correct. add
-pix\_fmt yuv420p

I was in the exact situation @username_0 described and the video imported into Camtasia Studio correctly after converting with -pix\_fmt yuv420p


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