ffmpeg can't open m4a

English Multimedia
1

uname -a
Linux linux-zyga 4.4.36-8-default #1 SMP Fri Dec 9 16:18:38 UTC 2016 (3ec5648) x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
opensuse 42.2

Before I get into the meat of the question, does this forum have the “code” format to put large segments of text in a window?

I’m having trouble with audacity importing m4a and traced the problem to ffmpeg. I have packman installed. I ran ffmpeg by itself to narrow down the problem.

This is the TLDR showing installed codecs and the error message. The

ffmpeg -i test.m4a out.wav

libavutil 55. 34.100 / 55. 34.100
libavcodec 57. 64.100 / 57. 64.100
libavformat 57. 56.100 / 57. 56.100
libavdevice 57. 1.100 / 57. 1.100
libavfilter 6. 65.100 / 6. 65.100
libavresample 3. 1. 0 / 3. 1. 0
libswscale 4. 2.100 / 4. 2.100
libswresample 2. 3.100 / 2. 3.100
libpostproc 54. 1.100 / 54. 1.100
Guessed Channel Layout for Input Stream #0.0 : stereo
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from ‘test.m4a’:
Metadata:
major_brand : isom
minor_version : 512
compatible_brands: isomiso2mp41
encoder : Lavf57.56.100
Duration: 00:01:01.77, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 127 kb/s
Stream #0:0(und): Audio: aac (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 44100 Hz, stereo, 125 kb/s (default)
Metadata:
handler_name : SoundHandler
This build of ffmpeg does not have a suitable decoder for stream #0:0 enabled, filtering impossible
Error opening filters!

Full dump at
http://pastebin.com/ne4mF1L6

2

yes there is use the # button or manually enter the code tags

opensuse does not provide patented codecs you need to get them from packman, if you have added the packman repo you need to do a full vendor change, so don’t tell us your packages tell us your repo’s
post the output of

zypper lr -d
3

I’ve been running opensuse for years and this is the first time just adding packman didn’t solve the problem.

I ran the zypper lr -d and that didn’t fix the problem. (Note I nearly always use yast) I unloaded and reloaded a number of ffmpeg and associated libs and now it works. Still it is weird that I never had to do this before. In fact, on this computer I have a 13.2 also installed and audacity works just fine on that version.

Excuse this “code” test:

this is a test
line 2

Edit: well I guess I don’t get how to use the code feature :wink:

4

You should post the Output of

zypper lr -d

That will not fix anything.

5

It will never solve anything. Adding a repo is only making it available for use. But you then have to use it. Else it is just sitting there.

This wasn’t meant to fix anything. It was meant to provide information to those who want to help you. Please do not frustrate your helpers. When they ask you to do a statement, they mean that you do it and then post what you have on the terminal window: prompt. command, output, prompt. Copied/pasted without altering/abbreviation or whatever. They want to see what you see. Else helping becomes very difficult.

I have send you a PM that explains it a bit more extensive. Hope that helps.

6

You should do a full switch to Packman to make sure that all necessary packages come from there.
That’s nothing new, and has always been the case.

One difference between 13.2 and later versions is that 13.2 (and earlier) didn’t contain ffmpeg, while now a crippled version is part of the distribution.
So if you install a package that requires ffmpeg on 13.2, it will likely pull in the full ffmpeg from Packman (unless you added other repos that contain ffmpeg, like multimedia:libs) because there is no other version.
In Leap 42.1 or later, you may already have openSUSE’s ffmpeg installed, which doesn’t support all codecs for legal reasons.

Note that “ffmpeg” in this context refers to all related libs, libavcodec in particular (but not exclusively).

Also note that audacity is part of the distribution as well.
In 13.2 or earlier, openSUSE’s package had no support for ffmpeg at all (because ffmpeg was not part of the distribution). Not even installing ffmpeg from Packman would have “fixed” that, you needed to install audacity from Packman too.
So what you say is not the full truth… :wink: