[berkes]

> I can customize it

Which implies you actually understand all the ffmpeg opts and how they interact.

I very much doubt trail an error, or reading manpages is "mich faster" than picking a preset, ticking a box or dragging a slider in handbrake.

[antioxidant]

I don’t know anything about them, ChatGPT figures it all out for me. I just say if it needs to lower quality or resolution, keep original, remove audio, keep subtitles etc

[Twisell]

So you end up learning even less from that process than by using a CLI.

As long as you have this behavior for non-critical code it's just a little sad because you are delegating something you could easily have learnt. For hype sake I guess.

But if you do use this technique in a work related context you are just going to produce average code that you won't be able to debug when something break...

[sgarland]

Not defending intellectual incuriosity here, but in fairness ffmpeg is the antithesis of "easy to learn." I capture Laserdiscs (i.e. sampling the laser's RF output and decoding in software [0]) for fun, and use ffmpeg as part of that chain – I still barely scratch the surface of what it can do.

[0]: https://github.com/happycube/ld-decode

[k12sosse]

do you use a domesday duplicator? seems like fascinating stuff, hilarious (and impressive [0]) to see it used with VHS via VHS decode [1] .

[0] https://youtu.be/ZMI5ma6IqZw?t=25

[1] https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode

[sgarland]

No, I’m using an ADC modified for use with LD captures [0]. I did this because it’s cheaper in theory, although with the amount of time I’ve dumped into getting it working and keeping it working, the $500 or so for the Domesday Duplicator may well have been a better choice.

[0]: https://github.com/oyvindln/vhs-decode/wiki/CX-Cards#what-is...

[Tijdreiziger]

ffmpeg’s documentation and wiki are pretty comprehensive, though. I’d characterize it as ‘easy to learn, but hard to master’

[fwn]

> you are delegating something you could easily have learnt

This is the only case I would ever use a text generator. If you cannot understand it, you cannot trust the output and you cannot learn it in case of doubt.

This is why it is so great for grammar and protocol, but very problematic for actual research questions.

[bongodongobob]

You don't have to take the first output you get. It's as if you can play with it before you make it production. No one is suggesting putting "make the thing in a way" in a pipeline. Stop fighting strawmen.