Remove sequentially duplicate frames when using FFmpeg

by

Use the mpdecimate filter, whose purpose is to “Drop frames that do not differ greatly from the previous frame in order to reduce frame rate.”

  • This will generate a console readout showing which frames the filter thinks are duplicates.

    ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf mpdecimate -loglevel debug -f null -

  • To generate a video with the duplicates removed

    ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf mpdecimate,setpts=N/FRAME_RATE/TB out.mp4

The setpts filter expression generates smooth timestamps for a video at FRAME_RATE FPS. See an explanation for timestamps at What is video timescale, timebase, or timestamp in ffmpeg?

Leave a Comment

tech