calling pre-compiled executables

Question

I am working on a project that makes use of the ffmpeg library within the framework of Qt on an Intel Windows 8.1 machine. My application uses a QProcess to call the ffmpeg.exe with a list of list of arguments that works perfectly. I was just wondering if it would be more efficient to use the ffmpeg source with the C++ code and call functions directly using using libav.h?

When i use the QProcess it creates a separate thread so the rest of my program is unaffected by the process. If i was to use the functions directly from libav.hi would need to create my own QThread and run the function in that.

Any advice would be helpful.

Steve

Answer 1

Here is my advice, first of all I do not know if linking ffmpeg source code directly will require you to use a QThread, it is possible that ffmpeg already manages threads on his own (which would be good), I also do not know precisely if linking directly is going to be more efficient in terms of CPU and RAM. For sure it's not going to be much more efficient; running the same code in an external process or in another thread are not so different in terms of hardware resources.

Beside that if you are looking for a better and deeper control on what is being played on screen, so for example if linking directly you think you may get some useful functions (like a fast forward or zoom in zoom out) then it could be worth a try.

Bye