Multiple bitrates HLS with ffmpeg-python

Question

I am currently using ffmpeg-python library to convert a .mp4 video into HLS format with output looking like this:

ffmpeg.output(
    mp4_input,
    m3u8_name,
    format='hls', start_number=0, hls_time=5,
    hls_list_size=0,
),

How do I make ffmpeg-python output HLS with in multiple bitrates and create a master playlist for them?

Answer 1

Actually you can achieve the same without ffmpeg-python . I'm the creator of VidGear Video Processing Python Project that contains StreamGear API for this very purpose. The example code is as follows:

# import required libraries
from vidgear.gears import StreamGear

# activate Single-Source Mode and also define various streams
stream_params = {
    "-video_source": "foo.mp4",
    "-streams": [
        {"-resolution": "1920x1080", "-video_bitrate": "4000k"},  # Stream1: 1920x1080 at 4000kbs bitrate
        {"-resolution": "1280x720", "-framerate": 30.0},  # Stream2: 1280x720 at 30fps framerate
        {"-resolution": "640x360", "-framerate": 60.0},  # Stream3: 640x360 at 60fps framerate
        {"-resolution": "320x240", "-video_bitrate": "500k"},  # Stream3: 320x240 at 500kbs bitrate
    ],
}
# describe a suitable master playlist location/name and assign params
streamer = StreamGear(output="hls_out.m3u8", format = "hls", **stream_params)
# trancode source
streamer.transcode_source()
# terminate
streamer.terminate()

and that's it. Goodluck!