How to Loop Videos using FFmpeg – Step-by-Step Tutorial

In this article, let’s learn how to loop videos using FFmpeg. As a bonus, learn how to install FFmpeg on Ubuntu, Mac, Windows, and then loop videos – once, twice, or create an infinite loop 🙂

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FFmpeg is by far the most critical video, image, and audio processing and manipulation tool in video and audio processing. This powerful, open-source software suite can do essential tasks the media industry needs – however complex or straightforward. One such task is looping videos, a seemingly simple yet necessary action that can be useful in various scenarios.

From creating repetitive GIFs to crafting extended video backgrounds for websites or setting up a test vector for video compression or streaming, knowing how to loop videos is essential in today’s digital landscape.

This tutorial shows you how to loop videos using FFmpeg – step-by-step!

Step 0 – Install FFmpeg on your system

Before diving into creating GIFs from videos, having FFmpeg installed on your system is essential. Here’s a step-by-step guide to installing FFmpeg on different operating systems:

• Windows: Download the latest build of FFmpeg from the official website or use a package manager like Chocolatey or Scoop. Or, follow our FFMpeg installation guide on OTTVerse.
• macOS: Install FFmpeg via Homebrew or MacPorts package managers.
• Linux: Use your distribution’s package manager to install FFmpeg or compile it from source.

Once FFmpeg is installed, verify its installation by opening the command prompt or terminal and typing ffmpeg -version to ensure the correct version is displayed.

Commandline to Loop Videos using FFmpeg

It is very straightforward to loop a video using FFmpeg, and here is the command line below –

ffmpeg -stream_loop <loop_count> -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mp4

Here is an explanation of the parameters –

• -stream_loop: This option specifies the number of times you want to loop the input video. To loop the video infinitely, use -1 as the loop count. If you want to loop the video a specific number of times (e.g., three times), use 3.
• <loop_count>: Replace this with how many times you want to loop the video. If you want to loop the video indefinitely, use -1.
• -i input.mp4: This is the input file path. Replace input.mp4 with the path to the video file you want to loop.
• -c copy: This option enables stream copy mode, meaning FFmpeg will not re-encode the video during looping. It simply copies the video and audio streams as they are, ensuring no loss of quality.
• output.mp4: This is the output file path. Replace output.mp4 with the desired name and format for the looped video file.

How do you use this?

If you want to loop a video once, set the -stream_loop parameter to 1. Or, if you want to loop it five times, set the -stream_loop parameter to 5.

If you set -stream_loop to -1, then it will loop infinitely!! Be careful, as it can rapidly become a HUGE file and fill up your storage disk!

Example

To test the command line to loop a video using FFmpeg, I have a video file that is 23.42 seconds long. You can find this out using ffprobe as follows. If you want to learn more about ffprobe, then check out our deep-dive on ffprobe and learn about what it can analyze.

(base) krishna@Krishnas-MacBook-Pro ffmpeg % ffprobe input.mp4 -hide_banner
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'input.mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : mp42
    minor_version   : 0
    compatible_brands: isommp42
    creation_time   : 2023-04-11T04:56:51.000000Z
  Duration: 00:00:23.42, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1459 kb/s
  Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 32000 Hz, mono, fltp, 126 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-04-11T04:56:51.000000Z
      handler_name    : AAC audio
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
  Stream #0:1[0x2](und): Video: h264 (Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, 1331 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 30k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      creation_time   : 2023-04-11T04:56:51.000000Z
      handler_name    : H.264/AVC video
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      encoder         : AVC Coding

Now, I will loop it two times – so it will create a file three times as long as the original. Here is my command line –

ffmpeg -stream_loop 2 -i input.mp4 -c copy outputlooped.mp4   

Now, let’s use ffprobe again to check the size of the output video –

(base) krishna@Krishnas-MacBook-Pro ffmpeg % ffprobe outputlooped.mp4 -hide_banner                                 
Input #0, mov,mp4,m4a,3gp,3g2,mj2, from 'outputlooped.mp4':
  Metadata:
    major_brand     : isom
    minor_version   : 512
    compatible_brands: isomiso2avc1mp41
    encoder         : Lavf60.3.100
  Duration: 00:01:10.22, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1462 kb/s
  Stream #0:0[0x1](und): Video: h264 (Baseline) (avc1 / 0x31637661), yuv420p(progressive), 1280x720, 1331 kb/s, 25 fps, 25 tbr, 30k tbn (default)
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : H.264/AVC video
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]
      encoder         : AVC Coding
  Stream #0:1[0x2](und): Audio: aac (LC) (mp4a / 0x6134706D), 32000 Hz, mono, fltp, 126 kb/s (default)
    Metadata:
      handler_name    : AAC audio
      vendor_id       : [0][0][0][0]

ffprobe shows that the output video is 1:10:22 mins long, the same as 3 x 23.42 seconds. Success! We’ve tested and used FFmpeg to create a video loop 🙂

Common FFmpeg Looping Issues

I came across a few issues when looping videos. Here are some precautions from my trial-and-errors –

Maintaining Video Quality

Looping a video shouldn’t result in a loss of quality. However, if you notice a decrease in video quality after looping, ensure you use the -c copy option in your command. This keeps the same codec for the output video, thus maintaining the video quality.

Infinite Loops Being Created

Double-check your loop parameter if the output video is not looped for the duration or the number of times you specified. Make sure you’re correctly using the -stream_loop option.

Audio Synchronization

Audio can sometimes fall out of sync when looping videos. If this happens, you might need to separate the audio and video streams, loop them separately, and merge them. And I’ll repeat this – please always use the -c copy option when looping videos to maintain the original video quality. Changing the video codec can result in a loss of quality.

Conclusion

Looping videos with FFmpeg might initially seem complex, but the process becomes straightforward with practice. If you want to learn more about FFmpeg, please check out these articles.