videoshow - Effortless Video Slideshow Creation with Node.js and ffmpeg

VideoShow: Effortless Video Slideshow Creation

Overview

VideoShow is a user-friendly utility designed for Node.js that enables users to effortlessly create video slideshows using images. Leveraging the power of FFmpeg, VideoShow comes equipped with a range of features like adding audio, subtitles, and transitions such as fade-in and fade-out between slides. This tool is ideal for individuals or businesses who need to generate video content quickly and easily without delving into complex video editing software.

Getting Started

To dive into VideoShow, users can explore various resources such as the examples provided, its programmatic API, and the command-line interface. VideoShow is trusted in production environments, generating thousands of videos monthly, underscoring its reliability and efficiency.

Requirements

To utilize VideoShow, FFmpeg must be installed with specific compilation flags: --enable-libass --enable-libmp3lame. Users can download static builds of FFmpeg from this link. Additionally, users intending to operate VideoShow on Heroku can leverage the ffmpeg2 buildpack.

Installation

VideoShow can be installed via npm. For standard installation, run:

npm install videoshow

For global command-line usage, use:

npm install -g videoshow

Usage

When working with VideoShow, it’s important to ensure that all images share the same dimensions. Here is a sample script demonstrating how to create a video slideshow composed of images and an audio track:

var videoshow = require('videoshow')

var images = [
  'step1.jpg',
  'step2.jpg',
  'step3.jpg',
  'step4.jpg'
]

var videoOptions = {
  fps: 25,
  loop: 5, // seconds
  transition: true,
  transitionDuration: 1, // seconds
  videoBitrate: 1024,
  videoCodec: 'libx264',
  size: '640x?',
  audioBitrate: '128k',
  audioChannels: 2,
  format: 'mp4',
  pixelFormat: 'yuv420p'
}

videoshow(images, videoOptions)
  .audio('song.mp3')
  .save('video.mp4')
  .on('start', function (command) {
    console.log('ffmpeg process started:', command)
  })
  .on('error', function (err, stdout, stderr) {
    console.error('Error:', err)
    console.error('ffmpeg stderr:', stderr)
  })
  .on('end', function (output) {
    console.error('Video created in:', output)
  })

Command-Line Interface

Users can manage video creation through VideoShow's command-line interface. Use the following command for help:

$ videoshow --help

Here’s a basic command for creating a video slideshow from images:

Create video slideshow easily from images
Usage: bin/videoshow [options]

Options include adding audio files, subtitle tracks, defining output paths, and more, to customize the video output.

API

The VideoShow API provides users with flexibility in video creation. It offers various methods to add images, audio, subtitles, and more. Below are key methods and options:

videoshow(images, [ options ]): Initializes a VideoShow instance with images and optional video settings.
videoshow#audio(path [, params ]): Adds an audio track to the slideshow.
Video Options: Include settings for FPS, loop duration, transition effects, video and audio bitrate, and format.

For more detailed API information, developers can refer to fluent-ffmpeg's documentation.

Conclusion

VideoShow stands out as a practical solution for those seeking to produce video slideshows without the need for advanced technical knowledge. Whether for personal projects or high-volume production, VideoShow provides an easy-to-use, efficient mechanism for video creation using images and supplemental multimedia elements.