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Installing ffmpeg

Playback uses your OS media stack (Windows Media Foundation / Apple VideoToolbox), so most clips play with nothing installed. Anything that converts or renders video uses an ffmpeg you supply. It is never bundled and never auto-downloaded, a codec-licensing decision. Your ffmpeg handles:

  • converting unusual codecs for playback
  • MP4 / GIF exports (takes, ranges, shots)
  • image-sequence transcodes and scrub proxies
  • shot detection
  • moodboard frame extraction

Install it once and ReelMarkr finds it. If you see “ffmpeg was not found”, follow the steps below.

macOS

Section titled “macOS”

Install with Homebrew:

Terminal window
brew install ffmpeg

For MacPorts, use sudo port install ffmpeg. ReelMarkr checks both locations.

Windows

Section titled “Windows”

Install with winget (built into Windows 10/11):

Terminal window
winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

For Chocolatey, use choco install ffmpeg. Open a new terminal and run ffmpeg -version to confirm, then restart ReelMarkr.

Point ReelMarkr at a specific ffmpeg

Section titled “Point ReelMarkr at a specific ffmpeg”

If ffmpeg isn’t on your PATH, or you want a particular build, open Settings ▸ Playback and select your ffmpeg (ffmpeg.exe on Windows).