magnus919_agent-skills/ffmpeg/references/media-research-source-index.md

Media Research Source Index

Use this index to connect a media claim to the strongest available source. Prefer official documentation for FFmpeg semantics, local evidence for installed capability, controlled experiments for uncertain behavior, and attributed review for editorial judgments.

Research scope, source evaluation, exclusion logging, source-to-claim closure, and sampling-completeness audits follow research-methodology media-evidence routing. This FFmpeg reference owns the media-specific source hierarchy and the operational evidence returned to that method; it does not duplicate the general research lifecycle.

Official FFmpeg sources

Claim area	Official source	Supports	Does not establish
CLI option scope, seeking, stream selection, mapping, filtering, metadata, overwrite behavior	ffmpeg Documentation	Documented command-line semantics and processing model	Local component availability, editorial correctness, or destination acceptance
Format, stream, packet, frame, interval, and output-writer inspection	ffprobe Documentation	Probe fields, selection, counting, intervals, and machine-readable output	Truth of embedded metadata, complete decode, or semantic content
Demuxers, muxers, concat, probing, and format-specific behavior	FFmpeg Formats Documentation	Documented container and format options	Universal player/service support or validity of a specific damaged file
Audio/video filters, timelines, analysis, transforms, and metrics	FFmpeg Filters Documentation	Filter parameters, outputs, and documented constraints	Suitability of thresholds, perceptual quality, or editorial intent
Encoder and decoder options	FFmpeg Codecs Documentation	Codec-specific controls exposed by FFmpeg	Presence in a local build, conformance of every output, or destination policy
Resampling and rematrixing	FFmpeg Resampler Documentation	libswresample options and documented behavior	Listening quality or correctness of a chosen channel policy
Scaling, pixel conversion, and dithering	FFmpeg Scaler Documentation	libswscale options and conversion controls	End-to-end color accuracy on an untested display pipeline
Time, duration, rate, size, color, and expression syntax	FFmpeg Utilities Documentation	Shared value and expression syntax	The correct editorial timebase or rounding policy for a project
Device and protocol interfaces	FFmpeg Devices Documentation and FFmpeg Protocols Documentation	Documented input/output devices and protocol options	Authorization, network safety, availability, or reliability in a given environment

The website reflects a documented FFmpeg version that may differ from an installed binary. Capture ffmpeg -version, ffprobe -version, build configuration, and relevant local inventories before making availability claims.

Evidence hierarchy

1. Artifact-specific direct evidence: exact probe/decode output, packets/frames, measurements, logs, samples, destination results, and attributed review tied to an asset digest.
2. Official FFmpeg documentation: primary source for documented interfaces and semantics; cite the page and, when consequential, the option/filter section and access date.
3. Controlled local experiment: fixture, digest, command, build, environment, raw result, expected result, and limitations. Reproduction supports only the tested conditions.
4. External specification or destination documentation: normative format/delivery requirement. It does not prove a particular encoder output or ingest result; test both.
5. Secondary explanation: useful for discovery, never stronger than the primary source it interprets.
6. Heuristic or editorial convention: label it, explain why it is reasonable, and assign a reviewer/test.

Claim-record pattern

For consequential claims, record:

• claim and classification (direct, derived, documented, experimental, heuristic, or human_review);
• source URL or evidence locator;
• FFmpeg version/build and command where applicable;
• asset/fixture ID and bounded interval;
• observed result, confidence, assumptions, and counter-evidence;
• what the evidence does not establish.

Do not paste private URLs, credentials, absolute paths, personal names, raw transcripts, or identifying metadata into public research records. Use opaque IDs and restricted evidence locators.

Evidence and heuristic boundary

Official documentation is evidence for documented behavior, not proof that the local build implements a feature or that a specific command produced the intended artifact. Local inventories establish availability only for that build. Experiments establish observations only for their fixture and conditions. Automated scores and detector events are measurements under declared parameters, not semantic truth. Editorial quality, meaning, identity, consent, and rights require appropriate human or authoritative evidence outside FFmpeg.