[FFmpeg-user] "getting started" for libav users

[Michael Bradshaw]

On Tue, Sep 4, 2012 at 3:56 PM, Roger Pack <rogerdpack2 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Can I suggest that this is a good example of the way documentation should go:
>>
>> http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd390352(v=vs.85).aspx
>>
>> I cite this not because it describes software that has a similar purpose to ffmpeg (though that doesn't hurt), but because I was able to understand and use directshow using that in a matter of a few hours, and directshow is a notoriously complex beast.
>
> Yeah.  I kind of lack expertise to add more in depth instructions...if
> somebody else has more knowledge then please by all means help us
> flesh the page out :)

Out of curiosity, what are peoples' thoughts on adding some basic
crash course "getting started" stuff on what (raw) video and audio is
and how they work, what codecs are and how they work, and what format
containers are and how they work? This would be a significant addition
(as in time consuming to do a good job), but I think it would help
people have a one-stop intro to using libav* (plus the info wouldn't
get outdated as libav* progresses). I've met a lot of people who
expected video/audio to be simpler when they wanted to add it to their
application and got lost in the midst of trying to understand both
video and libav* (or whatever other libs they were using).

--Michael