OT: A few ffmpeg queries

[Alan Milewczyk]

Continuing OT for a minute..

On 08/09/2017 09:57, Jim web wrote:
>
> Its a great shame that there isn't a decent and clear *tutorial* on how to
> use ffmpeg for such things so that people can make sense of the vast forest
> of mysterious options, switches, etc. The help/man is of little use to most
> people because it only makes sense *after* you've found the right option.
> Listing options isn't an explanation. Just a reminder for programmers who
> *already* know what the options listed mean or can do for them and when
> they are the 'right' ones. Data is not a synonym for information.
>
> Jim
>
Couldn't agree more, it's the big failing of the IT industry. Manuals 
detailing features are not what customers want, they require "how to" 
tutorials. I had a look at some Youtube videos but in the end the best 
help I got was from a guy on Stackoverflow.com who gave a concise answer 
to the multiple audio streams issue:

To copy all streams do this ....
To copy all audio streams do this ....
To copy only 2nd audio stream do this ....

For the first time I understood the relevant options listed in the help/man.

In the 90s, I had a part-time venture supporting a guy who wrote a 
client/policy database for financial advisers. He was a brilliant 
programmer but by his own admission hated training and recognised he 
wasn't any good at it. So I would do the training for his customers and 
wrote loads of "how to" guides based on my own practical experience of 
using the database. I was always taught in sales training to "sell 
benefits not features". There's a skill in disseminating technical 
information in a way that the layperson can understand, unfortunately, 
it's not something that all techies have. Fortunately, it's something I 
enjoy doing.

A


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