Ubuntu
ffmpeg package

How to record correct mouse cursors with ffmpeg x11grab

Asked by Ivan Bessarabov

I want to record the screencast with ffmpeg. I'm doing it with this command:

ffmpeg -r 15 -g 30 -s 1280x1024 -f x11grab -s 800x600 -i :0.0 -vcodec qtrle screencast.mov

The video is recorded ok, but I have one, but serious problem: the mouse pointer always looks the same. In my screencast I'm shoing the browser and when the mouse is over the link is looks like a hand, but in the record the pointer is just the arrow.

So my question is how can I record the exact mouse cursers with ffmpeg.

I'm using ubuntu 9.10

ffmpeg -version
FFmpeg version SVN-r19352-4:0.5+svn20090706-2ubuntu2, Copyright (c) 2000-2009 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
  configuration: --extra-version=4:0.5+svn20090706-2ubuntu2 --prefix=/usr --enable-avfilter --enable-avfilter-lavf --enable-vdpau --enable-bzlib --enable-libgsm --enable-libschroedinger --enable-libspeex --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-pthreads --enable-zlib --disable-stripping --disable-vhook --enable-gpl --enable-postproc --enable-swscale --enable-x11grab --enable-libdc1394 --extra-cflags=-I/build/buildd/ffmpeg-0.5+svn20090706/debian/include --enable-shared --disable-static
  libavutil 49.15. 0 / 49.15. 0
  libavcodec 52.20. 0 / 52.20. 0
  libavformat 52.31. 0 / 52.31. 0
  libavdevice 52. 1. 0 / 52. 1. 0
  libavfilter 0. 4. 0 / 0. 4. 0
  libswscale 0. 7. 1 / 0. 7. 1
  libpostproc 51. 2. 0 / 51. 2. 0
  built on Oct 13 2009 22:15:16, gcc: 4.4.1
FFmpeg SVN-r19352-4:0.5+svn20090706-2ubuntu2
libavutil 49.15. 0 / 49.15. 0
libavcodec 52.20. 0 / 52.20. 0
libavformat 52.31. 0 / 52.31. 0
libavdevice 52. 1. 0 / 52. 1. 0
libavfilter 0. 4. 0 / 0. 4. 0
libswscale 0. 7. 1 / 0. 7. 1
libpostproc 51. 2. 0 / 51. 2. 0

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Ivan Bessarabov
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Revision history for this message
Kristopher Ives (krisives) said : 		#1

This appears to be something that has been changed recently: http://linux.imagik.org/2010/02/18/command-and-conquer-3-running-on-linux-gentoo-with-cedega-hd/

It also appears to have been fixed before, and came back in Karmic: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ffmpeg/+bug/59849

Revision history for this message
George Standish (george-standish-deactivatedaccount) said : 		#2

bessarabov,

I don't have a solution either. I can confirm the same behaviour using Lucid's version of ffmpeg (SVN-r0.5.1-4:0.5.1-1ubuntu1) - the mouse moves in the screencast but does not exactly reflect what you see onscreen.

Also, this same "issue" can be seen in screenshots using the Applications / Accessories / Take Screenshot - I noticed this when trying to submit a bug related to mouse behaviour.

Hope you find an answer,
George

Revision history for this message
Ivan Bessarabov (bessarabov) said : 		#3

Ok. The question is answered: "there is no way of doing this". So I have created a bug to fix it: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ffmpeg/+bug/539407

Revision history for this message
llogan (loul) said : 		#4

There is a way to do this with FFmpeg, but currently you will have to compile FFmpeg yourself. See my comment in your bug report:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ffmpeg/+bug/539407/comments/2