How can I use avconv to convert multiple files in the terminal?

Question

I'm new to Linux and I want to execute one command on every file in a loop:

avconv -i *.mp4 -vcodec copy -ac 2 -strict experimental *.mp4

Can any one tell me how I can do this? I have more than 100 files to convert. I just want to convert them into new files with the same names, but using different codecs. It works for one file but I don't know how to run it on all of the files. I found this avconv documentation but I can't find the answer in there either.

score 19 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 25 '15 at 23:38

19

Try this:

for i in *.mp4; do avconv -i "$i" -vcodec copy -ac 2 -strict experimental "out-$i"; done

edited Jun 25 '15 at 23:38

Lukasz Czerwinski

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answered Oct 22 '12 at 13:52

January

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In case of files with spaces, instances of `$i` usually need to be "quoted". – Oct 22 '12 at 14:52
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yes, you are right; corrected. – January Oct 22 '12 at 16:19
And it should be "out-$i" instead of "out-$i.mp4" unless you want to get files with *.mp4.mp4 extension ;) – Piotr Kukielka Apr 04 '15 at 14:07

How can I use avconv to convert multiple files in the terminal?

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