binary2video

Convert binary files to videos, e.g. MP4/WebM/AVI/MKV, and back, with the help of FFmpeg. Supports h.264, VP9, FFV1 level 1 and 3 video codecs.

Usage

binary2video

binary2video [-f fps] [-w width] [-h height] [-v] infile outfile

-f fps      Set framerate, i.e. frames per second; default 1.

-w width    Set width, default 320.

-h height   Set height, default 240.

-c codec    Set video codec: h264, vp9, ffv1, or ffv1l3. Default is vp9.

-v          Be verbose.

infile      The name and path of the binary file which should be converted into
            a video.

outfile     The name and path of the video file which should be created. The suffix
            of the file will determine the video container type. The container must
            be supported by FFmpeg, for example .mp4, .webm, .avi, .mkv, etc. Not
            all video codecs work with all container formats, though.

video2binary

video2binary [-v] infile outfile

-v          Be verbose.

infile      The name and path of the video file from which the original binary file
            should be extracted.

outfile     The name and path of the binary file to which the original data should be
            restored to.

Installation

Copy binary2video and video2binary to a directory of your path, for example to /usr/local/bin/, and make them executable. Expects FFmpeg at /usr/bin/ffmpeg.

Examples

Basic example

Encode LICENSE into a .webm video with default settings:

binary2video LICENSE LICENSE.webm

Decode LICENSE_restored from the .webm video:

video2binary LICENSE.webm LICENSE_restored

Verify the original file and the restored file are identical:

md5sum LICENSE LICENSE_restored
1ebbd3e34237af26da5dc08a4e440464  LICENSE
1ebbd3e34237af26da5dc08a4e440464  LICENSE_restored

Example with parameters

Encode KeePass-2.56.zip into a .mp4 video with 0.5 frames per second, 640 x 360 pixels frame size, using the h.264 codec:

binary2video -f 0.5 -w 640 -h 360 -c h264 KeePass-2.56.zip KeePass-2.56.zip.mp4

Decode KeePass-2.56.zip_restored from .mp4 video:

video2binary KeePass-2.56.zip.mp4 KeePass-2.56.zip_restored

Verify the original file and the restored file are identical:

md5sum KeePass-2.56.zip KeePass-2.56.zip_restored
d0c2b3155838aa7f59f35d52a5484d2e  KeePass-2.56.zip
d0c2b3155838aa7f59f35d52a5484d2e  KeePass-2.56.zip_restored

Compatibility matrix

Container vs. Codec	h264	vp9	ffv1	ffv1l3
.mp4	✓	✓
.webm		✓
.avi	✓	✓	✓	✓
.mkv	✓	✓	✓	✓

Other containers have not been tested but may also work.

Internal process

Conversion from binary file to video file

1. Compress original binary file with gzip to wrap the file into an archive with minimal compression. This adds checksums and the original file size.
2. If needed, pad the compressed file with zero bytes to align with the next full video frame. Padding is calculated depending on the used frame size and bit depth. The framerate is not relevant.
3. Read padded data with FFmpeg using the rawvideo demuxer with 24 bit depth and write it to a video container, encoded with one of the lossless video encoders.

Conversion from video file to binary file

1. Read video data with FFmpeg. Frame size and bit depth are taken from the container automatically.
2. Write data with the rawvideo demuxer with 24 bit depth to a compressed file. The compressed file contains the padding data which has been added to align with the next full video frame before.
3. Uncompress the compressed data with gzip to restore the original binary file. The padding data is automatically ignored because the archive contains the original file size.

Unit testing

The unit tests need the Bash Automated Testing System.

Run the unit tests with

bats test/test.bats

References

• FFmpeg Formats Documentation: Demuxers - rawvideo
• FFmpeg FFV1: FFV1 encoding cheatsheet
• AntumDeluge: List of Lossless FFmpeg Video Encoders
• Fufu Fang: Converting-Arbitrary-Data-To-Video