Compile FFmpeg with SVT-AV1 Support

This guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to compile FFmpeg from source with the SVT-AV1 (Scalable Video Technology AV1) encoder enabled. By building FFmpeg with SVT-AV1 support, you can leverage high-performance, open-source AV1 video encoding directly within your command-line media workflows.

Step 1: Install Build Dependencies

First, update your package manager and install the necessary build tools, compilers, and libraries.

On Debian/Ubuntu-based systems, run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y autoconf automake build-essential cmake git libtool pkg-config yasm nasm

Note: Ensure your nasm version is 2.15 or higher, as SVT-AV1 requires a modern assembler for optimizations.

Step 2: Build and Install SVT-AV1

To enable SVT-AV1 in FFmpeg, you must first compile and install the SVT-AV1 library (libsvtav1) on your system.

Clone the official SVT-AV1 repository:

git clone https://gitlab.com/AOMediaCodec/SVT-AV1.git
cd SVT-AV1

Create a build directory and navigate into it:
```
mkdir build && cd build
```
Configure the build using CMake:
```
cmake .. -G "Unix Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DBUILD_DEC=OFF -DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF
```
(Setting BUILD_SHARED_LIBS=OFF compiles it as a static library, which is easier to link into FFmpeg).
Compile and install the library:
```
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install
```
Update the shared library cache:
```
sudo ldconfig
```

Step 3: Download and Compile FFmpeg

Now you can compile FFmpeg and link it with the newly installed libsvtav1.

Clone the FFmpeg source code:

git clone https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git ffmpeg-source
cd ffmpeg-source

Configure the build. You must include the --enable-libsvtav1 flag along with --enable-gpl and --enable-nonfree (required for certain dependencies):
```
./configure \
  --pkg-config-flags="--static" \
  --enable-gpl \
  --enable-nonfree \
  --enable-libsvtav1
```
If you installed SVT-AV1 to a custom path, you may need to export the PKG_CONFIG_PATH variable before running the configure script (e.g., export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="/usr/local/lib/pkgconfig").
Compile FFmpeg using all available CPU cores:
```
make -j$(nproc)
```
Install the newly compiled FFmpeg binary:
```
sudo make install
```

Step 4: Verify the Installation

To verify that FFmpeg has been successfully compiled with SVT-AV1 support, check the available encoders using the following command:

ffmpeg -encoders | grep svt

If the installation was successful, the output will display the SVT-AV1 encoder:

V..... libsvtav1             SVT-AV1(Scalable Video Technology for AV1) encoder (codec av1)