How to Use FFmpeg Hue Filter to Adjust Video Colors

In this guide, you will learn how to use the FFmpeg hue filter to precisely manipulate a video’s hue, saturation, and brightness. We will cover the basic syntax of the filter, explain its key parameters, and provide practical command-line examples to help you color-correct or creatively style your video files.

The hue filter in FFmpeg allows you to alter video colors by modifying three main parameters: hue, saturation, and brightness. This is done using the -vf (video filter) flag followed by the hue option and your desired values.

The Hue Filter Parameters

The filter accepts several options, but the three most commonly used are:

h: Controls the hue rotation angle in degrees (from 0 to 360).
s: Controls the saturation. The default value is 1. A value of 0 produces a grayscale video, while values greater than 1 increase color intensity.
b: Controls the brightness. The default value is 0 (no change). The value ranges from -10 to 10, where negative values darken the video and positive values brighten it.

Practical Examples

Below are practical command-line examples demonstrating how to apply these adjustments.

1. Adjusting Saturation

To make a video black and white (completely desaturated), set the saturation (s) to 0:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=s=0" output.mp4

To boost the colors and make the video more vibrant, increase the saturation value above 1:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=s=1.5" output.mp4

2. Adjusting Brightness

To brighten a dark video, increase the brightness (b) parameter. A value of 1 or 2 is usually sufficient for noticeable brightness:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=b=1.5" output.mp4

To darken a video, use a negative brightness value:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=b=-1" output.mp4

3. Changing the Hue (Color Shift)

To shift the overall color palette of your video, rotate the hue angle. For example, to shift the hue by 90 degrees:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=h=90" output.mp4

4. Combining Hue, Saturation, and Brightness

You can combine all three parameters in a single command by separating them with colons. The following command shifts the hue by 45 degrees, increases saturation by 20%, and slightly increases the brightness:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vf "hue=h=45:s=1.2:b=0.5" output.mp4