How do you convert an entire directory with ffmpeg?

Question

How do you convert an entire directory/folder with ffmpeg via command line or with a batch script?

Answer 1

I know this might be redundant but I use this script to batch convert files.

old_extension=$1
new_extension=$2

for i in *."$old_extension";
  do ffmpeg -i "$i" "${i%.*}.$new_extension";
done

It takes 2 arguments to make it more flexible :

1. the extension you want to convert from
2. the new extension you want to convert to

I create an alias for it but you can also use it manually like this:

sh batch_convert.sh mkv mp4

This would convert all the mkv files into mp4 files.

As you can see it slightly more versatile. As long as ffmpeg can convert it you can specify any two extensions.