raspivid is the command line tool for capturing video with the camera module.
With the camera module connected and enabled, record a video using the following command:
raspivid -o vid.h264Remember to use -hf and -vf to flip the image if required, like with raspistill
This will save a 5 second video file to the path given here as vid.h264 (default length of time).
To specify the length of the video taken, pass in the -t flag with a number of milliseconds. For example:
raspivid -o video.h264 -t 10000This will record 10 seconds of video.
For a full list of possible options, run raspivid with no arguments, or pipe this command through less and scroll through:
raspivid 2>&1 | lessUse the arrow keys to scroll and type q to exit.
The Pi captures video as a raw H264 video stream. Many media players will refuse to play it, or play it at an incorrect speed, unless it is "wrapped" in a suitable container format like MP4. The easiest way to obtain an MP4 file from the raspivid command is using MP4Box.
Install MP4Box with this command:
sudo apt-get install -y gpacCapture your raw video with raspivid and wrap it in an MP4 container like this:
# Capture 30 seconds of raw video at 640x480 and 150kB/s bit rate into a pivideo.h264 file:
raspivid -t 30000 -w 640 -h 480 -fps 25 -b 1200000 -p 0,0,640,480 -o pivideo.h264
# Wrap the raw video with an MP4 container:
MP4Box -add pivideo.h264 pivideo.mp4
# Remove the source raw file, leaving the remaining pivideo.mp4 file to play
rm pivideo.h264Alternatively, wrap MP4 around your existing raspivid output, like this:
MP4Box -add video.h264 video.mp4Full documentation of the camera can be found at hardware/camera.