Introduction

VapourSynth is an application for video manipulation. Or a plugin. Or a library. It’s hard to tell because it has a core library written in C++ and a Python module to allow video scripts to be created. It came to be when I started thinking about alternative designs for Avisynth and most of it was written over a 3 month period.

The software has been heavily inspired by Avisynth and aims to be a 21st century rewrite, taking advantage of the advancements computers have made since the late 90s. The main features compared to Avisynth are:

• Multithreaded - Frame level multithreading that scales well

• Generalized Colorspaces - New colorspaces can be specified at runtime

• Per Frame Properties - Additional metadata can be attached to frames

• Python Based - The scripting part is implemented as a Python module so you don’t have to learn a special language

• Support for video with format changes - Some video just can’t stick to one format or frame size. VapourSynth can handle any kind of change

• Compatible with a large number of already existing Avisynth plugins

About the author

Fredrik Mellbin majored in electrical engineering with a focus on image analysis and processing with medical applications. He has previously worked with digital electronics and likes to plan his own software projects in his spare time. When he one day found himself out of work he needed something to do between sending out job applications and waiting for a reply. The natural choice for the author was to try to improve Avisynth, the software that once made him interested in video editing. VapourSynth is the result of all that time waiting.

Feel free to contact me at fredrik.mellbin that round thingy with an a gmail.com if you need help to port a filter or want to sponsor the development.