The article explains how to upgrade from Ubuntu’s stock FFmpeg 4 to the newer FFmpeg 5 by purging old packages, adding the official PPA, updating apt, and installing the single ffmpeg package that pulls all required codecs. It emphasizes why the PPA is preferable—because it delivers libx264, libx265, and NVENC support that the default repository lacks—and how to verify the upgrade by checking ffmpeg ‑version and running a quick hardware‑accelerated encode test. The guide also offers troubleshooting steps for common issues such as missing NVENC libraries or stale binaries, suggesting reinstalling or purging if conflicts arise. Overall, it presents FFmpeg 5 installation as a minimal‑dependency one‑liner that gives users immediate access to modern codecs and hardware acceleration on a fresh Ubuntu 22.04 LTS system.

Install FFmpeg 5 on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS – No Extra Dependencies Needed

A couple of hours ago a colleague tried to transcode a 4K clip after an accidental driver downgrade. The command line returned “unknown codec” because the pre‑installed FFmpeg 4 was missing libx264 support. Upgrading to FFmpeg 5 on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS fixes that and gives access to the newest codecs with minimal fuss.

Why use FFmpeg 5 instead of the stock package?

Ubuntu’s repositories ship FFmpeg 4, which lacks many modern formats. The official 5.x build from the FFmpeg PPA includes libx264, libx265, and the NVENC libraries that most power users rely on for hardware‑accelerated encoding.

Step 1 – Clean up older FFmpeg packages

If a previous attempt left behind broken files, start fresh:

sudo apt purge ffmpeg libav-tools

Removing the stock version prevents conflicts with the new binaries and clears space for the PPA’s dependencies.

Step 2 – Add the official FFmpeg PPA

The FFmpeg team maintains a stable Personal Package Archive that tracks the latest releases. Adding it is one line:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonathonf/ffmpeg-5

Why this matters: The PPA guarantees that apt pulls the exact 5.x build rather than a backported or older version.

Step 3 – Update package lists

After adding any repository, refresh the cache:

sudo apt update

Skipping this step would lead to “Package not found” errors when you try to install.

Step 4 – Install FFmpeg 5

Now pull in the full suite of codecs:

sudo apt install ffmpeg

This pulls ffmpeg, libavformat-dev, and all runtime libraries required for decoding, encoding, and filtering. The installation completes in a few minutes on a typical laptop.

Step 5 – Verify the build

Confirm you’re actually running FFmpeg 5:

ffmpeg -version | head -n 1

You should see something like ffmpeg version n5.x. If it still reports an older version, double‑check that no other package shadows the binary (which ffmpeg should point to /usr/bin/ffmpeg).

Quick sanity test

Try encoding a short clip with hardware acceleration:

ffmpeg -hwaccel cuda -i input.mp4 -c:v h264_nvenc output.mp4

If you receive “Unknown encoder: h264_nvenc”, the NVENC libraries weren’t installed, meaning the PPA didn’t finish properly. Re‑run the apt install ffmpeg step and try again.

Keep it tidy

When you’re done or if you want to rollback:

sudo apt purge ffmpeg
sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:jonathonf/ffmpeg-5

This leaves your system exactly as before without lingering dependencies.

That’s all. With the official PPA, installing FFmpeg 5 on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS is a one‑liner that gives you the latest codecs and hardware acceleration right out of the box—no compiling or fiddling with source needed.