Have you confirmed that FFMPEG is installed?

You can look in dataobject_manager/code/flv/ffmpeg_log.txt to see what FFMPEG commands are running. I believe the thumbnail gen commands start with "ffmpeg -i -y" or something like that. You might want to try running those shell commands and see what kind of result you get. Also, make sure the proc_open() function is made available to you by your hosting provider.

Easiest thing to do is write a little script .. maybe in your config.php that uses proc_open(). You should get an error saying you don't have access to that method. If it doesn't work, try using exec() and shell_exec() and let me know if those are open to you..

It's becoming more of an issue that users' hosting environments are restricting the video functions. I need to rethink some of this for the next release.

Also, you'll find the set_ffmpeg_root() function is useful. Some users have had to use an absolute path to the ffmpeg executable to get it to run, e.g.

_config.php

FLV::set_ffmpeg_root("/var/usr/bin/ffmpeg/");

Or wherever it lives on your sever. You might have to ask your hosting provider, or there might be a unix command like "locate ffmpeg" you can use to find it. A lot of times, the server isn't set up right for calling "ffmpeg" just anywhere. It returns command not found without an absolute path.

This is a feature that I have in my plans, but is not implemented yet. In forthcoming versions, you'll be able to create plugins for specific players.