diff --git a/avconv.c b/avconv.c
index 444e74d8d9..dd998ab40c 100644
--- a/avconv.c
+++ b/avconv.c
@@ -2345,22 +2345,13 @@ static int64_t getmaxrss(void)
 #endif
 }
 
-static void parse_cpuflags(int argc, char **argv, const OptionDef *options)
-{
-    int idx = locate_option(argc, argv, options, "cpuflags");
-    if (idx && argv[idx + 1])
-        opt_cpuflags(NULL, "cpuflags", argv[idx + 1]);
-}
-
 int main(int argc, char **argv)
 {
-    OptionsContext o = { 0 };
+    int ret;
     int64_t ti;
 
     atexit(exit_program);
 
-    reset_options(&o);
-
     av_log_set_flags(AV_LOG_SKIP_REPEATED);
     parse_loglevel(argc, argv, options);
 
@@ -2374,10 +2365,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
 
     show_banner();
 
-    parse_cpuflags(argc, argv, options);
-
-    /* parse options */
-    parse_options(&o, argc, argv, options, opt_output_file);
+    /* parse options and open all input/output files */
+    ret = avconv_parse_options(argc, argv);
+    if (ret < 0)
+        exit(1);
 
     if (nb_output_files <= 0 && nb_input_files == 0) {
         show_usage();
diff --git a/avconv.h b/avconv.h
index 11e846261f..defdf59c4a 100644
--- a/avconv.h
+++ b/avconv.h
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ typedef struct MetadataMap {
 } MetadataMap;
 
 typedef struct OptionsContext {
+    OptionGroup *g;
+
     /* input/output options */
     int64_t start_time;
     const char *format;
@@ -361,4 +363,6 @@ int configure_output_filter(FilterGraph *fg, OutputFilter *ofilter, AVFilterInOu
 int ist_in_filtergraph(FilterGraph *fg, InputStream *ist);
 FilterGraph *init_simple_filtergraph(InputStream *ist, OutputStream *ost);
 
+int avconv_parse_options(int argc, char **argv);
+
 #endif /* AVCONV_H */
diff --git a/avconv_opt.c b/avconv_opt.c
index a4e64e6320..7f9e5e7415 100644
--- a/avconv_opt.c
+++ b/avconv_opt.c
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ static int intra_dc_precision = 8;
 static int using_stdin        = 0;
 static int input_sync;
 
-void reset_options(OptionsContext *o)
+static void uninit_options(OptionsContext *o)
 {
     const OptionDef *po = options;
     int i;
@@ -107,19 +107,18 @@ void reset_options(OptionsContext *o)
     av_freep(&o->stream_maps);
     av_freep(&o->meta_data_maps);
     av_freep(&o->streamid_map);
+}
 
+static void init_options(OptionsContext *o)
+{
     memset(o, 0, sizeof(*o));
 
     o->mux_max_delay  = 0.7;
     o->recording_time = INT64_MAX;
     o->limit_filesize = UINT64_MAX;
     o->chapters_input_file = INT_MAX;
-
-    uninit_opts();
-    init_opts();
 }
 
-
 static double parse_frame_aspect_ratio(const char *arg)
 {
     int x = 0, y = 0;
@@ -449,7 +448,7 @@ static void add_input_streams(OptionsContext *o, AVFormatContext *ic)
         ist->file_index = nb_input_files;
         ist->discard = 1;
         st->discard  = AVDISCARD_ALL;
-        ist->opts = filter_codec_opts(codec_opts, ist->st->codec->codec_id, ic, st, NULL);
+        ist->opts = filter_codec_opts(o->g->codec_opts, ist->st->codec->codec_id, ic, st, NULL);
 
         ist->ts_scale = 1.0;
         MATCH_PER_STREAM_OPT(ts_scale, dbl, ist->ts_scale, ic, st);
@@ -545,9 +544,8 @@ static void dump_attachment(AVStream *st, const char *filename)
     avio_close(out);
 }
 
-static int opt_input_file(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *filename)
+static int open_input_file(OptionsContext *o, const char *filename)
 {
-    OptionsContext *o = optctx;
     AVFormatContext *ic;
     AVInputFormat *file_iformat = NULL;
     int err, i, ret;
@@ -577,7 +575,7 @@ static int opt_input_file(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *filename)
     }
     if (o->nb_audio_sample_rate) {
         snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%d", o->audio_sample_rate[o->nb_audio_sample_rate - 1].u.i);
-        av_dict_set(&format_opts, "sample_rate", buf, 0);
+        av_dict_set(&o->g->format_opts, "sample_rate", buf, 0);
     }
     if (o->nb_audio_channels) {
         /* because we set audio_channels based on both the "ac" and
@@ -588,7 +586,7 @@ static int opt_input_file(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *filename)
                         AV_OPT_SEARCH_FAKE_OBJ)) {
             snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "%d",
                      o->audio_channels[o->nb_audio_channels - 1].u.i);
-            av_dict_set(&format_opts, "channels", buf, 0);
+            av_dict_set(&o->g->format_opts, "channels", buf, 0);
         }
     }
     if (o->nb_frame_rates) {
@@ -597,33 +595,33 @@ static int opt_input_file(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *filename)
         if (file_iformat && file_iformat->priv_class &&
             av_opt_find(&file_iformat->priv_class, "framerate", NULL, 0,
                         AV_OPT_SEARCH_FAKE_OBJ)) {
-            av_dict_set(&format_opts, "framerate",
+            av_dict_set(&o->g->format_opts, "framerate",
                         o->frame_rates[o->nb_frame_rates - 1].u.str, 0);
         }
     }
     if (o->nb_frame_sizes) {
-        av_dict_set(&format_opts, "video_size", o->frame_sizes[o->nb_frame_sizes - 1].u.str, 0);
+        av_dict_set(&o->g->format_opts, "video_size", o->frame_sizes[o->nb_frame_sizes - 1].u.str, 0);
     }
     if (o->nb_frame_pix_fmts)
-        av_dict_set(&format_opts, "pixel_format", o->frame_pix_fmts[o->nb_frame_pix_fmts - 1].u.str, 0);
+        av_dict_set(&o->g->format_opts, "pixel_format", o->frame_pix_fmts[o->nb_frame_pix_fmts - 1].u.str, 0);
 
     ic->flags |= AVFMT_FLAG_NONBLOCK;
     ic->interrupt_callback = int_cb;
 
     /* open the input file with generic libav function */
-    err = avformat_open_input(&ic, filename, file_iformat, &format_opts);
+    err = avformat_open_input(&ic, filename, file_iformat, &o->g->format_opts);
     if (err < 0) {
         print_error(filename, err);
         exit(1);
     }
-    assert_avoptions(format_opts);
+    assert_avoptions(o->g->format_opts);
 
     /* apply forced codec ids */
     for (i = 0; i < ic->nb_streams; i++)
         choose_decoder(o, ic, ic->streams[i]);
 
     /* Set AVCodecContext options for avformat_find_stream_info */
-    opts = setup_find_stream_info_opts(ic, codec_opts);
+    opts = setup_find_stream_info_opts(ic, o->g->codec_opts);
     orig_nb_streams = ic->nb_streams;
 
     /* If not enough info to get the stream parameters, we decode the
@@ -680,7 +678,6 @@ static int opt_input_file(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *filename)
         av_dict_free(&opts[i]);
     av_freep(&opts);
 
-    reset_options(o);
     return 0;
 }
 
@@ -777,7 +774,7 @@ static OutputStream *new_output_stream(OptionsContext *o, AVFormatContext *oc, e
         AVIOContext *s = NULL;
         char *buf = NULL, *arg = NULL, *preset = NULL;
 
-        ost->opts  = filter_codec_opts(codec_opts, ost->enc->id, oc, st, ost->enc);
+        ost->opts  = filter_codec_opts(o->g->codec_opts, ost->enc->id, oc, st, ost->enc);
 
         MATCH_PER_STREAM_OPT(presets, str, preset, oc, st);
         if (preset && (!(ret = get_preset_file_2(preset, ost->enc->name, &s)))) {
@@ -845,7 +842,7 @@ static OutputStream *new_output_stream(OptionsContext *o, AVFormatContext *oc, e
     if (oc->oformat->flags & AVFMT_GLOBALHEADER)
         st->codec->flags |= CODEC_FLAG_GLOBAL_HEADER;
 
-    av_opt_get_int(sws_opts, "sws_flags", 0, &ost->sws_flags);
+    av_opt_get_int(o->g->sws_opts, "sws_flags", 0, &ost->sws_flags);
 
     ost->pix_fmts[0] = ost->pix_fmts[1] = AV_PIX_FMT_NONE;
 
@@ -1169,9 +1166,8 @@ static int configure_complex_filters(void)
     return 0;
 }
 
-void opt_output_file(void *optctx, const char *filename)
+static int open_output_file(OptionsContext *o, const char *filename)
 {
-    OptionsContext *o = optctx;
     AVFormatContext *oc;
     int i, j, err;
     AVOutputFormat *file_oformat;
@@ -1378,7 +1374,7 @@ loop_end:
     output_files[nb_output_files - 1]->start_time     = o->start_time;
     output_files[nb_output_files - 1]->limit_filesize = o->limit_filesize;
     output_files[nb_output_files - 1]->shortest       = o->shortest;
-    av_dict_copy(&output_files[nb_output_files - 1]->opts, format_opts, 0);
+    av_dict_copy(&output_files[nb_output_files - 1]->opts, o->g->format_opts, 0);
 
     /* check filename in case of an image number is expected */
     if (oc->oformat->flags & AVFMT_NEEDNUMBER) {
@@ -1500,7 +1496,7 @@ loop_end:
         }
     }
 
-    reset_options(o);
+    return 0;
 }
 
 static int opt_target(void *optctx, const char *opt, const char *arg)
@@ -1858,6 +1854,94 @@ void show_usage(void)
     printf("\n");
 }
 
+enum OptGroup {
+    GROUP_OUTFILE,
+    GROUP_INFILE,
+};
+
+static const OptionGroupDef groups[] = {
+    [GROUP_OUTFILE] = { "output file",  NULL },
+    [GROUP_INFILE]  = { "input file",   "i"  },
+    { 0 },
+};
+
+static int open_files(OptionGroupList *l, const char *inout,
+                      int (*open_file)(OptionsContext*, const char*))
+{
+    int i, ret;
+
+    for (i = 0; i < l->nb_groups; i++) {
+        OptionGroup *g = &l->groups[i];
+        OptionsContext o;
+
+        init_options(&o);
+        o.g = g;
+
+        ret = parse_optgroup(&o, g);
+        if (ret < 0) {
+            av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Error parsing options for %s file "
+                   "%s.\n", inout, g->arg);
+            return ret;
+        }
+
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_DEBUG, "Opening an %s file: %s.\n", inout, g->arg);
+        ret = open_file(&o, g->arg);
+        uninit_options(&o);
+        if (ret < 0) {
+            av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_ERROR, "Error opening %s file %s.\n",
+                   inout, g->arg);
+            return ret;
+        }
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_DEBUG, "Successfully openened the file.\n");
+    }
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+int avconv_parse_options(int argc, char **argv)
+{
+    OptionParseContext octx;
+    uint8_t error[128];
+    int ret;
+
+    memset(&octx, 0, sizeof(octx));
+
+    /* split the commandline into an internal representation */
+    ret = split_commandline(&octx, argc, argv, options, groups);
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "Error splitting the argument list: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    /* apply global options */
+    ret = parse_optgroup(NULL, &octx.global_opts);
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "Error parsing global options: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    /* open input files */
+    ret = open_files(&octx.groups[GROUP_INFILE], "input", open_input_file);
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "Error opening input files: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+    /* open output files */
+    ret = open_files(&octx.groups[GROUP_OUTFILE], "output", open_output_file);
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "Error opening output files: ");
+        goto fail;
+    }
+
+fail:
+    uninit_parse_context(&octx);
+    if (ret < 0) {
+        av_strerror(ret, error, sizeof(error));
+        av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_FATAL, "%s\n", error);
+    }
+    return ret;
+}
 
 #define OFFSET(x) offsetof(OptionsContext, x)
 const OptionDef options[] = {
@@ -1865,8 +1949,6 @@ const OptionDef options[] = {
 #include "cmdutils_common_opts.h"
     { "f",              HAS_ARG | OPT_STRING | OPT_OFFSET,           { .off       = OFFSET(format) },
         "force format", "fmt" },
-    { "i",              HAS_ARG | OPT_PERFILE,                       { .func_arg = opt_input_file },
-        "input file name", "filename" },
     { "y",              OPT_BOOL,                                    {              &file_overwrite },
         "overwrite output files" },
     { "c",              HAS_ARG | OPT_STRING | OPT_SPEC,             { .off       = OFFSET(codec_names) },
@@ -2048,7 +2130,5 @@ const OptionDef options[] = {
     { "dcodec", HAS_ARG | OPT_DATA | OPT_PERFILE | OPT_EXPERT, { .func_arg = opt_data_codec },
         "force data codec ('copy' to copy stream)", "codec" },
 
-    { "default", HAS_ARG | OPT_AUDIO | OPT_VIDEO | OPT_EXPERT, { .func_arg = opt_default },
-        "generic catch all option", "" },
     { NULL, },
 };