diff --git a/ffmpeg_opt.c b/ffmpeg_opt.c
index 10aaa3a6af..c518ae11b0 100644
--- a/ffmpeg_opt.c
+++ b/ffmpeg_opt.c
@@ -1732,8 +1732,8 @@ static int open_output_file(OptionsContext *o, const char *filename)
     if (o->stop_time != INT64_MAX && o->recording_time == INT64_MAX) {
         int64_t start_time = o->start_time == AV_NOPTS_VALUE ? 0 : o->start_time;
         if (o->stop_time <= start_time) {
-            av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_WARNING, "-to value smaller than -ss; ignoring -to.\n");
-            o->stop_time = INT64_MAX;
+            av_log(NULL, AV_LOG_ERROR, "-to value smaller than -ss; aborting.\n");
+            exit_program(1);
         } else {
             o->recording_time = o->stop_time - start_time;
         }