diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 00bf51bb9..753c0bd95 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -23,3 +23,4 @@ webroot/hls
 webroot/static/content.md
 hls/
 dist/
+transcoder.log
diff --git a/config/config.go b/config/config.go
index 53badff3f..246e16ca0 100644
--- a/config/config.go
+++ b/config/config.go
@@ -14,17 +14,18 @@ import (
 var Config *config
 
 type config struct {
-	IPFS               ipfs            `yaml:"ipfs"`
-	PublicHLSPath      string          `yaml:"publicHLSPath"`
-	PrivateHLSPath     string          `yaml:"privateHLSPath"`
-	VideoSettings      videoSettings   `yaml:"videoSettings"`
-	Files              files           `yaml:"files"`
-	FFMpegPath         string          `yaml:"ffmpegPath"`
-	WebServerPort      int             `yaml:"webServerPort"`
-	S3                 s3              `yaml:"s3"`
-	InstanceDetails    InstanceDetails `yaml:"instanceDetails"`
-	VersionInfo        string          `yaml:"-"`
-	DisableWebFeatures bool            `yaml:"disableWebFeatures"`
+	IPFS                ipfs            `yaml:"ipfs"`
+	PublicHLSPath       string          `yaml:"publicHLSPath"`
+	PrivateHLSPath      string          `yaml:"privateHLSPath"`
+	VideoSettings       videoSettings   `yaml:"videoSettings"`
+	Files               files           `yaml:"files"`
+	FFMpegPath          string          `yaml:"ffmpegPath"`
+	WebServerPort       int             `yaml:"webServerPort"`
+	S3                  s3              `yaml:"s3"`
+	InstanceDetails     InstanceDetails `yaml:"instanceDetails"`
+	VersionInfo         string          `yaml:"-"`
+	DisableWebFeatures  bool            `yaml:"disableWebFeatures"`
+	EnableDebugFeatures bool            `yaml:"-"`
 }
 
 // InstanceDetails defines the user-visible information about this particular instance.
diff --git a/core/ffmpeg/transcoder.go b/core/ffmpeg/transcoder.go
index cae4bd5d3..ee646cc7e 100644
--- a/core/ffmpeg/transcoder.go
+++ b/core/ffmpeg/transcoder.go
@@ -67,8 +67,13 @@ func (t *Transcoder) Start() {
 
 	log.Tracef("Video transcoder started with %d stream variants.", len(t.variants))
 
+	if config.Config.EnableDebugFeatures {
+		log.Println(command)
+	}
+
 	_, err := exec.Command("sh", "-c", command).Output()
 	if err != nil {
+		log.Errorln("Transcoder error.  See transcoder.log for full output to debug.")
 		log.Panicln(err, command)
 	}
 
@@ -111,6 +116,7 @@ func (t *Transcoder) getString() string {
 		"-hls_segment_filename", path.Join(t.segmentOutputPath, "/%v/stream-%s.ts"), // Each segment's filename
 		"-max_muxing_queue_size", "400", // Workaround for Too many packets error: https://trac.ffmpeg.org/ticket/6375?cversion=0
 		path.Join(t.segmentOutputPath, "/%v/stream.m3u8"), // Each variant's playlist
+		"2> transcoder.log",
 	}
 
 	return strings.Join(ffmpegFlags, " ")
diff --git a/core/rtmp/rtmp.go b/core/rtmp/rtmp.go
index e85c1cf25..1a6b3d169 100644
--- a/core/rtmp/rtmp.go
+++ b/core/rtmp/rtmp.go
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ func Start() {
 	if error != nil {
 		log.Panicln(error)
 	}
-	log.Printf("RTMP server is listening for incoming stream on port: %d", port)
+	log.Infof("RTMP server is listening for incoming stream on port: %d", port)
 }
 
 func handlePublish(conn *rtmp.Conn) {
diff --git a/main.go b/main.go
index 292a74e2b..b3fe12854 100644
--- a/main.go
+++ b/main.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ func main() {
 	if err := config.Load(*configFile, getVersion()); err != nil {
 		panic(err)
 	}
+	config.Config.EnableDebugFeatures = *enableDebugOptions
 
 	// starts the core
 	if err := core.Start(); err != nil {