diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 813ac4a15..7eb17a163 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
     --audio-quality QUALITY          Specify ffmpeg/avconv audio quality, insert a value between 0 (better) and 9 (worse) for VBR or a specific bitrate like 128K (default
                                      5)
     --recode-video FORMAT            Encode the video to another format if necessary (currently supported: mp4|flv|ogg|webm|mkv|xvid)
-    --pp-params                      Extra parameters for video post-processor.
+    --postprocessor-args             Extra parameters for video post-processor.
     -k, --keep-video                 Keep the video file on disk after the post-processing; the video is erased by default
     --no-post-overwrites             Do not overwrite post-processed files; the post-processed files are overwritten by default
     --embed-subs                     Embed subtitles in the video (only for mkv and mp4 videos)
diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index 3bfe30c76..ff95add78 100755
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
     The following options are used by the post processors:
     prefer_ffmpeg:     If True, use ffmpeg instead of avconv if both are available,
                        otherwise prefer avconv.
-    pp_params:         Extra parameters for external apps, like avconv.
+    postprocessor_args: Extra parameters for external apps, like avconv.
     """
 
     params = None
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index 8b54d4ae2..356697015 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -171,10 +171,6 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
     if opts.recodevideo is not None:
         if opts.recodevideo not in ['mp4', 'flv', 'webm', 'ogg', 'mkv', 'xvid']:
             parser.error('invalid video recode format specified')
-    if opts.pp_params is None:
-        opts.pp_params = []
-    else:
-        opts.pp_params = shlex.split(opts.pp_params)
     if opts.convertsubtitles is not None:
         if opts.convertsubtitles not in ['srt', 'vtt', 'ass']:
             parser.error('invalid subtitle format specified')
@@ -231,7 +227,7 @@ def _real_main(argv=None):
         postprocessors.append({
             'key': 'FFmpegVideoConvertor',
             'preferedformat': opts.recodevideo,
-            'extra_params': opts.pp_params
+            'extra_cmd_args': opts.postprocessor_args,
         })
     if opts.convertsubtitles:
         postprocessors.append({
diff --git a/youtube_dl/options.py b/youtube_dl/options.py
index fbba9b9d8..3d88428c4 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/options.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/options.py
@@ -688,8 +688,8 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
         metavar='FORMAT', dest='recodevideo', default=None,
         help='Encode the video to another format if necessary (currently supported: mp4|flv|ogg|webm|mkv|xvid)')
     postproc.add_option(
-        '--pp-params',
-        dest='pp_params', default=None, metavar='ARGS',
+        '--postprocessor-args',
+        dest='postprocessor_args', default=None, metavar='ARGS',
         help='Extra parameters for video post-processor.')
     postproc.add_option(
         '-k', '--keep-video',
diff --git a/youtube_dl/postprocessor/common.py b/youtube_dl/postprocessor/common.py
index d944d9367..c44501b59 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/postprocessor/common.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/postprocessor/common.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 from __future__ import unicode_literals
 
 import os
+import shlex
 
 from ..utils import (
     PostProcessingError,
@@ -23,12 +24,13 @@ class PostProcessor(object):
 
     PostProcessor objects follow a "mutual registration" process similar
     to InfoExtractor objects. And it can receive parameters from CLI trough
-    --pp-params.
+    --postprocessor-args.
     """
 
     _downloader = None
 
-    def __init__(self, downloader=None):
+    def __init__(self, downloader=None, extra_cmd_args=None):
+        self._extra_cmd_args = shlex.split(extra_cmd_args or '')
         self._downloader = downloader
 
     def set_downloader(self, downloader):
diff --git a/youtube_dl/postprocessor/ffmpeg.py b/youtube_dl/postprocessor/ffmpeg.py
index a696b12b4..891c72769 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/postprocessor/ffmpeg.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/postprocessor/ffmpeg.py
@@ -29,8 +29,8 @@ class FFmpegPostProcessorError(PostProcessingError):
 
 
 class FFmpegPostProcessor(PostProcessor):
-    def __init__(self, downloader=None):
-        PostProcessor.__init__(self, downloader)
+    def __init__(self, downloader=None, extra_cmd_args=None):
+        PostProcessor.__init__(self, downloader, extra_cmd_args)
         self._determine_executables()
 
     def check_version(self):
@@ -287,16 +287,15 @@ class FFmpegExtractAudioPP(FFmpegPostProcessor):
 
 
 class FFmpegVideoConvertorPP(FFmpegPostProcessor):
-    def __init__(self, downloader=None, preferedformat=None, extra_params=[]):
-        super(FFmpegVideoConvertorPP, self).__init__(downloader)
+    def __init__(self, downloader=None, preferedformat=None, extra_cmd_args=None):
+        super(FFmpegVideoConvertorPP, self).__init__(downloader, extra_cmd_args)
         self._preferedformat = preferedformat
-        self._extra_params = extra_params
 
     def run(self, information):
         path = information['filepath']
         prefix, sep, ext = path.rpartition('.')
         ext = self._preferedformat
-        options = self._extra_params
+        options = self._extra_cmd_args
         if self._preferedformat == 'xvid':
             ext = 'avi'
             options.extend(['-c:v', 'libxvid', '-vtag', 'XVID'])