diff --git a/fftools/ffmpeg_filter.c b/fftools/ffmpeg_filter.c
index 2dae6400c8..c1c8eeb2d8 100644
--- a/fftools/ffmpeg_filter.c
+++ b/fftools/ffmpeg_filter.c
@@ -2878,6 +2878,7 @@ static const char *unknown_if_null(const char *str)
 static int send_frame(FilterGraph *fg, FilterGraphThread *fgt,
                       InputFilter *ifilter, AVFrame *frame)
 {
+    FilterGraphPriv *fgp = fgp_from_fg(fg);
     InputFilterPriv *ifp = ifp_from_ifilter(ifilter);
     FrameData       *fd;
     AVFrameSideData *sd;
@@ -2986,6 +2987,11 @@ static int send_frame(FilterGraph *fg, FilterGraphThread *fgt,
             if (reason.len > 1)
                 reason.str[reason.len - 2] = '\0'; // remove last comma
             av_log(fg, AV_LOG_INFO, "Reconfiguring filter graph%s%s\n", reason.len ? " because " : "", reason.str);
+        } else {
+            /* Choke all input to avoid buffering excessive frames while the
+             * initial filter graph is being configured, and before we have a
+             * preferred input */
+            sch_filter_choke_inputs(fgp->sch, fgp->sch_idx);
         }
 
         ret = configure_filtergraph(fg, fgt);
diff --git a/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.c b/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.c
index 3c5cffa594..039cd1c9aa 100644
--- a/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.c
+++ b/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.c
@@ -2510,6 +2510,18 @@ int sch_filter_command(Scheduler *sch, unsigned fg_idx, AVFrame *frame)
     return send_to_filter(sch, fg, fg->nb_inputs, frame);
 }
 
+void sch_filter_choke_inputs(Scheduler *sch, unsigned fg_idx)
+{
+    SchFilterGraph *fg;
+    av_assert0(fg_idx < sch->nb_filters);
+    fg = &sch->filters[fg_idx];
+
+    pthread_mutex_lock(&sch->schedule_lock);
+    fg->best_input = fg->nb_inputs;
+    schedule_update_locked(sch);
+    pthread_mutex_unlock(&sch->schedule_lock);
+}
+
 static int task_cleanup(Scheduler *sch, SchedulerNode node)
 {
     switch (node.type) {
diff --git a/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.h b/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.h
index 24ad37b778..0c01f558e4 100644
--- a/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.h
+++ b/fftools/ffmpeg_sched.h
@@ -443,6 +443,13 @@ int sch_filter_send(Scheduler *sch, unsigned fg_idx, unsigned out_idx,
 
 int sch_filter_command(Scheduler *sch, unsigned fg_idx, struct AVFrame *frame);
 
+/**
+ * Called by filtergraph tasks to choke all filter inputs, preventing them from
+ * receiving more frames until woken up again by the scheduler. Used during
+ * initial graph configuration to avoid unnecessary buffering.
+ */
+void sch_filter_choke_inputs(Scheduler *sch, unsigned fg_idx);
+
 /**
  * Called by encoder tasks to obtain frames for encoding. Will wait for a frame
  * to become available and return it in frame.