diff --git a/cmdutils.c b/cmdutils.c
index 49c6ad574e..681ed4244b 100644
--- a/cmdutils.c
+++ b/cmdutils.c
@@ -748,6 +748,36 @@ int64_t guess_correct_pts(PtsCorrectionContext *ctx, int64_t reordered_pts, int6
     return pts;
 }
 
+FILE *get_preset_file(char *filename, size_t filename_size,
+                      const char *preset_name, int is_path, const char *codec_name)
+{
+    FILE *f = NULL;
+    int i;
+    const char *base[3]= { getenv("FFMPEG_DATADIR"),
+                           getenv("HOME"),
+                           FFMPEG_DATADIR,
+                         };
+
+    if (is_path) {
+        av_strlcpy(filename, preset_name, filename_size);
+        f = fopen(filename, "r");
+    } else {
+        for (i = 0; i < 3 && !f; i++) {
+            if (!base[i])
+                continue;
+            snprintf(filename, filename_size, "%s%s/%s.ffpreset", base[i], i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", preset_name);
+            f = fopen(filename, "r");
+            if (!f && codec_name) {
+                snprintf(filename, filename_size,
+                         "%s%s/%s-%s.ffpreset", base[i],  i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", codec_name, preset_name);
+                f = fopen(filename, "r");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    return f;
+}
+
 #if CONFIG_AVFILTER
 
 static int ffsink_init(AVFilterContext *ctx, const char *args, void *opaque)
diff --git a/cmdutils.h b/cmdutils.h
index b431b2ef99..9fb7845971 100644
--- a/cmdutils.h
+++ b/cmdutils.h
@@ -261,6 +261,26 @@ void init_pts_correction(PtsCorrectionContext *ctx);
  */
 int64_t guess_correct_pts(PtsCorrectionContext *ctx, int64_t pts, int64_t dts);
 
+/**
+ * Get a file corresponding to a preset file.
+ *
+ * If is_path is non-zero, look for the file in the path preset_name.
+ * Otherwise search for a file named arg.ffpreset in the directories
+ * $FFMPEG_DATADIR (if set), $HOME/.ffmpeg, and in the datadir defined
+ * at configuration time, in that order. If no such file is found and
+ * codec_name is defined, then search for a file named
+ * codec_name-preset_name.ffpreset in the above-mentioned directories.
+ *
+ * @param filename buffer where the name of the found filename is written
+ * @param filename_size size in bytes of the filename buffer
+ * @param preset_name name of the preset to search
+ * @param is_path tell if preset_name is a filename path
+ * @param codec_name name of the codec for which to look for the
+ * preset, may be NULL
+ */
+FILE *get_preset_file(char *filename, size_t filename_size,
+                      const char *preset_name, int is_path, const char *codec_name);
+
 #if CONFIG_AVFILTER
 #include "libavfilter/avfilter.h"
 
diff --git a/ffmpeg.c b/ffmpeg.c
index 46121c0a5a..8b1878b0a1 100644
--- a/ffmpeg.c
+++ b/ffmpeg.c
@@ -4030,32 +4030,11 @@ static int opt_preset(const char *opt, const char *arg)
 {
     FILE *f=NULL;
     char filename[1000], tmp[1000], tmp2[1000], line[1000];
-    int i;
-    const char *base[3]= { getenv("FFMPEG_DATADIR"),
-                           getenv("HOME"),
-                           FFMPEG_DATADIR,
-                         };
-
-    if (*opt != 'f') {
-        for(i=0; i<3 && !f; i++){
-            if(!base[i])
-                continue;
-            snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "%s%s/%s.ffpreset", base[i], i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", arg);
-            f= fopen(filename, "r");
-            if(!f){
-                char *codec_name= *opt == 'v' ? video_codec_name :
-                                  *opt == 'a' ? audio_codec_name :
-                                                subtitle_codec_name;
-                snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "%s%s/%s-%s.ffpreset", base[i],  i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", codec_name, arg);
-                f= fopen(filename, "r");
-            }
-        }
-    } else {
-        av_strlcpy(filename, arg, sizeof(filename));
-        f= fopen(filename, "r");
-    }
+    char *codec_name = *opt == 'v' ? video_codec_name :
+                       *opt == 'a' ? audio_codec_name :
+                                     subtitle_codec_name;
 
-    if(!f){
+    if (!(f = get_preset_file(filename, sizeof(filename), arg, *opt == 'f', codec_name))) {
         fprintf(stderr, "File for preset '%s' not found\n", arg);
         ffmpeg_exit(1);
     }
diff --git a/ffserver.c b/ffserver.c
index 63bd2677b2..fcc3359a41 100644
--- a/ffserver.c
+++ b/ffserver.c
@@ -3972,27 +3972,11 @@ static int ffserver_opt_preset(const char *arg,
 {
     FILE *f=NULL;
     char filename[1000], tmp[1000], tmp2[1000], line[1000];
-    int i, ret = 0;
-    const char *base[3]= { getenv("FFMPEG_DATADIR"),
-                           getenv("HOME"),
-                           FFMPEG_DATADIR,
-                         };
-
-    for(i=0; i<3 && !f; i++){
-        if(!base[i])
-            continue;
-        snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "%s%s/%s.ffpreset", base[i], i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", arg);
-        f= fopen(filename, "r");
-        if(!f){
-            AVCodec *codec = avcodec_find_encoder(avctx->codec_id);
-            if (codec) {
-                snprintf(filename, sizeof(filename), "%s%s/%s-%s.ffpreset", base[i],  i != 1 ? "" : "/.ffmpeg", codec->name, arg);
-                f= fopen(filename, "r");
-            }
-        }
-    }
+    int ret = 0;
+    AVCodec *codec = avcodec_find_encoder(avctx->codec_id);
 
-    if(!f){
+    if (!(f = get_preset_file(filename, sizeof(filename), arg, 0,
+                              codec ? codec->name : NULL))) {
         fprintf(stderr, "File for preset '%s' not found\n", arg);
         return 1;
     }