Decoding

Modules
	Frame parsing

Macros
#define	AV_INPUT_BUFFER_PADDING_SIZE   64
	Required number of additionally allocated bytes at the end of the input bitstream for decoding. More...

Enumerations
enum	AVDiscard {   AVDISCARD_NONE =-16 , AVDISCARD_DEFAULT = 0 , AVDISCARD_NONREF = 8 , AVDISCARD_BIDIR = 16 ,   AVDISCARD_NONINTRA = 24 , AVDISCARD_NONKEY = 32 , AVDISCARD_ALL = 48 }

Functions
int	avcodec_default_get_buffer2 (AVCodecContext *s, AVFrame *frame, int flags)
	The default callback for AVCodecContext.get_buffer2(). More...
int	avcodec_default_get_encode_buffer (AVCodecContext *s, AVPacket *pkt, int flags)
	The default callback for AVCodecContext.get_encode_buffer(). More...
void	avcodec_align_dimensions (AVCodecContext *s, int *width, int *height)
	Modify width and height values so that they will result in a memory buffer that is acceptable for the codec if you do not use any horizontal padding. More...
void	avcodec_align_dimensions2 (AVCodecContext *s, int *width, int *height, int linesize_align[AV_NUM_DATA_POINTERS])
	Modify width and height values so that they will result in a memory buffer that is acceptable for the codec if you also ensure that all line sizes are a multiple of the respective linesize_align[i]. More...
int	avcodec_enum_to_chroma_pos (int *xpos, int *ypos, enum AVChromaLocation pos)
	Converts AVChromaLocation to swscale x/y chroma position. More...
enum AVChromaLocation	avcodec_chroma_pos_to_enum (int xpos, int ypos)
	Converts swscale x/y chroma position to AVChromaLocation. More...
int	avcodec_decode_subtitle2 (AVCodecContext *avctx, AVSubtitle *sub, int *got_sub_ptr, AVPacket *avpkt)
	Decode a subtitle message. More...
int	avcodec_send_packet (AVCodecContext *avctx, const AVPacket *avpkt)
	Supply raw packet data as input to a decoder. More...
int	avcodec_receive_frame (AVCodecContext *avctx, AVFrame *frame)
	Return decoded output data from a decoder. More...
int	avcodec_send_frame (AVCodecContext *avctx, const AVFrame *frame)
	Supply a raw video or audio frame to the encoder. More...
int	avcodec_receive_packet (AVCodecContext *avctx, AVPacket *avpkt)
	Read encoded data from the encoder. More...
int	avcodec_get_hw_frames_parameters (AVCodecContext *avctx, AVBufferRef *device_ref, enum AVPixelFormat hw_pix_fmt, AVBufferRef **out_frames_ref)
	Create and return a AVHWFramesContext with values adequate for hardware decoding. More...

Detailed Description

Macro Definition Documentation

AV_INPUT_BUFFER_PADDING_SIZE

#define AV_INPUT_BUFFER_PADDING_SIZE   64

Required number of additionally allocated bytes at the end of the input bitstream for decoding.

This is mainly needed because some optimized bitstream readers read 32 or 64 bit at once and could read over the end.
Note: If the first 23 bits of the additional bytes are not 0, then damaged MPEG bitstreams could cause overread and segfault.

Examples

decode_audio.c, decode_video.c, and qsvdec.c.

Definition at line 40 of file defs.h.

Enumeration Type Documentation

AVDiscard

enum AVDiscard

Enumerator
AVDISCARD_NONE	discard nothing
AVDISCARD_DEFAULT	discard useless packets like 0 size packets in avi
AVDISCARD_NONREF	discard all non reference
AVDISCARD_BIDIR	discard all bidirectional frames
AVDISCARD_NONINTRA	discard all non intra frames
AVDISCARD_NONKEY	discard all frames except keyframes
AVDISCARD_ALL	discard all

Definition at line 45 of file defs.h.

Function Documentation

avcodec_default_get_buffer2()

int avcodec_default_get_buffer2	(	AVCodecContext *	s,
		AVFrame *	frame,
		int	flags
	)

The default callback for AVCodecContext.get_buffer2().

It is made public so it can be called by custom get_buffer2() implementations for decoders without AV_CODEC_CAP_DR1 set.

avcodec_default_get_encode_buffer()

int avcodec_default_get_encode_buffer	(	AVCodecContext *	s,
		AVPacket *	pkt,
		int	flags
	)

The default callback for AVCodecContext.get_encode_buffer().

It is made public so it can be called by custom get_encode_buffer() implementations for encoders without AV_CODEC_CAP_DR1 set.

avcodec_align_dimensions()

void avcodec_align_dimensions	(	AVCodecContext *	s,
		int *	width,
		int *	height
	)

Modify width and height values so that they will result in a memory buffer that is acceptable for the codec if you do not use any horizontal padding.

May only be used if a codec with AV_CODEC_CAP_DR1 has been opened.

avcodec_align_dimensions2()

void avcodec_align_dimensions2	(	AVCodecContext *	s,
		int *	width,
		int *	height,
		int	linesize_align[AV_NUM_DATA_POINTERS]
	)

Modify width and height values so that they will result in a memory buffer that is acceptable for the codec if you also ensure that all line sizes are a multiple of the respective linesize_align[i].

May only be used if a codec with AV_CODEC_CAP_DR1 has been opened.

avcodec_enum_to_chroma_pos()

int avcodec_enum_to_chroma_pos	(	int *	xpos,
		int *	ypos,
		enum AVChromaLocation	pos
	)

Converts AVChromaLocation to swscale x/y chroma position.

The positions represent the chroma (0,0) position in a coordinates system with luma (0,0) representing the origin and luma(1,1) representing 256,256

Parameters

xpos	horizontal chroma sample position
ypos	vertical chroma sample position

avcodec_chroma_pos_to_enum()

enum AVChromaLocation avcodec_chroma_pos_to_enum	(	int	xpos,
		int	ypos
	)

Converts swscale x/y chroma position to AVChromaLocation.

The positions represent the chroma (0,0) position in a coordinates system with luma (0,0) representing the origin and luma(1,1) representing 256,256

Parameters

xpos	horizontal chroma sample position
ypos	vertical chroma sample position

avcodec_decode_subtitle2()

int avcodec_decode_subtitle2	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		AVSubtitle *	sub,
		int *	got_sub_ptr,
		AVPacket *	avpkt
	)

Decode a subtitle message.

Return a negative value on error, otherwise return the number of bytes used. If no subtitle could be decompressed, got_sub_ptr is zero. Otherwise, the subtitle is stored in *sub. Note that AV_CODEC_CAP_DR1 is not available for subtitle codecs. This is for simplicity, because the performance difference is expected to be negligible and reusing a get_buffer written for video codecs would probably perform badly due to a potentially very different allocation pattern.

Some decoders (those marked with AV_CODEC_CAP_DELAY) have a delay between input and output. This means that for some packets they will not immediately produce decoded output and need to be flushed at the end of decoding to get all the decoded data. Flushing is done by calling this function with packets with avpkt->data set to NULL and avpkt->size set to 0 until it stops returning subtitles. It is safe to flush even those decoders that are not marked with AV_CODEC_CAP_DELAY, then no subtitles will be returned.

Note

The AVCodecContext MUST have been opened with avcodec_open2() before packets may be fed to the decoder.

Parameters

	avctx	the codec context
[out]	sub	The preallocated AVSubtitle in which the decoded subtitle will be stored, must be freed with avsubtitle_free if *got_sub_ptr is set.
[in,out]	got_sub_ptr	Zero if no subtitle could be decompressed, otherwise, it is nonzero.
[in]	avpkt	The input AVPacket containing the input buffer.

avcodec_send_packet()

int avcodec_send_packet	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		const AVPacket *	avpkt
	)

Supply raw packet data as input to a decoder.

Internally, this call will copy relevant AVCodecContext fields, which can influence decoding per-packet, and apply them when the packet is actually decoded. (For example AVCodecContext.skip_frame, which might direct the decoder to drop the frame contained by the packet sent with this function.)

Warning

The input buffer, avpkt->data must be AV_INPUT_BUFFER_PADDING_SIZE larger than the actual read bytes because some optimized bitstream readers read 32 or 64 bits at once and could read over the end.

Note

The AVCodecContext MUST have been opened with avcodec_open2() before packets may be fed to the decoder.

Parameters

	avctx	codec context
[in]	avpkt	The input AVPacket. Usually, this will be a single video frame, or several complete audio frames. Ownership of the packet remains with the caller, and the decoder will not write to the packet. The decoder may create a reference to the packet data (or copy it if the packet is not reference-counted). Unlike with older APIs, the packet is always fully consumed, and if it contains multiple frames (e.g. some audio codecs), will require you to call avcodec_receive_frame() multiple times afterwards before you can send a new packet. It can be NULL (or an AVPacket with data set to NULL and size set to 0); in this case, it is considered a flush packet, which signals the end of the stream. Sending the first flush packet will return success. Subsequent ones are unnecessary and will return AVERROR_EOF. If the decoder still has frames buffered, it will return them after sending a flush packet.

Returns

0 on success, otherwise negative error code: AVERROR(EAGAIN): input is not accepted in the current state - user must read output with avcodec_receive_frame() (once all output is read, the packet should be resent, and the call will not fail with EAGAIN). AVERROR_EOF: the decoder has been flushed, and no new packets can be sent to it (also returned if more than 1 flush packet is sent) AVERROR(EINVAL): codec not opened, it is an encoder, or requires flush AVERROR(ENOMEM): failed to add packet to internal queue, or similar other errors: legitimate decoding errors

Examples

decode_audio.c, decode_video.c, demuxing_decoding.c, filtering_audio.c, filtering_video.c, hw_decode.c, qsvdec.c, transcode_aac.c, transcoding.c, and vaapi_transcode.c.

Referenced by dec_enc(), decode(), decode_audio_frame(), decode_packet(), decode_write(), and main().

avcodec_receive_frame()

int avcodec_receive_frame	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		AVFrame *	frame
	)

Return decoded output data from a decoder.

Parameters

avctx	codec context
frame	This will be set to a reference-counted video or audio frame (depending on the decoder type) allocated by the decoder. Note that the function will always call av_frame_unref(frame) before doing anything else.

Returns

0: success, a frame was returned AVERROR(EAGAIN): output is not available in this state - user must try to send new input AVERROR_EOF: the decoder has been fully flushed, and there will be no more output frames AVERROR(EINVAL): codec not opened, or it is an encoder AVERROR_INPUT_CHANGED: current decoded frame has changed parameters with respect to first decoded frame. Applicable when flag AV_CODEC_FLAG_DROPCHANGED is set. other negative values: legitimate decoding errors

Examples

decode_audio.c, decode_video.c, demuxing_decoding.c, filtering_audio.c, filtering_video.c, hw_decode.c, qsvdec.c, transcode_aac.c, transcoding.c, and vaapi_transcode.c.

Referenced by dec_enc(), decode(), decode_audio_frame(), decode_packet(), decode_write(), and main().

avcodec_send_frame()

int avcodec_send_frame	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		const AVFrame *	frame
	)

Supply a raw video or audio frame to the encoder.

Use avcodec_receive_packet() to retrieve buffered output packets.

Parameters

	avctx	codec context
[in]	frame	AVFrame containing the raw audio or video frame to be encoded. Ownership of the frame remains with the caller, and the encoder will not write to the frame. The encoder may create a reference to the frame data (or copy it if the frame is not reference-counted). It can be NULL, in which case it is considered a flush packet. This signals the end of the stream. If the encoder still has packets buffered, it will return them after this call. Once flushing mode has been entered, additional flush packets are ignored, and sending frames will return AVERROR_EOF.

For audio: If AV_CODEC_CAP_VARIABLE_FRAME_SIZE is set, then each frame can have any number of samples. If it is not set, frame->nb_samples must be equal to avctx->frame_size for all frames except the last. The final frame may be smaller than avctx->frame_size.

Returns

0 on success, otherwise negative error code: AVERROR(EAGAIN): input is not accepted in the current state - user must read output with avcodec_receive_packet() (once all output is read, the packet should be resent, and the call will not fail with EAGAIN). AVERROR_EOF: the encoder has been flushed, and no new frames can be sent to it AVERROR(EINVAL): codec not opened, it is a decoder, or requires flush AVERROR(ENOMEM): failed to add packet to internal queue, or similar other errors: legitimate encoding errors

Examples

encode_audio.c, encode_video.c, muxing.c, transcode_aac.c, transcoding.c, vaapi_encode.c, and vaapi_transcode.c.

Referenced by encode(), encode_audio_frame(), encode_write(), encode_write_frame(), and write_frame().

avcodec_receive_packet()

int avcodec_receive_packet	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		AVPacket *	avpkt
	)

Read encoded data from the encoder.

Parameters

avctx	codec context
avpkt	This will be set to a reference-counted packet allocated by the encoder. Note that the function will always call av_packet_unref(avpkt) before doing anything else.

Returns

0 on success, otherwise negative error code: AVERROR(EAGAIN): output is not available in the current state - user must try to send input AVERROR_EOF: the encoder has been fully flushed, and there will be no more output packets AVERROR(EINVAL): codec not opened, or it is a decoder other errors: legitimate encoding errors

Examples

encode_audio.c, encode_video.c, muxing.c, transcode_aac.c, transcoding.c, vaapi_encode.c, and vaapi_transcode.c.

Referenced by encode(), encode_audio_frame(), encode_write(), encode_write_frame(), and write_frame().

avcodec_get_hw_frames_parameters()

int avcodec_get_hw_frames_parameters	(	AVCodecContext *	avctx,
		AVBufferRef *	device_ref,
		enum AVPixelFormat	hw_pix_fmt,
		AVBufferRef **	out_frames_ref
	)

Create and return a AVHWFramesContext with values adequate for hardware decoding.

This is meant to get called from the get_format callback, and is a helper for preparing a AVHWFramesContext for AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx. This API is for decoding with certain hardware acceleration modes/APIs only.

The returned AVHWFramesContext is not initialized. The caller must do this with av_hwframe_ctx_init().

Calling this function is not a requirement, but makes it simpler to avoid codec or hardware API specific details when manually allocating frames.

Alternatively to this, an API user can set AVCodecContext.hw_device_ctx, which sets up AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx fully automatically, and makes it unnecessary to call this function or having to care about AVHWFramesContext initialization at all.

There are a number of requirements for calling this function:

• It must be called from get_format with the same avctx parameter that was passed to get_format. Calling it outside of get_format is not allowed, and can trigger undefined behavior.
• The function is not always supported (see description of return values). Even if this function returns successfully, hwaccel initialization could fail later. (The degree to which implementations check whether the stream is actually supported varies. Some do this check only after the user's get_format callback returns.)
• The hw_pix_fmt must be one of the choices suggested by get_format. If the user decides to use a AVHWFramesContext prepared with this API function, the user must return the same hw_pix_fmt from get_format.
• The device_ref passed to this function must support the given hw_pix_fmt.
• After calling this API function, it is the user's responsibility to initialize the AVHWFramesContext (returned by the out_frames_ref parameter), and to set AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx to it. If done, this must be done before returning from get_format (this is implied by the normal AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx API rules).
• The AVHWFramesContext parameters may change every time time get_format is called. Also, AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx is reset before get_format. So you are inherently required to go through this process again on every get_format call.
• It is perfectly possible to call this function without actually using the resulting AVHWFramesContext. One use-case might be trying to reuse a previously initialized AVHWFramesContext, and calling this API function only to test whether the required frame parameters have changed.
• Fields that use dynamically allocated values of any kind must not be set by the user unless setting them is explicitly allowed by the documentation. If the user sets AVHWFramesContext.free and AVHWFramesContext.user_opaque, the new free callback must call the potentially set previous free callback. This API call may set any dynamically allocated fields, including the free callback.

The function will set at least the following fields on AVHWFramesContext (potentially more, depending on hwaccel API):

• All fields set by av_hwframe_ctx_alloc().
• Set the format field to hw_pix_fmt.
• Set the sw_format field to the most suited and most versatile format. (An implication is that this will prefer generic formats over opaque formats with arbitrary restrictions, if possible.)
• Set the width/height fields to the coded frame size, rounded up to the API-specific minimum alignment.
• Only if the hwaccel requires a pre-allocated pool: set the initial_pool_size field to the number of maximum reference surfaces possible with the codec, plus 1 surface for the user to work (meaning the user can safely reference at most 1 decoded surface at a time), plus additional buffering introduced by frame threading. If the hwaccel does not require pre-allocation, the field is left to 0, and the decoder will allocate new surfaces on demand during decoding.
• Possibly AVHWFramesContext.hwctx fields, depending on the underlying hardware API.

Essentially, out_frames_ref returns the same as av_hwframe_ctx_alloc(), but with basic frame parameters set.

The function is stateless, and does not change the AVCodecContext or the device_ref AVHWDeviceContext.

Parameters

avctx	The context which is currently calling get_format, and which implicitly contains all state needed for filling the returned AVHWFramesContext properly.
device_ref	A reference to the AVHWDeviceContext describing the device which will be used by the hardware decoder.
hw_pix_fmt	The hwaccel format you are going to return from get_format.
out_frames_ref	On success, set to a reference to an uninitialized AVHWFramesContext, created from the given device_ref. Fields will be set to values required for decoding. Not changed if an error is returned.

Returns

zero on success, a negative value on error. The following error codes have special semantics: AVERROR(ENOENT): the decoder does not support this functionality. Setup is always manual, or it is a decoder which does not support setting AVCodecContext.hw_frames_ctx at all, or it is a software format. AVERROR(EINVAL): it is known that hardware decoding is not supported for this configuration, or the device_ref is not supported for the hwaccel referenced by hw_pix_fmt.