1 .. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this
2 .. document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,
3 .. Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software
4 .. Foundation, with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts
5 .. and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included at
6 .. Documentation/userspace-api/media/fdl-appendix.rst.
8 .. TODO: replace it to GFDL-1.1-or-later WITH no-invariant-sections
12 *************************
13 Sliced VBI Data Interface
14 *************************
16 VBI stands for Vertical Blanking Interval, a gap in the sequence of
17 lines of an analog video signal. During VBI no picture information is
18 transmitted, allowing some time while the electron beam of a cathode ray
19 tube TV returns to the top of the screen.
21 Sliced VBI devices use hardware to demodulate data transmitted in the
22 VBI. V4L2 drivers shall *not* do this by software, see also the
23 :ref:`raw VBI interface <raw-vbi>`. The data is passed as short
24 packets of fixed size, covering one scan line each. The number of
25 packets per video frame is variable.
27 Sliced VBI capture and output devices are accessed through the same
28 character special files as raw VBI devices. When a driver supports both
29 interfaces, the default function of a ``/dev/vbi`` device is *raw* VBI
30 capturing or output, and the sliced VBI function is only available after
31 calling the :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl as defined
32 below. Likewise a ``/dev/video`` device may support the sliced VBI API,
33 however the default function here is video capturing or output.
34 Different file descriptors must be used to pass raw and sliced VBI data
35 simultaneously, if this is supported by the driver.
41 Devices supporting the sliced VBI capturing or output API set the
42 ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE`` or ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT`` flag
43 respectively, in the ``capabilities`` field of struct
44 :c:type:`v4l2_capability` returned by the
45 :ref:`VIDIOC_QUERYCAP` ioctl. At least one of the
46 read/write, streaming or asynchronous :ref:`I/O methods <io>` must be
47 supported. Sliced VBI devices may have a tuner or modulator.
50 Supplemental Functions
51 ======================
53 Sliced VBI devices shall support :ref:`video input or output <video>`
54 and :ref:`tuner or modulator <tuner>` ioctls if they have these
55 capabilities, and they may support :ref:`control` ioctls.
56 The :ref:`video standard <standard>` ioctls provide information vital
57 to program a sliced VBI device, therefore must be supported.
60 .. _sliced-vbi-format-negotitation:
62 Sliced VBI Format Negotiation
63 =============================
65 To find out which data services are supported by the hardware
66 applications can call the
67 :ref:`VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP <VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP>` ioctl.
68 All drivers implementing the sliced VBI interface must support this
69 ioctl. The results may differ from those of the
70 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl when the number of VBI
71 lines the hardware can capture or output per frame, or the number of
72 services it can identify on a given line are limited. For example on PAL
73 line 16 the hardware may be able to look for a VPS or Teletext signal,
74 but not both at the same time.
76 To determine the currently selected services applications set the
77 ``type`` field of struct :c:type:`v4l2_format` to
78 ``V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE`` or
79 ``V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT``, and the
80 :ref:`VIDIOC_G_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl fills the ``fmt.sliced``
82 :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_format`.
84 Applications can request different parameters by initializing or
85 modifying the ``fmt.sliced`` member and calling the
86 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl with a pointer to the
87 struct :c:type:`v4l2_format` structure.
89 The sliced VBI API is more complicated than the raw VBI API because the
90 hardware must be told which VBI service to expect on each scan line. Not
91 all services may be supported by the hardware on all lines (this is
92 especially true for VBI output where Teletext is often unsupported and
93 other services can only be inserted in one specific line). In many
94 cases, however, it is sufficient to just set the ``service_set`` field
95 to the required services and let the driver fill the ``service_lines``
96 array according to hardware capabilities. Only if more precise control
97 is needed should the programmer set the ``service_lines`` array
100 The :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl modifies the parameters
101 according to hardware capabilities. When the driver allocates resources
102 at this point, it may return an ``EBUSY`` error code if the required
103 resources are temporarily unavailable. Other resource allocation points
104 which may return ``EBUSY`` can be the
105 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON` ioctl and the first
106 :ref:`read() <func-read>`, :ref:`write() <func-write>` and
107 :ref:`select() <func-select>` call.
110 .. c:type:: v4l2_sliced_vbi_format
112 struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format
113 -----------------------------
119 \setlength{\tabcolsep}{2pt}
121 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{.85cm}|p{3.3cm}|p{4.4cm}|p{4.4cm}|p{4.4cm}|
123 .. cssclass:: longtable
134 If ``service_set`` is non-zero when passed with
135 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` or
136 :ref:`VIDIOC_TRY_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>`, the ``service_lines``
137 array will be filled by the driver according to the services
138 specified in this field. For example, if ``service_set`` is
139 initialized with ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B | V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``,
140 a driver for the cx25840 video decoder sets lines 7-22 of both
141 fields [#f1]_ to ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B`` and line 23 of the first
142 field to ``V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``. If ``service_set`` is set to
143 zero, then the values of ``service_lines`` will be used instead.
145 On return the driver sets this field to the union of all elements
146 of the returned ``service_lines`` array. It may contain less
147 services than requested, perhaps just one, if the hardware cannot
148 handle more services simultaneously. It may be empty (zero) if
149 none of the requested services are supported by the hardware.
151 - ``service_lines``\ [2][24]
154 Applications initialize this array with sets of data services the
155 driver shall look for or insert on the respective scan line.
156 Subject to hardware capabilities drivers return the requested set,
157 a subset, which may be just a single service, or an empty set.
158 When the hardware cannot handle multiple services on the same line
159 the driver shall choose one. No assumptions can be made on which
160 service the driver chooses.
162 Data services are defined in :ref:`vbi-services2`. Array indices
163 map to ITU-R line numbers\ [#f2]_ as follows:
171 - ``service_lines``\ [0][1]
176 - ``service_lines``\ [0][23]
181 - ``service_lines``\ [1][1]
186 - ``service_lines``\ [1][23]
191 - :cspan:`2` Drivers must set ``service_lines`` [0][0] and
192 ``service_lines``\ [1][0] to zero. The
193 ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_525_F1_START``, ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_525_F2_START``,
194 ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_625_F1_START`` and ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_625_F2_START``
195 defines give the start line numbers for each field for each 525 or
196 625 line format as a convenience. Don't forget that ITU line
197 numbering starts at 1, not 0.
200 - :cspan:`2` Maximum number of bytes passed by one
201 :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>` call,
202 and the buffer size in bytes for the
203 :ref:`VIDIOC_QBUF` and
204 :ref:`VIDIOC_DQBUF <VIDIOC_QBUF>` ioctl. Drivers set this field
205 to the size of struct
206 :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` times the
207 number of non-zero elements in the returned ``service_lines``
208 array (that is the number of lines potentially carrying data).
211 - :cspan:`2` This array is reserved for future extensions.
213 Applications and drivers must set it to zero.
228 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.1cm}|p{1.1cm}|p{2.4cm}|p{2.0cm}|p{7.3cm}|
240 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B`` (Teletext System B)
245 - PAL/SECAM line 7-22, 320-335 (second field 7-22)
246 - Last 42 of the 45 byte Teletext packet, that is without clock
247 run-in and framing code, lsb first transmitted.
248 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VPS``
252 - Byte number 3 to 15 according to Figure 9 of ETS 300 231, lsb
254 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525``
257 - NTSC line 21, 284 (second field 21)
258 - Two bytes in transmission order, including parity bit, lsb first
260 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``
272 Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 x x 13 12 11 10 9
273 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VBI_525``
275 - :cspan:`2` Set of services applicable to 525 line systems.
276 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VBI_625``
278 - :cspan:`2` Set of services applicable to 625 line systems.
285 Drivers may return an ``EINVAL`` error code when applications attempt to
286 read or write data without prior format negotiation, after switching the
287 video standard (which may invalidate the negotiated VBI parameters) and
288 after switching the video input (which may change the video standard as
289 a side effect). The :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl may
290 return an ``EBUSY`` error code when applications attempt to change the
291 format while i/o is in progress (between a
292 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON` and
293 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMOFF <VIDIOC_STREAMON>` call, and after the first
294 :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>` call).
297 Reading and writing sliced VBI data
298 ===================================
300 A single :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>`
301 call must pass all data belonging to one video frame. That is an array
302 of struct :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` structures with one or
303 more elements and a total size not exceeding ``io_size`` bytes. Likewise
304 in streaming I/O mode one buffer of ``io_size`` bytes must contain data
305 of one video frame. The ``id`` of unused
306 struct :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` elements must be zero.
309 .. c:type:: v4l2_sliced_vbi_data
311 struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_data
312 ---------------------------
314 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
323 - A flag from :ref:`vbi-services` identifying the type of data in
324 this packet. Only a single bit must be set. When the ``id`` of a
325 captured packet is zero, the packet is empty and the contents of
326 other fields are undefined. Applications shall ignore empty
327 packets. When the ``id`` of a packet for output is zero the
328 contents of the ``data`` field are undefined and the driver must
329 no longer insert data on the requested ``field`` and ``line``.
332 - The video field number this data has been captured from, or shall
333 be inserted at. ``0`` for the first field, ``1`` for the second
337 - The field (as opposed to frame) line number this data has been
338 captured from, or shall be inserted at. See :ref:`vbi-525` and
339 :ref:`vbi-625` for valid values. Sliced VBI capture devices can
340 set the line number of all packets to ``0`` if the hardware cannot
341 reliably identify scan lines. The field number must always be
345 - This field is reserved for future extensions. Applications and
346 drivers must set it to zero.
349 - The packet payload. See :ref:`vbi-services` for the contents and
350 number of bytes passed for each data type. The contents of padding
351 bytes at the end of this array are undefined, drivers and
352 applications shall ignore them.
355 Packets are always passed in ascending line number order, without
356 duplicate line numbers. The :ref:`write() <func-write>` function and
357 the :ref:`VIDIOC_QBUF` ioctl must return an ``EINVAL``
358 error code when applications violate this rule. They must also return an
359 EINVAL error code when applications pass an incorrect field or line
360 number, or a combination of ``field``, ``line`` and ``id`` which has not
361 been negotiated with the :ref:`VIDIOC_G_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` or
362 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl. When the line numbers are
363 unknown the driver must pass the packets in transmitted order. The
364 driver can insert empty packets with ``id`` set to zero anywhere in the
367 To assure synchronization and to distinguish from frame dropping, when a
368 captured frame does not carry any of the requested data services drivers
369 must pass one or more empty packets. When an application fails to pass
370 VBI data in time for output, the driver must output the last VPS and WSS
371 packet again, and disable the output of Closed Caption and Teletext
372 data, or output data which is ignored by Closed Caption and Teletext
375 A sliced VBI device may support :ref:`read/write <rw>` and/or
376 streaming (:ref:`memory mapping <mmap>` and/or
377 :ref:`user pointer <userp>`) I/O. The latter bears the possibility of
378 synchronizing video and VBI data by using buffer timestamps.
381 Sliced VBI Data in MPEG Streams
382 ===============================
384 If a device can produce an MPEG output stream, it may be capable of
386 :ref:`negotiated sliced VBI services <sliced-vbi-format-negotitation>`
387 as data embedded in the MPEG stream. Users or applications control this
388 sliced VBI data insertion with the
389 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
392 If the driver does not provide the
393 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
394 control, or only allows that control to be set to
395 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`,
396 then the device cannot embed sliced VBI data in the MPEG stream.
399 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
400 control does not implicitly set the device driver to capture nor cease
401 capturing sliced VBI data. The control only indicates to embed sliced
402 VBI data in the MPEG stream, if an application has negotiated sliced VBI
405 It may also be the case that a device can embed sliced VBI data in only
406 certain types of MPEG streams: for example in an MPEG-2 PS but not an
407 MPEG-2 TS. In this situation, if sliced VBI data insertion is requested,
408 the sliced VBI data will be embedded in MPEG stream types when
409 supported, and silently omitted from MPEG stream types where sliced VBI
410 data insertion is not supported by the device.
412 The following subsections specify the format of the embedded sliced VBI
416 MPEG Stream Embedded, Sliced VBI Data Format: NONE
417 --------------------------------------------------
420 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
421 embedded sliced VBI format shall be interpreted by drivers as a control
422 to cease embedding sliced VBI data in MPEG streams. Neither the device
423 nor driver shall insert "empty" embedded sliced VBI data packets in the
424 MPEG stream when this format is set. No MPEG stream data structures are
425 specified for this format.
428 MPEG Stream Embedded, Sliced VBI Data Format: IVTV
429 --------------------------------------------------
432 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
433 embedded sliced VBI format, when supported, indicates to the driver to
434 embed up to 36 lines of sliced VBI data per frame in an MPEG-2 *Private
435 Stream 1 PES* packet encapsulated in an MPEG-2 *Program Pack* in the
438 *Historical context*: This format specification originates from a
439 custom, embedded, sliced VBI data format used by the ``ivtv`` driver.
440 This format has already been informally specified in the kernel sources
441 in the file ``Documentation/userspace-api/media/drivers/cx2341x-uapi.rst`` . The
442 maximum size of the payload and other aspects of this format are driven
443 by the CX23415 MPEG decoder's capabilities and limitations with respect
444 to extracting, decoding, and displaying sliced VBI data embedded within
447 This format's use is *not* exclusive to the ``ivtv`` driver *nor*
448 exclusive to CX2341x devices, as the sliced VBI data packet insertion
449 into the MPEG stream is implemented in driver software. At least the
450 ``cx18`` driver provides sliced VBI data insertion into an MPEG-2 PS in
453 The following definitions specify the payload of the MPEG-2 *Private
454 Stream 1 PES* packets that contain sliced VBI data when
455 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
456 is set. (The MPEG-2 *Private Stream 1 PES* packet header and
457 encapsulating MPEG-2 *Program Pack* header are not detailed here. Please
458 refer to the MPEG-2 specifications for details on those packet headers.)
460 The payload of the MPEG-2 *Private Stream 1 PES* packets that contain
461 sliced VBI data is specified by struct
462 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv`. The
463 payload is variable length, depending on the actual number of lines of
464 sliced VBI data present in a video frame. The payload may be padded at
465 the end with unspecified fill bytes to align the end of the payload to a
466 4-byte boundary. The payload shall never exceed 1552 bytes (2 fields
467 with 18 lines/field with 43 bytes of data/line and a 4 byte magic
471 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv
473 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv
474 -----------------------------
476 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.0cm}|p{3.8cm}|p{1.0cm}|p{11.2cm}|
485 - A "magic" constant from :ref:`v4l2-mpeg-vbi-fmt-ivtv-magic` that
486 indicates this is a valid sliced VBI data payload and also
487 indicates which member of the anonymous union, ``itv0`` or
488 ``ITV0``, to use for the payload data.
491 * - struct :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0`
493 - The primary form of the sliced VBI data payload that contains
494 anywhere from 1 to 35 lines of sliced VBI data. Line masks are
495 provided in this form of the payload indicating which VBI lines
497 * - struct :ref:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0 <v4l2-mpeg-vbi-itv0-1>`
499 - An alternate form of the sliced VBI data payload used when 36
500 lines of sliced VBI data are present. No line masks are provided
501 in this form of the payload; all valid line mask bits are
506 .. _v4l2-mpeg-vbi-fmt-ivtv-magic:
508 Magic Constants for struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv magic field
509 -------------------------------------------------------------
511 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
521 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_MAGIC0``
523 - Indicates the ``itv0`` member of the union in struct
524 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv` is
526 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_MAGIC1``
528 - Indicates the ``ITV0`` member of the union in struct
529 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv` is
530 valid and that 36 lines of sliced VBI data are present.
534 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0
536 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
538 structs v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0 and v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
539 -------------------------------------------------
541 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5.2cm}|p{2.4cm}|p{9.9cm}|
550 - Bitmasks indicating the VBI service lines present. These
551 ``linemask`` values are stored in little endian byte order in the
552 MPEG stream. Some reference ``linemask`` bit positions with their
553 corresponding VBI line number and video field are given below.
554 b\ :sub:`0` indicates the least significant bit of a ``linemask``
561 linemask[0] b0: line 6 first field
562 linemask[0] b17: line 23 first field
563 linemask[0] b18: line 6 second field
564 linemask[0] b31: line 19 second field
565 linemask[1] b0: line 20 second field
566 linemask[1] b3: line 23 second field
567 linemask[1] b4-b31: unused and set to 0
569 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line`
571 - This is a variable length array that holds from 1 to 35 lines of
572 sliced VBI data. The sliced VBI data lines present correspond to
573 the bits set in the ``linemask`` array, starting from b\ :sub:`0`
574 of ``linemask``\ [0] up through b\ :sub:`31` of ``linemask``\ [0],
575 and from b\ :sub:`0` of ``linemask``\ [1] up through b\ :sub:`3` of
576 ``linemask``\ [1]. ``line``\ [0] corresponds to the first bit
577 found set in the ``linemask`` array, ``line``\ [1] corresponds to
578 the second bit found set in the ``linemask`` array, etc. If no
579 ``linemask`` array bits are set, then ``line``\ [0] may contain
580 one line of unspecified data that should be ignored by
585 .. _v4l2-mpeg-vbi-itv0-1:
587 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
588 -------------------------
590 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5.2cm}|p{2.4cm}|p{9.9cm}|
598 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line`
600 - A fixed length array of 36 lines of sliced VBI data. ``line``\ [0]
601 through ``line``\ [17] correspond to lines 6 through 23 of the
602 first field. ``line``\ [18] through ``line``\ [35] corresponds to
603 lines 6 through 23 of the second field.
607 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line
609 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line
610 ------------------------------
612 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.4cm}|p{4.4cm}|p{8.7cm}|
621 - A line identifier value from
622 :ref:`ITV0-Line-Identifier-Constants` that indicates the type of
623 sliced VBI data stored on this line.
626 - The sliced VBI data for the line.
630 .. _ITV0-Line-Identifier-Constants:
632 Line Identifiers for struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line id field
633 ------------------------------------------------------------
635 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{7.0cm}|p{1.8cm}|p{8.7cm}|
645 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_TELETEXT_B``
647 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
648 description of the line payload.
649 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_CAPTION_525``
651 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
652 description of the line payload.
653 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_WSS_625``
655 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
656 description of the line payload.
657 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_VPS``
659 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
660 description of the line payload.
665 According to :ref:`ETS 300 706 <ets300706>` lines 6-22 of the first
666 field and lines 5-22 of the second field may carry Teletext data.
669 See also :ref:`vbi-525` and :ref:`vbi-625`.