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
10 .. _VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD:
12 ************************************************
13 ioctl VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD, VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD
14 ************************************************
19 VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD - VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD - Execute an decoder command
25 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD, struct v4l2_decoder_cmd *argp )
26 :name: VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD
29 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD, struct v4l2_decoder_cmd *argp )
30 :name: VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD
37 File descriptor returned by :ref:`open() <func-open>`.
40 pointer to struct :c:type:`v4l2_decoder_cmd`.
46 These ioctls control an audio/video (usually MPEG-) decoder.
47 ``VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD`` sends a command to the decoder,
48 ``VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD`` can be used to try a command without actually
49 executing it. To send a command applications must initialize all fields
50 of a struct :c:type:`v4l2_decoder_cmd` and call
51 ``VIDIOC_DECODER_CMD`` or ``VIDIOC_TRY_DECODER_CMD`` with a pointer to
54 The ``cmd`` field must contain the command code. Some commands use the
55 ``flags`` field for additional information.
57 A :ref:`write() <func-write>` or :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON`
58 call sends an implicit START command to the decoder if it has not been
59 started yet. Applies to both queues of mem2mem decoders.
61 A :ref:`close() <func-close>` or :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMOFF <VIDIOC_STREAMON>`
62 call of a streaming file descriptor sends an implicit immediate STOP
63 command to the decoder, and all buffered data is discarded. Applies to both
64 queues of mem2mem decoders.
66 In principle, these ioctls are optional, not all drivers may support them. They were
67 introduced in Linux 3.3. They are, however, mandatory for stateful mem2mem decoders
68 (as further documented in :ref:`decoder`).
71 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.1cm}|p{2.4cm}|p{1.2cm}|p{1.6cm}|p{10.6cm}|
73 .. c:type:: v4l2_decoder_cmd
75 .. cssclass:: longtable
77 .. flat-table:: struct v4l2_decoder_cmd
85 - The decoder command, see :ref:`decoder-cmds`.
89 - Flags to go with the command. If no flags are defined for this
90 command, drivers and applications must set this field to zero.
96 - Structure containing additional data for the
97 ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_START`` command.
101 - Playback speed and direction. The playback speed is defined as
102 ``speed``/1000 of the normal speed. So 1000 is normal playback.
103 Negative numbers denote reverse playback, so -1000 does reverse
104 playback at normal speed. Speeds -1, 0 and 1 have special
105 meanings: speed 0 is shorthand for 1000 (normal playback). A speed
106 of 1 steps just one frame forward, a speed of -1 steps just one
111 - Format restrictions. This field is set by the driver, not the
112 application. Possible values are ``V4L2_DEC_START_FMT_NONE`` if
113 there are no format restrictions or ``V4L2_DEC_START_FMT_GOP`` if
114 the decoder operates on full GOPs (*Group Of Pictures*). This is
115 usually the case for reverse playback: the decoder needs full
116 GOPs, which it can then play in reverse order. So to implement
117 reverse playback the application must feed the decoder the last
118 GOP in the video file, then the GOP before that, etc. etc.
122 - Structure containing additional data for the ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP``
127 - Stop playback at this ``pts`` or immediately if the playback is
128 already past that timestamp. Leave to 0 if you want to stop after
129 the last frame was decoded.
135 - Reserved for future extensions. Drivers and applications must set
142 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5.6cm}|p{0.6cm}|p{11.3cm}|
146 .. flat-table:: Decoder Commands
151 * - ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_START``
153 - Start the decoder. When the decoder is already running or paused,
154 this command will just change the playback speed. That means that
155 calling ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_START`` when the decoder was paused will
156 *not* resume the decoder. You have to explicitly call
157 ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_RESUME`` for that. This command has one flag:
158 ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_START_MUTE_AUDIO``. If set, then audio will be
159 muted when playing back at a non-standard speed.
161 For a device implementing the :ref:`decoder`, once the drain sequence
162 is initiated with the ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP`` command, it must be driven
163 to completion before this command can be invoked. Any attempt to
164 invoke the command while the drain sequence is in progress will trigger
165 an ``EBUSY`` error code. The command may be also used to restart the
166 decoder in case of an implicit stop initiated by the decoder itself,
167 without the ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP`` being called explicitly. See
168 :ref:`decoder` for more details.
169 * - ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP``
171 - Stop the decoder. When the decoder is already stopped, this
172 command does nothing. This command has two flags: if
173 ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP_TO_BLACK`` is set, then the decoder will set
174 the picture to black after it stopped decoding. Otherwise the last
175 image will repeat. If
176 ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_STOP_IMMEDIATELY`` is set, then the decoder stops
177 immediately (ignoring the ``pts`` value), otherwise it will keep
178 decoding until timestamp >= pts or until the last of the pending
179 data from its internal buffers was decoded.
181 For a device implementing the :ref:`decoder`, the command will initiate
182 the drain sequence as documented in :ref:`decoder`. No flags or other
183 arguments are accepted in this case. Any attempt to invoke the command
184 again before the sequence completes will trigger an ``EBUSY`` error
186 * - ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_PAUSE``
188 - Pause the decoder. When the decoder has not been started yet, the
189 driver will return an ``EPERM`` error code. When the decoder is
190 already paused, this command does nothing. This command has one
191 flag: if ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_PAUSE_TO_BLACK`` is set, then set the
192 decoder output to black when paused.
193 * - ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_RESUME``
195 - Resume decoding after a PAUSE command. When the decoder has not
196 been started yet, the driver will return an ``EPERM`` error code. When
197 the decoder is already running, this command does nothing. No
198 flags are defined for this command.
199 * - ``V4L2_DEC_CMD_FLUSH``
201 - Flush any held capture buffers. Only valid for stateless decoders.
202 This command is typically used when the application reached the
203 end of the stream and the last output buffer had the
204 ``V4L2_BUF_FLAG_M2M_HOLD_CAPTURE_BUF`` flag set. This would prevent
205 dequeueing the capture buffer containing the last decoded frame.
206 So this command can be used to explicitly flush that final decoded
207 frame. This command does nothing if there are no held capture buffers.
212 On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the ``errno`` variable is set
213 appropriately. The generic error codes are described at the
214 :ref:`Generic Error Codes <gen-errors>` chapter.
217 A drain sequence of a device implementing the :ref:`decoder` is still in
218 progress. It is not allowed to issue another decoder command until it
222 The ``cmd`` field is invalid.
225 The application sent a PAUSE or RESUME command when the decoder was