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
19 VIDIOC_QUERYCAP - Query device capabilities
25 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCAP, struct v4l2_capability *argp )
26 :name: VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
33 File descriptor returned by :ref:`open() <func-open>`.
36 Pointer to struct :c:type:`v4l2_capability`.
42 All V4L2 devices support the ``VIDIOC_QUERYCAP`` ioctl. It is used to
43 identify kernel devices compatible with this specification and to obtain
44 information about driver and hardware capabilities. The ioctl takes a
45 pointer to a struct :c:type:`v4l2_capability` which is
46 filled by the driver. When the driver is not compatible with this
47 specification the ioctl returns an ``EINVAL`` error code.
50 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.5cm}|p{2.5cm}|p{13cm}|
52 .. c:type:: v4l2_capability
54 .. flat-table:: struct v4l2_capability
61 - Name of the driver, a unique NUL-terminated ASCII string. For
62 example: "bttv". Driver specific applications can use this
63 information to verify the driver identity. It is also useful to
64 work around known bugs, or to identify drivers in error reports.
66 Storing strings in fixed sized arrays is bad practice but
67 unavoidable here. Drivers and applications should take precautions
68 to never read or write beyond the end of the array and to make
69 sure the strings are properly NUL-terminated.
72 - Name of the device, a NUL-terminated UTF-8 string. For example:
73 "Yoyodyne TV/FM". One driver may support different brands or
74 models of video hardware. This information is intended for users,
75 for example in a menu of available devices. Since multiple TV
76 cards of the same brand may be installed which are supported by
77 the same driver, this name should be combined with the character
78 device file name (e. g. ``/dev/video2``) or the ``bus_info``
79 string to avoid ambiguities.
82 - Location of the device in the system, a NUL-terminated ASCII
83 string. For example: "PCI:0000:05:06.0". This information is
84 intended for users, to distinguish multiple identical devices. If
85 no such information is available the field must simply count the
86 devices controlled by the driver ("platform:vivid-000"). The
87 bus_info must start with "PCI:" for PCI boards, "PCIe:" for PCI
88 Express boards, "usb-" for USB devices, "I2C:" for i2c devices,
89 "ISA:" for ISA devices, "parport" for parallel port devices and
90 "platform:" for platform devices.
93 - Version number of the driver.
95 Starting with kernel 3.1, the version reported is provided by the
96 V4L2 subsystem following the kernel numbering scheme. However, it
97 may not always return the same version as the kernel if, for
98 example, a stable or distribution-modified kernel uses the V4L2
99 stack from a newer kernel.
101 The version number is formatted using the ``KERNEL_VERSION()``
102 macro. For example if the media stack corresponds to the V4L2
103 version shipped with Kernel 4.14, it would be equivalent to:
106 ``#define KERNEL_VERSION(a,b,c) (((a) << 16) + ((b) << 8) + (c))``
108 ``__u32 version = KERNEL_VERSION(4, 14, 0);``
110 ``printf ("Version: %u.%u.%u\\n",``
112 ``(version >> 16) & 0xFF, (version >> 8) & 0xFF, version & 0xFF);``
115 - Available capabilities of the physical device as a whole, see
116 :ref:`device-capabilities`. The same physical device can export
117 multiple devices in /dev (e.g. /dev/videoX, /dev/vbiY and
118 /dev/radioZ). The ``capabilities`` field should contain a union of
119 all capabilities available around the several V4L2 devices
120 exported to userspace. For all those devices the ``capabilities``
121 field returns the same set of capabilities. This allows
122 applications to open just one of the devices (typically the video
123 device) and discover whether video, vbi and/or radio are also
127 - Device capabilities of the opened device, see
128 :ref:`device-capabilities`. Should contain the available
129 capabilities of that specific device node. So, for example,
130 ``device_caps`` of a radio device will only contain radio related
131 capabilities and no video or vbi capabilities. This field is only
132 set if the ``capabilities`` field contains the
133 ``V4L2_CAP_DEVICE_CAPS`` capability. Only the ``capabilities``
134 field can have the ``V4L2_CAP_DEVICE_CAPS`` capability,
135 ``device_caps`` will never set ``V4L2_CAP_DEVICE_CAPS``.
138 - Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must set this array to
143 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.1cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
145 .. _device-capabilities:
147 .. cssclass:: longtable
149 .. flat-table:: Device Capabilities Flags
154 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE``
156 - The device supports the single-planar API through the
157 :ref:`Video Capture <capture>` interface.
158 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE_MPLANE``
160 - The device supports the :ref:`multi-planar API <planar-apis>`
161 through the :ref:`Video Capture <capture>` interface.
162 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT``
164 - The device supports the single-planar API through the
165 :ref:`Video Output <output>` interface.
166 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_MPLANE``
168 - The device supports the :ref:`multi-planar API <planar-apis>`
169 through the :ref:`Video Output <output>` interface.
170 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_M2M``
172 - The device supports the single-planar API through the Video
173 Memory-To-Memory interface.
174 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_M2M_MPLANE``
176 - The device supports the :ref:`multi-planar API <planar-apis>`
177 through the Video Memory-To-Memory interface.
178 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY``
180 - The device supports the :ref:`Video Overlay <overlay>`
181 interface. A video overlay device typically stores captured images
182 directly in the video memory of a graphics card, with hardware
183 clipping and scaling.
184 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE``
186 - The device supports the :ref:`Raw VBI Capture <raw-vbi>`
187 interface, providing Teletext and Closed Caption data.
188 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT``
190 - The device supports the :ref:`Raw VBI Output <raw-vbi>`
192 * - ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE``
194 - The device supports the :ref:`Sliced VBI Capture <sliced>`
196 * - ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT``
198 - The device supports the :ref:`Sliced VBI Output <sliced>`
200 * - ``V4L2_CAP_RDS_CAPTURE``
202 - The device supports the :ref:`RDS <rds>` capture interface.
203 * - ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY``
205 - The device supports the :ref:`Video Output Overlay <osd>` (OSD)
206 interface. Unlike the *Video Overlay* interface, this is a
207 secondary function of video output devices and overlays an image
208 onto an outgoing video signal. When the driver sets this flag, it
209 must clear the ``V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY`` flag and vice
211 * - ``V4L2_CAP_HW_FREQ_SEEK``
213 - The device supports the
214 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_HW_FREQ_SEEK` ioctl
215 for hardware frequency seeking.
216 * - ``V4L2_CAP_RDS_OUTPUT``
218 - The device supports the :ref:`RDS <rds>` output interface.
219 * - ``V4L2_CAP_TUNER``
221 - The device has some sort of tuner to receive RF-modulated video
222 signals. For more information about tuner programming see
224 * - ``V4L2_CAP_AUDIO``
226 - The device has audio inputs or outputs. It may or may not support
227 audio recording or playback, in PCM or compressed formats. PCM
228 audio support must be implemented as ALSA or OSS interface. For
229 more information on audio inputs and outputs see :ref:`audio`.
230 * - ``V4L2_CAP_RADIO``
232 - This is a radio receiver.
233 * - ``V4L2_CAP_MODULATOR``
235 - The device has some sort of modulator to emit RF-modulated
236 video/audio signals. For more information about modulator
237 programming see :ref:`tuner`.
238 * - ``V4L2_CAP_SDR_CAPTURE``
240 - The device supports the :ref:`SDR Capture <sdr>` interface.
241 * - ``V4L2_CAP_EXT_PIX_FORMAT``
243 - The device supports the struct
244 :c:type:`v4l2_pix_format` extended fields.
245 * - ``V4L2_CAP_SDR_OUTPUT``
247 - The device supports the :ref:`SDR Output <sdr>` interface.
248 * - ``V4L2_CAP_META_CAPTURE``
250 - The device supports the :ref:`metadata` capture interface.
251 * - ``V4L2_CAP_READWRITE``
253 - The device supports the :ref:`read() <rw>` and/or
254 :ref:`write() <rw>` I/O methods.
255 * - ``V4L2_CAP_ASYNCIO``
257 - The device supports the :ref:`asynchronous <async>` I/O methods.
258 * - ``V4L2_CAP_STREAMING``
260 - The device supports the :ref:`streaming <mmap>` I/O method.
261 * - ``V4L2_CAP_META_OUTPUT``
263 - The device supports the :ref:`metadata` output interface.
264 * - ``V4L2_CAP_TOUCH``
266 - This is a touch device.
267 * - ``V4L2_CAP_IO_MC``
269 - There is only one input and/or output seen from userspace. The whole
270 video topology configuration, including which I/O entity is routed to
271 the input/output, is configured by userspace via the Media Controller.
272 See :ref:`media_controller`.
273 * - ``V4L2_CAP_DEVICE_CAPS``
275 - The driver fills the ``device_caps`` field. This capability can
276 only appear in the ``capabilities`` field and never in the
277 ``device_caps`` field.
283 On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the ``errno`` variable is set
284 appropriately. The generic error codes are described at the
285 :ref:`Generic Error Codes <gen-errors>` chapter.
288 The struct :c:type:`v4l2_framebuffer` lacks an
289 enum :c:type:`v4l2_buf_type` field, therefore the
290 type of overlay is implied by the driver capabilities.