1 .. -*- coding: utf-8; mode: rst -*-
5 *************************
6 Sliced VBI Data Interface
7 *************************
9 VBI stands for Vertical Blanking Interval, a gap in the sequence of
10 lines of an analog video signal. During VBI no picture information is
11 transmitted, allowing some time while the electron beam of a cathode ray
12 tube TV returns to the top of the screen.
14 Sliced VBI devices use hardware to demodulate data transmitted in the
15 VBI. V4L2 drivers shall *not* do this by software, see also the
16 :ref:`raw VBI interface <raw-vbi>`. The data is passed as short
17 packets of fixed size, covering one scan line each. The number of
18 packets per video frame is variable.
20 Sliced VBI capture and output devices are accessed through the same
21 character special files as raw VBI devices. When a driver supports both
22 interfaces, the default function of a ``/dev/vbi`` device is *raw* VBI
23 capturing or output, and the sliced VBI function is only available after
24 calling the :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl as defined
25 below. Likewise a ``/dev/video`` device may support the sliced VBI API,
26 however the default function here is video capturing or output.
27 Different file descriptors must be used to pass raw and sliced VBI data
28 simultaneously, if this is supported by the driver.
34 Devices supporting the sliced VBI capturing or output API set the
35 ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE`` or ``V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT`` flag
36 respectively, in the ``capabilities`` field of struct
37 :c:type:`v4l2_capability` returned by the
38 :ref:`VIDIOC_QUERYCAP` ioctl. At least one of the
39 read/write, streaming or asynchronous :ref:`I/O methods <io>` must be
40 supported. Sliced VBI devices may have a tuner or modulator.
43 Supplemental Functions
44 ======================
46 Sliced VBI devices shall support :ref:`video input or output <video>`
47 and :ref:`tuner or modulator <tuner>` ioctls if they have these
48 capabilities, and they may support :ref:`control` ioctls.
49 The :ref:`video standard <standard>` ioctls provide information vital
50 to program a sliced VBI device, therefore must be supported.
53 .. _sliced-vbi-format-negotitation:
55 Sliced VBI Format Negotiation
56 =============================
58 To find out which data services are supported by the hardware
59 applications can call the
60 :ref:`VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP <VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP>` ioctl.
61 All drivers implementing the sliced VBI interface must support this
62 ioctl. The results may differ from those of the
63 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl when the number of VBI
64 lines the hardware can capture or output per frame, or the number of
65 services it can identify on a given line are limited. For example on PAL
66 line 16 the hardware may be able to look for a VPS or Teletext signal,
67 but not both at the same time.
69 To determine the currently selected services applications set the
70 ``type`` field of struct :c:type:`v4l2_format` to
71 ``V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE`` or
72 ``V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT``, and the
73 :ref:`VIDIOC_G_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl fills the ``fmt.sliced``
75 :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_format`.
77 Applications can request different parameters by initializing or
78 modifying the ``fmt.sliced`` member and calling the
79 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl with a pointer to the
80 struct :c:type:`v4l2_format` structure.
82 The sliced VBI API is more complicated than the raw VBI API because the
83 hardware must be told which VBI service to expect on each scan line. Not
84 all services may be supported by the hardware on all lines (this is
85 especially true for VBI output where Teletext is often unsupported and
86 other services can only be inserted in one specific line). In many
87 cases, however, it is sufficient to just set the ``service_set`` field
88 to the required services and let the driver fill the ``service_lines``
89 array according to hardware capabilities. Only if more precise control
90 is needed should the programmer set the ``service_lines`` array
93 The :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl modifies the parameters
94 according to hardware capabilities. When the driver allocates resources
95 at this point, it may return an ``EBUSY`` error code if the required
96 resources are temporarily unavailable. Other resource allocation points
97 which may return ``EBUSY`` can be the
98 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON` ioctl and the first
99 :ref:`read() <func-read>`, :ref:`write() <func-write>` and
100 :ref:`select() <func-select>` call.
103 .. c:type:: v4l2_sliced_vbi_format
105 struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format
106 -----------------------------
108 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.0cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.0cm}|p{4.0cm}|p{4.0cm}|
110 .. cssclass:: longtable
121 If ``service_set`` is non-zero when passed with
122 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` or
123 :ref:`VIDIOC_TRY_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>`, the ``service_lines``
124 array will be filled by the driver according to the services
125 specified in this field. For example, if ``service_set`` is
126 initialized with ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B | V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``,
127 a driver for the cx25840 video decoder sets lines 7-22 of both
128 fields [#f1]_ to ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B`` and line 23 of the first
129 field to ``V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``. If ``service_set`` is set to
130 zero, then the values of ``service_lines`` will be used instead.
132 On return the driver sets this field to the union of all elements
133 of the returned ``service_lines`` array. It may contain less
134 services than requested, perhaps just one, if the hardware cannot
135 handle more services simultaneously. It may be empty (zero) if
136 none of the requested services are supported by the hardware.
138 - ``service_lines``\ [2][24]
141 Applications initialize this array with sets of data services the
142 driver shall look for or insert on the respective scan line.
143 Subject to hardware capabilities drivers return the requested set,
144 a subset, which may be just a single service, or an empty set.
145 When the hardware cannot handle multiple services on the same line
146 the driver shall choose one. No assumptions can be made on which
147 service the driver chooses.
149 Data services are defined in :ref:`vbi-services2`. Array indices
150 map to ITU-R line numbers\ [#f2]_ as follows:
158 - ``service_lines``\ [0][1]
163 - ``service_lines``\ [0][23]
168 - ``service_lines``\ [1][1]
173 - ``service_lines``\ [1][23]
178 - :cspan:`2` Drivers must set ``service_lines`` [0][0] and
179 ``service_lines``\ [1][0] to zero. The
180 ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_525_F1_START``, ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_525_F2_START``,
181 ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_625_F1_START`` and ``V4L2_VBI_ITU_625_F2_START``
182 defines give the start line numbers for each field for each 525 or
183 625 line format as a convenience. Don't forget that ITU line
184 numbering starts at 1, not 0.
187 - :cspan:`2` Maximum number of bytes passed by one
188 :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>` call,
189 and the buffer size in bytes for the
190 :ref:`VIDIOC_QBUF` and
191 :ref:`VIDIOC_DQBUF <VIDIOC_QBUF>` ioctl. Drivers set this field
192 to the size of struct
193 :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` times the
194 number of non-zero elements in the returned ``service_lines``
195 array (that is the number of lines potentially carrying data).
198 - :cspan:`2` This array is reserved for future extensions.
200 Applications and drivers must set it to zero.
210 \begin{adjustbox}{width=\columnwidth}
212 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5.0cm}|p{1.4cm}|p{3.0cm}|p{2.5cm}|p{9.0cm}|
224 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B`` (Teletext System B)
229 - PAL/SECAM line 7-22, 320-335 (second field 7-22)
230 - Last 42 of the 45 byte Teletext packet, that is without clock
231 run-in and framing code, lsb first transmitted.
232 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VPS``
236 - Byte number 3 to 15 according to Figure 9 of ETS 300 231, lsb
238 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525``
241 - NTSC line 21, 284 (second field 21)
242 - Two bytes in transmission order, including parity bit, lsb first
244 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625``
256 Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 x x 13 12 11 10 9
257 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VBI_525``
259 - :cspan:`2` Set of services applicable to 525 line systems.
260 * - ``V4L2_SLICED_VBI_625``
262 - :cspan:`2` Set of services applicable to 625 line systems.
266 \end{adjustbox}\newline\newline
269 Drivers may return an ``EINVAL`` error code when applications attempt to
270 read or write data without prior format negotiation, after switching the
271 video standard (which may invalidate the negotiated VBI parameters) and
272 after switching the video input (which may change the video standard as
273 a side effect). The :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl may
274 return an ``EBUSY`` error code when applications attempt to change the
275 format while i/o is in progress (between a
276 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON` and
277 :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMOFF <VIDIOC_STREAMON>` call, and after the first
278 :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>` call).
281 Reading and writing sliced VBI data
282 ===================================
284 A single :ref:`read() <func-read>` or :ref:`write() <func-write>`
285 call must pass all data belonging to one video frame. That is an array
286 of struct :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` structures with one or
287 more elements and a total size not exceeding ``io_size`` bytes. Likewise
288 in streaming I/O mode one buffer of ``io_size`` bytes must contain data
289 of one video frame. The ``id`` of unused
290 struct :c:type:`v4l2_sliced_vbi_data` elements must be zero.
293 .. c:type:: v4l2_sliced_vbi_data
295 struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_data
296 ---------------------------
298 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
307 - A flag from :ref:`vbi-services` identifying the type of data in
308 this packet. Only a single bit must be set. When the ``id`` of a
309 captured packet is zero, the packet is empty and the contents of
310 other fields are undefined. Applications shall ignore empty
311 packets. When the ``id`` of a packet for output is zero the
312 contents of the ``data`` field are undefined and the driver must
313 no longer insert data on the requested ``field`` and ``line``.
316 - The video field number this data has been captured from, or shall
317 be inserted at. ``0`` for the first field, ``1`` for the second
321 - The field (as opposed to frame) line number this data has been
322 captured from, or shall be inserted at. See :ref:`vbi-525` and
323 :ref:`vbi-625` for valid values. Sliced VBI capture devices can
324 set the line number of all packets to ``0`` if the hardware cannot
325 reliably identify scan lines. The field number must always be
329 - This field is reserved for future extensions. Applications and
330 drivers must set it to zero.
333 - The packet payload. See :ref:`vbi-services` for the contents and
334 number of bytes passed for each data type. The contents of padding
335 bytes at the end of this array are undefined, drivers and
336 applications shall ignore them.
339 Packets are always passed in ascending line number order, without
340 duplicate line numbers. The :ref:`write() <func-write>` function and
341 the :ref:`VIDIOC_QBUF` ioctl must return an ``EINVAL``
342 error code when applications violate this rule. They must also return an
343 EINVAL error code when applications pass an incorrect field or line
344 number, or a combination of ``field``, ``line`` and ``id`` which has not
345 been negotiated with the :ref:`VIDIOC_G_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` or
346 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_FMT <VIDIOC_G_FMT>` ioctl. When the line numbers are
347 unknown the driver must pass the packets in transmitted order. The
348 driver can insert empty packets with ``id`` set to zero anywhere in the
351 To assure synchronization and to distinguish from frame dropping, when a
352 captured frame does not carry any of the requested data services drivers
353 must pass one or more empty packets. When an application fails to pass
354 VBI data in time for output, the driver must output the last VPS and WSS
355 packet again, and disable the output of Closed Caption and Teletext
356 data, or output data which is ignored by Closed Caption and Teletext
359 A sliced VBI device may support :ref:`read/write <rw>` and/or
360 streaming (:ref:`memory mapping <mmap>` and/or
361 :ref:`user pointer <userp>`) I/O. The latter bears the possibility of
362 synchronizing video and VBI data by using buffer timestamps.
365 Sliced VBI Data in MPEG Streams
366 ===============================
368 If a device can produce an MPEG output stream, it may be capable of
370 :ref:`negotiated sliced VBI services <sliced-vbi-format-negotitation>`
371 as data embedded in the MPEG stream. Users or applications control this
372 sliced VBI data insertion with the
373 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
376 If the driver does not provide the
377 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
378 control, or only allows that control to be set to
379 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`,
380 then the device cannot embed sliced VBI data in the MPEG stream.
383 :ref:`V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
384 control does not implicitly set the device driver to capture nor cease
385 capturing sliced VBI data. The control only indicates to embed sliced
386 VBI data in the MPEG stream, if an application has negotiated sliced VBI
389 It may also be the case that a device can embed sliced VBI data in only
390 certain types of MPEG streams: for example in an MPEG-2 PS but not an
391 MPEG-2 TS. In this situation, if sliced VBI data insertion is requested,
392 the sliced VBI data will be embedded in MPEG stream types when
393 supported, and silently omitted from MPEG stream types where sliced VBI
394 data insertion is not supported by the device.
396 The following subsections specify the format of the embedded sliced VBI
400 MPEG Stream Embedded, Sliced VBI Data Format: NONE
401 --------------------------------------------------
404 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
405 embedded sliced VBI format shall be interpreted by drivers as a control
406 to cease embedding sliced VBI data in MPEG streams. Neither the device
407 nor driver shall insert "empty" embedded sliced VBI data packets in the
408 MPEG stream when this format is set. No MPEG stream data structures are
409 specified for this format.
412 MPEG Stream Embedded, Sliced VBI Data Format: IVTV
413 --------------------------------------------------
416 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
417 embedded sliced VBI format, when supported, indicates to the driver to
418 embed up to 36 lines of sliced VBI data per frame in an MPEG-2 *Private
419 Stream 1 PES* packet encapsulated in an MPEG-2 *Program Pack* in the
422 *Historical context*: This format specification originates from a
423 custom, embedded, sliced VBI data format used by the ``ivtv`` driver.
424 This format has already been informally specified in the kernel sources
425 in the file ``Documentation/video4linux/cx2341x/README.vbi`` . The
426 maximum size of the payload and other aspects of this format are driven
427 by the CX23415 MPEG decoder's capabilities and limitations with respect
428 to extracting, decoding, and displaying sliced VBI data embedded within
431 This format's use is *not* exclusive to the ``ivtv`` driver *nor*
432 exclusive to CX2341x devices, as the sliced VBI data packet insertion
433 into the MPEG stream is implemented in driver software. At least the
434 ``cx18`` driver provides sliced VBI data insertion into an MPEG-2 PS in
437 The following definitions specify the payload of the MPEG-2 *Private
438 Stream 1 PES* packets that contain sliced VBI data when
439 :ref:`V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV <v4l2-mpeg-stream-vbi-fmt>`
440 is set. (The MPEG-2 *Private Stream 1 PES* packet header and
441 encapsulating MPEG-2 *Program Pack* header are not detailed here. Please
442 refer to the MPEG-2 specifications for details on those packet headers.)
444 The payload of the MPEG-2 *Private Stream 1 PES* packets that contain
445 sliced VBI data is specified by struct
446 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv`. The
447 payload is variable length, depending on the actual number of lines of
448 sliced VBI data present in a video frame. The payload may be padded at
449 the end with unspecified fill bytes to align the end of the payload to a
450 4-byte boundary. The payload shall never exceed 1552 bytes (2 fields
451 with 18 lines/field with 43 bytes of data/line and a 4 byte magic
455 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv
457 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv
458 -----------------------------
460 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.0cm}|p{3.5cm}|p{1.0cm}|p{11.5cm}|
470 - A "magic" constant from :ref:`v4l2-mpeg-vbi-fmt-ivtv-magic` that
471 indicates this is a valid sliced VBI data payload and also
472 indicates which member of the anonymous union, ``itv0`` or
473 ``ITV0``, to use for the payload data.
477 - struct :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0`
479 - The primary form of the sliced VBI data payload that contains
480 anywhere from 1 to 35 lines of sliced VBI data. Line masks are
481 provided in this form of the payload indicating which VBI lines
484 - struct :ref:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0 <v4l2-mpeg-vbi-itv0-1>`
486 - An alternate form of the sliced VBI data payload used when 36
487 lines of sliced VBI data are present. No line masks are provided
488 in this form of the payload; all valid line mask bits are
493 .. _v4l2-mpeg-vbi-fmt-ivtv-magic:
495 Magic Constants for struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv magic field
496 -------------------------------------------------------------
498 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
508 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_MAGIC0``
510 - Indicates the ``itv0`` member of the union in struct
511 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv` is
513 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_MAGIC1``
515 - Indicates the ``ITV0`` member of the union in struct
516 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_fmt_ivtv` is
517 valid and that 36 lines of sliced VBI data are present.
521 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0
523 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
525 structs v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0 and v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
526 -------------------------------------------------
528 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.4cm}|p{2.4cm}|p{10.7cm}|
537 - Bitmasks indicating the VBI service lines present. These
538 ``linemask`` values are stored in little endian byte order in the
539 MPEG stream. Some reference ``linemask`` bit positions with their
540 corresponding VBI line number and video field are given below.
541 b\ :sub:`0` indicates the least significant bit of a ``linemask``
548 linemask[0] b0: line 6 first field
549 linemask[0] b17: line 23 first field
550 linemask[0] b18: line 6 second field
551 linemask[0] b31: line 19 second field
552 linemask[1] b0: line 20 second field
553 linemask[1] b3: line 23 second field
554 linemask[1] b4-b31: unused and set to 0
556 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line`
558 - This is a variable length array that holds from 1 to 35 lines of
559 sliced VBI data. The sliced VBI data lines present correspond to
560 the bits set in the ``linemask`` array, starting from b\ :sub:`0`
561 of ``linemask``\ [0] up through b\ :sub:`31` of ``linemask``\ [0],
562 and from b\ :sub:`0` of ``linemask``\ [1] up through b\ :sub:`3` of
563 ``linemask``\ [1]. ``line``\ [0] corresponds to the first bit
564 found set in the ``linemask`` array, ``line``\ [1] corresponds to
565 the second bit found set in the ``linemask`` array, etc. If no
566 ``linemask`` array bits are set, then ``line``\ [0] may contain
567 one line of unspecified data that should be ignored by
572 .. _v4l2-mpeg-vbi-itv0-1:
574 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_ITV0
575 -------------------------
577 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.4cm}|p{4.4cm}|p{8.7cm}|
585 :c:type:`v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line`
587 - A fixed length array of 36 lines of sliced VBI data. ``line``\ [0]
588 through ``line``\ [17] correspond to lines 6 through 23 of the
589 first field. ``line``\ [18] through ``line``\ [35] corresponds to
590 lines 6 through 23 of the second field.
594 .. c:type:: v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line
596 struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line
597 ------------------------------
599 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.4cm}|p{4.4cm}|p{8.7cm}|
608 - A line identifier value from
609 :ref:`ITV0-Line-Identifier-Constants` that indicates the type of
610 sliced VBI data stored on this line.
613 - The sliced VBI data for the line.
617 .. _ITV0-Line-Identifier-Constants:
619 Line Identifiers for struct v4l2_mpeg_vbi_itv0_line id field
620 ------------------------------------------------------------
622 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
632 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_TELETEXT_B``
634 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
635 description of the line payload.
636 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_CAPTION_525``
638 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
639 description of the line payload.
640 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_WSS_625``
642 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
643 description of the line payload.
644 * - ``V4L2_MPEG_VBI_IVTV_VPS``
646 - Refer to :ref:`Sliced VBI services <vbi-services2>` for a
647 description of the line payload.
652 According to :ref:`ETS 300 706 <ets300706>` lines 6-22 of the first
653 field and lines 5-22 of the second field may carry Teletext data.
656 See also :ref:`vbi-525` and :ref:`vbi-625`.