http://blog.csdn.net/jmq_0000/article/details/7530575
V4L2驱动框架概述 ===================================== 这个文本文件讲述V4L2的框架所提供的各种结构和它们之间的关系. 介绍 ------------
由于硬件的复杂性v412驱动往往是非常复杂的: 大多数设备有多个IC,在/dev目录下有多个设备节点, 并也创建non-V4L2的设备,如DVB,ALSA,FB, I2C和input(IR)设备。 特别是v412驱动设置配套的IC做音频/视频多路复用/编码/解码,使得它更 比大多数复杂的事实。通常这些芯片连接到主桥驱动器通过一个或多个I2C 总线,但也可以使用其他总线。这种设备被称为“子设备”。 很长一段时间有限制的video_device结构框架创建v4l设备节点和video_buf 的的视频缓冲区处理(请注意,本文档不讨论video_buf框架)。 这意味着,所有驱动程序必须做的设备实例的设置和连接子设备本身。 这部分是相当复杂,做应该做的事,很多驱动程序不这样做是正确的。
由于缺乏一个框架也有很多共同的代码不可重构。 因此,这个框架的基本构建块,所有的驱动程序需要与此相同的框架应更容 易进入所有驱动程序共享的实用功能重构的通用代码。 驱动程序的结构 --------------------- 所有的驱动程序有以下结构: 1) 每个设备包含设备状态的实例结构。 2) 子设备的初始化和命令方式(如果有). 3) 创建V4L2的设备节点 (/dev/videoX, /dev/vbiX and /dev/radioX) 和跟踪设备节点的具体数据。 4)文件句柄特定的结构,包含每个文件句柄数据; 5) 视频缓冲处理。
device instances(设备实例)这是一个粗略的示意图,这一切是如何涉及的:
|
+-sub-device instances(子设备实例)
|
\-V4L2 device nodes(V4L2的设备节点)
|
\-filehandle instances(文件句柄实例)
框架结构
--------------------------
框架类似于驱动程序的结构:它是一个 v4l2_device结构的设备实例的数据,
v4l2_subdev结构子设备实例的video_device结构存储V4L2的设备节点的数据,
并在将来v4l2_fh结构将保持跟踪的文件句柄实例(这是尚未实现)。也可以选择集成框架的V4L2媒体框架。如果设置一个驱动程序的结构
v4l2_device mdev,sub-devices 和 video节点会自动出现在媒体框架作为实体。
struct v4l2_device
------------------
每个设备实例结构体v4l2_device(V4L2-device.h中)的代表。只是很简单的
设备可以分配这个结构,但大多数的时候你会把这个结构体嵌入到一个更大的结构体中。
你必须注册设备的实例:
v4l2_device_register(struct device *dev, struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev); 注册将初始化 v4l2_device 结构体. 如果 dev->driver_data字段是空, 它将连接到 v4l2_dev. 要与媒体设备框架集成的驱动程序需要设置DEV-> driver_data手动指向驱动程序特定的设备结构 嵌入结构体v4l2_device实例。这是通过一个dev_set_drvdata()调用之前注册V4L2的设备实例。 他们必须还设置结构体v4l2_device MDEV领域指向一个正确初始化和注册media_device实例。 如果v4l2_dev->name是空,那么这将被设置为从dev取得一个值(驱动程序名称后的 bus_id要准确)。 如果你在调用v4l2_device_register之前设置它,那么它没有改变。 如果dev是NULL,那么你‘必须’设置v4l2_dev>name在调用v4l2_device_register前。
你可以使用v4l2_device_set_name()设置名称根据驱动程序的名字和
driver-global atomic_t实例。这将产生的名字一样,ivtv0,ivtv1,等。
如果名字最后一个数字,然后将它插入一个破折号:cx18-0,cx18-1,等
这个函数返回的实例数量。 第一个参数‘dev’通常是一个pci_dev的struct device的指针,
但它是ISA设备或一个设备创建多个PCI设备时这是罕见的DEV为NULL, 因此makingit不可能联想到一个特定的父母v4l2_dev。 您也可以提供一个notify()回调子设备,可以通过调用通知你的事件。 取决于你是否需要设置子设备。一个子设备支持的任何通知必须在头文件中定义include/media/<subdevice>.h. 注销: v4l2_device_unregister(struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev); 如果dev-> driver_data字段指向v4l2_dev,它将被重置为NULL。 注销也将自动注销从设备所有子设备。 如果你有一个可热插拔设备(如USB设备),然后发生断开连接的时候父设备将变为无效。 由于v4l2_device有指向父设备的指针,它被清除,以及标记父设备消失。 要做到这一点调用: v4l2_device_disconnect(struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev); 这并*不*注销subdevs,所以你仍然需要调用该的v4l2_device_unregister()函数。 如果你的驱动是不能热插拔,则有无需调用v4l2_device_disconnect()。 有时你需要遍历一个特定的驱动程序注册的所有设备。
这是通常情况下如果多个设备驱动程序使用相同的硬件。
例如ivtvfb驱动程序是一个使用IVTV硬件framebuffer驱动。
同样是真实的,例如ALSA驱动程序。您可以遍历所有注册的设备如下:
static int callback(struct device *dev, void *p)
{
struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev = dev_get_drvdata(dev);
/* test if this device was inited */
if (v4l2_dev == NULL)
return 0;
...
return 0;
}
int iterate(void *p)
{
struct device_driver *drv;
int err;
/* Find driver 'ivtv' on the PCI bus.
pci_bus_type is a global. For USB busses use usb_bus_type. */
drv = driver_find("ivtv", &pci_bus_type);
/* iterate over all ivtv device instances */
err = driver_for_each_device(drv, NULL, p, callback);
put_driver(drv);
return err;
}
有时你需要保持一个设备实例运行计数器。这是常用的映射设备实例模块选项数组索引。
建议的方法如下:
static atomic_t drv_instance = ATOMIC_INIT(0);
static int __devinit drv_probe(struct pci_dev *pdev,
const struct pci_device_id *pci_id)
{
...
state->instance = atomic_inc_return(&drv_instance) - 1;
}
如果你有多个设备节点然后它可以是很难知道它是安全注销v4l2_device时候。
v4l2_device引用计数的支持就是对于这样做的目的。当video_register_device 时被称之为增加引用计数,有设备节点被释放时减少引用计数。 当引用计数达到零,则v4l2_device回调release()。你可以做最后的清理。
如果其他设备节点(例如ALSA)的创建,然后你可以增加和减少以及手动调用引用计数:
void v4l2_device_get(struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev);
or:
int v4l2_device_put(struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev);
struct v4l2_subdev
------------------
许多驱动程序需要与子设备进行通信。这些设备可以完成所有这类任务
但他们最常用的处理音频 和/或 视频混流,编码或解码。对于常见子设备摄像头传感器和摄像头控制器。
通常情况下,这些I2C器件,但不一定。以这些子设备的驱动程序提供一致的接口v4l2_subdev结构
(V4L2 subdev.h)创建。
每个子设备驱动程序必须有一个v4l2_subdev结构。这个结构可以独立简单的设备或者
如果需要存储更多的状态信息它可能被嵌入在一个更大的结构。一般有一个低级别 设备结构(如i2c_client),其中包含设备的数据为内核设置。
它建议在v4l2_subdev使用v4l2_set_subdevdata()的私人数据存储的指针。
这使得很容易地从一个v4l2_subdev实际低级别的总线特定的器件数据。
你还需要很长的路要走从低级结构v4l2_subdev。对于常见的i2c_client结构的i2c_set_clientdata()调用用来存储v4l2_subdev指针,
为其他总线您可能必须使用其他方法。桥接可能还需要存储每subdev私人数据如桥特定每个-subdev私人数据指针。
v4l2_subdev结构提供与v4l2_get_subdev_hostdata()和v4l2_set_subdev_hostdata()可以访问目的主机私人数据。
从桥式驱动器角度你加载的子设备模块和某种取得的v4l2_subdev指针。
对于I2C器件这是很容易:
你调用i2c_get_clientdata()。对于其他总线类似的东西需要做。Helper函数做你最棘手的工作,
这一个I2C总线上存在的子设备。每个v4l2_subdev包含函数指针的子设备驱动程序可以实现(或保留NULL,如果它不适用)。
由于子设备可以做很多不同的东西,你不想结束一个巨大的OPS结构其中只有少数的OPS通常执行,函数指针进行排序按类别,
每个类别都有其自己的OPS结构。顶层OPS结构包含的类别OPS结构,这可能是NULL如果在subdev驱动程序不支持任何从该类别指针。
它看起来像这样:
struct v4l2_subdev_core_ops {
int (*g_chip_ident)(struct v4l2_subdev *sd, struct v4l2_dbg_chip_ident *chip);
int (*log_status)(struct v4l2_subdev *sd);
int (*init)(struct v4l2_subdev *sd, u32 val);
...
};
struct v4l2_subdev_tuner_ops {
...
};
struct v4l2_subdev_audio_ops {
...
};
struct v4l2_subdev_video_ops {
...
};
struct v4l2_subdev_ops {
const struct v4l2_subdev_core_ops *core;
const struct v4l2_subdev_tuner_ops *tuner;
const struct v4l2_subdev_audio_ops *audio;
const struct v4l2_subdev_video_ops *video;
};
是共同所有子设备的核心操作函数,其他类别的执行取决于子设备。例如视频设备是不大可能支持音频操作,反之亦然。 此设置限制的函数指针,同时还使其易于添加新操作函数和类别。 子设备驱动初始化的v4l2_subdev结构使用: v4l2_subdev_init(sd, &ops); 之后,您需要初始化一个独特的名字subdev->name和设置模块所有者。这样做是为了如果你使用的I2C辅助功能。 如果框架媒介整合是必要的,你必须初始化的media_entity结构通过调用media_entity_init()嵌入在v4l2_subdev结构(实体领域): struct media_pad *pads = &my_sd->pads; int err; err = media_entity_init(&sd->entity, npads, pads, 0); pads数组必须此前已初始化。有没有需要手动设置结构media_entity类型和name字段,但如果需要修改字段必须初始化。
不要忘了清理的media实体子设备被破坏之前:参考实体将自动获得/释放时,subdev设备节点(如果有的话)打开/关闭。
media_entity_cleanup(&sd->entity);
设备(桥)驱动程序需要注册用v4l2_subdevv4l2_device:
int err = v4l2_device_register_subdev(v4l2_dev, sd);
这可能会失败,如果subdev模块消失之前,它可以注册。
之后,这个功能调用成功的subdev-> dev字段指向了v4l2_device。如果的v4l2_device父设备具有非空MDEV字段,
分设备实体将被自动注册用media设备。你可以注销一个子设备使用:
v4l2_device_unregister_subdev(sd);
事后subdev模块可以卸载和 sd->dev == NULL.你可以直接调用操作函数:
err = sd->ops->core->g_chip_ident(sd, &chip);但
但是使用这个宏将更好和更容易: err = v4l2_subdev_call(sd, core, g_chip_ident, &chip); 宏将到右边的空指针检查,并如果subdev是NULL返回-ENODEV, -ENOIOCTLCMD if either subdev->core or subdev->core->g_chip_ident is NULL, 或实际的结果 subdev->ops->core->g_chip_ident ops. 它也可以调用全部或部分子设备: v4l2_device_call_all(v4l2_dev, 0, core, g_chip_ident, &chip); 不支持这个OPS的任何子设备跳过错误的效果将被忽略。如果你想检查是否有错误,使用这个: err = v4l2_device_call_until_err(v4l2_dev, 0, core, g_chip_ident, &chip); Any error except -ENOIOCTLCMD will exit the loop with that error. If no errors (except -ENOIOCTLCMD) occurred, then 0 is returned. 这两个调用的第二个参数是一组ID。如果为0,然后所有subdevs被调用。如果不为零,
那么只有那些其组ID匹配值将被调用。前桥驱动注册一个subdev它可以设置SD-> grp_id
任何值是想要(这是默认为0)。这个值是由桥式驱动器和拥有子设备驱动程序将不会修改或使用它。
这组ID给桥驱动器控制如何调用回调。例如,可能有多个音频芯片板,每一个有改变音量。但通常只
有一个实际上将被用来当用户想改变音量。
你可以设置组ID,subdev例如AUDIO_CONTROLLER和指定组ID值时调用v4l2_device_call_all()。
以确保它只会去的subdev需要。如果子设备需要通知其事件v4l2_device父母,那么它可以调用
v4l2_subdev_notify(SD,notification,ARG)。
这个宏检查是否有一个notify()的回调定义,如果没有返回-ENODEV。否则结果的通知()调用返回。
使用v4l2_subdev优势是它是一个通用结构,不包含任何对底层硬件知识。因此驱动程序可能包含几个subdevs使用I2C总线,
但也通过GPIO引脚控制subdev。这种区别是设置设备时只有关,但一旦subdev注册是是完全透明的。
V4L2的子设备用户空间的API
-----------------------------
旁边公开通过v4l2_subdev_ops结构内核API,V4L2的子设备也可以直接控制用户空间应用。可以直接访问
子设备在/ dev中创建名为V4L-subdevX设备节点。
如果一个子设备支持直接用户空间的配置它必须设定以前注册的V4L2_SUBDEV_FL_HAS_DEVNODE标志。
子设备登记后,v4l2_device司机可以由调用v4l2_device_register_subdev_nodes()与
V4L2_SUBDEV_FL_HAS_DEVNODE标记所有注册子设备创建设备节点。子设备未注册时将被自动删除这些
设备节点。设备节点处理的V4L2的API一个子集。
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
VIDIOC_G_CTRL
VIDIOC_S_CTRL
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS
VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS控制ioctls函数调用在V4L2的定义是相同的。他们的行为是相同的,唯一的例外,
他们只处理子设备执行控制。这些控制可以根据驱动程序,也可以通过一个(或几个)V4L2
的设备节点访问。
VIDIOC_DQEVENT
VIDIOC_SUBSCRIBE_EVENT
VIDIOC_UNSUBSCRIBE_EVENT
事件ioctls函数调用在V4L2的定义是相同。他们的行为是相同的,唯一的例外他们只分设备产生事件处理。
根据驱动程序,这些事件也可以报一个(或几个)V4L2的设备节点。
子设备驱动程序要使用的事件需要设置的V4L2_SUBDEV_USES_EVENTS v4l2_subdev::flags
和初始化之前注册的子设备v4l2_subdev:: nevents事件队列深度。注册事件后可以像往常一样
排队的v4l2_subdev:: devnode设备节点。
要正确地支持事件,poll()的文件操作实施。Private ioctls没有在上述列表所有ioctls函数调用会直接传递
到子设备驱动程序通过core::ioctl操作。
I2C sub-device drivers
----------------------
由于这些驱动程序是很常见的,特殊的辅助功能是可以缓解使用这些驱动程序(V4L2-common.h)。
对加入v4l2_subdev支持I2C驱动的推荐的方法是嵌入到每个I2C设备实例创建状态结构v4l2_subdev结构。
很简单的设备,没有状态结构,在这种情况下,你可以直接创建一个v4l2_subdev。
一个典型的状态结构看起来像这样(where 'chipname' is replaced bythe name of the chip):
此功能将填补所有领域v4l2_subdev和确保在v4l2_subdev和i2c_client都指向一个。struct chipname_state { struct v4l2_subdev sd; ... /* additional state fields */ };
如下初始化v4l2_subdev结构: v4l2_i2c_subdev_init(&state->sd, client, subdev_ops);
您还应该添加一个辅助内联函数从v4l2_subdev指针的去到chipname_state结构:
struct chipname_state {
struct v4l2_subdev sd;
... /* additional state fields */
};
如下初始化v4l2_subdev结构:
v4l2_i2c_subdev_init(&state->sd, client, subdev_ops);
此功能将填补所有领域v4l2_subdev和保证的v4l2_subdev和i2c_client都指向一个。
您还应该添加一个辅助inline函数从v4l2_subdev指针的去到chipname_state结构:
static inline struct chipname_state *to_state(struct v4l2_subdev *sd)
{
return container_of(sd, struct chipname_state, sd);
}
使用这个从v4l2_subdev结构i2c_client结构:
struct i2c_client *client = v4l2_get_subdevdata(sd);
这从一个i2c_client到v4l2_subdev结构:
struct v4l2_subdev *sd = i2c_get_clientdata(client);
确保调用v4l2_device_unregister_subdev(SD),remove()回调时被调用。
这将注销桥式驱动器的子设备。调用此子设备,即使是没有注册的,它是安全的。
你需要这样做,因为当桥式驱动器的销毁I2C适配器的remove()回调呼吁该适配器
上的I2C设备。之后相应v4l2_subdev结构是无效的,所以他们必须首先要注销。
v4l2_device_unregister_subdev(SD)的remove()调用的回调保证,这是一直在做正确。
桥式驱动器也有一些辅助功能,它可以使用:
struct v4l2_subdev *sd = v4l2_i2c_new_subdev(v4l2_dev, adapter,
"module_foo", "chipid", 0x36, NULL);
加载模块(如果没有需要加载的模块,可以为NULL)并调用i2c_adapter和
芯片/地址参数的i2c_new_device()。如果一切顺利,那么它注册这个v4l2_device 子设备。
您还可以使用最后一个参数的v4l2_i2c_new_subdev()传递一个可能的I2C地址的数组,
它应该探究。这些探头地址仅用于如果前面的参数是0。一个非零的说法意味着,
你知道确切的I2C地址,所以在这种情况下,没有探测将发生。
如果出错了,这两个函数返回NULL。
请注意,你传递 CHIPID给v4l2_i2c_new_subdev()通常是作为相同模块的名称。它允许你指定一个芯片的变型,例如
“SAA7114”或“SAA7115”。一般来说,虽然I2C驱动程序会自动检测这个。
使用CHIPID是需要看着在晚些时候更紧密的东西。它不同于之间的I2C驱动程序和这样可能会造成混淆。
看到支持该芯片的变种,你可以在I2C驱动程序代码为i2c_device_id表。这将列出所有的可能性。
有两个辅助函数:
v4l2_i2c_new_subdev_cfg: this function adds new irq and platform_data
arguments and has both 'addr' and 'probed_addrs' arguments: if addr is not
0 then that will be used (non-probing variant), otherwise the probed_addrs
are probed.
For example: this will probe for address 0x10:
struct v4l2_subdev *sd = v4l2_i2c_new_subdev_cfg(v4l2_dev, adapter,
"module_foo", "chipid", 0, NULL, 0, I2C_ADDRS(0x10));
v4l2_i2c_new_subdev_board uses an i2c_board_info struct which is passed
to the i2c driver and replaces the irq, platform_data and addr arguments.
If the subdev supports the s_config core ops, then that op is called with
the irq and platform_data arguments after the subdev was setup. The older
v4l2_i2c_new_(probed_)subdev functions will call s_config as well, but with
irq set to 0 and platform_data set to NULL.
struct video_device
-------------------
实际设备节点在/ dev目录使用的video_device结构(V4L2 dev.h)创建。
这个结构可以动态分配或嵌入在一个更大的结构。要动态分配使用:
To allocate it dynamically use:
struct video_device *vdev = video_device_alloc();
if (vdev == NULL)
return -ENOMEM;
vdev->release = video_device_release;
如果是嵌入到一个更大的结构,那么你必须设置的release()函数回调到自己的函数:
struct video_device *vdev = &my_vdev->vdev;
vdev->release = my_vdev_release;释放回调必须设置时被称为最后一个用户的视频设备出口。的默认video_device_release()
回调只是调用kfree释放分配的内存。
你也应该设定这些字段:
- v4l2_dev: 设置这个v4l2_device父设备。
- name: 设置为描述性和独特的东西。
- fops: 设置这个v4l2_file_operations结构。
- ioctl_ops: if you use the v4l2_ioctl_ops to simplify ioctl maintenance
(highly recommended to use this and it might become compulsory in the
future!), then set this to your v4l2_ioctl_ops struct.
- lock: leave to NULL if you want to do all the locking in the driver.
Otherwise you give it a pointer to a struct mutex_lock and before any
of the v4l2_file_operations is called this lock will be taken by the
core and released afterwards.
- prio: keeps track of the priorities. Used to implement VIDIOC_G/S_PRIORITY.
If left to NULL, then it will use the struct v4l2_prio_state in v4l2_device.
If you want to have a separate priority state per (group of) device node(s),
then you can point it to your own struct v4l2_prio_state.
- parent: you only set this if v4l2_device was registered with NULL as
the parent device struct. This only happens in cases where one hardware
device has multiple PCI devices that all share the same v4l2_device core.
The cx88 driver is an example of this: one core v4l2_device struct, but
it is used by both an raw video PCI device (cx8800) and a MPEG PCI device
(cx8802). Since the v4l2_device cannot be associated with a particular
PCI device it is setup without a parent device. But when the struct
video_device is setup you do know which parent PCI device to use.
- flags: optional. Set to V4L2_FL_USE_FH_PRIO if you want to let the framework
handle the VIDIOC_G/S_PRIORITY ioctls. This requires that you use struct
v4l2_fh. Eventually this flag will disappear once all drivers use the core
priority handling. But for now it has to be set explicitly.
如果使用v4l2_ioctl_ops,那么你应该设置。unlocked_ioctl video_ioctl2在v4l2_file_operations结构。
不要使用。IOCTL!将在未来过时。
v4l2_file_operations结构的file_operations的一个子集。主要区别在于该inode参数被忽略,因为它从来没有使用过。
如果框架传媒的整合是必要的,你必须初始化media_entity结构嵌入式通过调用media_entity_init()的 video_device结构(entity字段): struct media_pad *pad = &my_vdev->pad; int err; err = media_entity_init(&vdev->entity, 1, pad, 0); 垫阵列必须先前已初始化。有没有需要手动设置的结构media_entity type和name字段。 A reference to the entity will be automatically acquired/released when the video device is opened/closed.
v4l2_file_operations 和 锁
--------------------------------
你可以设置一个指针,在结构的video_device中mutex_lock。
通常这将是一个顶层互斥或互斥每个设备节点。如果你想更细致的锁那么你必须将其设置为NULL和你自己的锁定。
如果锁被指定那么所有的文件操作将被序列化该锁。如果您使用videobuf那么你
必须通过相同的锁的videobuf队列初始化函数:如果videobuf等待一帧到达,
然后它会暂时解除锁定和重新锁定它之后。如果您的驱动程序代码中的等待,
那么你应该做同样允许其他进程访问设备节点的第一道工序,而在等待着什么。
一个热插拔断开实施也应采取之前调用v4l2_device_disconnect锁。
video_device 注册
-------------------------
err = video_register_device(vdev, VFL_TYPE_GRABBER, -1);接下来,您注册的视频设备:这会为您创建的字符设备
if (err) {
video_device_release(vdev); /* or kfree(my_vdev); */
return err;
}
如果的v4l2_device其父节点设备具有非空MDEV字段,视频设备的实体将被自动注册用media设备。
注册哪个设备依赖于类型参数。存在以下几种类型:
VFL_TYPE_GRABBER: 对视频输入/输出设备video
XVFL_TYPE_VBI: vbiX垂直空白数据(即关闭字幕,图文电视)
VFL_TYPE_RADIO: radioX用于无线电调谐器VFL_TYPE_VTX: vtxX图文电视设备(不建议使用,不使用)
最后一个参数给你一定数量的控制了设备使用设备节点(即在videoXX)。通常情况下你将通过-1让V4L2框架选择第一个释放号码。
但有时用户想选择一个特定的节点数量。这是常见的驱动程序允许用户通过驱动模块选项选择一个特定的设备节点数量。
这一数字然后被传递给这个函数和video_register_device将尝试选择该设备节点数量。
如果该号码已在使用中然后,下一个空闲的设备节点数量将被选中,它会发出警告的内核日志。
另使用情况是,如果一个驱动程序创建许多设备。在这种情况下它可以是有用的放置在不同范围不同视频设备。
例如,视频捕获设备开始为0,视频输出设备在16开始。
所以,你可以使用的最后一个参数指定一个最低设备节点数量和V4L2框架将尽量挑选的第释放号码是相同或更高你通过什么。
如果失败,那么它只会选择第一个释放号码。由于在这种情况下,你不关心不能够选择指定的设备节点数量有关警告,
可以调用的函数video_register_device_no_warn()代替。每当创建一个设备节点的一些属性也为您创建。
如果你看在/ sys/class/video4linux你看到的设备。去到如video0,
你会看到“name”和“index”属性。 'name'属性的'name'字段的video_device结构。“index”属性是设备节点索引:
每个调用video_register_device()指数只上升1。寄存器总是第一个视频设备节点索引0开始。用户可以设置udev的规则,
利用索引属性使花哨的设备名称(如“mpegX MPEG视频捕捉设备节点)。之后该设备已成功注册,那么你可以使用这些字段:
- vfl_type: 设备类型传递到video_register_device。
- minor: 分配装置的次设备号。
- num: 设备节点数目(i.e. the X in videoX).
- index: 设备索引号。如果注册失败,那么你需要调用video_device_release()来释放分配的video_device结构,
或自己结构的video_device如果被嵌入。的VDEV>发布()回调将永远不会被调用,
如果注册失败,也不应该你曾经尝试注销的设备如果注册失败。
video_device 清除
--------------------
当被删除,在卸载的驱动程序,或因为被断开USB设备,视频设备节点,那么你应该注销他们:
video_unregister_device(vdev);
This will remove the device nodes from sysfs (causing udev to remove them
from /dev).
After video_unregister_device() returns no new opens can be done. However,
in the case of USB devices some application might still have one of these
device nodes open. So after the unregister all file operations (except
release, of course) will return an error as well.
当最后一个用户的视频设备节点退出,然后这个VDEV - >release()
回调被调用,你可以做最后的清理。
不要忘了清理媒体视频设备的实体相关的,如果它已经被初始化:
media_entity_cleanup(&vdev->entity);
This can be done from the release callback.
video_device 辅助函数
-----------------------------
有一些有用的辅助功能:
- file/video_device private data
You can set/get driver private data in the video_device struct using:
void *video_get_drvdata(struct video_device *vdev);
void video_set_drvdata(struct video_device *vdev, void *data);
Note that you can safely call video_set_drvdata() before calling
video_register_device().
And this function:
struct video_device *video_devdata(struct file *file);
returns the video_device belonging to the file struct.
The video_drvdata function combines video_get_drvdata with video_devdata:
void *video_drvdata(struct file *file);
You can go from a video_device struct to the v4l2_device struct using:
struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev = vdev->v4l2_dev;
- Device node name
The video_device node kernel name can be retrieved using
const char *video_device_node_name(struct video_device *vdev);
userspace工具,如udev的名字被用来作为一个提示。应在可能的情况下使用,
而不是访问的video_device:: num和的video_device::minor字段的功能。
video buffer 辅助函数
-----------------------------
The v4l2 core API provides a set of standard methods (called "videobuf")
for dealing with video buffers. Those methods allow a driver to implement
read(), mmap() and overlay() in a consistent way. There are currently
methods for using video buffers on devices that supports DMA with
scatter/gather method (videobuf-dma-sg), DMA with linear access
(videobuf-dma-contig), and vmalloced buffers, mostly used on USB drivers
(videobuf-vmalloc).
Please see Documentation/video4linux/videobuf for more information on how
to use the videobuf layer.
struct v4l2_fh
--------------
结构v4l2_fh提供了一种轻松地保持文件句柄是由V4L2的框架使用具体数据。
新的驱动程序必须使用struct v4l2_fh,因为它也可以用来实现优先处理
(VIDIOC_G/ S_PRIORITY)如果的video_device标志V4L2_FL_USE_FH_PRIO也。
(在V4L2的框架,而不是驱动器)v4l2_fh用户知道驱动程序是否使用通过测试
V4L2_FL_USES_V4L2_FH位的video_device-> flags中v4l2_fh作为其文件> private_data
的指针。每当v4l2_fh_init()被调用时设置此位。
struct v4l2_fh is allocated as a part of the driver's own file handle
structure and file->private_data is set to it in the driver's open
function by the driver.
In many cases the struct v4l2_fh will be embedded in a larger structure.
In that case you should call v4l2_fh_init+v4l2_fh_add in open() and
v4l2_fh_del+v4l2_fh_exit in release().
Drivers can extract their own file handle structure by using the container_of
macro. Example:
struct my_fh {
int blah;
struct v4l2_fh fh;
};
...
int my_open(struct file *file)
{
struct my_fh *my_fh;
struct video_device *vfd;
int ret;
...
my_fh = kzalloc(sizeof(*my_fh), GFP_KERNEL);
...
ret = v4l2_fh_init(&my_fh->fh, vfd);
if (ret) {
kfree(my_fh);
return ret;
}
...
file->private_data = &my_fh->fh;
v4l2_fh_add(&my_fh->fh);
return 0;
}
int my_release(struct file *file)
{
struct v4l2_fh *fh = file->private_data;
struct my_fh *my_fh = container_of(fh, struct my_fh, fh);
...
v4l2_fh_del(&my_fh->fh);
v4l2_fh_exit(&my_fh->fh);
kfree(my_fh);
return 0;
}
下面是一个使用的v4l2_fh功能的简短说明:
int v4l2_fh_init(struct v4l2_fh *fh, struct video_device *vdev)
Initialise the file handle. This *MUST* be performed in the driver's
v4l2_file_operations->open() handler.
void v4l2_fh_add(struct v4l2_fh *fh)
添加v4l2_fh的video_device文件句柄列表。必须调用一次完全初始化文件句柄。
void v4l2_fh_del(struct v4l2_fh *fh)
Unassociate the file handle from video_device(). The file handle
exit function may now be called.
void v4l2_fh_exit(struct v4l2_fh *fh)
Uninitialise the file handle. After uninitialisation the v4l2_fh
memory can be freed.
多个驱动程序需要做一些事情时,第一个文件句柄打开和关闭最后一个文件句柄时。
增加了两个辅助功能检查,是否v4l2_fh结构是唯一的打开文件句柄相关联的设备节点:
int v4l2_fh_is_singular(struct v4l2_fh *fh)
Returns 1 if the file handle is the only open file handle, else 0.
int v4l2_fh_is_singular_file(struct file *filp)
Same, but it calls v4l2_fh_is_singular with filp->private_data.
V4L2 events
-----------
V4L2的事件提供了一个通用的方式来传递事件到用户空间。
必须使用v4l2_fh的驱动程序能够支持V4L2的事件。Useful functions:
- v4l2_event_alloc()
使用事件驱动程序必须分配的文件句柄的事件。驱动程序通过调用函数不止一次,
可以保证至少n个总事件已分配。功能可能无法在原子上下文中被调用。
- v4l2_event_queue()
视频设备的队列中的事件。驱动程序的唯一责任是填写的类型和数据字段。V4L2的其他领域将被填充。
- v4l2_event_subscribe()
的video_device-> ioctl_ops> vidioc_subscribe_event必须检查驱动程序是否能
够产生与特定事件ID的事件。然后,它调用v4l2_event_subscribe()订阅该事件。
- v4l2_event_unsubscribe()
在结构v4l2_ioctl_ops vidioc_unsubscribe_event。一个驱动程序可以直接使用
v4l2_event_unsubscribe(),除非它想在取消订阅过程中涉及。
在特殊类型V4L2_EVENT_ALL的可能被用来取消所有活动。
驱动程序可能需要一种特殊的方式来处理。- v4l2_event_pending() 返回挂起的事件数量。实施调查时非常有用。Events are delivered to user space through the poll system call. The driver
can use v4l2_fh->events->wait wait_queue_head_t as the argument for
poll_wait().
There are standard and private events. New standard events must use the
smallest available event type. The drivers must allocate their events from
their own class starting from class base. Class base is
V4L2_EVENT_PRIVATE_START + n * 1000 where n is the lowest available number.
The first event type in the class is reserved for future use, so the first
available event type is 'class base + 1'.
An example on how the V4L2 events may be used can be found in the OMAP
3 ISP driver available at <URL:http://gitorious.org/omap3camera> as of
writing this.
V4L2-framework.txt 源文档在/Documentation/video4linux目录下. 内核自带的 Documentation目录是一个非常有用的参考资料和学习资料。 建议多读!!!
Video for Linux Two API Specification
Revision 0.24
Michael H Schimek
Bill Dirks
Hans Verkuil
Martin Rubli
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Bill Dirks, Michael H. Schimek, Hans Verkuil, MartinRubli
This document is copyrighted © 1999-2008 by BillDirks, Michael H. Schimek, Hans Verkuil and Martin Rubli.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modifythis document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License,Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free SoftwareFoundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, andwith no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in theappendix entitled "GNU Free Documentation License".
Programming examples can be used and distributed withoutrestrictions.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Common API Elements- 2. Image Formats
1.1. Opening and Closing Devices
- 1.2. Querying Capabilities 1.3. Application Priority 1.4. Video Inputs and Outputs 1.5. Audio Inputs and Outputs 1.6. Tuners and Modulators
1.1.1. Device Naming 1.1.2. Related Devices 1.1.3. Multiple Opens 1.1.4. Shared Data Streams 1.1.5. Functions
- 1.7. Video Standards 1.8. User Controls 1.9. Extended Controls
1.6.1. Tuners 1.6.2. Modulators 1.6.3. Radio Frequency 1.6.4. Satellite Receivers
- 1.10. Data Formats
1.9.1. Introduction 1.9.2. The Extended Control API 1.9.3. Enumerating Extended Controls 1.9.4. Creating Control Panels 1.9.5. MPEG Control Reference 1.9.6. Camera Control Reference
- 1.11. Image Cropping, Insertion and Scaling
1.10.1. Data Format Negotiation 1.10.2. Image Format Enumeration
- 1.12. Streaming Parameters
1.11.1. Cropping Structures 1.11.2. Scaling Adjustments 1.11.3. Examples
- 3. Input/Output
2.1. Standard Image Formats 2.2. Colorspaces 2.3. Indexed Format 2.4. RGB Formats
- 2.5. YUV Formats
Packed RGB formats -- Packed RGB formats V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8 ('BA81') -- Bayer RGB format V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16 ('BA82') -- Bayer RGB format
- 2.6. Compressed Formats 2.7. Reserved Format Identifiers
Packed YUV formats -- Packed YUV formats V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY ('GREY') -- Grey-scale image V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16 ('Y16 ') -- Grey-scale image V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV ('YUYV') -- Packed format with ½ horizontal chromaresolution, also known as YUV 4:2:2 V4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY ('UYVY') -- Variation of
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
with different order of samplesin memory V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P ('Y41P') -- Format with ¼ horizontal chromaresolution, also known as YUV 4:1:1 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420 ('YV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420 ('YU12') -- Planar formats with ½ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410 ('YVU9'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410 ('YUV9') -- Planar formats with ¼ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:1:0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P ('422P') -- Format with ½ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:2:2. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P ('411P') -- Format with ¼ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:1:1. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12 ('NV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21 ('NV21') -- Formats with ½ horizontal and verticalchroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0. One luminance and onechrominance plane with alternating chroma samples as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
- 4. Interfaces
3.1. Read/Write 3.2. Streaming I/O (Memory Mapping) 3.3. Streaming I/O (User Pointers) 3.4. Asynchronous I/O 3.5. Buffers
- 3.6. Field Order
3.5.1. Timecodes
- I. Function Reference
4.1. Video Capture Interface
- 4.2. Video Overlay Interface
4.1.1. Querying Capabilities 4.1.2. Supplemental Functions 4.1.3. Image Format Negotiation 4.1.4. Reading Images
- 4.3. Video Output Interface
4.2.1. Querying Capabilities 4.2.2. Supplemental Functions 4.2.3. Setup 4.2.4. Overlay Window 4.2.5. Enabling Overlay
- 4.4. Video Output Overlay Interface
4.3.1. Querying Capabilities 4.3.2. Supplemental Functions 4.3.3. Image Format Negotiation 4.3.4. Writing Images
- 4.5. Codec Interface 4.6. Effect Devices Interface 4.7. Raw VBI Data Interface
4.4.1. Querying Capabilities 4.4.2. Framebuffer 4.4.3. Overlay Window and Scaling 4.4.4. Enabling Overlay
- 4.8. Sliced VBI Data Interface
4.7.1. Querying Capabilities 4.7.2. Supplemental Functions 4.7.3. Raw VBI Format Negotiation 4.7.4. Reading and writing VBI images
- 4.9. Teletext Interface 4.10. Radio Interface
4.8.1. Querying Capabilities 4.8.2. Supplemental Functions 4.8.3. Sliced VBI Format Negotiation 4.8.4. Reading and writing sliced VBI data
- 4.11. RDS Interface
4.10.1. Querying Capabilities 4.10.2. Supplemental Functions 4.10.3. Programming
- 5. V4L2 Driver Programming 6. Changes
V4L2 close() -- Close a V4L2 device V4L2 ioctl() -- Program a V4L2 device ioctl VIDIOC_CROPCAP -- Information about the video cropping and scaling abilities ioctl VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER, VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER -- Read or write hardware registers ioctl VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD, VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD -- Execute an encoder command ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO -- Enumerate audio inputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT -- Enumerate audio outputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT -- Enumerate image formats ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES -- Enumerate frame sizes ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS -- Enumerate frame intervals ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT -- Enumerate video inputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT -- Enumerate video outputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMSTD -- Enumerate supported video standards ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO -- Query or select the current audio input and itsattributes ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT, VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT -- Query or select the current audio output ioctl VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT -- Identify the chips on a TV card ioctl VIDIOC_G_CROP, VIDIOC_S_CROP -- Get or set the current cropping rectangle ioctl VIDIOC_G_CTRL, VIDIOC_S_CTRL -- Get or set the value of a control ioctl VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX -- Get meta data about a compressed video stream ioctl VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS,VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS -- Get or set the value of several controls, try controlvalues ioctl VIDIOC_G_FBUF, VIDIOC_S_FBUF -- Get or set frame buffer overlay parameters ioctl VIDIOC_G_FMT, VIDIOC_S_FMT,VIDIOC_TRY_FMT -- Get or set the data format, try a format ioctl VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY, VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY -- Get or set tuner or modulator radiofrequency ioctl VIDIOC_G_INPUT, VIDIOC_S_INPUT -- Query or select the current video input ioctl VIDIOC_G_JPEGCOMP, VIDIOC_S_JPEGCOMP -- ioctl VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR, VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR -- Get or set modulator attributes ioctl VIDIOC_G_OUTPUT, VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT -- Query or select the current video output ioctl VIDIOC_G_PARM, VIDIOC_S_PARM -- Get or set streaming parameters ioctl VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY, VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY -- Query or request the access priority associated with afile descriptor ioctl VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP -- Query sliced VBI capabilities ioctl VIDIOC_G_STD, VIDIOC_S_STD -- Query or select the video standard of the current input ioctl VIDIOC_G_TUNER, VIDIOC_S_TUNER -- Get or set tuner attributes ioctl VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS -- Log driver status information ioctl VIDIOC_OVERLAY -- Start or stop video overlay ioctl VIDIOC_QBUF, VIDIOC_DQBUF -- Exchange a buffer with the driver ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYBUF -- Query the status of a buffer ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCAP -- Query device capabilities ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, VIDIOC_QUERYMENU -- Enumerate controls and menu control items ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYSTD -- Sense the video standard received by the currentinput ioctl VIDIOC_REQBUFS -- Initiate Memory Mapping or User Pointer I/O ioctl VIDIOC_STREAMON, VIDIOC_STREAMOFF -- Start or stop streaming I/O V4L2 mmap() -- Map device memory into application address space V4L2 munmap() -- Unmap device memory V4L2 open() -- Open a V4L2 device V4L2 poll() -- Wait for some event on a file descriptor V4L2 read() -- Read from a V4L2 device V4L2 select() -- Synchronous I/O multiplexing V4L2 write() -- Write to a V4L2 device
- A. Video For Linux Two Header File B. Video Capture Example C. GNU Free Documentation License
6.1. Differences between V4L and V4L2
- 6.2. Changes of the V4L2 API
6.1.1. Opening and Closing Devices 6.1.2. Querying Capabilities 6.1.3. Video Sources 6.1.4. Tuning 6.1.5. Image Properties 6.1.6. Audio 6.1.7. Frame Buffer Overlay 6.1.8. Cropping 6.1.9. Reading Images, Memory Mapping 6.1.10. Reading Raw VBI Data 6.1.11. Miscellaneous
- 6.3. Relation of V4L2 to other Linux multimedia APIs
6.2.1. Early Versions 6.2.2. V4L2 Version 0.16 1999-01-31 6.2.3. V4L2 Version 0.18 1999-03-16 6.2.4. V4L2 Version 0.19 1999-06-05 6.2.5. V4L2 Version 0.20 (1999-09-10) 6.2.6. V4L2 Version 0.20 incremental changes 6.2.7. V4L2 Version 0.20 2000-11-23 6.2.8. V4L2 Version 0.20 2002-07-25 6.2.9. V4L2 in Linux 2.5.46, 2002-10 6.2.10. V4L2 2003-06-19 6.2.11. V4L2 2003-11-05 6.2.12. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.6, 2004-05-09 6.2.13. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.8 6.2.14. V4L2 spec erratum 2004-08-01 6.2.15. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.14 6.2.16. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.15 6.2.17. V4L2 spec erratum 2005-11-27 6.2.18. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-01-10 6.2.19. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-02-03 6.2.20. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-02-04 6.2.21. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.17 6.2.22. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-09-23 (Draft 0.15) 6.2.23. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.18 6.2.24. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.19 6.2.25. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-10-12 (Draft 0.17) 6.2.26. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.21 6.2.27. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.22 6.2.28. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.24 6.2.29. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.25
- 6.4. Experimental API Elements 6.5. Obsolete API Elements
6.3.1. X Video Extension 6.3.2. Digital Video 6.3.3. Audio Interfaces
- List of Types References
C.1. 0. PREAMBLE C.2. 1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS C.3. 2. VERBATIM COPYING C.4. 3. COPYING IN QUANTITY C.5. 4. MODIFICATIONS C.6. 5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS C.7. 6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS C.8. 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS C.9. 8. TRANSLATION C.10. 9. TERMINATION C.11. 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE C.12. Addendum
List of Examples 1-1. Information about the current video input 1-2. Switching to the first video input 1-3. Information about the current audio input 1-4. Switching to the first audio input 1-5. Information about the current video standard 1-6. Listing the video standards supported by the currentinput 1-7. Selecting a new video standard 1-8. Enumerating all controls 1-9. Changing controls 1-10. Resetting the cropping parameters 1-11. Simple downscaling 1-12. Selecting an output area 1-13. Current scaling factor and pixel aspect 2-1. ITU-R Rec. BT.601 color conversion 2-1.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
4 × 4 pixelimage 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
8 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P
4 × 4pixel image 2-1.V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12
4 × 4pixel image 3-1. Mapping buffers 3-2. Initiating streaming I/O with user pointers 4-1. Finding a framebuffer device for OSD
Introduction
Video For Linux Two is the second version of the Video ForLinux API, a kernel interface for analog radio and video capture andoutput drivers.
Early drivers used ad-hoc interfaces. These were replaced inLinux 2.2 by Alan Cox' V4L API, based on the interface of the bttvdriver. In 1999 Bill Dirks started the development of V4L2 to fix someshortcomings of V4L and to support a wider range of devices. The APIwas revised again in 2002 prior to its inclusion in Linux 2.5/2.6, andwork continues on improvements and additions while maintainingcompatibility with existing drivers and applications. In 2006/2007efforts began on FreeBSD drivers with a V4L2 interface.
This book documents the V4L2 API. Intended audience aredriver and application writers.
If you have questions or ideas regarding the API, pleasewrite to the Video4Linux mailing list:https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list. For inquiries aboutthe V4L2 specification contact the maintainermschimek@gmx.at.
The latest version of this document and the DocBook SGMLsources are hosted at http://v4l2spec.bytesex.org,andhttp://linuxtv.org/downloads/video4linux/API/V4L2_API.
Chapter 1. Common API Elements
Programming a V4L2 device consists of thesesteps:
Opening the device
Changing device properties, selecting a video and audioinput, video standard, picture brightness a. o.
Negotiating a data format
Negotiating an input/output method
The actual input/output loop
Closing the device
In practice most steps are optional and can be executed out oforder. It depends on the V4L2 device type, you can read about thedetails inChapter 4. In this chapter we will discussthe basic concepts applicable to all devices.
1.1. Opening and Closing Devices
1.1.1. Device Naming
V4L2 drivers are implemented as kernel modules, loadedmanually by the system administrator or automatically when a device isfirst opened. The driver modules plug into the "videodev" kernelmodule. It provides helper functions and a common applicationinterface specified in this document.
Each driver thus loaded registers one or more device nodeswith major number 81 and a minor number between 0 and 255. Assigningminor numbers to V4L2 devices is entirely up to the system administrator,this is primarily intended to solve conflicts between devices.[1] The module options to select minor numbers are namedafter the device special file with a "_nr" suffix. For example "video_nr"for/dev/video video capture devices. The number isan offset to the base minor number associated with the device type.[2] When the driver supports multiple devices of the sametype more than one minor number can be assigned, separated by commas:
In /etc/modules.conf this may bewritten as:
When no minor number is given as moduleoption the driver supplies a default. Chapter 4recommends the base minor numbers to be used for the various devicetypes. Obviously minor numbers must be unique. When the number isalready in use the offending device will not beregistered.alias char-major-81-0 mydriver alias char-major-81-1 mydriver alias char-major-81-64 mydriveroptions mydriver video_nr=0,1 radio_nr=0,1
![]()
![]()
- When an application attempts to open a devicespecial file with major number 81 and minor number 0, 1, or 64, load"mydriver" (and the "videodev" module it depends upon).
![]()
- Register the first two video capture devices withminor number 0 and 1 (base number is 0), the first two radio devicewith minor number 64 and 65 (base 64).
By convention system administrators create variouscharacter device special files with these major and minor numbers inthe/dev directory. The names recomended for thedifferent V4L2 device types are listed inChapter 4.
The creation of character special files (withmknod) is a privileged operation anddevices cannot be opened by major and minor number. That meansapplications cannotreliable scan for loaded orinstalled drivers. The user must enter a device name, or theapplication can try the conventional device names.
Under the device filesystem (devfs) the minor numberoptions are ignored. V4L2 drivers (or by proxy the "videodev" module)automatically create the required device files in the/dev/v4l directory using the conventional devicenames above.
1.1.2. Related Devices
Devices can support several related functions. For examplevideo capturing, video overlay and VBI capturing are related becausethese functions share, amongst other, the same video input and tunerfrequency. V4L and earlier versions of V4L2 used the same device nameand minor number for video capturing and overlay, but different onesfor VBI. Experience showed this approach has several problems[3], and to make things worse the V4L videodev moduleused to prohibit multiple opens of a device.
As a remedy the present version of the V4L2 API relaxed theconcept of device types with specific names and minor numbers. Forcompatibility with old applications drivers must still register differentminor numbers to assign a default function to the device. But if relatedfunctions are supported by the driver they must be available under allregistered minor numbers. The desired function can be selected afteropening the device as described inChapter 4.
Imagine a driver supporting video capturing, videooverlay, raw VBI capturing, and FM radio reception. It registers threedevices with minor number 0, 64 and 224 (this numbering scheme isinherited from the V4L API). Regardless if/dev/video (81, 0) or/dev/vbi (81, 224) is opened the application canselect any one of the video capturing, overlay or VBI capturingfunctions. Without programming (e. g. reading from the devicewithddorcat)/dev/video captures video images, while/dev/vbi captures raw VBI data./dev/radio (81, 64) is invariable a radio device,unrelated to the video functions. Being unrelated does not imply thedevices can be used at the same time, however. The
open()
function may very well return anEBUSY error code.Besides video input or output the hardware may alsosupport audio sampling or playback. If so, these functions areimplemented as OSS or ALSA PCM devices and eventually OSS or ALSAaudio mixer. The V4L2 API makes no provisions yet to find theserelated devices. If you have an idea please write to the Video4Linuxmailing list: https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list.
1.1.3. Multiple Opens
In general, V4L2 devices can be opened more than once.When this is supported by the driver, users can for example start a"panel" application to change controls like brightness or audiovolume, while another application captures video and audio. In other words, panelapplications are comparable to an OSS or ALSA audio mixer application.When a device supports multiple functions like capturing and overlaysimultaneously, multiple opens allow concurrentuse of the device by forked processes or specialized applications.
Multiple opens are optional, although drivers shouldpermit at least concurrent accesses without data exchange, i. e. panelapplications. This implies
open()
can return anEBUSY error code when thedevice is already in use, as well asioctl()
functions initiatingdata exchange (namely theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl), and theread()
andwrite()
functions.Mere opening a V4L2 device does not grant exclusiveaccess.[4] Initiating data exchange however assigns the rightto read or write the requested type of data, and to change relatedproperties, to this file descriptor. Applications can requestadditional access privileges using the priority mechanism described inSection 1.3.
1.1.4. Shared Data Streams
V4L2 drivers should not support multiple applicationsreading or writing the same data stream on a device by copyingbuffers, time multiplexing or similar means. This is better handled bya proxy application in user space. When the driver supports streamsharing anyway it must be implemented transparently. The V4L2 API doesnot specify how conflicts are solved.
1.1.5. Functions
To open and close V4L2 devices applications use the
open()
andclose()
function, respectively. Devices areprogrammed using theioctl()
function as explained in thefollowing sections.
1.2. Querying Capabilities
Because V4L2 covers a wide variety of devices not allaspects of the API are equally applicable to all types of devices.Furthermore devices of the same type have different capabilities andthis specification permits the omission of a few complicated and lessimportant parts of the API.
The
VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl is available to check if the kerneldevice is compatible with this specification, and to query thefunctions andI/Omethodssupported by the device. Other features can be queriedby calling the respective ioctl, for exampleVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
to learn about the number, types and names of video connectors on thedevice. Although abstraction is a major objective of this API, theioctl also allows driver specific applications to reliable identifythe driver.All V4L2 drivers must support
VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
. Applications should always callthis ioctl after opening the device.
1.3. Application Priority
When multiple applications share a device it may bedesirable to assign them different priorities. Contrary to thetraditional "rm -rf /" school of thought a video recording applicationcould for example block other applications from changing videocontrols or switching the current TV channel. Another objective is topermit low priority applications working in background, which can bepreempted by user controlled applications and automatically regaincontrol of the device at a later time.
Since these features cannot be implemented entirely in userspace V4L2 defines the
VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY
andVIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
ioctls to request and query the access priority associate with a filedescriptor. Opening a device assigns a medium priority, compatiblewith earlier versions of V4L2 and drivers not supporting these ioctls.Applications requiring a different priority will usually callVIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
after verifying the device withtheVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl.Ioctls changing driver properties, such as
VIDIOC_S_INPUT
,return an EBUSY error code after another application obtained higher priority.An event mechanism to notify applications about asynchronous propertychanges has been proposed but not added yet.
1.4. Video Inputs and Outputs
Video inputs and outputs are physical connectors of adevice. These can be for example RF connectors (antenna/cable), CVBSa.k.a. Composite Video, S-Video or RGB connectors. Only video and VBIcapture devices have inputs, output devices have outputs, at least oneeach. Radio devices have no video inputs or outputs.
To learn about the number and attributes of theavailable inputs and outputs applications can enumerate them with the
VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
andVIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
ioctl, respectively. Thestruct v4l2_input returned by theVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
ioctl also contains signal status information applicable when thecurrent video input is queried.The
VIDIOC_G_INPUT
andVIDIOC_G_OUTPUT
ioctl return theindex of the current video input or output. To select a differentinput or output applications call theVIDIOC_S_INPUT
andVIDIOC_S_OUTPUT
ioctl. Drivers must implement all the input ioctlswhen the device has one or more inputs, all the output ioctls when thedevice has one or more outputs.Example 1-1. Information about the current video input
struct v4l2_input input; int index; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_INPUT, &index)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } memset (&input, 0, sizeof (input)); input.index = index; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT, &input)) { perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } printf ("Current input: %s\n", input.name);Example 1-2. Switching to the first video input
int index; index = 0; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_INPUT, &index)) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }
1.5. Audio Inputs and Outputs
Audio inputs and outputs are physical connectors of adevice. Video capture devices have inputs, output devices haveoutputs, zero or more each. Radio devices have no audio inputs oroutputs. They have exactly one tuner which in factis an audio source, but this API associatestuners with video inputs or outputs only, and radio devices havenone of these.[5] A connector on a TV card to loop back the receivedaudio signal to a sound card is not considered an audio output.
Audio and video inputs and outputs are associated. Selectinga video source also selects an audio source. This is most evident whenthe video and audio source is a tuner. Further audio connectors cancombine with more than one video input or output. Assumed twocomposite video inputs and two audio inputs exist, there may be up tofour valid combinations. The relation of video and audio connectorsis defined in the
audioset
field of therespective struct v4l2_input or struct v4l2_output, where each bit representsthe index number, starting at zero, of one audio input or output.To learn about the number and attributes of theavailable inputs and outputs applications can enumerate them with the
VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
andVIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT
ioctl, respectively. Thestruct v4l2_audio returned by theVIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
ioctlalso contains signal status information applicable when the currentaudio input is queried.The
VIDIOC_G_AUDIO
andVIDIOC_G_AUDOUT
ioctl reportthe current audio input and output, respectively. Note that, unlikeVIDIOC_G_INPUT
andVIDIOC_G_OUTPUT
these ioctls return a structureasVIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
andVIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT
do, not just an index.To select an audio input and change its propertiesapplications call the
VIDIOC_S_AUDIO
ioctl. To select an audiooutput (which presently has no changeable properties) applicationscall theVIDIOC_S_AUDOUT
ioctl.Drivers must implement all input ioctls when the devicehas one or more inputs, all output ioctls when the device has oneor more outputs. When the device has any audio inputs or outputs thedriver must set the
V4L2_CAP_AUDIO
flag in thestruct v4l2_capability returned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl.Example 1-3. Information about the current audio input
struct v4l2_audio audio; memset (&audio, 0, sizeof (audio)); if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, &audio)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_AUDIO"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } printf ("Current input: %s\n", audio.name);Example 1-4. Switching to the first audio input
struct v4l2_audio audio; memset (&audio, 0, sizeof (audio)); /* clear audio.mode, audio.reserved */ audio.index = 0; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO, &audio)) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_AUDIO"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }
1.6. Tuners and Modulators
1.6.1. Tuners
Video input devices can have one or more tunersdemodulating a RF signal. Each tuner is associated with one or morevideo inputs, depending on the number of RF connectors on the tuner.The
type
field of the respectivestruct v4l2_input returned by theVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
ioctl is set toV4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER
and itstuner
field contains the index number ofthe tuner.Radio devices have exactly one tuner with index zero, novideo inputs.
To query and change tuner properties applications use the
VIDIOC_G_TUNER
andVIDIOC_S_TUNER
ioctl, respectively. Thestruct v4l2_tuner returned byVIDIOC_G_TUNER
alsocontains signal status information applicable when the tuner of thecurrent video input, or a radio tuner is queried. Note thatVIDIOC_S_TUNER
does not switch the current tuner,when there is more than one at all. The tuner is solely determined bythe current video input. Drivers must support both ioctls and set theV4L2_CAP_TUNER
flag in the struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl when the device has one ormore tuners.
1.6.2. Modulators
Video output devices can have one or more modulators, uh,modulating a video signal for radiation or connection to the antennainput of a TV set or video recorder. Each modulator is associated withone or more video outputs, depending on the number of RF connectors onthe modulator. The
type
field of therespective struct v4l2_output returned by theVIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
ioctl isset toV4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_MODULATOR
and itsmodulator
field contains the index numberof the modulator. This specification does not define radio outputdevices.To query and change modulator properties applications usethe
VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR
andVIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
ioctl. Note thatVIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
does not switch the currentmodulator, when there is more than one at all. The modulator is solelydetermined by the current video output. Drivers must support bothioctls and set theV4L2_CAP_TUNER
(sic) flag inthe struct v4l2_capability returned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl when thedevice has one or more modulators.
1.6.3. Radio Frequency
To get and set the tuner or modulator radio frequencyapplications use the
VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY
andVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
ioctl which both take a pointer to a struct v4l2_frequency. These ioctlsare used for TV and radio devices alike. Drivers must support bothioctls when the tuner or modulator ioctls are supported, orwhen the device is a radio device.
1.6.4. Satellite Receivers
To be discussed. See also proposals by Peter Schlaf, video4linux-list@redhat.com on 23 Oct 2002,subject: "Re: [V4L] Re: v4l2 api".
1.7. Video Standards
Video devices typically support one or more different videostandards or variations of standards. Each video input and output maysupport another set of standards. This set is reported by the
std
field of struct v4l2_input andstruct v4l2_output returned by theVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
andVIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
ioctl, respectively.V4L2 defines one bit for each analog video standardcurrently in use worldwide, and sets aside bits for driver definedstandards, e. g. hybrid standards to watch NTSC video tapes on PAL TVsand vice versa. Applications can use the predefined bits to select aparticular standard, although presenting the user a menu of supportedstandards is preferred. To enumerate and query the attributes of thesupported standards applications use the
VIDIOC_ENUMSTD
ioctl.Many of the defined standards are actually just variationsof a few major standards. The hardware may in fact not distinguishbetween them, or do so internal and switch automatically. Thereforeenumerated standards also contain sets of one or more standardbits.
Assume a hypothetic tuner capable of demodulating B/PAL,G/PAL and I/PAL signals. The first enumerated standard is a set of Band G/PAL, switched automatically depending on the selected radiofrequency in UHF or VHF band. Enumeration gives a "PAL-B/G" or "PAL-I"choice. Similar a Composite input may collapse standards, enumerating"PAL-B/G/H/I", "NTSC-M" and "SECAM-D/K".[6]
To query and select the standard used by the current videoinput or output applications call the
VIDIOC_G_STD
andVIDIOC_S_STD
ioctl, respectively. Thereceivedstandard can be sensed with theVIDIOC_QUERYSTD
ioctl. Note parameter of all these ioctls is a pointer to av4l2_std_id type (a standard set),notan index into the standard enumeration.[7] Drivers must implement all video standard ioctlswhen the device has one or more video inputs or outputs.Special rules apply to USB cameras where the notion of videostandards makes little sense. More generally any capture device,output devices accordingly, which is
Here the driver shall set the
incapable of capturing fields or frames at the nominalrate of the video standard, or
where timestamps referto the instant the field or frame was received by the driver, not thecapture time, or
where sequence numbersrefer to the frames received by the driver, not the capturedframes.
std
field of struct v4l2_input and struct v4l2_outputto zero, theVIDIOC_G_STD
,VIDIOC_S_STD
,VIDIOC_QUERYSTD
andVIDIOC_ENUMSTD
ioctls shall return the EINVAL error code. [8]Example 1-5. Information about the current video standard
v4l2_std_id std_id; struct v4l2_standard standard; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_STD, &std_id)) { /* Note when VIDIOC_ENUMSTD always returns EINVAL this is no video device or it falls under the USB exception, and VIDIOC_G_STD returning EINVAL is no error. */ perror ("VIDIOC_G_STD"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } memset (&standard, 0, sizeof (standard)); standard.index = 0; while (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_ENUMSTD, &standard)) { if (standard.id & std_id) { printf ("Current video standard: %s\n", standard.name); exit (EXIT_SUCCESS); } standard.index++; } /* EINVAL indicates the end of the enumeration, which cannot be empty unless this device falls under the USB exception. */ if (errno == EINVAL || standard.index == 0) { perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMSTD"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }Example 1-6. Listing the video standards supported by the currentinput
struct v4l2_input input; struct v4l2_standard standard; memset (&input, 0, sizeof (input)); if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_INPUT, &input.index)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT, &input)) { perror ("VIDIOC_ENUM_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } printf ("Current input %s supports:\n", input.name); memset (&standard, 0, sizeof (standard)); standard.index = 0; while (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_ENUMSTD, &standard)) { if (standard.id & input.std) printf ("%s\n", standard.name); standard.index++; } /* EINVAL indicates the end of the enumeration, which cannot be empty unless this device falls under the USB exception. */ if (errno != EINVAL || standard.index == 0) { perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMSTD"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }Example 1-7. Selecting a new video standard
struct v4l2_input input; v4l2_std_id std_id; memset (&input, 0, sizeof (input)); if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_INPUT, &input.index)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT, &input)) { perror ("VIDIOC_ENUM_INPUT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } if (0 == (input.std & V4L2_STD_PAL_BG)) { fprintf (stderr, "Oops. B/G PAL is not supported.\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* Note this is also supposed to work when only B or G/PAL is supported. */ std_id = V4L2_STD_PAL_BG; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_STD, &std_id)) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_STD"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }
1.8. User Controls
Devices typically have a number of user-settable controlssuch as brightness, saturation and so on, which would be presented tothe user on a graphical user interface. But, different deviceswill have different controls available, and furthermore, the range ofpossible values, and the default value will vary from device todevice. The control ioctls provide the information and a mechanism tocreate a nice user interface for these controls that will workcorrectly with any device.
All controls are accessed using an ID value. V4L2 definesseveral IDs for specific purposes. Drivers can also implement theirown custom controls using
V4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE
and higher values. The pre-defined control IDs have the prefixV4L2_CID_
, and are listed inTable 1-1. The ID is used when querying the attributes ofa control, and when getting or setting the current value.Generally applications should present controls to the userwithout assumptions about their purpose. Each control comes with aname string the user is supposed to understand. When the purpose isnon-intuitive the driver writer should provide a user manual, a userinterface plug-in or a driver specific panel application. PredefinedIDs were introduced to change a few controls programmatically, forexample to mute a device during a channel switch.
Drivers may enumerate different controls after switchingthe current video input or output, tuner or modulator, or audio inputor output. Different in the sense of other bounds, another default andcurrent value, step size or other menu items. A control with a certaincustom ID can also change name andtype.[9] Control values are stored globally, they do notchange when switching except to stay within the reported bounds. Theyalso do not change e. g. when the device is opened or closed, when thetuner radio frequency is changed or generally never withoutapplication request. Since V4L2 specifies no event mechanism, panelapplications intended to cooperate with other panel applications (bethey built into a larger application, as a TV viewer) may need toregularly poll control values to update their userinterface.[10]
Table 1-1. Control IDs
ID Type Description V4L2_CID_BASE
First predefined ID, equal to V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS
.V4L2_CID_USER_BASE
Synonym of V4L2_CID_BASE
.V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS
integer Picture brightness, or more precisely, the blacklevel. V4L2_CID_CONTRAST
integer Picture contrast or luma gain. V4L2_CID_SATURATION
integer Picture color saturation or chroma gain. V4L2_CID_HUE
integer Hue or color balance. V4L2_CID_AUDIO_VOLUME
integer Overall audio volume. Note some drivers alsoprovide an OSS or ALSA mixer interface. V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BALANCE
integer Audio stereo balance. Minimum corresponds to allthe way left, maximum to right. V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BASS
integer Audio bass adjustment. V4L2_CID_AUDIO_TREBLE
integer Audio treble adjustment. V4L2_CID_AUDIO_MUTE
boolean Mute audio, i. e. set the volume to zero, howeverwithout affecting V4L2_CID_AUDIO_VOLUME
. LikeALSA drivers, V4L2 drivers must mute at load time to avoid excessivenoise. Actually the entire device should be reset to a low powerconsumption state.V4L2_CID_AUDIO_LOUDNESS
boolean Loudness mode (bass boost). V4L2_CID_BLACK_LEVEL
integer Another name for brightness (not a synonym of V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS
). This control is deprecatedand should not be used in new drivers and applications.V4L2_CID_AUTO_WHITE_BALANCE
boolean Automatic white balance (cameras). V4L2_CID_DO_WHITE_BALANCE
button This is an action control. When set (the value isignored), the device will do a white balance and then hold the currentsetting. Contrast this with the boolean V4L2_CID_AUTO_WHITE_BALANCE
, which, whenactivated, keeps adjusting the white balance.V4L2_CID_RED_BALANCE
integer Red chroma balance. V4L2_CID_BLUE_BALANCE
integer Blue chroma balance. V4L2_CID_GAMMA
integer Gamma adjust. V4L2_CID_WHITENESS
integer Whiteness for grey-scale devices. This is a synonymfor V4L2_CID_GAMMA
. This control is deprecatedand should not be used in new drivers and applications.V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE
integer Exposure (cameras). [Unit?] V4L2_CID_AUTOGAIN
boolean Automatic gain/exposure control. V4L2_CID_GAIN
integer Gain control. V4L2_CID_HFLIP
boolean Mirror the picture horizontally. V4L2_CID_VFLIP
boolean Mirror the picture vertically. V4L2_CID_HCENTER_DEPRECATED
(formerlyV4L2_CID_HCENTER
)integer Horizontal image centering. This control isdeprecated. New drivers and applications should use theCamera class controls V4L2_CID_PAN_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_PAN_RELATIVE
andV4L2_CID_PAN_RESET
instead.V4L2_CID_VCENTER_DEPRECATED
(formerlyV4L2_CID_VCENTER
)integer Vertical image centering. Centering is intended tophysically adjust cameras. For image cropping seeSection 1.11, for clippingSection 4.2. Thiscontrol is deprecated. New drivers and applications should use theCamera class controls V4L2_CID_TILT_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_TILT_RELATIVE
andV4L2_CID_TILT_RESET
instead.V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY
integer Enables a power line frequency filter to avoidflicker. Possible values are: V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_DISABLED
(0),V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_50HZ
(1) andV4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_60HZ
(2).V4L2_CID_HUE_AUTO
boolean Enables automatic hue control by the device. Theeffect of setting V4L2_CID_HUE
while automatichue control is enabled is undefined, drivers should ignore suchrequest.V4L2_CID_WHITE_BALANCE_TEMPERATURE
integer This control specifies the white balance settingsas a color temperature in Kelvin. A driver should have a minimum of2800 (incandescent) to 6500 (daylight). For more information aboutcolor temperature seeWikipedia. V4L2_CID_SHARPNESS
integer Adjusts the sharpness filters in a camera. Theminimum value disables the filters, higher values give a sharperpicture. V4L2_CID_BACKLIGHT_COMPENSATION
integer Adjusts the backlight compensation in a camera. Theminimum value disables backlight compensation. V4L2_CID_LASTP1
End of the predefined control IDs (currently V4L2_CID_BACKLIGHT_COMPENSATION
+ 1).V4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE
ID of the first custom (driver specific) control.Applications depending on particular custom controls should check thedriver name and version, seeSection 1.2. Applications can enumerate the available controls with the
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
andVIDIOC_QUERYMENU
ioctls, get and set acontrol value with theVIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls.Drivers must implementVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
,VIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
when the device has one or morecontrols,VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
when it has one ormore menu type controls.Example 1-8. Enumerating all controls
struct v4l2_queryctrl queryctrl; struct v4l2_querymenu querymenu; static void enumerate_menu (void) { printf (" Menu items:\n"); memset (&querymenu, 0, sizeof (querymenu)); querymenu.id = queryctrl.id; for (querymenu.index = queryctrl.minimum; querymenu.index <= queryctrl.maximum; querymenu.index++) { if (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYMENU, &querymenu)) { printf (" %s\n", querymenu.name); } else { perror ("VIDIOC_QUERYMENU"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } } memset (&queryctrl, 0, sizeof (queryctrl)); for (queryctrl.id = V4L2_CID_BASE; queryctrl.id < V4L2_CID_LASTP1; queryctrl.id++) { if (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, &queryctrl)) { if (queryctrl.flags & V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED) continue; printf ("Control %s\n", queryctrl.name); if (queryctrl.type == V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU) enumerate_menu (); } else { if (errno == EINVAL) continue; perror ("VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } for (queryctrl.id = V4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE;; queryctrl.id++) { if (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, &queryctrl)) { if (queryctrl.flags & V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED) continue; printf ("Control %s\n", queryctrl.name); if (queryctrl.type == V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU) enumerate_menu (); } else { if (errno == EINVAL) break; perror ("VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } }Example 1-9. Changing controls
struct v4l2_queryctrl queryctrl; struct v4l2_control control; memset (&queryctrl, 0, sizeof (queryctrl)); queryctrl.id = V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, &queryctrl)) { if (errno != EINVAL) { perror ("VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } else { printf ("V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS is not supported\n"); } } else if (queryctrl.flags & V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED) { printf ("V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS is not supported\n"); } else { memset (&control, 0, sizeof (control)); control.id = V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS; control.value = queryctrl.default_value; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CTRL, &control)) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_CTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } memset (&control, 0, sizeof (control)); control.id = V4L2_CID_CONTRAST; if (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_CTRL, &control)) { control.value += 1; /* The driver may clamp the value or return ERANGE, ignored here */ if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CTRL, &control) && errno != ERANGE) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_CTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* Ignore if V4L2_CID_CONTRAST is unsupported */ } else if (errno != EINVAL) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_CTRL"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } control.id = V4L2_CID_AUDIO_MUTE; control.value = TRUE; /* silence */ /* Errors ignored */ ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CTRL, &control);
1.9. Extended Controls
1.9.1. Introduction
The control mechanism as originally designed was meantto be used for user settings (brightness, saturation, etc). However,it turned out to be a very useful model for implementing morecomplicated driver APIs where each driver implements only a subset ofa larger API.
The MPEG encoding API was the driving force behinddesigning and implementing this extended control mechanism: the MPEGstandard is quite large and the currently supported hardware MPEGencoders each only implement a subset of this standard. Further more,many parameters relating to how the video is encoded into an MPEGstream are specific to the MPEG encoding chip since the MPEG standardonly defines the format of the resulting MPEG stream, not how thevideo is actually encoded into that format.
Unfortunately, the original control API lacked somefeatures needed for these new uses and so it was extended into the(not terribly originally named) extended control API.
1.9.2. The Extended Control API
Three new ioctls are available:
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS
,VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
andVIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
. These ioctls act onarrays of controls (as opposed to theVIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls that act on a single control). This is neededsince it is often required to atomically change several controls atonce.Each of the new ioctls expects a pointer to astruct v4l2_ext_controls. This structure contains a pointer to the controlarray, a count of the number of controls in that array and a controlclass. Control classes are used to group similar controls into asingle class. For example, control class
V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_USER
contains all user controls(i. e. all controls that can also be set using the oldVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctl). Control classV4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG
contains all controlsrelating to MPEG encoding, etc.All controls in the control array must belong to thespecified control class. An error is returned if this is not thecase.
It is also possible to use an empty control array (count== 0) to check whether the specified control class issupported.
The control array is a struct v4l2_ext_control array. The
v4l2_ext_control
structure is very similar tostruct v4l2_control, except for the fact that it also allows for 64-bitvalues and pointers to be passed (although the latter is not yet usedanywhere).It is important to realize that due to the flexibility ofcontrols it is necessary to check whether the control you want to setactually is supported in the driver and what the valid range of valuesis. So use the
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
andVIDIOC_QUERYMENU
ioctls tocheck this. Also note that it is possible that some of the menuindices in a control of typeV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU
may not be supported (VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
willreturn an error). A good example is the list of supported MPEG audiobitrates. Some drivers only support one or two bitrates, otherssupport a wider range.
1.9.3. Enumerating Extended Controls
The recommended way to enumerate over the extendedcontrols is by using
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
in combination with theV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL
flag:struct v4l2_queryctrl qctrl; qctrl.id = V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL; while (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, &qctrl)) { /* ... */ qctrl.id |= V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL; }The initial control ID is set to 0 ORed with the
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL
flag. TheVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
ioctl will return the firstcontrol with a higher ID than the specified one. When no such controlsare found an error is returned.If you want to get all controls within a specific controlclass, then you can set the initial
qctrl.id
value to the control class and addan extra check to break out of the loop when a control of anothercontrol class is found:qctrl.id = V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG | V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL; while (0 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, &qctrl)) { if (V4L2_CTRL_ID2CLASS (qctrl.id) != V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG) break; /* ... */ qctrl.id |= V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL; }The 32-bit
qctrl.id
value issubdivided into three bit ranges: the top 4 bits are reserved forflags (e. g.V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL
) and are notactually part of the ID. The remaining 28 bits form the control ID, ofwhich the most significant 12 bits define the control class and theleast significant 16 bits identify the control within the controlclass. It is guaranteed that these last 16 bits are always non-zerofor controls. The range of 0x1000 and up are reserved fordriver-specific controls. The macroV4L2_CTRL_ID2CLASS(id)
returns the control classID based on a control ID.If the driver does not support extended controls, then
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
will fail when used incombination withV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL
. Inthat case the old method of enumerating control should be used (see1.8). But if it is supported, then it is guaranteed to enumerate overall controls, including driver-private controls.
1.9.4. Creating Control Panels
It is possible to create control panels for a graphicaluser interface where the user can select the various controls.Basically you will have to iterate over all controls using the methoddescribed above. Each control class starts with a control of type
V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_CTRL_CLASS
.VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
will return the name of thiscontrol class which can be used as the title of a tab page within acontrol panel.The flags field of struct v4l2_queryctrl also contains hints onthe behavior of the control. See the
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
documentationfor more details.
1.9.5. MPEG Control Reference
Below all controls within the MPEG control class aredescribed. First the generic controls, then controls specific forcertain hardware.
1.9.5.1. Generic MPEG Controls
Table 1-2. MPEG Control IDs
ID Type Description V4L2_CID_MPEG_CLASS
class The MPEG classdescriptor. Calling VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
for this control will return adescription of this control class. This description can be used as thecaption of a Tab page in a GUI, for example.V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE
enum The MPEG-1, -2 or -4output stream type. One cannot assume anything here. Each hardwareMPEG encoder tends to support different subsets of the available MPEGstream types. The currently defined stream types are:
V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_PS
MPEG-2 program stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_TS
MPEG-2 transport stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG1_SS
MPEG-1 system stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_DVD
MPEG-2 DVD-compatible stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG1_VCD
MPEG-1 VCD-compatible stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_SVCD
MPEG-2 SVCD-compatible stream V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_PMT
integer Program Map TablePacket ID for the MPEG transport stream (default 16) V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_AUDIO
integer Audio Packet ID forthe MPEG transport stream (default 256) V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_VIDEO
integer Video Packet ID forthe MPEG transport stream (default 260) V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_PCR
integer Packet ID for theMPEG transport stream carrying PCR fields (default 259) V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PES_ID_AUDIO
integer Audio ID for MPEGPES V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PES_ID_VIDEO
integer Video ID for MPEGPES V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT
enum Some cards can embedVBI data (e. g. Closed Caption, Teletext) into the MPEG stream. Thiscontrol selects whether VBI data should be embedded, and if so, whatembedding method should be used. The list of possible VBI formatsdepends on the driver. The currently defined VBI format typesare:
V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE
No VBI in the MPEG stream V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV
VBI in private packets, IVTV format (documentedin the kernel sources in the fileDocumentation/video4linux/cx2341x/README.vbi) V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ
enum MPEG Audio samplingfrequency. Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_44100
44.1 kHz V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_48000
48 kHz V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_32000
32 kHz V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING
enum MPEG Audio encoding.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_1
MPEG Layer I encoding V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_2
MPEG Layer II encoding V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_3
MPEG Layer III encoding V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE
enum Layer I bitrate.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_32K
32 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_64K
64 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_96K
96 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_128K
128 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_160K
160 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_192K
192 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_224K
224 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_256K
256 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_288K
288 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_320K
320 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_352K
352 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_384K
384 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_416K
416 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_448K
448 kbit/s V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE
enum Layer II bitrate.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_32K
32 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_48K
48 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_56K
56 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_64K
64 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_80K
80 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_96K
96 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_112K
112 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_128K
128 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_160K
160 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_192K
192 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_224K
224 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_256K
256 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_320K
320 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_384K
384 kbit/s V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE
enum Layer III bitrate.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_32K
32 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_40K
40 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_48K
48 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_56K
56 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_64K
64 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_80K
80 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_96K
96 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_112K
112 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_128K
128 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_160K
160 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_192K
192 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_224K
224 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_256K
256 kbit/s V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_320K
320 kbit/s V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE
enum MPEG Audio mode.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_STEREO
Stereo V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_JOINT_STEREO
Joint Stereo V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_DUAL
Bilingual V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_MONO
Mono V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION
enum Joint Stereoaudio mode extension. In Layer I and II they indicate which subbandsare in intensity stereo. All other subbands are coded in stereo. LayerIII is not (yet) supported. Possible valuesare:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_4
Subbands 4-31 in intensity stereo V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_8
Subbands 8-31 in intensity stereo V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_12
Subbands 12-31 in intensity stereo V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_16
Subbands 16-31 in intensity stereo V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS
enum Audio Emphasis.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_NONE
None V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_50_DIV_15_uS
50/15 microsecond emphasis V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_CCITT_J17
CCITT J.17 V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC
enum CRC method. Possiblevalues are:
V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC_NONE
None V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC_CRC16
16 bit parity check V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MUTE
bool Mutes the audio whencapturing. This is not done by muting audio hardware, which can stillproduce a slight hiss, but in the encoder itself, guaranteeing a fixedand reproducable audio bitstream. 0 = unmuted, 1 = muted. V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING
enum MPEG Video encodingmethod. Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING_MPEG_1
MPEG-1 Video encoding V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING_MPEG_2
MPEG-2 Video encoding V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT
enum Video aspect.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_1x1
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_4x3
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_16x9
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_221x100
V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_B_FRAMES
integer Number of B-Frames(default 2) V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_GOP_SIZE
integer GOP size (default12) V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_GOP_CLOSURE
bool GOP closure (default1) V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_PULLDOWN
bool Enable 3:2 pulldown(default 0) V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE
enum Video bitrate mode.Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE_VBR
Variable bitrate V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE_CBR
Constant bitrate V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE
integer Video bitrate in bitsper second. V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_PEAK
integer Peak video bitrate inbits per second. Must be larger or equal to the average video bitrate.It is ignored if the video bitrate mode is set to constantbitrate. V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_DECIMATION
integer For every capturedframe, skip this many subsequent frames (default 0). V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_MUTE
bool "Mutes" the video to afixed color when capturing. This is useful for testing, to produce afixed video bitstream. 0 = unmuted, 1 = muted. V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_MUTE_YUV
integer Sets the "mute" colorof the video. The supplied 32-bit integer is interpreted as follows (bit0 = least significant bit):
Bit 0:7 V chrominance information Bit 8:15 U chrominance information Bit 16:23 Y luminance information Bit 24:31 Must be zero.
1.9.5.2. CX2341x MPEG Controls
The following MPEG class controls deal with MPEGencoding settings that are specific to the Conexant CX23415 andCX23416 MPEG encoding chips.
Table 1-3. CX2341x Control IDs
ID Type Description V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE
enum Sets the SpatialFilter mode (default MANUAL
). Possible valuesare:
V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE_MANUAL
Choose the filter manually V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE_AUTO
Choose the filter automatically V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER
integer (0-15) The setting for theSpatial Filter. 0 = off, 15 = maximum. (Default is 0.) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE
enum Select the algorithmto use for the Luma Spatial Filter (default 1D_HOR
). Possible values:
V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_OFF
No filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_HOR
One-dimensional horizontal V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_VERT
One-dimensional vertical V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_2D_HV_SEPARABLE
Two-dimensional separable V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_2D_SYM_NON_SEPARABLE
Two-dimensional symmetricalnon-separable V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE
enum Select the algorithmfor the Chroma Spatial Filter (default 1D_HOR
).Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_OFF
No filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_HOR
One-dimensional horizontal V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE
enum Sets the TemporalFilter mode (default MANUAL
). Possible valuesare:
V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE_MANUAL
Choose the filter manually V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE_AUTO
Choose the filter automatically V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER
integer (0-31) The setting for theTemporal Filter. 0 = off, 31 = maximum. (Default is 8 for full-scalecapturing and 0 for scaled capturing.) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE
enum Median Filter Type(default OFF
). Possible values are:
V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_OFF
No filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_HOR
Horizontal filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_VERT
Vertical filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_HOR_VERT
Horizontal and vertical filter V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_DIAG
Diagonal filter V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_BOTTOM
integer (0-255) Threshold above whichthe luminance median filter is enabled (default 0) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_TOP
integer (0-255) Threshold below whichthe luminance median filter is enabled (default 255) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_BOTTOM
integer (0-255) Threshold above whichthe chroma median filter is enabled (default 0) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_TOP
integer (0-255) Threshold below whichthe chroma median filter is enabled (default 255) V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_STREAM_INSERT_NAV_PACKETS
bool The CX2341X MPEG encodercan insert one empty MPEG-2 PES packet into the stream between everyfour video frames. The packet size is 2048 bytes, including thepacket_start_code_prefix and stream_id fields. The stream_id is 0xBF(private stream 2). The payload consists of 0x00 bytes, to be filledin by the application. 0 = do not insert, 1 = insert packets.
1.9.6. Camera Control Reference
The Camera class includes controls for mechanical (orequivalent digital) features of a device such as controllable lensesor sensors.
Table 1-4. Camera Control IDs
ID Type Description V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS
class The Camera classdescriptor. Calling VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
for this control will return adescription of this control class.V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO
integer Enables automaticadjustments of the exposure time and/or iris aperture. The effect ofmanual changes of the exposure time or iris aperture while thesefeatures are enabled is undefined, drivers should ignore suchrequests. Possible values are:
V4L2_EXPOSURE_AUTO
Automatic exposure time, automatic irisaperture. V4L2_EXPOSURE_MANUAL
Manual exposure time, manual iris. V4L2_EXPOSURE_SHUTTER_PRIORITY
Manual exposure time, auto iris. V4L2_EXPOSURE_APERTURE_PRIORITY
Auto exposure time, manual iris. V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_ABSOLUTE
integer Determines the exposuretime of the camera sensor. The exposure time is limited by the frameinterval. Drivers should interpret the values as 100 µs units,where the value 1 stands for 1/10000th of a second, 10000 for 1 secondand 100000 for 10 seconds. V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO_PRIORITY
boolean When V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO
is set toAUTO
orSHUTTER_PRIORITY
,this control determines if the device may dynamically vary the framerate. By default this feature is disabled (0) and the frame rate mustremain constant.V4L2_CID_PAN_RELATIVE
integer This control turns thecamera horizontally by the specified amount. The unit is undefined. Apositive value moves the camera to the right (clockwise when viewedfrom above), a negative value to the left. A value of zero does notcause motion. V4L2_CID_TILT_RELATIVE
integer This control turns thecamera vertically by the specified amount. The unit is undefined. Apositive value moves the camera up, a negative value down. A value ofzero does not cause motion. V4L2_CID_PAN_RESET
boolean When this control is setto TRUE
(1), the camera moves horizontally to thedefault position.V4L2_CID_TILT_RESET
boolean When this control is setto TRUE
(1), the camera moves vertically to thedefault position.V4L2_CID_PAN_ABSOLUTE
integer This controlturns the camera horizontally to the specified position. Positivevalues move the camera to the right (clockwise when viewed from above),negative values to the left. Drivers should interpret the values as arcseconds, with valid values between -180 * 3600 and +180 * 3600inclusive. V4L2_CID_TILT_ABSOLUTE
integer This controlturns the camera vertically to the specified position. Positive valuesmove the camera up, negative values down. Drivers should interpret thevalues as arc seconds, with valid values between -180 * 3600 and +180* 3600 inclusive. V4L2_CID_FOCUS_ABSOLUTE
integer This control sets thefocal point of the camera to the specified position. The unit isundefined. Positive values set the focus closer to the camera,negative values towards infinity. V4L2_CID_FOCUS_RELATIVE
integer This control moves thefocal point of the camera by the specified amount. The unit isundefined. Positive values move the focus closer to the camera,negative values towards infinity. V4L2_CID_FOCUS_AUTO
boolean Enables automatic focusadjustments. The effect of manual focus adjustments while this featureis enabled is undefined, drivers should ignore such requests.
1.10. Data Formats
1.10.1. Data Format Negotiation
Different devices exchange different kinds of data withapplications, for example video images, raw or sliced VBI data, RDSdatagrams. Even within one kind many different formats are possible,in particular an abundance of image formats. Although drivers mustprovide a default and the selection persists across closing andreopening a device, applications should always negotiate a data formatbefore engaging in data exchange. Negotiation means the applicationasks for a particular format and the driver selects and reports thebest the hardware can do to satisfy the request. Of courseapplications can also just query the current selection.
A single mechanism exists to negotiate all data formatsusing the aggregate struct v4l2_format and the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctls. Additionally theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl can beused to examine what the hardwarecould do,without actually selecting a new data format. The data formatssupported by the V4L2 API are covered in the respective device sectioninChapter 4. For a closer look at image formats seeChapter 2.The
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl is a majorturning-point in the initialization sequence. Prior to this pointmultiple panel applications can access the same device concurrently toselect the current input, change controls or modify other properties.The firstVIDIOC_S_FMT
assigns a logical stream(video data, VBI data etc.) exclusively to one file descriptor.Exclusive means no other application, more precisely noother file descriptor, can grab this stream or change deviceproperties inconsistent with the negotiated parameters. A videostandard change for example, when the new standard uses a differentnumber of scan lines, can invalidate the selected image format.Therefore only the file descriptor owning the stream can makeinvalidating changes. Accordingly multiple file descriptors whichgrabbed different logical streams prevent each other from interferingwith their settings. When for example video overlay is about to startor already in progress, simultaneous video capturing may be restrictedto the same cropping and image size.
When applications omit the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl its locking side effects areimplied by the next step, the selection of an I/O method with theVIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl or implicit with the firstread()
orwrite()
call.Generally only one logical stream can be assigned to afile descriptor, the exception being drivers permitting simultaneousvideo capturing and overlay using the same file descriptor forcompatibility with V4L and earlier versions of V4L2. Switching thelogical stream or returning into "panel mode" is possible by closingand reopening the device. Driversmay support aswitch using
VIDIOC_S_FMT
.All drivers exchanging data withapplications must support the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. Implementation of theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
is highly recommended butoptional.
1.10.2. Image Format Enumeration
Apart of the generic format negotiation functionsa special ioctl to enumerate all image formats supported by videocapture, overlay or output devices is available.[11]
The
VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
ioctl must be supportedby all drivers exchanging image data with applications.Important: Drivers are not supposed to convert image formats inkernel space. They must enumerate only formats directly supported bythe hardware. If necessary driver writers should publish an exampleconversion routine or library for integration into applications.
1.11. Image Cropping, Insertion and Scaling
Some video capture devices can sample a subsection of thepicture and shrink or enlarge it to an image of arbitrary size. Wecall these abilities cropping and scaling. Some video output devicescan scale an image up or down and insert it at an arbitrary scan lineand horizontal offset into a video signal.
Applications can use the following API to select an area inthe video signal, query the default area and the hardware limits.Despite their name, the
VIDIOC_CROPCAP
,VIDIOC_G_CROP
andVIDIOC_S_CROP
ioctls apply to input as well as outputdevices.Scaling requires a source and a target. On a video captureor overlay device the source is the video signal, and the croppingioctls determine the area actually sampled. The target are imagesread by the application or overlaid onto the graphics screen. Theirsize (and position for an overlay) is negotiated with the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctls.On a video output device the source are the images passed inby the application, and their size is again negotiated with the
VIDIOC_G/S_FMT
ioctls, or may be encoded in acompressed video stream. The target is the video signal, and thecropping ioctls determine the area where the images areinserted.Source and target rectangles are defined even if the devicedoes not support scaling or the
VIDIOC_G/S_CROP
ioctls. Their size (and position where applicable) will be fixed inthis case.All capture and output device must support theVIDIOC_CROPCAP
ioctl such that applications candetermine if scaling takes place.
1.11.1. Cropping Structures
For capture devices the coordinates of the top leftcorner, width and height of the area which can be sampled is given bythe
bounds
substructure of thestruct v4l2_cropcap returned by theVIDIOC_CROPCAP
ioctl. To support a wide range of hardware this specification does notdefine an origin or units. However by convention drivers shouldhorizontally count unscaled samples relative to 0H (the leading edgeof the horizontal sync pulse, see Figure 4-1).Vertically ITU-R linenumbers of the first field (Figure 4-2,Figure 4-3), multiplied by two if the driver can capture bothfields.The top left corner, width and height of the sourcerectangle, that is the area actually sampled, is given by struct v4l2_cropusing the same coordinate system as struct v4l2_cropcap. Applications canuse the
VIDIOC_G_CROP
andVIDIOC_S_CROP
ioctls to get and set thisrectangle. It must lie completely within the capture boundaries andthe driver may further adjust the requested size and/or positionaccording to hardware limitations.Each capture device has a default source rectangle, givenby the
defrect
substructure ofstruct v4l2_cropcap. The center of this rectangle shall align with thecenter of the active picture area of the video signal, and cover whatthe driver writer considers the complete picture. Drivers shall resetthe source rectangle to the default when the driver is first loaded,but not later.For output devices these structures and ioctls are usedaccordingly, defining thetarget rectangle wherethe images will be inserted into the video signal.
1.11.2. Scaling Adjustments
Video hardware can have various cropping, insertion andscaling limitations. It may only scale up or down, support onlydiscrete scaling factors, or have different scaling abilities inhorizontal and vertical direction. Also it may not support scaling atall. At the same time the struct v4l2_crop rectangle may have to bealigned, and both the source and target rectangles may have arbitraryupper and lower size limits. In particular the maximum
width
andheight
in struct v4l2_crop may be smaller than thestruct v4l2_cropcap.bounds
area. Therefore, asusual, drivers are expected to adjust the requested parameters andreturn the actual values selected.Applications can change the source or the target rectanglefirst, as they may prefer a particular image size or a certain area inthe video signal. If the driver has to adjust both to satisfy hardwarelimitations, the last requested rectangle shall take priority, and thedriver should preferably adjust the opposite one. The
VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl however shall not change the driver state and therefore onlyadjust the requested rectangle.Suppose scaling on a video capture device is restricted toa factor 1:1 or 2:1 in either direction and the target image size mustbe a multiple of 16 × 16 pixels. The source croppingrectangle is set to defaults, which are also the upper limit in thisexample, of 640 × 400 pixels at offset 0, 0. Anapplication requests an image size of 300 × 225pixels, assuming video will be scaled down from the "full picture"accordingly. The driver sets the image size to the closest possiblevalues 304 × 224, then chooses the cropping rectangleclosest to the requested size, that is 608 × 224(224 × 2:1 would exceed the limit 400). The offset0, 0 is still valid, thus unmodified. Given the default croppingrectangle reported by
VIDIOC_CROPCAP
theapplication can easily propose another offset to center the croppingrectangle.Now the application may insist on covering an area using apicture aspect ratio closer to the original request, so it asks for acropping rectangle of 608 × 456 pixels. The presentscaling factors limit cropping to 640 × 384, so thedriver returns the cropping size 608 × 384 and adjuststhe image size to closest possible 304 × 192.
1.11.3. Examples
Source and target rectangles shall remain unchanged acrossclosing and reopening a device, such that piping data into or out of adevice will work without special preparations. More advancedapplications should ensure the parameters are suitable before startingI/O.
Example 1-10. Resetting the cropping parameters
(A video capture device is assumed; change
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
for otherdevices.)struct v4l2_cropcap cropcap; struct v4l2_crop crop; memset (&cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap)); cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_CROPCAP, &cropcap)) { perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } memset (&crop, 0, sizeof (crop)); crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; crop.c = cropcap.defrect; /* Ignore if cropping is not supported (EINVAL). */ if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CROP, &crop) && errno != EINVAL) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_CROP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }Example 1-11. Simple downscaling
(A video capture device is assumed.)
struct v4l2_cropcap cropcap; struct v4l2_format format; reset_cropping_parameters (); /* Scale down to 1/4 size of full picture. */ memset (&format, 0, sizeof (format)); /* defaults */ format.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; format.fmt.pix.width = cropcap.defrect.width >> 1; format.fmt.pix.height = cropcap.defrect.height >> 1; format.fmt.pix.pixelformat = V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_FMT, &format)) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_FORMAT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* We could check the actual image size now, the actual scaling factor or if the driver can scale at all. */Example 1-12. Selecting an output area
struct v4l2_cropcap cropcap; struct v4l2_crop crop; memset (&cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap)); cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_CROPCAP, &cropcap)) { perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } memset (&crop, 0, sizeof (crop)); crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT; crop.c = cropcap.defrect; /* Scale the width and height to 50 % of their original size and center the output. */ crop.c.width /= 2; crop.c.height /= 2; crop.c.left += crop.c.width / 2; crop.c.top += crop.c.height / 2; /* Ignore if cropping is not supported (EINVAL). */ if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CROP, &crop) && errno != EINVAL) { perror ("VIDIOC_S_CROP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }Example 1-13. Current scaling factor and pixel aspect
(A video capture device is assumed.)
struct v4l2_cropcap cropcap; struct v4l2_crop crop; struct v4l2_format format; double hscale, vscale; double aspect; int dwidth, dheight; memset (&cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap)); cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_CROPCAP, &cropcap)) { perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } memset (&crop, 0, sizeof (crop)); crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_CROP, &crop)) { if (errno != EINVAL) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_CROP"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* Cropping not supported. */ crop.c = cropcap.defrect; } memset (&format, 0, sizeof (format)); format.fmt.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_FMT, &format)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_FMT"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* The scaling applied by the driver. */ hscale = format.fmt.pix.width / (double) crop.c.width; vscale = format.fmt.pix.height / (double) crop.c.height; aspect = cropcap.pixelaspect.numerator / (double) cropcap.pixelaspect.denominator; aspect = aspect * hscale / vscale; /* Devices following ITU-R BT.601 do not capture square pixels. For playback on a computer monitor we should scale the images to this size. */ dwidth = format.fmt.pix.width / aspect; dheight = format.fmt.pix.height;
1.12. Streaming Parameters
Streaming parameters are intended to optimize the videocapture process as well as I/O. Presently applications can request ahigh quality capture mode with the
VIDIOC_S_PARM
ioctl.The current video standard determines a nominal number offrames per second. If less than this number of frames is to becaptured or output, applications can request frame skipping orduplicating on the driver side. This is especially useful when usingthe
read()
orwrite()
, which are not augmented by timestampsor sequence counters, and to avoid unneccessary data copying.Finally these ioctls can be used to determine the number ofbuffers used internally by a driver in read/write mode. Forimplications see the section discussing the
read()
function.To get and set the streaming parameters applications callthe
VIDIOC_G_PARM
andVIDIOC_S_PARM
ioctl, respectively. They takea pointer to a struct v4l2_streamparm, which contains a union holdingseparate parameters for input and output devices.These ioctls are optional, drivers need not implementthem. If so, they return theEINVAL error code.
Chapter 2. Image Formats
The V4L2 API was primarily designed for devices exchangingimage data with applications. The
v4l2_pix_format
structure defines the formatand layout of an image in memory. Image formats are negotiated withtheVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. (The explanations here focus on videocapturing and output, for overlay frame buffer formats see alsoVIDIOC_G_FBUF
.)Table 2-1. struct
v4l2_pix_format
__u32 width
Image width in pixels. __u32 height
Image height in pixels. Applications set these fields torequest an image size, drivers return the closest possible values. Incase of planar formats the width
andheight
applies to the largest plane. Toavoid ambiguities drivers must return values rounded up to a multipleof the scale factor of any smaller planes. For example when the imageformat is YUV 4:2:0,width
andheight
must be multiples of two.__u32 pixelformat
The pixel format or type of compression, set by theapplication. This is a little endianfour character code. V4L2 definesstandard RGB formats inTable 2-1, YUV formats inSection 2.5, and reserved codes inTable 2-8 enum v4l2_field field
Video images are typically interlaced. Applicationscan request to capture or output only the top or bottom field, or bothfields interlaced or sequentially stored in one buffer or alternatingin separate buffers. Drivers return the actual field order selected.For details see Section 3.6. __u32 bytesperline
Distance in bytes between the leftmost pixels in twoadjacent lines. Both applications and driverscan set this field to request padding bytes at the end of each line.Drivers however may ignore the value requested by the application,returning
width
times bytes per pixel or alarger value required by the hardware. That implies applications canjust set this field to zero to get a reasonabledefault.Video hardware may access padding bytes,therefore they must reside in accessible memory. Consider cases wherepadding bytes after the last line of an image cross a system pageboundary. Input devices may write padding bytes, the value isundefined. Output devices ignore the contents of paddingbytes.
When the image format is planar the
bytesperline
value applies to the largestplane and is divided by the same factor as thewidth
field for any smaller planes. Forexample the Cb and Cr planes of a YUV 4:2:0 image have half as manypadding bytes following each line as the Y plane. To avoid ambiguitiesdrivers must return abytesperline
valuerounded up to a multiple of the scale factor.__u32 sizeimage
Size in bytes of the buffer to hold a complete image,set by the driver. Usually this is bytesperline
timesheight
. When the image consists of variablelength compressed data this is the maximum number of bytes required tohold an image.enum v4l2_colorspace colorspace
This information supplements the pixelformat
and must be set by the driver,seeSection 2.2.__u32 priv
Reserved for custom (driver defined) additionalinformation about formats. When not used drivers and applications mustset this field to zero.
2.1. Standard Image Formats
In order to exchange images between drivers andapplications, it is necessary to have standard image data formatswhich both sides will interpret the same way. V4L2 includes severalsuch formats, and this section is intended to be an unambiguousspecification of the standard image data formats in V4L2.
V4L2 drivers are not limited to these formats, however.Driver-specific formats are possible. In that case the application maydepend on a codec to convert images to one of the standard formatswhen needed. But the data can still be stored and retrieved in theproprietary format. For example, a device may support a proprietarycompressed format. Applications can still capture and save the data inthe compressed format, saving much disk space, and later use a codecto convert the images to the X Windows screen format when the video isto be displayed.
Even so, ultimately, some standard formats are needed, sothe V4L2 specification would not be complete without well-definedstandard formats.
The V4L2 standard formats are mainly uncompressed formats. Thepixels are always arranged in memory from left to right, and from topto bottom. The first byte of data in the image buffer is always forthe leftmost pixel of the topmost row. Following that is the pixelimmediately to its right, and so on until the end of the top row ofpixels. Following the rightmost pixel of the row there may be zero ormore bytes of padding to guarantee that each row of pixel data has acertain alignment. Following the pad bytes, if any, is data for theleftmost pixel of the second row from the top, and so on. The last rowhas just as many pad bytes after it as the other rows.
In V4L2 each format has an identifier which looks like
PIX_FMT_XXX
, defined in thevideodev.h header file. These identifiersrepresentfour character codeswhich are also listed below, however they are not the same as thoseused in the Windows world.
2.2. Colorspaces
[intro]
Gamma Correction
- Construction of luminance and color-differencesignals
[to do]
E'R = f(R)
E'G = f(G)
E'B = f(B)
- Re-normalized color-difference signals
[to do]
E'Y =CoeffR E'R+ CoeffG E'G+ CoeffB E'B
(E'R - E'Y) = E'R- CoeffR E'R- CoeffG E'G- CoeffB E'B
(E'B - E'Y) = E'B- CoeffR E'R- CoeffG E'G- CoeffB E'B
- Quantization
The color-difference signals are scaled back to unityrange [-0.5;+0.5]:
KB = 0.5 / (1 - CoeffB)
KR = 0.5 / (1 - CoeffR)
PB =KB (E'B - E'Y) = 0.5 (CoeffR / CoeffB) E'R+ 0.5 (CoeffG / CoeffB) E'G+ 0.5 E'B
PR =KR (E'R - E'Y) = 0.5 E'R+ 0.5 (CoeffG / CoeffR) E'G+ 0.5 (CoeffB / CoeffR) E'B
[to do]
Y' = (Lum. Levels - 1) · E'Y + Lum. Offset
CB = (Chrom. Levels - 1)· PB + Chrom. Offset
CR = (Chrom. Levels - 1)· PR + Chrom. Offset
Rounding to the nearest integer and clamping to the range[0;255] finally yields the digital color components Y'CbCrstored in YUV images.
Example 2-1. ITU-R Rec. BT.601 color conversion
Forward Transformation
int ER, EG, EB; /* gamma corrected RGB input [0;255] */ int Y1, Cb, Cr; /* output [0;255] */ double r, g, b; /* temporaries */ double y1, pb, pr; int clamp (double x) { int r = x; /* round to nearest */ if (r < 0) return 0; else if (r > 255) return 255; else return r; } r = ER / 255.0; g = EG / 255.0; b = EB / 255.0; y1 = 0.299 * r + 0.587 * g + 0.114 * b; pb = -0.169 * r - 0.331 * g + 0.5 * b; pr = 0.5 * r - 0.419 * g - 0.081 * b; Y1 = clamp (219 * y1 + 16); Cb = clamp (224 * pb + 128); Cr = clamp (224 * pr + 128); /* or shorter */ y1 = 0.299 * ER + 0.587 * EG + 0.114 * EB; Y1 = clamp ( (219 / 255.0) * y1 + 16); Cb = clamp (((224 / 255.0) / (2 - 2 * 0.114)) * (EB - y1) + 128); Cr = clamp (((224 / 255.0) / (2 - 2 * 0.299)) * (ER - y1) + 128);Inverse Transformation
int Y1, Cb, Cr; /* gamma pre-corrected input [0;255] */ int ER, EG, EB; /* output [0;255] */ double r, g, b; /* temporaries */ double y1, pb, pr; int clamp (double x) { int r = x; /* round to nearest */ if (r < 0) return 0; else if (r > 255) return 255; else return r; } y1 = (255 / 219.0) * (Y1 - 16); pb = (255 / 224.0) * (Cb - 128); pr = (255 / 224.0) * (Cr - 128); r = 1.0 * y1 + 0 * pb + 1.402 * pr; g = 1.0 * y1 - 0.344 * pb - 0.714 * pr; b = 1.0 * y1 + 1.772 * pb + 0 * pr; ER = clamp (r * 255); /* [ok? one should prob. limit y1,pb,pr] */ EG = clamp (g * 255); EB = clamp (b * 255);Table 2-2. enum v4l2_colorspace
Identifier Value Description Chromaticities[a] White Point Gamma Correction Luminance E'Y Quantization Red Green Blue Y' Cb, Cr V4L2_COLORSPACE_SMPTE170M
1 NTSC/PAL according toSMPTE 170M,ITU BT.601 x = 0.630, y = 0.340 x = 0.310, y = 0.595 x = 0.155, y = 0.070 x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290, Illuminant D65 E' = 4.5 I for I ≤0.018,1.099 I0.45 - 0.099 for 0.018 < I 0.299 E'R+ 0.587 E'G+ 0.114 E'B 219 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_SMPTE240M
2 1125-Line (US) HDTV, see SMPTE 240M x = 0.630, y = 0.340 x = 0.310, y = 0.595 x = 0.155, y = 0.070 x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290, Illuminant D65 E' = 4 I for I ≤0.0228,1.1115 I0.45 - 0.1115 for 0.0228 < I 0.212 E'R+ 0.701 E'G+ 0.087 E'B 219 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_REC709
3 HDTV and modern devices, see ITU BT.709 x = 0.640, y = 0.330 x = 0.300, y = 0.600 x = 0.150, y = 0.060 x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290, Illuminant D65 E' = 4.5 I for I ≤0.018,1.099 I0.45 - 0.099 for 0.018 < I 0.2125 E'R+ 0.7154 E'G+ 0.0721 E'B 219 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_BT878
4 Broken Bt878 extents[b],ITU BT.601 ? ? ? ? ? 0.299 E'R+ 0.587 E'G+ 0.114 E'B 237 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 (probably) V4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_M
5 M/NTSC[c] according toITU BT.470,ITU BT.601 x = 0.67, y = 0.33 x = 0.21, y = 0.71 x = 0.14, y = 0.08 x = 0.310, y = 0.316, Illuminant C ? 0.299 E'R+ 0.587 E'G+ 0.114 E'B 219 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_BG
6 625-line PAL and SECAM systems according toITU BT.470, ITU BT.601 x = 0.64, y = 0.33 x = 0.29, y = 0.60 x = 0.15, y = 0.06 x = 0.313, y = 0.329,Illuminant D65 ? 0.299 E'R+ 0.587 E'G+ 0.114 E'B 219 E'Y + 16 224 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_JPEG
7 JPEG Y'CbCr, see JFIF,ITU BT.601 ? ? ? ? ? 0.299 E'R+ 0.587 E'G+ 0.114 E'B 256 E'Y + 16[d] 256 PB,R + 128 V4L2_COLORSPACE_SRGB
8 [?] x = 0.640, y = 0.330 x = 0.300, y = 0.600 x = 0.150, y = 0.060 x = 0.3127, y = 0.3290, Illuminant D65 E' = 4.5 I for I ≤0.018,1.099 I0.45 - 0.099 for 0.018 < I n/a Notes:
a. The coordinates of the color primaries aregiven in the CIE system (1931)
b. The ubiquitous Bt878 video capture chipquantizes E'Y to 238 levels, yielding a rangeof Y' = 16 … 253, unlike Rec. 601 Y' = 16 …235. This is not a typo in the Bt878 documentation, it has beenimplemented in silicon. The chroma extents are unclear.
c. No identifier exists for M/PAL which usesthe chromaticities of M/NTSC, the remaining parameters are equal to B andG/PAL.
d. Note JFIF quantizesY'PBPR in range [0;+1] and[-0.5;+0.5] to257 levels, however Y'CbCr signalsare still clamped to [0;255].
2.3. Indexed Format
In this format each pixel is represented by an 8 bit indexinto a 256 entry ARGB palette. It is intended forVideo Output Overlays only. There are no ioctls toaccess the palette, this must be done with ioctls of the Linux framebuffer API.
2.4. RGB Formats
Table of Contents Packed RGB formats -- Packed RGB formats V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8 ('BA81') -- Bayer RGB format V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16 ('BA82') -- Bayer RGB format
Packed RGB formats
Description
These formats are designed to match the pixel formats oftypical PC graphics frame buffers. They occupy 8, 16, 24 or 32 bitsper pixel. These are all packed-pixel formats, meaning all the datafor a pixel lie next to each other in memory.
When one of these formats is used, drivers shall report thecolorspace
V4L2_COLORSPACE_SRGB
.Table 2-1. Packed RGB Image Formats
Identifier Code Byte 0 in memory Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB332
'RGB1' b1 b0 g2 g1 g0 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB444
'R444' g3 g2 g1 g0 b3 b2 b1 b0 a3 a2 a1 a0 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555
'RGBO' g2 g1 g0 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 a b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g4 g3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565
'RGBP' g2 g1 g0 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g5 g4 g3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555X
'RGBQ' a b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565X
'RGBR' b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
'BGR3' b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB24
'RGB3' r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR32
'BGR4' b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB32
'RGB4' r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 Bit 7 is the most significant bit. The value of a = alphabits is undefined when reading from the driver, ignored when writingto the driver, except when alpha blending has been negotiated for aVideo Overlay or Video Output Overlay.
Important: Drivers may interpret these formats differently.
Some RGB formats above are uncommon and were probablydefined in error. Drivers may interpret them as inTable 2-2.
Table 2-2. Packed RGB Image Formats (corrected)
Identifier Code Byte 0 in memory Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB332
'RGB1' r2 r1 r0 g2 g1 g0 b1 b0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB444
'R444' g3 g2 g1 g0 b3 b2 b1 b0 a3 a2 a1 a0 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555
'RGBO' g2 g1 g0 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 a r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g4 g3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565
'RGBP' g2 g1 g0 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g5 g4 g3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555X
'RGBQ' a r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565X
'RGBR' r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
'BGR3' b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB24
'RGB3' r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR32
'BGR4' b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB32
'RGB4' a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 r7 r6 r5 r4 r3 r2 r1 r0 g7 g6 g5 g4 g3 g2 g1 g0 b7 b6 b5 b4 b3 b2 b1 b0 A test utility to determine which RGB formats a driveractually supports is available from the LinuxTV v4l-dvb repository.Seehttp://linuxtv.org/repo/ for access instructions.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8 ('BA81')
Description
This is commonly the native format of digital cameras,reflecting the arrangement of sensors on the CCD device. Only one red,green or blue value is given for each pixel. Missing components mustbe interpolated from neighbouring pixels. From left to right the firstrow consists of a blue and green value, the second row of a green andred value. This scheme repeats to the right and down for every twocolumns and rows.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16 ('BA82')
Description
This format is similar to
V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8
, except each pixel hasa depth of 16 bits. The least significant byte is stored at lowermemory addresses (little-endian). Note the actual sampling precisionmay be lower than 16 bits, for example 10 bits per pixel with valuesin range 0 to 1023.
2.5. YUV Formats
Table of Contents Packed YUV formats -- Packed YUV formats V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY ('GREY') -- Grey-scale image V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16 ('Y16 ') -- Grey-scale image V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV ('YUYV') -- Packed format with ½ horizontal chromaresolution, also known as YUV 4:2:2 V4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY ('UYVY') -- Variation of
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
with different order of samplesin memory V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P ('Y41P') -- Format with ¼ horizontal chromaresolution, also known as YUV 4:1:1 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420 ('YV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420 ('YU12') -- Planar formats with ½ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410 ('YVU9'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410 ('YUV9') -- Planar formats with ¼ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:1:0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P ('422P') -- Format with ½ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:2:2. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P ('411P') -- Format with ¼ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:1:1. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12 ('NV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21 ('NV21') -- Formats with ½ horizontal and verticalchroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0. One luminance and onechrominance plane with alternating chroma samples as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
YUV is the format native to TV broadcast and composite videosignals. It separates the brightness information (Y) from the colorinformation (U and V or Cb and Cr). The color information consists ofred and bluecolor difference signals, this waythe green component can be reconstructed by subtracting from thebrightness component. SeeSection 2.2 for conversionexamples. YUV was chosen because early television would only transmitbrightness information. To add color in a way compatible with existingreceivers a new signal carrier was added to transmit the colordifference signals. Secondary in the YUV format the U and V componentsusually have lower resolution than the Y component. This is an analogvideo compression technique taking advantage of a property of thehuman visual system, being more sensitive to brightnessinformation.
Packed YUV formats
Description
Similar to the packed RGB formats these formats storethe Y, Cb and Cr component of each pixel in one 16 or 32 bitword.
Table 2-1. Packed YUV Image Formats
Identifier Code Byte 0 in memory Byte 1 Byte 2 Byte 3 Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV444
'Y444' Cb3 Cb2 Cb1 Cb0 Cr3 Cr2 Cr1 Cr0 a3 a2 a1 a0 Y'3 Y'2 Y'1 Y'0 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV555
'YUVO' Cb2 Cb1 Cb0 Cr4 Cr3 Cr2 Cr1 Cr0 a Y'4 Y'3 Y'2 Y'1 Y'0 Cb4 Cb3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV565
'YUVP' Cb2 Cb1 Cb0 Cr4 Cr3 Cr2 Cr1 Cr0 Y'4 Y'3 Y'2 Y'1 Y'0 Cb5 Cb4 Cb3 V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV32
'YUV4' a7 a6 a5 a4 a3 a2 a1 a0 Y'7 Y'6 Y'5 Y'4 Y'3 Y'2 Y'1 Y'0 Cb7 Cb6 Cb5 Cb4 Cb3 Cb2 Cb1 Cb0 Cr7 Cr6 Cr5 Cr4 Cr3 Cr2 Cr1 Cr0 Bit 7 is the most significant bit. The value of a = alphabits is undefined when reading from the driver, ignored when writingto the driver, except when alpha blending has been negotiated for aVideo Overlay or Video Output Overlay.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY ('GREY')
Description
This is a grey-scale image. It is really a degenerateY'CbCr format which simply contains no Cb or Cr data.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16 ('Y16 ')
Description
This is a grey-scale image with a depth of 16 bits perpixel. The least significant byte is stored at lower memory addresses(little-endian). Note the actual sampling precision may be lower than16 bits, for example 10 bits per pixel with values in range 0 to1023.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV ('YUYV')
Description
In this format each four bytes is two pixels. Each fourbytes is two Y's, a Cb and a Cr. Each Y goes to one of the pixels, andthe Cb and Cr belong to both pixels. As you can see, the Cr and Cbcomponents have half the horizontal resolution of the Y component.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
is known in the Windowsenvironment as YUY2.V4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY ('UYVY')
Description
In this format each four bytes is two pixels. Each fourbytes is two Y's, a Cb and a Cr. Each Y goes to one of the pixels, andthe Cb and Cr belong to both pixels. As you can see, the Cr and Cbcomponents have half the horizontal resolution of the Ycomponent.
V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P ('Y41P')
Description
In this format each 12 bytes is eight pixels. In thetwelve bytes are two CbCr pairs and eight Y's. The first CbCr pairgoes with the first four Y's, and the second CbCr pair goes with theother four Y's. The Cb and Cr components have one fourth thehorizontal resolution of the Y component.
Do not confuse this format with
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P
. Y41P is derived from "YUV 4:1:1packed", whileYUV411P stands for "YUV 4:1:1planar".V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420 ('YV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420 ('YU12')
Name
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420
-- Planar formats with ½ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0Description
These are planar formats, as opposed to a packed format.The three components are separated into three sub- images or planes.The Y plane is first. The Y plane has one byte per pixel. For
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
, the Cr plane immediatelyfollows the Y plane in memory. The Cr plane is half the width and halfthe height of the Y plane (and of the image). Each Cr belongs to fourpixels, a two-by-two square of the image. For example,Cr0 belongs to Y'00,Y'01, Y'10, andY'11. Following the Cr plane is the Cb plane,just like the Cr plane.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420
isthe same except the Cb plane comes first, then the Cr plane.If the Y plane has pad bytes after each row, then the Crand Cb planes have half as many pad bytes after their rows. In otherwords, two Cx rows (including padding) is exactly as long as one Y row(including padding).
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410 ('YVU9'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410 ('YUV9')
Name
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410
-- Planar formats with ¼ horizontal andvertical chroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:1:0Description
These are planar formats, as opposed to a packed format.The three components are separated into three sub-images or planes.The Y plane is first. The Y plane has one byte per pixel. For
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410
, the Cr plane immediatelyfollows the Y plane in memory. The Cr plane is ¼ the width and¼ the height of the Y plane (and of the image). Each Cr belongsto 16 pixels, a four-by-four square of the image. Following the Crplane is the Cb plane, just like the Cr plane.V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410
is the same, except the Cbplane comes first, then the Cr plane.If the Y plane has pad bytes after each row, then the Crand Cb planes have ¼ as many pad bytes after their rows. Inother words, four Cx rows (including padding) are exactly as long asone Y row (including padding).
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P ('422P')
Name
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P
-- Format with ½ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:2:2. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
Description
This format is not commonly used. This is a planarversion of the YUYV format. The three components are separated intothree sub-images or planes. The Y plane is first. The Y plane has onebyte per pixel. The Cb plane immediately follows the Y plane inmemory. The Cb plane is half the width of the Y plane (and of theimage). Each Cb belongs to two pixels. For example,Cb0 belongs to Y'00,Y'01. Following the Cb plane is the Cr plane,just like the Cb plane.
If the Y plane has pad bytes after each row, then the Crand Cb planes have half as many pad bytes after their rows. In otherwords, two Cx rows (including padding) is exactly as long as one Y row(including padding).
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P ('411P')
Name
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P
-- Format with ¼ horizontal chroma resolution,also known as YUV 4:1:1. Planar layout as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
Description
This format is not commonly used. This is a planarformat similar to the 4:2:2 planar format except with half as manychroma. The three components are separated into three sub-images orplanes. The Y plane is first. The Y plane has one byte per pixel. TheCb plane immediately follows the Y plane in memory. The Cb plane is¼ the width of the Y plane (and of the image). Each Cb belongsto 4 pixels all on the same row. For example,Cb0 belongs to Y'00,Y'01, Y'02 andY'03. Following the Cb plane is the Cr plane,just like the Cb plane.
If the Y plane has pad bytes after each row, then the Crand Cb planes have ¼ as many pad bytes after their rows. Inother words, four C x rows (including padding) is exactly as long asone Y row (including padding).
V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12 ('NV12'), V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21 ('NV21')
Name
V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21
-- Formats with ½ horizontal and verticalchroma resolution, also known as YUV 4:2:0. One luminance and onechrominance plane with alternating chroma samples as opposed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420
Description
These are two-plane versions of the YUV 4:2:0 format.The three components are separated into two sub-images or planes. TheY plane is first. The Y plane has one byte per pixel. For
V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12
, a combined CbCr planeimmediately follows the Y plane in memory. The CbCr plane is the samewidth, in bytes, as the Y plane (and of the image), but is half astall in pixels. Each CbCr pair belongs to four pixels. For example,Cb0/Cr0 belongs toY'00, Y'01,Y'10, Y'11.V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21
is the same except the Cb andCr bytes are swapped, the CrCb plane starts with a Cr byte.If the Y plane has pad bytes after each row, then theCbCr plane has as many pad bytes after its rows.
2.6. Compressed Formats
Table 2-7. Compressed Image Formats
Identifier Code Details V4L2_PIX_FMT_JPEG
'JPEG' TBD. See also VIDIOC_G_JPEGCOMP
,VIDIOC_S_JPEGCOMP
.V4L2_PIX_FMT_MPEG
'MPEG' MPEG stream. The actual format is determined byextended control V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE
, seeTable 1-2.
2.7. Reserved Format Identifiers
These formats are not defined by this specification, theyare just listed for reference and to avoid naming conflicts. If youwant to register your own format, send an e-mail to the V4L mailinglisthttps://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list for inclusion in thevideodev.hfile. If you want to share your format with other developers add alink to your documentation and send a copy to the maintainer of thisdocument, Michael Schimek
<mschimek@gmx.at>
, forinclusion in this section. If you think your format should be listedin a standard format section please make a proposal on the V4L mailinglist.Table 2-8. Reserved Image Formats
Identifier Code Details V4L2_PIX_FMT_DV
'dvsd' unknown V4L2_PIX_FMT_ET61X251
'E625' Compressed format of the ET61X251 driver. V4L2_PIX_FMT_HI240
'HI24' 8 bit RGB format used by the BTTV driver,http://bytesex.org/bttv/
V4L2_PIX_FMT_HM12
'HM12' YUV 4:2:0 format used by theIVTV driver, http://www.ivtvdriver.org/
The format is documented in thekernel sources in the fileDocumentation/video4linux/cx2341x/README.hm12
V4L2_PIX_FMT_MJPEG
'MJPG' Compressed format used by the Zoran driver V4L2_PIX_FMT_PWC1
'PWC1' Compressed format of the PWC driver. V4L2_PIX_FMT_PWC2
'PWC2' Compressed format of the PWC driver. V4L2_PIX_FMT_SN9C10X
'S910' Compressed format of the SN9C102 driver. V4L2_PIX_FMT_WNVA
'WNVA' Used by the Winnov Videum driver, http://www.thedirks.org/winnov/
V4L2_PIX_FMT_YYUV
'YYUV' unknown
Chapter 3. Input/Output
The V4L2 API defines several different methods to read from orwrite to a device. All drivers exchanging data with applications mustsupport at least one of them.
The classic I/O method using the
read()
andwrite()
function is automatically selectedafter opening a V4L2 device. When the driver does not support thismethod attempts to read or write will fail at any time.Other methods must be negotiated. To select the streaming I/Omethod with memory mapped or user buffers applications call the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl. The asynchronous I/O method is not definedyet.Video overlay can be considered another I/O method, althoughthe application does not directly receive the image data. It isselected by initiating video overlay with the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl.For more information seeSection 4.2.Generally exactly one I/O method, including overlay, isassociated with each file descriptor. The only exceptions areapplications not exchanging data with a driver ("panel applications",seeSection 1.1) and drivers permitting simultaneous video capturingand overlay using the same file descriptor, for compatibility with V4Land earlier versions of V4L2.
VIDIOC_S_FMT
andVIDIOC_REQBUFS
would permit this to some degree,but for simplicity drivers need not support switching the I/O method(after first switching away from read/write) other than by closingand reopening the device.The following sections describe the various I/O methods inmore detail.
3.1. Read/Write
Input and output devices support the
read()
andwrite()
function,respectively, when theV4L2_CAP_READWRITE
flag inthecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl is set.Drivers may need the CPU to copy the data, but they may alsosupport DMA to or from user memory, so this I/O method is notnecessarily less efficient than other methods merely exchanging bufferpointers. It is considered inferior though because no meta-informationlike frame counters or timestamps are passed. This information isnecessary to recognize frame dropping and to synchronize with otherdata streams. However this is also the simplest I/O method, requiringlittle or no setup to exchange data. It permits command line stuntslike this (the vidctrl tool isfictitious):
> vidctrl /dev/video --input=0 --format=YUYV --size=352x288 > dd if=/dev/video of=myimage.422 bs=202752 count=1To read from the device applications use the
read()
function, to write thewrite()
function.Drivers must implement one I/O method if theyexchange data with applications, but it need not be this.[12] When reading or writing is supported, the drivermust also support theselect()
andpoll()
function.[13]
3.2. Streaming I/O (Memory Mapping)
Input and output devices support this I/O method when the
V4L2_CAP_STREAMING
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl is set. There are twostreaming methods, to determine if the memory mapping flavor issupported applications must call theVIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl.Streaming is an I/O method where only pointers to buffersare exchanged between application and driver, the data itself is notcopied. Memory mapping is primarily intended to map buffers in devicememory into the application's address space. Device memory can be forexample the video memory on a graphics card with a video captureadd-on. However, being the most efficient I/O method available for along time, many other drivers support streaming as well, allocatingbuffers in DMA-able main memory.
A driver can support many sets of buffers. Each set isidentified by a unique buffer type value. The sets are independent andeach set can hold a different type of data. To access different setsat the same time different file descriptors must be used.[14]
To allocate device buffers applications call the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl with the desired number of buffers and buffertype, for exampleV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
.This ioctl can also be used to change the number of buffers or to freethe allocated memory, provided none of the buffers are stillmapped.Before applications can access the buffers they must mapthem into their address space with the
mmap()
function. Thelocation of the buffers in device memory can be determined with theVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl. Them.offset
andlength
returned in a struct v4l2_buffer arepassed as sixth and second parameter to themmap()
function. The offset and length valuesmust not be modified. Remember the buffers are allocated in physicalmemory, as opposed to virtual memory which can be swapped out to disk.Applications should free the buffers as soon as possible with themunmap()
function.Example 3-1. Mapping buffers
struct v4l2_requestbuffers reqbuf; struct { void *start; size_t length; } *buffers; unsigned int i; memset (&reqbuf, 0, sizeof (reqbuf)); reqbuf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; reqbuf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; reqbuf.count = 20; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_REQBUFS, &reqbuf)) { if (errno == EINVAL) printf ("Video capturing or mmap-streaming is not supported\n"); else perror ("VIDIOC_REQBUFS"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } /* We want at least five buffers. */ if (reqbuf.count < 5) { /* You may need to free the buffers here. */ printf ("Not enough buffer memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } buffers = calloc (reqbuf.count, sizeof (*buffers)); assert (buffers != NULL); for (i = 0; i < reqbuf.count; i++) { struct v4l2_buffer buffer; memset (&buffer, 0, sizeof (buffer)); buffer.type = reqbuf.type; buffer.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; buffer.index = i; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYBUF, &buffer)) { perror ("VIDIOC_QUERYBUF"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } buffers[i].length = buffer.length; /* remember for munmap() */ buffers[i].start = mmap (NULL, buffer.length, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE, /* recommended */ MAP_SHARED, /* recommended */ fd, buffer.m.offset); if (MAP_FAILED == buffers[i].start) { /* If you do not exit here you should unmap() and free() the buffers mapped so far. */ perror ("mmap"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } /* Cleanup. */ for (i = 0; i < reqbuf.count; i++) munmap (buffers[i].start, buffers[i].length);Conceptually streaming drivers maintain two buffer queues, an incomingand an outgoing queue. They separate the synchronous capture or outputoperation locked to a video clock from the application which issubject to random disk or network delays and preemption byother processes, thereby reducing the probability of data loss.The queues are organized as FIFOs, buffers will beoutput in the order enqueued in the incoming FIFO, and werecaptured in the order dequeued from the outgoing FIFO.
The driver may require a minimum number of buffers enqueuedat all times to function, apart of this no limit exists on the numberof buffers applications can enqueue in advance, or dequeue andprocess. They can also enqueue in a different order than buffers havebeen dequeued, and the driver canfill enqueuedempty buffers in any order.[15] The index number of a buffer (struct v4l2_buffer
index
) plays no role here, it onlyidentifies the buffer.Initially all mapped buffers are in dequeued state,inaccessible by the driver. For capturing applications it is customaryto first enqueue all mapped buffers, then to start capturing and enterthe read loop. Here the application waits until a filled buffer can bedequeued, and re-enqueues the buffer when the data is no longerneeded. Output applications fill and enqueue buffers, when enoughbuffers are stacked up the output is started with
VIDIOC_STREAMON
. In the write loop, whenthe application runs out of free buffers, it must wait until an emptybuffer can be dequeued and reused.To enqueue and dequeue a buffer applications use the
VIDIOC_QBUF
andVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. The status of a buffer beingmapped, enqueued, full or empty can be determined at any time using theVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl. Two methods exist to suspend execution of theapplication until one or more buffers can be dequeued. By defaultVIDIOC_DQBUF
blocks when no buffer is in theoutgoing queue. When theO_NONBLOCK
flag wasgiven to theopen()
function,VIDIOC_DQBUF
returns immediately with anEAGAIN error code when no buffer is available. Theselect()
orpoll()
function are always available.To start and stop capturing or output applications call the
VIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl. NoteVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
removes all buffers from bothqueues as a side effect. Since there is no notion of doing anything"now" on a multitasking system, if an application needs to synchronizewith another event it should examine the struct v4l2_buffertimestamp
of captured buffers, or set thefield before enqueuing buffers for output.Drivers implementing memory mapping I/O mustsupport the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
,VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
,VIDIOC_QBUF
,VIDIOC_DQBUF
,VIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl, themmap()
,munmap()
,select()
andpoll()
function.[16][capture example]
3.3. Streaming I/O (User Pointers)
Input and output devices support this I/O method when the
V4L2_CAP_STREAMING
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl is set. If the particular userpointer method (not only memory mapping) is supported must bedetermined by calling theVIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl.This I/O method combines advantages of the read/write andmemory mapping methods. Buffers are allocated by the applicationitself, and can reside for example in virtual or shared memory. Onlypointers to data are exchanged, these pointers and meta-informationare passed in struct v4l2_buffer. The driver must be switchedinto user pointer I/O mode by calling the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
with thedesired buffer type. No buffers are allocated beforehands,consequently they are not indexed and cannot be queried like mappedbuffers with theVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl.Example 3-2. Initiating streaming I/O with user pointers
struct v4l2_requestbuffers reqbuf; memset (&reqbuf, 0, sizeof (reqbuf)); reqbuf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; reqbuf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR; if (ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_REQBUFS, &reqbuf) == -1) { if (errno == EINVAL) printf ("Video capturing or user pointer streaming is not supported\n"); else perror ("VIDIOC_REQBUFS"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); }Buffer addresses and sizes are passed on the fly with the
VIDIOC_QBUF
ioctl. Although buffers are commonly cycled,applications can pass different addresses and sizes at eachVIDIOC_QBUF
call. If required by the hardware thedriver swaps memory pages within physical memory to create acontinuous area of memory. This happens transparently to theapplication in the virtual memory subsystem of the kernel. When bufferpages have been swapped out to disk they are brought back and finallylocked in physical memory for DMA.[17]Filled or displayed buffers are dequeued with the
VIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. The driver can unlock the memory pages at anytime between the completion of the DMA and this ioctl. The memory isalso unlocked whenVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
is called,VIDIOC_REQBUFS
, orwhen the device is closed. Applications must take care not to freebuffers without dequeuing. For once, the buffers remain locked untilfurther, wasting physical memory. Second the driver will not benotified when the memory is returned to the application's free listand subsequently reused for other purposes, possibly completing therequested DMA and overwriting valuable data.For capturing applications it is customary to enqueue anumber of empty buffers, to start capturing and enter the read loop.Here the application waits until a filled buffer can be dequeued, andre-enqueues the buffer when the data is no longer needed. Outputapplications fill and enqueue buffers, when enough buffers are stackedup output is started. In the write loop, when the applicationruns out of free buffers it must wait until an empty buffer can bedequeued and reused. Two methods exist to suspend execution of theapplication until one or more buffers can be dequeued. By default
VIDIOC_DQBUF
blocks when no buffer is in theoutgoing queue. When theO_NONBLOCK
flag wasgiven to theopen()
function,VIDIOC_DQBUF
returns immediately with anEAGAIN error code when no buffer is available. Theselect()
orpoll()
function are always available.To start and stop capturing or output applications call the
VIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl. NoteVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
removes all buffers from bothqueues and unlocks all buffers as a side effect. Since there is nonotion of doing anything "now" on a multitasking system, if anapplication needs to synchronize with another event it should examinethe struct v4l2_buffertimestamp
of capturedbuffers, or set the field before enqueuing buffers for output.Drivers implementing user pointer I/O mustsupport the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
,VIDIOC_QBUF
,VIDIOC_DQBUF
,VIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl, theselect()
andpoll()
function.[18]
3.5. Buffers
A buffer contains data exchanged by application anddriver using one of the Streaming I/O methods. Only pointers tobuffers are exchanged, the data itself is not copied. These pointers,together with meta-information like timestamps or field parity, arestored in a struct
v4l2_buffer
, argument totheVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
,VIDIOC_QBUF
andVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl.Nominally timestamps refer to the first data byte transmitted.In practice however the wide range of hardware covered by the V4L2 APIlimits timestamp accuracy. Often an interrupt routine willsample the system clock shortly after the field or frame was storedcompletely in memory. So applications must expect a constantdifference up to one field or frame period plus a small (few scanlines) random error. The delay and error can be muchlarger due to compression or transmission over an external bus whenthe frames are not properly stamped by the sender. This is frequentlythe case with USB cameras. Here timestamps refer to the instant thefield or frame was received by the driver, not the capture time. Thesedevices identify by not enumerating any video standards, seeSection 1.7.
Similar limitations apply to output timestamps. Typicallythe video hardware locks to a clock controlling the video timing, thehorizontal and vertical synchronization pulses. At some point in theline sequence, possibly the vertical blanking, an interrupt routinesamples the system clock, compares against the timestamp and programsthe hardware to repeat the previous field or frame, or to display thebuffer contents.
Apart of limitations of the video device and naturalinaccuracies of all clocks, it should be noted system time itself isnot perfectly stable. It can be affected by power saving cycles,warped to insert leap seconds, or even turned back or forth by thesystem administrator affecting long term measurements. [19]
Table 3-1. struct
v4l2_buffer
__u32 index
Number of the buffer, set by the application. Thisfield is only used for memory mapping I/Oand can range from zero to the number of buffers allocatedwith the VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl (struct v4l2_requestbufferscount
) minus one.enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the buffer, same as struct v4l2_format type
or struct v4l2_requestbufferstype
, set by the application.__u32 bytesused
The number of bytes occupied by the data in thebuffer. It depends on the negotiated data format and may change witheach buffer for compressed variable size data like JPEG images.Drivers must set this field when type
refers to an input stream, applications when an output stream.__u32 flags
Flags set by the application or driver, see Table 3-3. enum v4l2_field field
Indicates the field order of the image in thebuffer, seeTable 3-8. This field is not used whenthe buffer contains VBI data. Drivers must set it when type
refers to an input stream,applications when an output stream.struct timeval timestamp
For input streams this is thesystem time (as returned by the
gettimeofday()
function) when the first data byte was captured. For output streamsthe data will not be displayed before this time, secondary to thenominal frame rate determined by the current video standard inenqueued order. Applications can for example zero this field todisplay frames as soon as possible. The driver stores the time atwhich the first data byte was actually sent out in thetimestamp
field. This permitsapplications to monitor the drift between the video and systemclock.struct v4l2_timecode timecode
When type
isV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
and theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_TIMECODE
flag is set inflags
, this structure contains a frametimecode. InV4L2_FIELD_ALTERNATEmode the top and bottom field contain the same timecode.Timecodes are intended to help video editing and are typically recorded onvideo tapes, but also embedded in compressed formats like MPEG. Thisfield is independent of thetimestamp
andsequence
fields.__u32 sequence
Set by the driver, counting the frames in thesequence. In V4L2_FIELD_ALTERNATE mode the top andbottom field have the same sequence number. The count starts at zeroand includes dropped or repeated frames. A dropped frame was receivedby an input device but could not be stored due to lack of free bufferspace. A repeated frame was displayed again by an output devicebecause the application did not pass new data intime.
Note this may count the frames receivede.g. over USB, without taking into account the frames dropped by theremote hardware due to limited compression throughput or busbandwidth. These devices identify by not enumerating any videostandards, seeSection 1.7.
enum v4l2_memory memory
This field must be set by applications and/or driversin accordance with the selected I/O method. union m
__u32 offset
When memory
isV4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
this is the offset of the bufferfrom the start of the device memory. The value is returned by thedriver and apart of serving as parameter to themmap()
functionnot useful for applications. SeeSection 3.2 for details.unsigned long userptr
When memory
isV4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR
this is a pointer to thebuffer (casted to unsigned long type) in virtual memory, set by theapplication. SeeSection 3.3 for details.__u32 length
Size of the buffer (not the payload) in bytes. __u32 input
Some video capture drivers support rapid andsynchronous video input changes, a function useful for example invideo surveillance applications. For this purpose applications set the V4L2_BUF_FLAG_INPUT
flag, and this field to thenumber of a video input as in struct v4l2_input fieldindex
.__u32 reserved
A place holder for future extensions and custom(driver defined) buffer types V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
and higher.Table 3-2. enum v4l2_buf_type
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
1 Buffer of a video capture stream, see Section 4.1. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
2 Buffer of a video output stream, see Section 4.3. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
3 Buffer for video overlay, see Section 4.2. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_CAPTURE
4 Buffer of a raw VBI capture stream, see Section 4.7. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
5 Buffer of a raw VBI output stream, see Section 4.7. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
6 Buffer of a sliced VBI capture stream, see Section 4.8. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
7 Buffer of a sliced VBI output stream, see Section 4.8. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
8 Buffer for video output overlay (OSD), see Section 4.4. Status:Experimental. V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
0x80 This and higher values are reserved for custom(driver defined) buffer types. Table 3-3. Buffer Flags
V4L2_BUF_FLAG_MAPPED
0x0001 The buffer resides in device memory and has been mappedinto the application's address space, seeSection 3.2 for details.Drivers set or clear this flag when theVIDIOC_QUERYBUF,VIDIOC_QBUF orVIDIOC_DQBUFioctl is called. Set by the driver. V4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED
0x0002 Internally drivers maintain two buffer queues, anincoming and outgoing queue. When this flag is set, the buffer iscurrently on the incoming queue. It automatically moves to theoutgoing queue after the buffer has been filled (capture devices) ordisplayed (output devices). Drivers set or clear this flag when the VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl is called. After(successful) calling theVIDIOC_QBUF
ioctl it isalways set and afterVIDIOC_DQBUF
alwayscleared.V4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE
0x0004 When this flag is set, the buffer is currently onthe outgoing queue, ready to be dequeued from the driver. Drivers setor clear this flag when the VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctlis called. After calling theVIDIOC_QBUF
orVIDIOC_DQBUF
it is always cleared. Of course abuffer cannot be on both queues at the same time, theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED
andV4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE
flag are mutually exclusive.They can be both cleared however, then the buffer is in "dequeued"state, in the application domain to say so.V4L2_BUF_FLAG_KEYFRAME
0x0008 Drivers set or clear this flag when calling the VIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. It may be set by videocapture devices when the buffer contains a compressed image which is akey frame (or field), i. e. can be decompressed on its own.V4L2_BUF_FLAG_PFRAME
0x0010 Similar to V4L2_BUF_FLAG_KEYFRAME
this flags predicted frames or fields which contain only differences to aprevious key frame.V4L2_BUF_FLAG_BFRAME
0x0020 Similar to V4L2_BUF_FLAG_PFRAME
this is a bidirectional predicted frame or field. [ooc tbd]V4L2_BUF_FLAG_TIMECODE
0x0100 The timecode
field is valid.Drivers set or clear this flag when theVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl is called.V4L2_BUF_FLAG_INPUT
0x0200 The input
field is valid.Applications set or clear this flag before calling theVIDIOC_QBUF
ioctl.Table 3-4. enum v4l2_memory
V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
1 The buffer is used for memorymapping I/O. V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR
2 The buffer is used for userpointer I/O. V4L2_MEMORY_OVERLAY
3 [to do]
3.5.1. Timecodes
The
v4l2_timecode
structure isdesigned to hold aSMPTE 12M or similar timecode.(structtimeval
timestamps are stored instruct v4l2_bufferfieldtimestamp
.)Table 3-5. struct
v4l2_timecode
__u32 type
Frame rate the timecodes are based on, see Table 3-6. __u32 flags
Timecode flags, see Table 3-7. __u8 frames
Frame count, 0 ... 23/24/29/49/59, depending on the type of timecode. __u8 seconds
Seconds count, 0 ... 59. This is a binary, not BCD number. __u8 minutes
Minutes count, 0 ... 59. This is a binary, not BCD number. __u8 hours
Hours count, 0 ... 29. This is a binary, not BCD number. __u8 userbits
[4]The "user group" bits from the timecode. Table 3-6. Timecode Types
V4L2_TC_TYPE_24FPS
1 24 frames per second, i. e. film. V4L2_TC_TYPE_25FPS
2 25 frames per second, i. e. PAL or SECAM video. V4L2_TC_TYPE_30FPS
3 30 frames per second, i. e. NTSC video. V4L2_TC_TYPE_50FPS
4 V4L2_TC_TYPE_60FPS
5 Table 3-7. Timecode Flags
V4L2_TC_FLAG_DROPFRAME
0x0001 Indicates "drop frame" semantics for counting framesin 29.97 fps material. When set, frame numbers 0 and 1 at the start ofeach minute, except minutes 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 are omitted from thecount. V4L2_TC_FLAG_COLORFRAME
0x0002 The "color frame" flag. V4L2_TC_USERBITS_field
0x000C Field mask for the "binary group flags". V4L2_TC_USERBITS_USERDEFINED
0x0000 Unspecified format. V4L2_TC_USERBITS_8BITCHARS
0x0008 8-bit ISO characters.
3.6. Field Order
We have to distinguish between progressive and interlacedvideo. Progressive video transmits all lines of a video imagesequentially. Interlaced video divides an image into two fields,containing only the odd and even lines of the image, respectively.Alternating the so called odd and even field are transmitted, and dueto a small delay between fields a cathode ray TV displays the linesinterleaved, yielding the original frame. This curious technique wasinvented because at refresh rates similar to film the image wouldfade out too quickly. Transmitting fields reduces the flicker withoutthe necessity of doubling the frame rate and with it the bandwidthrequired for each channel.
It is important to understand a video camera does not exposeone frame at a time, merely transmitting the frames separated intofields. The fields are in fact captured at two different instances intime. An object on screen may well move between one field and thenext. For applications analysing motion it is of paramount importanceto recognize which field of a frame is older, thetemporalorder.
When the driver provides or accepts images field by fieldrather than interleaved, it is also important applications understandhow the fields combine to frames. We distinguish between top andbottom fields, thespatial order: The first lineof the top field is the first line of an interlaced frame, the firstline of the bottom field is the second line of that frame.
However because fields were captured one after the other,arguing whether a frame commences with the top or bottom field ispointless. Any two successive top and bottom, or bottom and top fieldsyield a valid frame. Only when the source was progressive to beginwith, e. g. when transferring film to video, two fields may come fromthe same frame, creating a natural order.
Counter to intuition the top field is not necessarily theolder field. Whether the older field contains the top or bottom linesis a convention determined by the video standard. Hence thedistinction between temporal and spatial order of fields. The diagramsbelow should make this clearer.
All video capture and output devices must report the currentfield order. Some drivers may permit the selection of a differentorder, to this end applications initialize the
field
field of struct v4l2_pix_format beforecalling theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. If this is not desired it shouldhave the valueV4L2_FIELD_ANY
(0).Table 3-8. enum v4l2_field
V4L2_FIELD_ANY
0 Applications request this field order when anyone of the V4L2_FIELD_NONE
,V4L2_FIELD_TOP
,V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
, orV4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
formats is acceptable.Drivers choose depending on hardware capabilities or e. g. therequested image size, and return the actual field order. struct v4l2_bufferfield
can never beV4L2_FIELD_ANY
.V4L2_FIELD_NONE
1 Images are in progressive format, not interlaced.The driver may also indicate this order when it cannot distinguishbetween V4L2_FIELD_TOP
andV4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
.V4L2_FIELD_TOP
2 Images consist of the top field only. V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
3 Images consist of the bottom field only.Applications may wish to prevent a device from capturing interlacedimages because they will have "comb" or "feathering" artefacts aroundmoving objects. V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
4 Images contain both fields, interleaved line byline. The temporal order of the fields (whether the top or bottomfield is first transmitted) depends on the current video standard.M/NTSC transmits the bottom field first, all other standards the topfield first. V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB
5 Images contain both fields, the top field linesare stored first in memory, immediately followed by the bottom fieldlines. Fields are always stored in temporal order, the older one firstin memory. Image sizes refer to the frame, not fields. V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT
6 Images contain both fields, the bottom fieldlines are stored first in memory, immediately followed by the topfield lines. Fields are always stored in temporal order, the older onefirst in memory. Image sizes refer to the frame, not fields. V4L2_FIELD_ALTERNATE
7 The two fields of a frame are passed in separatebuffers, in temporal order, i. e. the older one first. To indicate the fieldparity (whether the current field is a top or bottom field) the driveror application, depending on data direction, must set struct v4l2_buffer field
toV4L2_FIELD_TOP
orV4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
. Any two successive fields pairto build a frame. If fields are successive, without any dropped fieldsbetween them (fields can drop individually), can be determined fromthe struct v4l2_buffersequence
field. Imagesizes refer to the frame, not fields. This format cannot be selectedwhen using the read/write I/O method.V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB
8 Images contain both fields, interleaved line byline, top field first. The top field is transmitted first. V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT
9 Images contain both fields, interleaved line byline, top field first. The bottom field is transmitted first.
Chapter 4. Interfaces
4.1. Video Capture Interface
Video capture devices sample an analog video signal and storethe digitized images in memory. Today nearly all devices can captureat full 25 or 30 frames/second. With this interface applications cancontrol the capture process and move images from the driver into userspace.
Conventionally V4L2 video capture devices are accessed throughcharacter device special files named/dev/videoand/dev/video0 to/dev/video63 with major number 81 and minornumbers 0 to 63./dev/video is typically asymbolic link to the preferred video device. Note the same devicefiles are used for video output devices.
4.1.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the video capture interface set the
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. As secondary device functionsthey may also support thevideo overlay(V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
) and theraw VBI capture(V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE
) interface. At least one ofthe read/write or streaming I/O methods must be supported. Tuners andaudio inputs are optional.
4.1.2. Supplemental Functions
Video capture devices shall support audio input, tuner, controls,cropping and scaling andstreaming parameter ioctls as needed.Thevideo inputandvideo standard ioctls must be supported byall video capture devices.
4.1.3. Image Format Negotiation
The result of a capture operation is determined bycropping and image format parameters. The former select an area of thevideo picture to capture, the latter how images are stored in memory,i. e. in RGB or YUV format, the number of bits per pixel or width andheight. Together they also define how images are scaled in theprocess.
As usual these parameters are not resetat
open()
time to permit Unix tool chains, programming a deviceand then reading from it as if it was a plain file. Well written V4L2applications ensure they really get what they want, including croppingand scaling.Cropping initialization at minimum requires to reset theparameters to defaults. An example is given inSection 1.11.
To query the current image format applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
and call theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers fillthe struct v4l2_pix_formatpix
member of thefmt
union.To request different parameters applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format as above andinitialize all fields of the struct v4l2_pix_formatvbi
member of thefmt
union, or better just modify theresults ofVIDIOC_G_FMT
, and call theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers mayadjust the parameters and finally return the actual parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.Like
VIDIOC_S_FMT
theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl can be used to learn about hardware limitationswithout disabling I/O or possibly time consuming hardwarepreparations.The contents of struct v4l2_pix_format are discussed inChapter 2. See also the specification of the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
,VIDIOC_S_FMT
andVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctls for details. Videocapture devices must implement both theVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, even ifVIDIOC_S_FMT
ignores all requests and alwaysreturns default parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
is optional.
4.1.4. Reading Images
A video capture device may support the read() function and/or streaming (memory mapping oruser pointer) I/O. SeeChapter 3 for details.
4.2. Video Overlay Interface
Also known as Framebuffer Overlay or PreviewingVideo overlay devices have the ability to genlock (TV-)videointo the (VGA-)video signal of a graphics card, or to store capturedimages directly in video memory of a graphics card, typically withclipping. This can be considerable more efficient than capturingimages and displaying them by other means. In the old days when onlynuclear power plants needed cooling towers this used to be the onlyway to put live video into a window.
Video overlay devices are accessed through the same characterspecial files as video capture devices.Note the default function of a /dev/videodeviceis video capturing. The overlay function is only available aftercalling the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl.The driver may support simultaneous overlay and capturingusing the read/write and streaming I/O methods. If so, operation atthe nominal frame rate of the video standard is not guaranteed. Framesmay be directed away from overlay to capture, or one field may be usedfor overlay and the other for capture if the capture parameters permitthis.
Applications should use different file descriptors forcapturing and overlay. This must be supported by all drivers capableof simultaneous capturing and overlay. Optionally these drivers mayalso permit capturing and overlay with a single file descriptor forcompatibility with V4L and earlier versions of V4L2.[20]
4.2.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the video overlay interface set the
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. The overlay I/O method specifiedbelow must be supported. Tuners and audio inputs are optional.
4.2.2. Supplemental Functions
Video overlay devices shall support audio input, tuner, controls,cropping and scaling andstreaming parameter ioctls as needed.Thevideo inputandvideo standard ioctls must be supported byall video overlay devices.
4.2.3. Setup
Before overlay can commence applications must program thedriver with frame buffer parameters, namely the address and size ofthe frame buffer and the image format, for example RGB 5:6:5. The
VIDIOC_G_FBUF
andVIDIOC_S_FBUF
ioctls are available to getand set these parameters, respectively. TheVIDIOC_S_FBUF
ioctl is privileged because itallows to set up DMA into physical memory, bypassing the memoryprotection mechanisms of the kernel. Only the superuser can change theframe buffer address and size. Users are not supposed to run TVapplications as root or with SUID bit set. A small helper applicationwith suitable privileges should query the graphics system and programthe V4L2 driver at the appropriate time.Some devices add the video overlay to the output signalof the graphics card. In this case the frame buffer is not modified bythe video device, and the frame buffer address and pixel format arenot needed by the driver. The
VIDIOC_S_FBUF
ioctlis not privileged. An application can check for this type of device bycalling theVIDIOC_G_FBUF
ioctl.A driver may support any (or none) of five clipping/blendingmethods:
Chroma-keying displays the overlaid image only wherepixels in the primary graphics surface assume a certain color.
A bitmap can be specified where each bit correspondsto a pixel in the overlaid image. When the bit is set, thecorresponding video pixel is displayed, otherwise a pixel of thegraphics surface.
A list of clipping rectangles can be specified. Inthese regions no video is displayed, so thegraphics surface can be seen here.
The framebuffer has an alpha channel that can be usedto clip or blend the framebuffer with the video.
A global alpha value can be specified to blend theframebuffer contents with video images.
When simultaneous capturing and overlay is supported andthe hardware prohibits different image and frame buffer formats, theformat requested first takes precedence. The attempt to capture(
VIDIOC_S_FMT
) or overlay (VIDIOC_S_FBUF
) may fail with anEBUSY error code or return accordingly modified parameters..
4.2.4. Overlay Window
The overlaid image is determined by cropping and overlaywindow parameters. The former select an area of the video picture tocapture, the latter how images are overlaid and clipped. Croppinginitialization at minimum requires to reset the parameters todefaults. An example is given in Section 1.11.
The overlay window is described by a struct v4l2_window. Itdefines the size of the image, its position over the graphics surfaceand the clipping to be applied. To get the current parametersapplications set the
type
field of astruct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
andcall theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl. The driver fills thev4l2_window
substructure namedwin
. It is not possible to retrieve apreviously programmed clipping list or bitmap.To program the overlay window applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
, initialize thewin
substructure and call theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. The driver adjusts the parameters againsthardware limits and returns the actual parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does. LikeVIDIOC_S_FMT
, theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl can beused to learn about driver capabilities without actually changingdriver state. UnlikeVIDIOC_S_FMT
this also worksafter the overlay has been enabled.The scaling factor of the overlaid image is implied by thewidth and height given in struct v4l2_window and the size of the croppingrectangle. For more information seeSection 1.11.
When simultaneous capturing and overlay is supported andthe hardware prohibits different image and window sizes, the sizerequested first takes precedence. The attempt to capture or overlay aswell (
VIDIOC_S_FMT
) may fail with an EBUSY error code or return accordinglymodified parameters.Table 4-1. struct
v4l2_window
struct v4l2_rect w
Size and position of the window relative to thetop, left corner of the frame buffer defined with VIDIOC_S_FBUF
. Thewindow can extend the frame buffer width and height, thex
andy
coordinates can be negative, and it can lie completely outside theframe buffer. The driver clips the window accordingly, or if that isnot possible, modifies its size and/or position.enum v4l2_field field
Applications set this field to determine whichvideo field shall be overlaid, typically one of V4L2_FIELD_ANY
(0),V4L2_FIELD_TOP
,V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
orV4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
. Drivers may have to choosea different field order and return the actual setting here.__u32 chromakey
When chroma-keying has been negotiated with VIDIOC_S_FBUF
applications set this field to the desired pixel valuefor the chroma key. The format is the same as the pixel format of theframebuffer (struct v4l2_framebufferfmt.pixelformat
field), with bytes in hostorder. E. g. forV4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
the value should be 0xRRGGBB on a little endian, 0xBBGGRR on a bigendian host.struct v4l2_clip * clips
When chroma-keying has notbeen negotiated and VIDIOC_G_FBUF
indicated this capability,applications can set this field to point to an array ofclipping rectangles.Like the window coordinates w
, clipping rectangles are defined relativeto the top, left corner of the frame buffer. However clippingrectangles must not extend the frame buffer width and height, and theymust not overlap. If possible applications should merge adjacentrectangles. Whether this must create x-y or y-x bands, or the order ofrectangles, is not defined. When clip lists are not supported thedriver ignores this field. Its contents after callingVIDIOC_S_FMT
are undefined.__u32 clipcount
When the application set the clips
field, this field must contain thenumber of clipping rectangles in the list. When clip lists are notsupported the driver ignores this field, its contents after callingVIDIOC_S_FMT
are undefined. When clip lists aresupported but no clipping is desired this field must be set tozero.void * bitmap
When chroma-keying hasnot been negotiated and VIDIOC_G_FBUF
indicatedthis capability, applications can set this field to point to aclipping bit mask.It must be of the same sizeas the window,
w.width
andw.height
. Each bit corresponds to a pixelin the overlaid image, which is displayed only when the bit isset. Pixel coordinates translate to bits like:((__u8 *)bitmap
)[w.width
* y + x / 8] & (1 << (x & 7))where
0
≤ x <w.width
and0
≤y <w.height
.aWhen a clippingbit mask is not supported the driver ignores this field, its contentsafter calling
VIDIOC_S_FMT
are undefined. When a bit mask is supportedbut no clipping is desired this field must be set toNULL
.Applications need not create aclip list or bit mask. When they pass both, or despite negotiatingchroma-keying, the results are undefined. Regardless of the chosenmethod, the clipping abilities of the hardware may be limited inquantity or quality. The results when these limits are exceeded areundefined.b
__u8 global_alpha
The global alpha value used to blend theframebuffer with video images, if global alpha blending has beennegotiated (
V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA
, seeVIDIOC_S_FBUF
,Table 3).Notethis field was added in Linux 2.6.23, extending the structure. Howeverthe VIDIOC_G/S/TRY_FMT ioctls,which take a pointer to av4l2_format parent structure with paddingbytes at the end, are not affected.
Notes:
a. Should we requirew.width
to be a multiple of eight?
b. When the image is written into frame buffermemory it will be undesirable if the driver clips out less pixelsthan expected, because the application and graphics system are notaware these regions need to be refreshed. The driver should clip outmore pixels or not write the image at all.Table 4-2. struct
v4l2_clip
[21]
struct v4l2_rect c
Coordinates of the clipping rectangle, relative tothe top, left corner of the frame buffer. Only window pixelsoutside all clipping rectangles aredisplayed. struct v4l2_clip * next
Pointer to the next clipping rectangle, NULL whenthis is the last rectangle. Drivers ignore this field, it cannot beused to pass a linked list of clipping rectangles. Table 4-3. struct
v4l2_rect
__s32 left
Horizontal offset of the top, left corner of therectangle, in pixels. __s32 top
Vertical offset of the top, left corner of therectangle, in pixels. Offsets increase to the right and down. __s32 width
Width of the rectangle, in pixels. __s32 height
Height of the rectangle, in pixels. Width andheight cannot be negative, the fields are signed for hystericalreasons.
4.2.5. Enabling Overlay
To start or stop the frame buffer overlay applications callthe
VIDIOC_OVERLAY
ioctl.
4.3. Video Output Interface
Video output devices encode stills or image sequences asanalog video signal. With this interface applications cancontrol the encoding process and move images from user space tothe driver.
Conventionally V4L2 video output devices are accessed throughcharacter device special files named/dev/videoand/dev/video0 to/dev/video63 with major number 81 and minornumbers 0 to 63./dev/video is typically asymbolic link to the preferred video device. Note the same devicefiles are used for video capture devices.
4.3.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the video output interface set the
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. As secondary device functionsthey may also support theraw VBIoutput (V4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT
) interface. Atleast one of the read/write or streaming I/O methods must besupported. Modulators and audio outputs are optional.
4.3.2. Supplemental Functions
Video output devices shall support audio output, modulator, controls,cropping and scaling andstreaming parameter ioctls as needed.Thevideo outputandvideo standard ioctls must be supported byall video output devices.
4.3.3. Image Format Negotiation
The output is determined by cropping and image formatparameters. The former select an area of the video picture where theimage will appear, the latter how images are stored in memory, i. e. inRGB or YUV format, the number of bits per pixel or width and height.Together they also define how images are scaled in the process.
As usual these parameters are not resetat
open()
time to permit Unix tool chains, programming a deviceand then writing to it as if it was a plain file. Well written V4L2applications ensure they really get what they want, including croppingand scaling.Cropping initialization at minimum requires to reset theparameters to defaults. An example is given inSection 1.11.
To query the current image format applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
and call theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers fillthe struct v4l2_pix_formatpix
member of thefmt
union.To request different parameters applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format as above andinitialize all fields of the struct v4l2_pix_formatvbi
member of thefmt
union, or better just modify theresults ofVIDIOC_G_FMT
, and call theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers mayadjust the parameters and finally return the actual parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.Like
VIDIOC_S_FMT
theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl can be used to learn about hardware limitationswithout disabling I/O or possibly time consuming hardwarepreparations.The contents of struct v4l2_pix_format are discussed inChapter 2. See also the specification of the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
,VIDIOC_S_FMT
andVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctls for details. Videooutput devices must implement both theVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, even ifVIDIOC_S_FMT
ignores all requests and alwaysreturns default parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
is optional.
4.3.4. Writing Images
A video output device may support the write() function and/or streaming (memory mapping oruser pointer) I/O. SeeChapter 3 for details.
4.4. Video Output Overlay Interface
Also known as On-Screen Display (OSD)Experimental: This is an experimentalinterface and may change in the future.
Some video output devices can overlay a framebuffer image ontothe outgoing video signal. Applications can set up such an overlayusing this interface, which borrows structures and ioctls of theVideo Overlay interface.
The OSD function is accessible through the same characterspecial file as the Video Output function.Note the default function of such a /dev/videodeviceis video capturing or output. The OSD function is only available aftercalling the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl.
4.4.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the Video OutputOverlay interface set the
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl.
4.4.2. Framebuffer
Contrary to the Video Overlayinterface the framebuffer is normally implemented on the TV card andnot the graphics card. On Linux it is accessible as a framebufferdevice (/dev/fbN). Given a V4L2 device,applications can find the corresponding framebuffer device by callingthe
VIDIOC_G_FBUF
ioctl. It returns, amongst other information, thephysical address of the framebuffer in thebase
field of struct v4l2_framebuffer. Theframebuffer device ioctlFBIOGET_FSCREENINFO
returns the same address in thesmem_start
field of structfb_fix_screeninfo
. TheFBIOGET_FSCREENINFO
ioctl and structfb_fix_screeninfo
are defined in thelinux/fb.h header file.The width and height of the framebuffer depends on thecurrent video standard. A V4L2 driver may reject attempts to changethe video standard (or any other ioctl which would imply a framebuffersize change) with anEBUSY error code until all applications closed theframebuffer device.
Example 4-1. Finding a framebuffer device for OSD
#include <linux/fb.h> struct v4l2_framebuffer fbuf; unsigned int i; int fb_fd; if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_G_FBUF, &fbuf)) { perror ("VIDIOC_G_FBUF"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } for (i = 0; i < 30; ++i) { char dev_name[16]; struct fb_fix_screeninfo si; snprintf (dev_name, sizeof (dev_name), "/dev/fb%u", i); fb_fd = open (dev_name, O_RDWR); if (-1 == fb_fd) { switch (errno) { case ENOENT: /* no such file */ case ENXIO: /* no driver */ continue; default: perror ("open"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } if (0 == ioctl (fb_fd, FBIOGET_FSCREENINFO, &si)) { if (si.smem_start == (unsigned long) fbuf.base) break; } else { /* Apparently not a framebuffer device. */ } close (fb_fd); fb_fd = -1; } /* fb_fd is the file descriptor of the framebuffer device for the video output overlay, or -1 if no device was found. */
4.4.3. Overlay Window and Scaling
The overlay is controlled by source and target rectangles.The source rectangle selects a subsection of the framebuffer image tobe overlaid, the target rectangle an area in the outgoing video signalwhere the image will appear. Drivers may or may not support scaling,and arbitrary sizes and positions of these rectangles. Further driversmay support any (or none) of the clipping/blending methods defined fortheVideo Overlay interface.
A struct v4l2_window defines the size of the source rectangle,its position in the framebuffer and the clipping/blending method to beused for the overlay. To get the current parameters applications setthe
type
field of a struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
and call theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl. The driver fills thev4l2_window
substructure namedwin
. It is not possible to retrieve apreviously programmed clipping list or bitmap.To program the source rectangle applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
, initializethewin
substructure and call theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. The driver adjusts the parameters againsthardware limits and returns the actual parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does. LikeVIDIOC_S_FMT
, theVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl can beused to learn about driver capabilities without actually changingdriver state. UnlikeVIDIOC_S_FMT
this also worksafter the overlay has been enabled.A struct v4l2_crop defines the size and position of the targetrectangle. The scaling factor of the overlay is implied by the widthand height given in struct v4l2_window and struct v4l2_crop. The cropping APIapplies toVideo Output andVideoOutput Overlay devices in the same way as toVideo Capture andVideoOverlay devices, merely reversing the direction of thedata flow. For more information seeSection 1.11.
4.4.4. Enabling Overlay
There is no V4L2 ioctl to enable or disable the overlay,however the framebuffer interface of the driver may support the
FBIOBLANK
ioctl.
4.5. Codec Interface
Suspended: This interface has been be suspended from the V4L2 APIimplemented in Linux 2.6 until we have more experience with codecdevice interfaces.
A V4L2 codec can compress, decompress, transform, or otherwiseconvert video data from one format into another format, in memory.Applications send data to be converted to the driver through a
write()
call, and receive the converted data through aread()
call. For efficiency a driver may also support streamingI/O.[to do]
4.6. Effect Devices Interface
Suspended: This interface has been be suspended from the V4L2 APIimplemented in Linux 2.6 until we have more experience with effectdevice interfaces.
A V4L2 video effect device can do image effects, filtering, orcombine two or more images or image streams. For example videotransitions or wipes. Applications send data to be processed andreceive the result data either with
read()
andwrite()
functions, or through the streaming I/O mechanism.[to do]
4.7. Raw VBI Data Interface
VBI is an abbreviation of Vertical Blanking Interval, a gapin the sequence of lines of an analog video signal. During VBIno picture information is transmitted, allowing some time while theelectron beam of a cathode ray tube TV returns to the top of thescreen. Using an oscilloscope you will find here the verticalsynchronization pulses and short data packages ASKmodulated[22]onto the video signal. These are transmissions of services such asTeletext or Closed Caption.
Subject of this interface type is raw VBI data, as sampled offa video signal, or to be added to a signal for output.The data format is similar to uncompressed video images, a number oflines times a number of samples per line, we call this a VBI image.
Conventionally V4L2 VBI devices are accessed through characterdevice special files named/dev/vbi and/dev/vbi0 to/dev/vbi31 withmajor number 81 and minor numbers 224 to 255./dev/vbi is typically a symbolic link to thepreferred VBI device. This convention applies to both input and outputdevices.
To address the problems of finding related video and VBIdevices VBI capturing and output is also available as device functionunder/dev/video. To capture or output raw VBIdata with these devices applications must call the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. Accessed as/dev/vbi, raw VBI capturingor output is the default device function.
4.7.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the raw VBI capturing or output API setthe
V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE
orV4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT
flags, respectively, in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. At least one of theread/write, streaming or asynchronous I/O methods must besupported. VBI devices may or may not have a tuner or modulator.
4.7.2. Supplemental Functions
VBI devices shall support videoinput or output, tuner ormodulator, and controls ioctlsas needed. The video standard ioctls provideinformation vital to program a VBI device, therefore must besupported.
4.7.3. Raw VBI Format Negotiation
Raw VBI sampling abilities can vary, in particular thesampling frequency. To properly interpret the data V4L2 specifies anioctl to query the sampling parameters. Moreover, to allow for someflexibility applications can also suggest different parameters.
As usual these parameters are notreset at
open()
time to permit Unix tool chains, programming adevice and then reading from it as if it was a plain file. Wellwritten V4L2 applications should always ensure they really get whatthey want, requesting reasonable parameters and then checking if theactual parameters are suitable.To query the current raw VBI capture parametersapplications set the
type
field of astruct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_CAPTURE
orV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
, and call theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers fillthe struct v4l2_vbi_formatvbi
member of thefmt
union.To request different parameters applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_format as above andinitialize all fields of the struct v4l2_vbi_formatvbi
member of thefmt
union, or better just modify theresults ofVIDIOC_G_FMT
, and call theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to this structure. Drivers returnanEINVAL error code only when the given parameters are ambiguous, otherwisethey modify the parameters according to the hardware capabilites andreturn the actual parameters. When the driver allocates resources atthis point, it may return an EBUSY error code to indicate the returnedparameters are valid but the required resources are currently notavailable. That may happen for instance when the video and VBI areasto capture would overlap, or when the driver supports multiple opensand another process already requested VBI capturing or output. Anyway,applications must expect other resource allocation points which mayreturnEBUSY, at theVIDIOC_STREAMON
ioctland the first read(), write() and select() call.VBI devices must implement both the
VIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, even ifVIDIOC_S_FMT
ignores all requests and alwaysreturns default parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
is optional.Table 4-4. struct
v4l2_vbi_format
__u32 sampling_rate
Samples per second, i. e. unit 1 Hz. __u32 offset
Horizontal offset of the VBI image,relative to the leading edge of the line synchronization pulse andcounted in samples: The first sample in the VBI image will be located
offset
/sampling_rate
seconds following the leadingedge. See also Figure 4-1.__u32 samples_per_line
__u32 sample_format
Defines the sample format as in Chapter 2, a four-character-code.aUsually this is
V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY
, i. e. each sampleconsists of 8 bits with lower values oriented towards the black level.Do not assume any other correlation of values with the signal level.For example, the MSB does not necessarily indicate if the signal is'high' or 'low' because 128 may not be the mean value of thesignal. Drivers shall not convert the sample format by software.__u32 start
[2]This is the scanning system line numberassociated with the first line of the VBI image, of the first and thesecond field respectively. SeeFigure 4-2andFigure 4-3 for valid values. VBI input drivers canreturn start values 0 if the hardware cannot reliable identifyscanning lines, VBI acquisition may not require thisinformation. __u32 count
[2]The number of lines in the first and secondfield image, respectively. Drivers should be asflexibility as possible. For example, it may be possible to extend ormove the VBI capture window down to the picture area, implementing a'full field mode' to capture data service transmissions embedded inthe picture.
An application can set the first or second
count
value to zero if no data is requiredfrom the respective field;count
[1] if thescanning system is progressive, i. e. not interlaced. Thecorresponding start value shall be ignored by the application anddriver. Anyway, drivers may not support single field capturing andreturn both count values non-zero.Both
count
values set to zero, or line numbersoutside the bounds depicted inFigure 4-2 andFigure 4-3, or a field image coveringlines of two fields, are invalid and shall not be returned by thedriver.To initialize the
start
andcount
fields, applications must firstdetermine the current video standard selection. Thev4l2_std_id ortheframelines
field of struct v4l2_standard canbe evaluated for this purpose.__u32 flags
See Table 4-5 below. Currentlyonly drivers set flags, applications must set this field tozero. __u32 reserved
[2]This array is reserved for future extensions.Drivers and applications must set it to zero. Notes:
a. A few devices may be unable tosample VBI data at all but can extend the video capture window to theVBI region.Table 4-5. Raw VBI Format Flags
V4L2_VBI_UNSYNC
0x0001 This flag indicates hardware which does notproperly distinguish between fields. Normally the VBI image stores thefirst field (lower scanning line numbers) first in memory. This may bea top or bottom field depending on the video standard. When this flagis set the first or second field may be stored first, however thefields are still in correct temporal order with the older field firstin memory.a
V4L2_VBI_INTERLACED
0x0002 By default the two field images will be passedsequentially; all lines of the first field followed by all lines ofthe second field (compareSection 3.6 V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB
andV4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT
, whether the top or bottomfield is first in memory depends on the video standard). When thisflag is set, the two fields are interlaced (cf.V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
). The first line of thefirst field followed by the first line of the second field, then thetwo second lines, and so on. Such a layout may be necessary when thehardware has been programmed to capture or output interlaced videoimages and is unable to separate the fields for VBI capturing atthe same time. For simplicity setting this flag implies that bothcount
values are equal and non-zero.Notes:
a. Most VBI services transmit on both fields, butsome have different semantics depending on the field number. Thesecannot be reliable decoded or encoded whenV4L2_VBI_UNSYNC
is set.Figure 4-2. ITU-R 525 line numbering (M/NTSC and M/PAL)
(1) For the purpose of this specification field 2starts in line 264 and not 263.5 because half line capturing is notsupported.
Figure 4-3. ITU-R 625 line numbering
(1) For the purpose of this specification field 2starts in line 314 and not 313.5 because half line capturing is notsupported.
Remember the VBI image format depends on the selectedvideo standard, therefore the application must choose a new standard orquery the current standard first. Attempts to read or write data aheadof format negotiation, or after switching the video standard which mayinvalidate the negotiated VBI parameters, should be refused by thedriver. A format change during active I/O is not permitted.
4.7.4. Reading and writing VBI images
To assure synchronization with the field number and easierimplementation, the smallest unit of data passed at a time is oneframe, consisting of two fields of VBI images immediately following inmemory.
The total size of a frame computes as follows:
(count
[0] +count
[1]) *samples_per_line
* sample size in bytesThe sample size is most likely always one byte,applications must check the
sample_format
field though, to function properly with other drivers.A VBI device may support read/write and/or streaming (memory mapping oruser pointer) I/O. The latter bears thepossibility of synchronizing video andVBI data by using buffer timestamps.
Remember the
VIDIOC_STREAMON
ioctl and the first read(),write() and select() call can be resource allocation points returninganEBUSY error code if the required hardware resources are temporarilyunavailable, for example the device is already in use by anotherprocess.
4.8. Sliced VBI Data Interface
VBI stands for Vertical Blanking Interval, a gap in thesequence of lines of an analog video signal. During VBI no pictureinformation is transmitted, allowing some time while the electron beamof a cathode ray tube TV returns to the top of the screen.
Sliced VBI devices use hardware to demodulate data transmittedin the VBI. V4L2 drivers shallnot do this bysoftware, see also theraw VBIinterface. The data is passed as short packets of fixed size,covering one scan line each. The number of packets per video frame isvariable.
Sliced VBI capture and output devices are accessed through thesame character special files as raw VBI devices. When a driversupports both interfaces, the default function of a/dev/vbi device israw VBIcapturing or output, and the sliced VBI function is only availableafter calling the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl as defined below. Likewise a/dev/video device may support the sliced VBI API,however the default function here is video capturing or output.Different file descriptors must be used to pass raw and sliced VBIdata simultaneously, if this is supported by the driver.
4.8.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the sliced VBI capturing or output APIset the
V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
orV4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
flag respectively, inthecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. At least one of theread/write, streaming or asynchronousI/Omethods must be supported. Sliced VBI devices may have a tuneror modulator.
4.8.2. Supplemental Functions
Sliced VBI devices shall support videoinput or output and tuner ormodulator ioctls if they have these capabilities, and they maysupportcontrol ioctls. Thevideo standard ioctls provide informationvital to program a sliced VBI device, therefore must besupported.
4.8.3. Sliced VBI Format Negotiation
To find out which data services are supported by thehardware applications can call the
VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP
ioctl.All drivers implementing the sliced VBI interface must support thisioctl. The results may differ from those of theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctlwhen the number of VBI lines the hardware can capture or output perframe, or the number of services it can identify on a given line arelimited. For example on PAL line 16 the hardware may be able to lookfor a VPS or Teletext signal, but not both at the same time.To determine the currently selected services applicationsset the
type
field of struct v4l2_format toV4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
orV4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
, and theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl fills thefmt.sliced
member, astruct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format.Applications can request different parameters byinitializing or modifying the
fmt.sliced
member and calling theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to thev4l2_format
structure.The sliced VBI API is more complicated than the raw VBI APIbecause the hardware must be told which VBI service to expect on eachscan line. Not all services may be supported by the hardware on alllines (this is especially true for VBI output where Teletext is oftenunsupported and other services can only be inserted in one specificline). In many cases, however, it is sufficient to just set the
service_set
field to the required servicesand let the driver fill theservice_lines
array according to hardware capabilities. Only if more precise controlis needed should the programmer set theservice_lines
array explicitly.The
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl returns anEINVAL error code only when thegiven parameters are ambiguous, otherwise it modifies the parametersaccording to hardware capabilities. When the driver allocatesresources at this point, it may return anEBUSY error code if the requiredresources are temporarily unavailable. Other resource allocationpoints which may returnEBUSY can be theVIDIOC_STREAMON
ioctl and the firstread()
,write()
andselect()
call.Table 4-6. struct
v4l2_sliced_vbi_format
__u32 service_set
If
service_set
is non-zero when passed withVIDIOC_S_FMT
orVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
, theservice_lines
array will be filled by thedriver according to the services specified in this field. For example,ifservice_set
is initialized withV4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B | V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625
, adriver for the cx25840 video decoder sets lines 7-22 of bothfieldsatoV4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B
and line 23 of the first field toV4L2_SLICED_WSS_625
. Ifservice_set
is set to zero, then the valuesofservice_lines
will be used instead.On return the driver sets this field to the union of allelements of the returned
service_lines
array. It may contain less services than requested, perhaps just one,if the hardware cannot handle more services simultaneously. It may beempty (zero) if none of the requested services are supported by thehardware.__u16 service_lines
[2][24]Applications initialize thisarray with sets of data services the driver shall look for or inserton the respective scan line. Subject to hardware capabilities driversreturn the requested set, a subset, which may be just a singleservice, or an empty set. When the hardware cannot handle multipleservices on the same line the driver shall choose one. No assumptionscan be made on which service the driver chooses.
Dataservices are defined in Table 4-7. Array indicesmap to ITU-R line numbers (see also Figure 4-2 and Figure 4-3) as follows:
Element 525 line systems 625 line systems service_lines
[0][1]1 1 service_lines
[0][23]23 23 service_lines
[1][1]264 314 service_lines
[1][23]286 336 Drivers must set service_lines
[0][0] andservice_lines
[1][0] to zero.__u32 io_size
Maximum number of bytes passed byone read()
orwrite()
call, and the buffer size in bytes fortheVIDIOC_QBUF
andVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. Drivers set this field tothe size of struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_data times the number of non-zeroelements in the returnedservice_lines
array (that is the number of lines potentially carrying data).__u32 reserved
[2]This array is reserved for futureextensions. Applications and drivers must set it to zero. Notes:
a. According to ETS 300 706 lines 6-22 of thefirst field and lines 5-22 of the second field may carry Teletextdata.Table 4-7. Sliced VBI services
Symbol Value Reference Lines, usually Payload V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B
(Teletext System B)0x0001 ETS 300 706,ITU BT.653 PAL/SECAM line 7-22, 320-335 (second field 7-22) Last 42 of the 45 byte Teletext packet, that iswithout clock run-in and framing code, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_VPS
0x0400 ETS 300 231 PAL line 16 Byte number 3 to 15 according to Figure 9 ofETS 300 231, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525
0x1000 EIA 608-B NTSC line 21, 284 (second field 21) Two bytes in transmission order, including paritybit, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625
0x4000 ITU BT.1119,EN 300 294 PAL/SECAM line 23 Byte 0 1 msb lsb msb lsb Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 x x 13 12 11 10 9V4L2_SLICED_VBI_525
0x1000 Set of services applicable to 525line systems. V4L2_SLICED_VBI_625
0x4401 Set of services applicable to 625line systems. Drivers may return an EINVAL error code when applications attempt toread or write data without prior format negotiation, after switchingthe video standard (which may invalidate the negotiated VBIparameters) and after switching the video input (which may change thevideo standard as a side effect). The
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl may returnan EBUSY error code when applications attempt to change the format while i/o isin progress (between aVIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
call,and after the firstread()
orwrite()
call).
4.8.4. Reading and writing sliced VBI data
A single
read()
orwrite()
call must pass all databelonging to one video frame. That is an array ofv4l2_sliced_vbi_data
structures with one ormore elements and a total size not exceedingio_size
bytes. Likewise in streaming I/Omode one buffer ofio_size
bytes mustcontain data of one video frame. Theid
ofunusedv4l2_sliced_vbi_data
elements must bezero.Table 4-8. struct
v4l2_sliced_vbi_data
__u32 id
A flag from Table 2identifying the type of data in this packet. Only a single bit must beset. When the id
of a captured packet iszero, the packet is empty and the contents of other fields areundefined. Applications shall ignore empty packets. When theid
of a packet for output is zero thecontents of thedata
field are undefinedand the driver must no longer insert data on the requestedfield
andline
.__u32 field
The video field number this data has been capturedfrom, or shall be inserted at. 0
for the firstfield,1
for the second field.__u32 line
The field (as opposed to frame) line number thisdata has been captured from, or shall be inserted at. SeeFigure 4-2 andFigure 4-3 for validvalues. Sliced VBI capture devices can set the line number of allpackets to 0
if the hardware cannot reliablyidentify scan lines. The field number must always be valid.__u32 reserved
This field is reserved for future extensions.Applications and drivers must set it to zero. __u8 data
[48]The packet payload. See Table 2 for the contents and number ofbytes passed for each data type. The contents of padding bytes at theend of this array are undefined, drivers and applications shall ignorethem. Packets are always passed in ascending line number order,without duplicate line numbers. The
write()
function and theVIDIOC_QBUF
ioctl must return an EINVAL error code when applications violatethis rule. They must also return anEINVAL error code when applications pass anincorrect field or line number, or a combination offield
,line
andid
which has not been negotiated with theVIDIOC_G_FMT
orVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. When the line numbers areunknown the driver must pass the packets in transmitted order. Thedriver can insert empty packets withid
setto zero anywhere in the packet array.To assure synchronization and to distinguish from framedropping, when a captured frame does not carry any of the requesteddata services drivers must pass one or more empty packets. When anapplication fails to pass VBI data in time for output, the drivermust output the last VPS and WSS packet again, and disable the outputof Closed Caption and Teletext data, or output data which is ignoredby Closed Caption and Teletext decoders.
A sliced VBI device may support read/write and/or streaming (memory mapping and/oruserpointer) I/O. The latter bears the possibility of synchronizingvideo and VBI data by using buffer timestamps.
4.9. Teletext Interface
This interface aims at devices receiving and demodulatingTeletext data [ETS 300 706,ITU BT.653], evaluating theTeletext packages and storing formatted pages in cache memory. Suchdevices are usually implemented as microcontrollers with serialinterface (I2C) and can be found on olderTV cards, dedicated Teletext decoding cards and home-brew devicesconnected to the PC parallel port.
The Teletext API was designed by Martin Buck. It is defined inthe kernel header filelinux/videotext.h, thespecification is available fromhttp://home.pages.de/~videotext/. (Videotext is the name ofthe German public television Teletext service.) Conventional characterdevice file names are/dev/vtx and/dev/vttuner, with device number 83, 0 and 83, 16respectively. A similar interface exists for the Philips SAA5249Teletext decoder [specification?] with character device file names/dev/tlkN, device number 102, N.
Eventually the Teletext API was integrated into the V4L APIwith character device file names/dev/vtx0 to/dev/vtx31, device major number 81, minor numbers192 to 223. For reference the V4L Teletext API specification isreproduced here in full: "Teletext interfaces talk the existing VTXAPI." Teletext devices with major number 83 and 102 will be removed inLinux 2.6.
There are no plans to replace the Teletext API or to integrateit into V4L2. Please write to the Video4Linux mailing list:https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list when the need arises.
4.10. Radio Interface
This interface is intended for AM and FM (analog) radioreceivers.
Conventionally V4L2 radio devices are accessed throughcharacter device special files named/dev/radioand/dev/radio0 to/dev/radio63 with major number 81 and minornumbers 64 to 127.
4.10.1. Querying Capabilities
Devices supporting the radio interface set the
V4L2_CAP_RADIO
andV4L2_CAP_TUNER
flag in thecapabilities
field of struct v4l2_capabilityreturned by theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. Other combinations ofcapability flags are reserved for future extensions.
4.10.2. Supplemental Functions
Radio devices can support controls, and must support the tuner ioctls.
They do not support the video input or output, audio inputor output, video standard, cropping and scaling, compression andstreaming parameter, or overlay ioctls. All other ioctls and I/Omethods are reserved for future extensions.
4.10.3. Programming
Radio devices may have a couple audio controls (as discussedin Section 1.8) such as a volume control, possibly customcontrols. Further all radio devices have one tuner (these arediscussed inSection 1.6) with index number zero to selectthe radio frequency and to determine if a monaural or FM stereoprogram is received. Drivers switch automatically between AM and FMdepending on the selected frequency. The
VIDIOC_G_TUNER
ioctlreports the supported frequency range.
4.11. RDS Interface
The Radio Data System transmits supplementaryinformation in binary format, for example the station name or travelinformation, on a inaudible audio subcarrier of a radio program. Thisinterface aims at devices capable of receiving and decoding RDSinformation.
The V4L API defines its RDS API as follows.
From radio devices supporting it, RDS data can be readwith the
read()
function. The data is packed in groups of three,as follows:
First Octet Least Significant Byte of RDS Block
Second Octet Most Significant Byte of RDS Block
Third Octet Bit 7: Error bit. Indicates that anuncorrectable error occurred during reception of this block. Bit 6:Corrected bit. Indicates that an error was corrected for this datablock. Bits 5-3: Received Offset. Indicates the offset received by thesync system. Bits 2-0: Offset Name. Indicates the offset applied tothis data.
It was argued the RDS API should beextended before integration into V4L2, no new API has been devised yet.Please write to the Video4Linux mailing list for discussion:https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list. Meanwhile no V4L2 driver should set the
V4L2_CAP_RDS_CAPTURE
capability flag.I. Function Reference
Table of Contents V4L2 close() -- Close a V4L2 device V4L2 ioctl() -- Program a V4L2 device ioctl VIDIOC_CROPCAP -- Information about the video cropping and scaling abilities ioctl VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER, VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER -- Read or write hardware registers ioctl VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD, VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD -- Execute an encoder command ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO -- Enumerate audio inputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT -- Enumerate audio outputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT -- Enumerate image formats ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES -- Enumerate frame sizes ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS -- Enumerate frame intervals ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT -- Enumerate video inputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT -- Enumerate video outputs ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMSTD -- Enumerate supported video standards ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO -- Query or select the current audio input and itsattributes ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT, VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT -- Query or select the current audio output ioctl VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT -- Identify the chips on a TV card ioctl VIDIOC_G_CROP, VIDIOC_S_CROP -- Get or set the current cropping rectangle ioctl VIDIOC_G_CTRL, VIDIOC_S_CTRL -- Get or set the value of a control ioctl VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX -- Get meta data about a compressed video stream ioctl VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS,VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS -- Get or set the value of several controls, try controlvalues ioctl VIDIOC_G_FBUF, VIDIOC_S_FBUF -- Get or set frame buffer overlay parameters ioctl VIDIOC_G_FMT, VIDIOC_S_FMT,VIDIOC_TRY_FMT -- Get or set the data format, try a format ioctl VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY, VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY -- Get or set tuner or modulator radiofrequency ioctl VIDIOC_G_INPUT, VIDIOC_S_INPUT -- Query or select the current video input ioctl VIDIOC_G_JPEGCOMP, VIDIOC_S_JPEGCOMP -- ioctl VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR, VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR -- Get or set modulator attributes ioctl VIDIOC_G_OUTPUT, VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT -- Query or select the current video output ioctl VIDIOC_G_PARM, VIDIOC_S_PARM -- Get or set streaming parameters ioctl VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY, VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY -- Query or request the access priority associated with afile descriptor ioctl VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP -- Query sliced VBI capabilities ioctl VIDIOC_G_STD, VIDIOC_S_STD -- Query or select the video standard of the current input ioctl VIDIOC_G_TUNER, VIDIOC_S_TUNER -- Get or set tuner attributes ioctl VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS -- Log driver status information ioctl VIDIOC_OVERLAY -- Start or stop video overlay ioctl VIDIOC_QBUF, VIDIOC_DQBUF -- Exchange a buffer with the driver ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYBUF -- Query the status of a buffer ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCAP -- Query device capabilities ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, VIDIOC_QUERYMENU -- Enumerate controls and menu control items ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYSTD -- Sense the video standard received by the currentinput ioctl VIDIOC_REQBUFS -- Initiate Memory Mapping or User Pointer I/O ioctl VIDIOC_STREAMON, VIDIOC_STREAMOFF -- Start or stop streaming I/O V4L2 mmap() -- Map device memory into application address space V4L2 munmap() -- Unmap device memory V4L2 open() -- Open a V4L2 device V4L2 poll() -- Wait for some event on a file descriptor V4L2 read() -- Read from a V4L2 device V4L2 select() -- Synchronous I/O multiplexing V4L2 write() -- Write to a V4L2 device
V4L2 close()
Description
Closes the device. Any I/O in progress is terminated andresources associated with the file descriptor are freed. However dataformat parameters, current input or output, control values or otherproperties remain unchanged.
Return Value
The function returns 0 onsuccess, -1 on failure and the
errno
is set appropriately. Possible errorcodes:EBADF
fd
is not a valid open filedescriptor.V4L2 ioctl()
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
V4L2 ioctl request code as defined in the videodev.h header file, for exampleVIDIOC_QUERYCAP.
argp
Pointer to a function parameter, usually a structure.
Description
The
ioctl()
function is used to programV4L2 devices. The argumentfd
must be an openfile descriptor. An ioctlrequest
has encodedin it whether the argument is an input, output or read/writeparameter, and the size of the argumentargp
inbytes. Macros and defines specifying V4L2 ioctl requests are locatedin thevideodev.h header file.Applications should use their own copy, not include the version in thekernel sources on the system they compile on. All V4L2 ioctl requests,their respective function and parameters are specified inReference I,Function Reference.Return Value
On success the
ioctl()
function returns0 and does not reset theerrno
variable. On failure-1 is returned, when the ioctl takes anoutput or read/write parameter it remains unmodified, and theerrno
variable is set appropriately. See below forpossible error codes. Generic errors likeEBADForEFAULTare not listed in the sectionsdiscussing individual ioctl requests.Note ioctls may return undefined error codes. Since errorsmay have side effects such as a driver reset applications shouldabort on unexpected errors.
EBADF
- EBUSY
fd
is not a valid open filedescriptor.- EFAULT
The property cannot be changed right now. Typicallythis error code is returned when I/O is in progress or the driversupports multiple opens and another process locked the property.
- ENOTTY
argp
references an inaccessiblememory area.- EINVAL
fd
is not associated with acharacter special device.- ENOMEM
The
request
or the data pointedto byargp
is not valid. This is a very commonerror code, see the individual ioctl requests listed inReference I,Function Reference for actual causes.- ERANGE
Not enough physical or virtual memory was available tocomplete the request.
The application attempted to set a control with the
VIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctl to a value which is out of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_CROPCAP
Description
Applications use this function to query the croppinglimits, the pixel aspect of images and to calculate scale factors.They set the
type
field of a v4l2_cropcapstructure to the respective buffer (stream) type and call theVIDIOC_CROPCAP
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure. The results areconstant except when switching the video standard. Remember thisswitch can occur implicit when switching the video input oroutput.Table 1. struct
v4l2_cropcap
enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the data stream, set by the application.Only these types are valid here: V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
, and custom (driverdefined) types with codeV4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
and higher.struct v4l2_rect bounds
Defines the window within capturing or output ispossible, this may exclude for example the horizontal and verticalblanking areas. The cropping rectangle cannot exceed these limits.Width and height are defined in pixels, the driver writer is free tochoose origin and units of the coordinate system in the analogdomain. struct v4l2_rect defrect
Default cropping rectangle, it shall cover the"whole picture". Assuming pixel aspect 1/1 this could be for example a640 × 480 rectangle for NTSC, a768 × 576 rectangle for PAL and SECAM centered overthe active picture area. The same co-ordinate system as for bounds
is used.struct v4l2_fract pixelaspect
This is the pixel aspect (y / x) when noscaling is applied, the ratio of the actual samplingfrequency and the frequency required to get squarepixels.
When cropping coordinates refer to square pixels,the driver sets
pixelaspect
to 1/1. Othercommon values are 54/59 for PAL and SECAM, 11/10 for NTSC sampledaccording to [ITU BT.601].Table 2. struct
v4l2_rect
__s32 left
Horizontal offset of the top, left corner of therectangle, in pixels. __s32 top
Vertical offset of the top, left corner of therectangle, in pixels. __s32 width
Width of the rectangle, in pixels. __s32 height
Height of the rectangle, in pixels. Widthand height cannot be negative, the fields are signed forhysterical reasons. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_cropcap
type
isinvalid or the ioctl is not supported. This is not permitted forvideo capture, output and overlay devices, which must supportVIDIOC_CROPCAP
.ioctl VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER, VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER, VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER
argp
Description
Experimental: This is an experimentalinterface and may change in the future.
For driver debugging purposes these ioctls allow testapplications to access hardware registers directly. Regularapplications should not use them.
Since writing or even reading registers can jeopardize thesystem security, its stability and damage the hardware, both ioctlsrequire superuser privileges. Additionally the Linux kernel must becompiled with the
CONFIG_VIDEO_ADV_DEBUG
optionto enable these ioctls.To write a register applications must initialize all fieldsof a struct v4l2_register and call
VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER
with a pointer to thisstructure. Thematch_type
andmatch_chip
fields select a chip on the TVcard, thereg
field specifies a registernumber and theval
field the value to bewritten into the register.To read a register applications must initialize the
match_type
,match_chip
andreg
fields, and callVIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER
with a pointer to thisstructure. On success the driver stores the register value in theval
field. On failure the structure remainsunchanged.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_HOST
,match_chip
selects the nth non-I2C chipon the TV card. Drivers may also interpretmatch_chip
as a random ID, but we recommendagainst that. The number zero always selects the host chip, e. g. thechip connected to the PCI bus. You can find out which chips arepresent with theVIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
ioctl.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_DRIVER
,match_chip
contains a driver ID as definedin thelinux/i2c-id.h header file. For instanceI2C_DRIVERID_SAA7127
will match any chipsupported by the saa7127 driver, regardless of its I2C bus address.When multiple chips supported by the same driver are present, theeffect of these ioctls is undefined. Again with theVIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
ioctl you can find out which I2C chips arepresent.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_ADDR
,match_chip
selects a chip by its 7 bit I2Cbus address.Success not guaranteed: Due to a flaw in the Linux I2C bus driver these ioctls mayreturn successfully without actually reading or writing a register. Tocatch the most likely failure we recommend a
VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
call confirming the presence of the selected I2C chip.These ioctls are optional, not all drivers may support them.However when a driver supports these ioctls it must also support
VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
. Conversely it may supportVIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
but not these ioctls.
VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER
andVIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER
were introduced in Linux2.6.21.We recommended the v4l2-dbgutility over calling these ioctls directly. It is available from theLinuxTV v4l-dvb repository; seehttp://linuxtv.org/repo/foraccess instructions.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_register
__u32 match_type
See Table 2 for a list of possible types. __u32 match_chip
Match a chip by this number, interpreted accordingto the match_type
field.__u64 reg
A register number. __u64 val
The value read from, or to be written into theregister. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EPERM
The driver does not support this ioctl, or the kernelwas not compiled with the
CONFIG_VIDEO_ADV_DEBUG
option, or thematch_type
is invalid, or theselected chip or register does not exist.Insufficient permissions. Root privileges are requiredto execute these ioctls.
ioctl VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD, VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD, VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD
argp
Description
Experimental: This is an experimentalinterface and may change in the future.
These ioctls control an audio/video (usually MPEG-) encoder.
VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD
sends a command to theencoder,VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD
can be used totry a command without actually executing it.To send a command applications must initialize all fields of a struct v4l2_encoder_cmd and call
VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD
orVIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD
with a pointer to this structure.The
cmd
field must contain thecommand code. Theflags
field is currentlyonly used by the STOP command and contains one bit: If theV4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP_AT_GOP_END
flag is set,encoding will continue until the end of the currentGroupOf Pictures, otherwise it will stop immediately.A
read
() call sends a START command tothe encoder if it has not been started yet. After a STOP command,read
() calls will read the remaining databuffered by the driver. When the buffer is empty,read
() will return zero and the nextread
() call will restart the encoder.A
close
() call sends an immediate STOPto the encoder, and all buffered data is discarded.These ioctls are optional, not all drivers may supportthem. They were introduced in Linux 2.6.21.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_encoder_cmd
__u32 cmd
The encoder command, see Table 2. __u32 flags
Flags to go with the command, see Table 3. If no flags are defined forthis command, drivers and applications must set this field tozero. __u32 data
[8]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 2. Encoder Commands
V4L2_ENC_CMD_START
0 Start the encoder. When the encoder is alreadyrunning or paused, this command does nothing. No flags are defined forthis command. V4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP
1 Stop the encoder. When the V4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP_AT_GOP_END
flag is set,encoding will continue until the end of the currentGroupOf Pictures, otherwise encoding will stop immediately.When the encoder is already stopped, this command doesnothing.V4L2_ENC_CMD_PAUSE
2 Pause the encoder. When the encoder has not beenstarted yet, the driver will return anEPERM error code. When the encoder isalready paused, this command does nothing. No flags are defined forthis command. V4L2_ENC_CMD_RESUME
3 Resume encoding after a PAUSE command. When theencoder has not been started yet, the driver will return anEPERM error code.When the encoder is already running, this command does nothing. Noflags are defined for this command. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EPERM
The driver does not support this ioctl, or the
cmd
field is invalid.The application sent a PAUSE or RESUME command whenthe encoder was not running.
ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
Description
To query the attributes of an audio input applicationsinitialize the
index
field and zero out thereserved
array of a struct v4l2_audioand call theVIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate all audioinputs applications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by oneuntil the driver returnsEINVAL.See ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO(2) for a description ofstruct v4l2_audio.
Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The number of the audio input is out of bounds, orthere are no audio inputs at all and this ioctl is notsupported.
ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT
Description
To query the attributes of an audio output applicationsinitialize the
index
field and zero out thereserved
array of a struct v4l2_audioout andcall theVIDIOC_G_AUDOUT
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate all audiooutputs applications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by oneuntil the driver returns EINVAL.Note connectors on a TV card to loop back the received audiosignal to a sound card are not audio outputs in this sense.
See ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT, VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT(2) for a description ofstruct v4l2_audioout.
Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The number of the audio output is out of bounds, orthere are no audio outputs at all and this ioctl is notsupported.
ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
Description
To enumerate image formats applications initialize the
type
andindex
field of struct v4l2_fmtdesc and call theVIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code. All formats are enumerable by beginning at index zero andincrementing by one untilEINVAL isreturned.Table 1. struct
v4l2_fmtdesc
__u32 index
Number of the format in the enumeration, set bythe application. This is in no way related to the pixelformat
field.enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the data stream, set by the application.Only these types are valid here: V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
, and custom (driverdefined) types with codeV4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
and higher.__u32 flags
See Table 2 __u8 description
[32]Description of the format, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring. This information is intended for the user, for example: "YUV4:2:2". __u32 pixelformat
The image format identifier. This is afour character code as computed by the v4l2_fourcc()macro: #define v4l2_fourcc(a,b,c,d) (((__u32)(a)<<0)|((__u32)(b)<<8)|((__u32)(c)<<16)|((__u32)(d)<<24))Several image formats are alreadydefined by this specification in Chapter 2. Note thesecodes are not the same as those used in the Windows world.
__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_fmtdesc
type
is not supported or theindex
is out ofbounds.ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES
argp
Pointer to a struct v4l2_frmsizeenum that contains an indexand pixel format and receives a frame width and height.
Description
Experimental: This is an experimentalinterface and may change in the future.
This ioctl allows applications to enumerate all frame sizes(i. e. width and height in pixels) that the device supports for thegiven pixel format.
The supported pixel formats can be obtained by using the
VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
function.The return value and the content of the
v4l2_frmsizeenum.type
field depend on thetype of frame sizes the device supports. Here are the semantics of thefunction for the different cases:
Discrete: The functionreturns success if the given index value (zero-based) is valid. Theapplication should increase the index by one for each call until
EINVAL
is returned. Thev4l2_frmsizeenum.type
field is set toV4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_DISCRETE
by the driver. Of theunion only thediscrete
member isvalid.Step-wise: The functionreturns success if the given index value is zero and
EINVAL
for any other index value. Thev4l2_frmsizeenum.type
field is set toV4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_STEPWISE
by the driver. Of theunion only thestepwise
member isvalid.Continuous: This is aspecial case of the step-wise type above. The function returns successif the given index value is zero and
EINVAL
forany other index value. Thev4l2_frmsizeenum.type
field is set toV4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_CONTINUOUS
by the driver. Ofthe union only thestepwise
member is validand thestep_width
andstep_height
values are set to 1.When the application calls the function with index zero, itmust check the
type
field to determine thetype of frame size enumeration the device supports. Only for theV4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_DISCRETE
type does it makesense to increase the index value to receive more frame sizes.Note that the order in which the frame sizes are returnedhas no special meaning. In particular does it not say anything aboutpotential default format sizes.
Applications can assume that the enumeration data does notchange without any interaction from the application itself. This meansthat the enumeration data is consistent if the application does notperform any other ioctl calls while it runs the frame sizeenumeration.
Structs
In the structs below, IN denotes avalue that has to be filled in by the application,OUT denotes values that the driver fills in. Theapplication should zero out all members except for theIN fields.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_frmsize_discrete
__u32 width
Width of the frame [pixel]. __u32 height
Height of the frame [pixel]. Table 2. struct
v4l2_frmsize_stepwise
__u32 min_width
Minimum frame width [pixel]. __u32 max_width
Maximum frame width [pixel]. __u32 step_width
Frame width step size [pixel]. __u32 min_height
Minimum frame height [pixel]. __u32 max_height
Maximum frame height [pixel]. __u32 step_height
Frame height step size [pixel]. Table 3. struct
v4l2_frmsizeenum
__u32 index
IN: Index of the given frame size in the enumeration. __u32 pixel_format
IN: Pixel format for which the frame sizes are enumerated. __u32 type
OUT: Frame size type the device supports. union OUT: Frame size with the given index. struct v4l2_frmsize_discrete discrete
struct v4l2_frmsize_stepwise stepwise
__u32 reserved[2]
Reserved space for future use. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:See the description section above for a list of returnvalues that
errno
can have.ioctl VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS
argp
Pointer to a struct v4l2_frmivalenum structure thatcontains a pixel format and size and receives a frame interval.
Description
This ioctl allows applications to enumerate all frameintervals that the device supports for the given pixel format andframe size.
The supported pixel formats and frame sizes can be obtainedby using the
VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
andVIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES
functions.The return value and the content of the
v4l2_frmivalenum.type
field depend on thetype of frame intervals the device supports. Here are the semantics ofthe function for the different cases:
Discrete: The functionreturns success if the given index value (zero-based) is valid. Theapplication should increase the index by one for each call until
EINVAL
is returned. The `v4l2_frmivalenum.type`field is set to `V4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_DISCRETE` by the driver. Of theunion only the `discrete` member is valid.Step-wise: The functionreturns success if the given index value is zero and
EINVAL
for any other index value. Thev4l2_frmivalenum.type
field is set toV4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_STEPWISE
by the driver. Of theunion only thestepwise
member isvalid.Continuous: This is aspecial case of the step-wise type above. The function returns successif the given index value is zero and
EINVAL
forany other index value. Thev4l2_frmivalenum.type
field is set toV4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_CONTINUOUS
by the driver. Ofthe union only thestepwise
member is validand thestep
value is set to 1.When the application calls the function with index zero, itmust check the
type
field to determine thetype of frame interval enumeration the device supports. Only for theV4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_DISCRETE
type does it makesense to increase the index value to receive more frameintervals.Note that the order in which the frame intervals arereturned has no special meaning. In particular does it not sayanything about potential default frame intervals.
Applications can assume that the enumeration data does notchange without any interaction from the application itself. This meansthat the enumeration data is consistent if the application does notperform any other ioctl calls while it runs the frame intervalenumeration.
Notes
Frame intervals and framerates: The V4L2 API uses frame intervals instead of framerates. Given the frame interval the frame rate can be computed asfollows:
frame_rate = 1 / frame_intervalStructs
In the structs below, IN denotes avalue that has to be filled in by the application,OUT denotes values that the driver fills in. Theapplication should zero out all members except for theIN fields.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_frmival_stepwise
struct v4l2_fract min
Minimum frame interval [s]. struct v4l2_fract max
Maximum frame interval [s]. struct v4l2_fract step
Frame interval step size [s]. Table 2. struct
v4l2_frmivalenum
__u32 index
IN: Index of the given frame interval in theenumeration. __u32 pixel_format
IN: Pixel format for which the frame intervals areenumerated. __u32 width
IN: Frame width for which the frame intervals areenumerated. __u32 height
IN: Frame height for which the frame intervals areenumerated. __u32 type
OUT: Frame interval type the device supports. union OUT: Frame interval with the given index. struct v4l2_fract discrete
Frame interval [s]. struct v4l2_frmival_stepwise stepwise
__u32 reserved[2]
Reserved space for future use. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:See the description section above for a list of returnvalues that
errno
can have.ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
Description
To query the attributes of a video input applicationsinitialize the
index
field of struct v4l2_inputand call theVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
ioctl with apointer to this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure orreturn anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate allinputs applications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by oneuntil the driver returnsEINVAL.Table 1. struct
v4l2_input
__u32 index
Identifies the input, set by theapplication. __u8 name
[32]Name of the video input, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring, for example: "Vin (Composite 2)". This information is intendedfor the user, preferably the connector label on the device itself. __u32 type
Type of the input, see Table 2. __u32 audioset
Drivers can enumerate up to 32 video andaudio inputs. This field shows which audio inputs were selectable asaudio source if this was the currently selected video input. It is abit mask. The LSB corresponds to audio input 0, the MSB to input 31.Any number of bits can be set, or none.
When the driverdoes not enumerate audio inputs no bits must be set. Applicationsshall not interpret this as lack of audio support. Some driversautomatically select audio sources and do not enumerate them sincethere is no choice anyway.
For details on audio inputs andhow to select the current input see Section 1.5.
__u32 tuner
Capture devices can have zero or more tuners (RFdemodulators). When the type
is set toV4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER
this is an RF connector andthis field identifies the tuner. It corresponds tostruct v4l2_tuner fieldindex
. For details ontuners see Section 1.6.v4l2_std_id std
Every video input supports one or more differentvideo standards. This field is a set of all supported standards. Fordetails on video standards and how to switch seeSection 1.7. __u32 status
This field provides status information about theinput. See Table 3 for flags. status
is only valid when this is thecurrent input.__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Table 2. Input Types
V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER
1 This input uses a tuner (RF demodulator). V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_CAMERA
2 Analog baseband input, for example CVBS /Composite Video, S-Video, RGB. Table 3. Input Status Flags
General V4L2_IN_ST_NO_POWER
0x00000001 Attached device is off. V4L2_IN_ST_NO_SIGNAL
0x00000002 V4L2_IN_ST_NO_COLOR
0x00000004 The hardware supports color decoding, but does notdetect color modulation in the signal. Analog Video V4L2_IN_ST_NO_H_LOCK
0x00000100 No horizontal sync lock. V4L2_IN_ST_COLOR_KILL
0x00000200 A color killer circuit automatically disables colordecoding when it detects no color modulation. When this flag is setthe color killer is enabledand has shut offcolor decoding. Digital Video V4L2_IN_ST_NO_SYNC
0x00010000 No synchronization lock. V4L2_IN_ST_NO_EQU
0x00020000 No equalizer lock. V4L2_IN_ST_NO_CARRIER
0x00040000 Carrier recovery failed. VCR and Set-Top Box V4L2_IN_ST_MACROVISION
0x01000000 Macrovision is an analog copy prevention systemmangling the video signal to confuse video recorders. When thisflag is set Macrovision has been detected. V4L2_IN_ST_NO_ACCESS
0x02000000 Conditional access denied. V4L2_IN_ST_VTR
0x04000000 VTR time constant. [?] Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_input
index
isout of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
Description
To query the attributes of a video outputs applicationsinitialize the
index
field of struct v4l2_outputand call theVIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
ioctl with apointer to this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure orreturn anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate alloutputs applications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by oneuntil the driver returnsEINVAL.Table 1. struct
v4l2_output
__u32 index
Identifies the output, set by theapplication. __u8 name
[32]Name of the video output, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring, for example: "Vout". This information is intended for theuser, preferably the connector label on the device itself. __u32 type
Type of the output, see Table 2. __u32 audioset
Drivers can enumerate up to 32 video andaudio outputs. This field shows which audio outputs wereselectable as the current output if this was the currently selectedvideo output. It is a bit mask. The LSB corresponds to audio output 0,the MSB to output 31. Any number of bits can be set, ornone.
When the driver does not enumerate audio outputs nobits must be set. Applications shall not interpret this as lack ofaudio support. Drivers may automatically select audio outputs withoutenumerating them.
For details on audio outputs and how toselect the current output seeSection 1.5.
__u32 modulator
Output devices can have zero or more RF modulators.When the type
isV4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_MODULATOR
this is an RFconnector and this field identifies the modulator. It corresponds tostruct v4l2_modulator fieldindex
. For detailson modulators see Section 1.6.v4l2_std_id std
Every video output supports one or more differentvideo standards. This field is a set of all supported standards. Fordetails on video standards and how to switch seeSection 1.7. __u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_output
index
is out of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMSTD
Description
To query the attributes of a video standard,especially a custom (driver defined) one, applications initialize the
index
field of struct v4l2_standard and call theVIDIOC_ENUMSTD
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate all standardsapplications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by one until thedriver returns EINVAL. Drivers may enumerate adifferent set of standards after switching the video input oroutput.[23]Table 1. struct
v4l2_standard
__u32 index
Number of the video standard, set by theapplication. v4l2_std_id id
The bits in this field identify the standard asone of the common standards listed inTable 3,or if bits 32 to 63 are set as custom standards. Multiple bits can beset if the hardware does not distinguish between these standards,however separate indices do not indicate the opposite. The id
must be unique. No other enumeratedv4l2_standard
structure, for this input oroutput anyway, can contain the same set of bits.__u8 name
[24]Name of the standard, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring, for example: "PAL-B/G", "NTSC Japan". This information isintended for the user. struct v4l2_fract frameperiod
The frame period (not field period) is numerator/ denominator. For example M/NTSC has a frame period of 1001 /30000 seconds. __u32 framelines
Total lines per frame including blanking,e. g. 625 for B/PAL. __u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Table 3. typedef
v4l2_std_id
__u64 v4l2_std_id
This type is a set, each bit representing anothervideo standard as listed below and inTable 4. The 32 most significant bits are reservedfor custom (driver defined) video standards. #define V4L2_STD_PAL_B ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000001) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_B1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000002) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_G ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000004) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_H ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000008) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_I ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000010) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_D ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000020) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_D1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000040) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_K ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000080) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_M ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000100) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_N ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000200) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000400) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_60 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000800)
V4L2_STD_PAL_60
isa hybrid standard with 525 lines, 60 Hz refresh rate, and PAL colormodulation with a 4.43 MHz color subcarrier. Some PAL video recorderscan play back NTSC tapes in this mode for display on a 50/60 Hz agnosticPAL TV.#define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M ((v4l2_std_id)0x00001000) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_JP ((v4l2_std_id)0x00002000) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_443 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00004000)
V4L2_STD_NTSC_443
is a hybrid standard with 525 lines, 60 Hz refresh rate, and NTSCcolor modulation with a 4.43 MHz colorsubcarrier.#define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR ((v4l2_std_id)0x00008000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_B ((v4l2_std_id)0x00010000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_D ((v4l2_std_id)0x00020000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_G ((v4l2_std_id)0x00040000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_H ((v4l2_std_id)0x00080000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_K ((v4l2_std_id)0x00100000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_K1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00200000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_L ((v4l2_std_id)0x00400000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_LC ((v4l2_std_id)0x00800000) /* ATSC/HDTV */ #define V4L2_STD_ATSC_8_VSB ((v4l2_std_id)0x01000000) #define V4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB ((v4l2_std_id)0x02000000)
V4L2_STD_ATSC_8_VSB
andV4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB
are U.S. terrestrial digitalTV standards. Presently the V4L2 API does not support digital TV. Seealso the Linux DVB API athttp://linuxtv.org.#define V4L2_STD_PAL_BG (V4L2_STD_PAL_B |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_B1 |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_G) #define V4L2_STD_B (V4L2_STD_PAL_B |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_B1 |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_B) #define V4L2_STD_GH (V4L2_STD_PAL_G |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_H |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_G |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_H) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_DK (V4L2_STD_PAL_D |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_D1 |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_K) #define V4L2_STD_PAL (V4L2_STD_PAL_BG |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_DK |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_H |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_I) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC (V4L2_STD_NTSC_M |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_JP |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR) #define V4L2_STD_MN (V4L2_STD_PAL_M |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_N |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK (V4L2_STD_SECAM_D |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_K |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_K1) #define V4L2_STD_DK (V4L2_STD_PAL_DK |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM (V4L2_STD_SECAM_B |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_G |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_H |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_L |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_LC) #define V4L2_STD_525_60 (V4L2_STD_PAL_M |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_60 |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_443) #define V4L2_STD_625_50 (V4L2_STD_PAL |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_N |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM) #define V4L2_STD_UNKNOWN 0 #define V4L2_STD_ALL (V4L2_STD_525_60 |\ V4L2_STD_625_50)Table 4. Video Standards (based on [ITU BT.470])
Characteristics M/NTSCa
M/PAL N/PALb
B, B1, G/PAL D, D1, K/PAL H/PAL I/PAL B, G/SECAM D, K/SECAM K1/SECAM L/SECAM Frame lines 525 625 Frame period (s) 1001/30000 1/25 Chrominance sub-carrier frequency (Hz) 3579545 ± 10 3579611.49 ± 10 4433618.75 ± 5 (3582056.25± 5) 4433618.75 ± 5 4433618.75 ± 1 fOR =4406250 ± 2000, fOB = 4250000± 2000 Nominal radio-frequency channel bandwidth(MHz) 6 6 6 B: 7; B1, G: 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 Sound carrier relative to vision carrier(MHz) + 4.5 + 4.5 + 4.5 + 5.5 ± 0.001c de f
+ 6.5 ± 0.001 + 5.5 + 5.9996 ± 0.0005 + 5.5 ± 0.001 + 6.5 ± 0.001 + 6.5 + 6.5 g
Notes:
a. Japan uses a standardsimilar to M/NTSC(V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_JP).
b. The values inbrackets apply to the combination N/PAL a.k.a.NC used in Argentina(V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc).
c. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Italy,the Netherlands, Slovakia and Switzerland a system of two soundcarriers is used, the frequency of the second carrier being242.1875 kHz above the frequency of the first sound carrier. Forstereophonic sound transmissions a similar system is used inAustralia.
d. New Zealand uses a soundcarrier displaced 5.4996 ± 0.0005 MHz from the visioncarrier.
e. In Denmark, Finland, NewZealand, Sweden and Spain a system of two sound carriers is used. InIceland, Norway and Poland the same system is being introduced. Thesecond carrier is 5.85 MHz above the vision carrier and is DQPSKmodulated with 728 kbit/s sound and data multiplex. (NICAMsystem)
f. In the United Kingdom, asystem of two sound carriers is used. The second sound carrier is6.552 MHz above the vision carrier and is DQPSK modulated with a728 kbit/s sound and data multiplex able to carry two soundchannels. (NICAM system)
g. In France, adigital carrier 5.85 MHz away from the vision carrier may be used inaddition to the main sound carrier. It is modulated in differentiallyencoded QPSK with a 728 kbit/s sound and data multiplexer capable ofcarrying two sound channels. (NICAMsystem)Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_standard
index
is out of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO
Description
To query the current audio input applications zero out the
reserved
array of a struct v4l2_audioand call theVIDIOC_G_AUDIO
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the device has no audio inputs, or none which combinewith the current video input.Audio inputs have one writable property, the audio mode. Toselect the current audio inputand change theaudio mode, applications initialize the
index
andmode
fields, and thereserved
array of av4l2_audio
structure and call theVIDIOC_S_AUDIO
ioctl. Drivers may switch to adifferent audio mode if the request cannot be satisfied. However, thisis a write-only ioctl, it does not return the actual new audiomode.Table 1. struct
v4l2_audio
__u32 index
Identifies the audio input, set by thedriver or application. __u8 name
[32]Name of the audio input, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring, for example: "Line In". This information is intended for theuser, preferably the connector label on the device itself. __u32 capability
Audio capability flags, see Table 2. __u32 mode
Audio mode flags set by drivers and applications (on VIDIOC_S_AUDIO
ioctl), seeTable 3.__u32 reserved
[2]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 2. Audio Capability Flags
V4L2_AUDCAP_STEREO
0x00001 This is a stereo input. The flag is intended toautomatically disable stereo recording etc. when the signal is alwaysmonaural. The API provides no means to detect if stereo isreceived, unless the audio input belongs to atuner. V4L2_AUDCAP_AVL
0x00002 Automatic Volume Level mode is supported. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EBUSY
No audio inputs combine with the current video input,or the number of the selected audio input is out of bounds or it doesnot combine, or there are no audio inputs at all and the ioctl is notsupported.
I/O is in progress, the input cannot beswitched.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT, VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT
Description
To query the current audio output applications zero out the
reserved
array of a struct v4l2_audioout andcall theVIDIOC_G_AUDOUT
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the device has no audio inputs, or none which combinewith the current video output.Audio outputs have no writable properties. Nevertheless, toselect the current audio output applications can initialize the
index
field andreserved
array (which in the future maycontain writable properties) of av4l2_audioout
structure and call theVIDIOC_S_AUDOUT
ioctl. Drivers switch to therequested output or return theEINVAL error code when the index is out ofbounds. This is a write-only ioctl, it does not return the currentaudio output attributes asVIDIOC_G_AUDOUT
does.Note connectors on a TV card to loop back the received audiosignal to a sound card are not audio outputs in this sense.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_audioout
__u32 index
Identifies the audio output, set by thedriver or application. __u8 name
[32]Name of the audio output, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring, for example: "Line Out". This information is intended for theuser, preferably the connector label on the device itself. __u32 capability
Audio capability flags, none defined yet. Driversmust set this field to zero. __u32 mode
Audio mode, none defined yet. Drivers andapplications (on VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT
) must set thisfield to zero.__u32 reserved
[2]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EBUSY
No audio outputs combine with the current videooutput, or the number of the selected audio output is out of bounds orit does not combine, or there are no audio outputs at all and theioctl is not supported.
I/O is in progress, the output cannot beswitched.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
Description
Experimental: This is an experimental interface and may change inthe future.
For driver debugging purposes this ioctl allows testapplications to query the driver about the chips present on the TVcard. Regular applications should not use it. When you found a chipspecific bug, please contact the Video4Linux mailing list (https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list)so it can be fixed.
To query the driver applications must initialize the
match_type
andmatch_chip
fields of a struct v4l2_chip_identand callVIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
with a pointer tothis structure. On success the driver stores information about theselected chip in theident
andrevision
fields. On failure the structureremains unchanged.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_HOST
,match_chip
selects the nth non-I2C chipon the TV card. You can enumerate all chips by starting at zero andincrementingmatch_chip
by one untilVIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
fails with anEINVAL error code.Drivers may also interpretmatch_chip
as arandom ID, but we recommend against that. The number zero alwaysselects the host chip, e. g. the chip connected to the PCI bus.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_DRIVER
,match_chip
contains a driver ID as definedin thelinux/i2c-id.h header file. For instanceI2C_DRIVERID_SAA7127
will match any chipsupported by the saa7127 driver, regardless of its I2C bus address.When multiple chips supported by the same driver are present, theioctl will returnV4L2_IDENT_AMBIGUOUS
in theident
field.When
match_type
isV4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_ADDR
,match_chip
selects a chip by its 7 bitI2C bus address.On success, the
ident
field willcontain a chip ID from the Linuxmedia/v4l2-chip-ident.h header file, and therevision
field will contain a driverspecific value, or zero if no particular revision is associated withthis chip.When the driver could not identify the selected chip,
ident
will containV4L2_IDENT_UNKNOWN
. When no chip matchedmatch_type
andmatch_chip
, the ioctl will succeed but theident
field will containV4L2_IDENT_NONE
. If multiple chips matched,ident
will containV4L2_IDENT_AMBIGUOUS
. In all these cases therevision
field remains unchanged.This ioctl is optional, not all drivers may support it. Itwas introduced in Linux 2.6.21.
We recommended the v4l2-dbgutility over calling this ioctl directly. It is available from theLinuxTV v4l-dvb repository; seehttp://linuxtv.org/repo/foraccess instructions.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_chip_ident
__u32 match_type
See Table 2 for a list ofpossible types. __u32 match_chip
Match a chip by this number, interpreted accordingto the match_type
field.__u32 ident
A chip identifier as defined in the Linuxmedia/v4l2-chip-ident.h header file, or one ofthe values fromTable 3. __u32 revision
A chip revision, chip and driver specific. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The driver does not support this ioctl, or the
match_type
is invalid.ioctl VIDIOC_G_CROP, VIDIOC_S_CROP
Description
To query the cropping rectangle size and positionapplications set the
type
field of av4l2_crop
structure to the respective buffer(stream) type and call theVIDIOC_G_CROP
ioctlwith a pointer to this structure. The driver fills the rest of thestructure or returns theEINVAL error code if cropping is not supported.To change the cropping rectangle applications initialize the
type
and struct v4l2_rect substructure namedc
of a v4l2_crop structure and call theVIDIOC_S_CROP
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure.The driver first adjusts the requested dimensions againsthardware limits, i. e. the bounds given by the capture/output window,and it rounds to the closest possible values of horizontal andvertical offset, width and height. In particular the driver must roundthe vertical offset of the cropping rectangle to frame lines modulotwo, such that the field order cannot be confused.
Second the driver adjusts the image size (the oppositerectangle of the scaling process, source or target depending on thedata direction) to the closest size possible while maintaining thecurrent horizontal and vertical scaling factor.
Finally the driver programs the hardware with the actualcropping and image parameters.
VIDIOC_S_CROP
is awrite-only ioctl, it does not return the actual parameters. To querythem applications must callVIDIOC_G_CROP
andVIDIOC_G_FMT
. When the parameters are unsuitable the application maymodify the cropping or image parameters and repeat the cycle untilsatisfactory parameters have been negotiated.When cropping is not supported then no parameters arechanged and
VIDIOC_S_CROP
returns theEINVAL error code.Table 1. struct
v4l2_crop
enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the data stream, set by the application.Only these types are valid here: V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
,V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
, and custom (driverdefined) types with codeV4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
and higher.struct v4l2_rect c
Cropping rectangle. The same co-ordinate system asfor struct v4l2_cropcap bounds
is used.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
Cropping is not supported.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_CTRL, VIDIOC_S_CTRL
Description
To get the current value of a control applicationsinitialize the
id
field of a structv4l2_control
and call theVIDIOC_G_CTRL
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. To change the value of a control applications initializetheid
andvalue
fields of a structv4l2_control
and call theVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctl.When the
id
is invalid driversreturn an EINVAL error code. When thevalue
is outof bounds drivers can choose to take the closest valid value or returnanERANGE error code, whatever seems more appropriate. However,VIDIOC_S_CTRL
is a write-only ioctl, it does notreturn the actual new value.These ioctls work only with user controls. For othercontrol classes the
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS
,VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
orVIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
must be used.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- ERANGE
The struct v4l2_control
id
isinvalid.- EBUSY
The struct v4l2_control
value
is out of bounds.The control is temporarily not changeable, possiblybecause another applications took over control of the device functionthis control belongs to.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX
Description
Experimental: This is an experimentalinterface and may change in the future.
The
VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX
ioctl providesmeta data about a compressed video stream the same or anotherapplication currently reads from the driver, which is useful forrandom access into the stream without decoding it.To read the data applications must call
VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX
with a pointer to astruct v4l2_enc_idx. On success the driver fills theentry
array, stores the number of elementswritten in theentries
field, andinitializes theentries_cap
field.Each element of the
entry
arraycontains meta data about one picture. AVIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX
call reads up toV4L2_ENC_IDX_ENTRIES
entries from a driverbuffer, which can hold up toentries_cap
entries. This number can be lower or higher thanV4L2_ENC_IDX_ENTRIES
, but not zero. When theapplication fails to read the meta data in time the oldest entrieswill be lost. When the buffer is empty or no capturing/encoding is inprogress,entries
will be zero.Currently this ioctl is only defined for MPEG-2 programstreams and video elementary streams.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_enc_idx
__u32 entries
The number of entries the driver stored in the entry
array.__u32 entries_cap
The number of entries the driver canbuffer. Must be greater than zero. __u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions.Drivers must set the array to zero. struct v4l2_enc_idx_entry entry
[V4L2_ENC_IDX_ENTRIES
]Meta data about a compressed video stream. Eachelement of the array corresponds to one picture, sorted in ascendingorder by their offset
.Table 2. struct
v4l2_enc_idx_entry
__u64 offset
The offset in bytes from the beginning of thecompressed video stream to the beginning of this picture, that is aPES packet header as defined inISO 13818-1 or apictureheader as defined in ISO 13818-2. Whenthe encoder is stopped, the driver resets the offset to zero. __u64 pts
The 33 bit Presentation TimeStamp of this picture as defined inISO 13818-1. __u32 length
The length of this picture in bytes. __u32 flags
Flags containing the coding type of this picture, see Table 3. __u32 reserved
[2]Reserved for future extensions.Drivers must set the array to zero. Table 3. Index Entry Flags
V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_I
0x00 This is an Intra-coded picture. V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_P
0x01 This is a Predictive-coded picture. V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_B
0x02 This is a Bidirectionally predictive-codedpicture. V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_MASK
0x0F AND the flags field withthis mask to obtain the picture coding type. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The driver does not support this ioctl.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS,VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
Name
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS -- Get or set the value of several controls, try controlvaluesArguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS, VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS,VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
argp
Description
These ioctls allow the caller to get or set multiplecontrols atomically. Control IDs are grouped into control classes (seeTable 3) and all controls in the control arraymust belong to the same control class.
Applications must always fill in the
count
,ctrl_class
,controls
andreserved
fields of struct v4l2_ext_controls, andinitialize the struct v4l2_ext_controlarray pointed to by thecontrols
fields.To get the current value of a set of controls applicationsinitialize the
id
field of eachstruct v4l2_ext_control and call theVIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS
ioctl.To change the value of a set of controls applicationsinitialize the
id
andvalue
fields of a struct v4l2_ext_control andcall theVIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
ioctl. The controlswill only be set ifall control values arevalid.To check if the a set of controls have correct valuesapplications initialize the
id
andvalue
fields of a struct v4l2_ext_control andcall theVIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
ioctl. It is up tothe driver whether wrong values are automatically adjusted to a validvalue or if an error is returned.When the
id
orctrl_class
is invalid drivers return anEINVAL error code. When the value is out of bounds drivers can choose to takethe closest valid value or return an ERANGE error code, whatever seems moreappropriate. In the first case the new value is set instruct v4l2_ext_control.The driver will only set/get these controls if all controlvalues are correct. This prevents the situation where only some of thecontrols were set/get. Only low-level errors (e. g. a failed i2ccommand) can still cause this situation.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_ext_control
__u32 id
Identifies the control, set by theapplication. __u32 reserved2
[2]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. union (anonymous) __s32 value
New value or current value. __s64 value64
New value or current value. void * reserved
Reserved for future pointer-type controls. Currently unused. Table 2. struct
v4l2_ext_controls
__u32 ctrl_class
The control class to which all controls belong, seeTable 3. __u32 count
The number of controls in the controls array. Mayalso be zero. __u32 error_idx
Set by the driver in case of an error. It is theindex of the control causing the error or equal to 'count' when theerror is not associated with a particular control. Undefined when theioctl returns 0 (success). __u32 reserved
[2]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. struct v4l2_ext_control * controls
Pointer to an array of count
v4l2_ext_control structures. Ignoredifcount
equals zero.Table 3. Control classes
V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_USER
0x980000 The class containing user controls. These controlsare described inSection 1.8. All controls that can be setusing the VIDIOC_S_CTRL
andVIDIOC_G_CTRL
ioctl belong to thisclass.V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG
0x990000 The class containing MPEG compression controls.These controls are described in sectionSection 1.9.5. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- ERANGE
The struct v4l2_ext_control
id
is invalid or the struct v4l2_ext_controlsctrl_class
is invalid. This error code isalso returned by theVIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
andVIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
ioctls if two or morecontrol values are in conflict.- EBUSY
The struct v4l2_ext_control
value
is out of bounds.The control is temporarily not changeable, possiblybecause another applications took over control of the device functionthis control belongs to.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_FBUF, VIDIOC_S_FBUF
Description
Applications can use the
VIDIOC_G_FBUF
andVIDIOC_S_FBUF
ioctl to get and set theframebuffer parameters for aVideoOverlay orVideo Output Overlay(OSD). The type of overlay is implied by the device type (capture oroutput device) and can be determined with theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl.One/dev/videoN device must not support bothkinds of overlay.The V4L2 API distinguishes destructive and non-destructiveoverlays. A destructive overlay copies captured video images into thevideo memory of a graphics card. A non-destructive overlay blendsvideo images into a VGA signal or graphics into a video signal.Video Output Overlays are alwaysnon-destructive.
To get the current parameters applications call the
VIDIOC_G_FBUF
ioctl with a pointer to av4l2_framebuffer
structure. The driver fillsall fields of the structure or returns anEINVAL error code when overlays arenot supported.To set the parameters for a Video OutputOverlay, applications must initialize the
flags
field of a structv4l2_framebuffer
. Since the framebuffer isimplemented on the TV card all other parameters are determined by thedriver. When an application callsVIDIOC_S_FBUF
with a pointer to this structure, the driver prepares for the overlayand returns the framebuffer parameters asVIDIOC_G_FBUF
does, or it returns an errorcode.To set the parameters for a non-destructiveVideo Overlay, applications must initialize the
flags
field, thefmt
substructure, and callVIDIOC_S_FBUF
. Again the driver prepares for theoverlay and returns the framebuffer parameters asVIDIOC_G_FBUF
does, or it returns an errorcode.For a destructive Video Overlayapplications must additionally provide a
base
address. Setting up a DMA to arandom memory location can jeopardize the system security, itsstability or even damage the hardware, therefore only the superusercan set the parameters for a destructive video overlay.Table 1. struct
v4l2_framebuffer
__u32 capability
Overlay capability flags set by the driver, seeTable 2. __u32 flags
Overlay control flags set by application anddriver, seeTable 3 void * base
Physical base address of the framebuffer,that is the address of the pixel in the top left corner of theframebuffer.a
This field is irrelevant tonon-destructive Video Overlays. Fordestructive Video Overlays applications mustprovide a base address. The driver may accept only base addresseswhich are a multiple of two, four or eight bytes. ForVideo Output Overlays the driver must returna valid base address, so applications can find the corresponding Linuxframebuffer device (seeSection 4.4).
struct v4l2_pix_format fmt
Layout of the frame buffer. The v4l2_pix_format
structure is defined inChapter 2, for clarification the fields and acceptable values are listed below:__u32 width
Width of the frame buffer in pixels. __u32 height
Height of the frame buffer in pixels. __u32 pixelformat
The pixel format of theframebuffer.
For non-destructive VideoOverlays this field only defines a format for thestruct v4l2_window
chromakey
field.For destructive VideoOverlays applications must initialize this field. ForVideo Output Overlays the driver must returna valid format.
Usually this is an RGB format (for example
V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565
) but YUV formats (only packed YUV formats when chroma keying is used,not includingV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV
andV4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY
) and theV4L2_PIX_FMT_PAL8
format are also permitted. Thebehavior of the driver when an application requests a compressedformat is undefined. SeeChapter 2 for information onpixel formats.enum v4l2_field field
Drivers and applications shall ignore this field.If applicable, the field order is selected with the VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, using thefield
field ofstruct v4l2_window.__u32 bytesperline
Distance in bytes between the leftmost pixels intwo adjacent lines. This field is irrelevant tonon-destructive VideoOverlays.
For destructive VideoOverlays both applications and drivers can set this fieldto request padding bytes at the end of each line. Drivers however mayignore the requested value, returning
width
times bytes-per-pixel or a larger value required by the hardware. Thatimplies applications can just set this field to zero to get areasonable default.For Video OutputOverlays the driver must return a validvalue.
Video hardware may access padding bytes, thereforethey must reside in accessible memory. Consider for example the casewhere padding bytes after the last line of an image cross a systempage boundary. Capture devices may write padding bytes, the value isundefined. Output devices ignore the contents of paddingbytes.
When the image format is planar the
bytesperline
value applies to the largestplane and is divided by the same factor as thewidth
field for any smaller planes. Forexample the Cb and Cr planes of a YUV 4:2:0 image have half as manypadding bytes following each line as the Y plane. To avoid ambiguitiesdrivers must return abytesperline
valuerounded up to a multiple of the scale factor.__u32 sizeimage
This field is irrelevant tonon-destructive Video Overlays. Fordestructive Video Overlays applications mustinitialize this field. ForVideo OutputOverlays the driver must return a validformat.
Together with
base
itdefines the framebuffer memory accessible by thedriver.enum v4l2_colorspace colorspace
This information supplements the pixelformat
and must be set by the driver,seeSection 2.2.__u32 priv
Reserved for additional information about custom(driver defined) formats. When not used drivers and applications mustset this field to zero. Notes:
a. A physical base address may not suit allplatforms. GK notes in theory we should pass something like PCI device+ memory region + offset instead. If you encounter problems pleasediscuss on the Video4Linux mailing list:https://listman.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/video4linux-list.Table 2. Frame Buffer Capability Flags
V4L2_FBUF_CAP_EXTERNOVERLAY
0x0001 The device is capable of non-destructive overlays.When the driver clears this flag, only destructive overlays aresupported. There are no drivers yet which support both destructive andnon-destructive overlays. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_CHROMAKEY
0x0002 The device supports clipping by chroma-keying theimages. That is, image pixels replace pixels in the VGA or videosignal only where the latter assume a certain color. Chroma-keyingmakes no sense for destructive overlays. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LIST_CLIPPING
0x0004 The device supports clipping using a list of cliprectangles. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_BITMAP_CLIPPING
0x0008 The device supports clipping using a bit mask. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LOCAL_ALPHA
0x0010 The device supports clipping/blending using thealpha channel of the framebuffer or VGA signal. Alpha blending makesno sense for destructive overlays. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_GLOBAL_ALPHA
0x0020 The device supports alpha blending using a globalalpha value. Alpha blending makes no sense for destructive overlays. V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LOCAL_INV_ALPHA
0x0040 The device supports clipping/blending using theinverted alpha channel of the framebuffer or VGA signal. Alphablending makes no sense for destructive overlays. Table 3. Frame Buffer Flags
V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_PRIMARY
0x0001 The framebuffer is the primary graphics surface.In other words, the overlay is destructive. [?] V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_OVERLAY
0x0002 The frame buffer is an overlay surface the samesize as the capture. [?] The purpose of V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_PRIMARY
andV4L2_FBUF_FLAG_OVERLAY
was never quite clear.Most drivers seem to ignore these flags. For compatibility with thebttv driver applications should set theV4L2_FBUF_FLAG_OVERLAY
flag.V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_CHROMAKEY
0x0004 Use chroma-keying. The chroma-key color isdetermined by the chromakey
field ofstruct v4l2_window and negotiated with theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, seeSection 4.2andSection 4.4.There are no flags to enableclipping using a list of clip rectangles or a bitmap. These methodsare negotiated with the VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, seeSection 4.2 andSection 4.4.V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_LOCAL_ALPHA
0x0008 Use the alpha channel of the framebuffer to clip orblend framebuffer pixels with video images. The blendfunction is: output = framebuffer pixel * alpha + video pixel * (1 -alpha). The actual alpha depth depends on the framebuffer pixelformat. V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA
0x0010 Use a global alpha value to blend the framebufferwith video images. The blend function is: output = (framebuffer pixel* alpha + video pixel * (255 - alpha)) / 255. The alpha value isdetermined by the global_alpha
field ofstruct v4l2_window and negotiated with theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, seeSection 4.2andSection 4.4.V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_LOCAL_INV_ALPHA
0x0020 Like V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_LOCAL_ALPHA
, use the alpha channelof the framebuffer to clip or blend framebuffer pixels with videoimages, but with an inverted alpha value. The blend function is:output = framebuffer pixel * (1 - alpha) + video pixel * alpha. Theactual alpha depth depends on the framebuffer pixel format.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EPERM
- EBUSY
VIDIOC_S_FBUF
can only be calledby a privileged user to negotiate the parameters for a destructiveoverlay.- EINVAL
The framebuffer parameters cannot be changed at thistime because overlay is already enabled, or capturing is enabledand the hardware cannot capture and overlay simultaneously.
The ioctl is not supported or the
VIDIOC_S_FBUF
parameters are unsuitable.ioctl VIDIOC_G_FMT, VIDIOC_S_FMT,VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_G_FMT, VIDIOC_S_FMT, VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
argp
Description
These ioctls are used to negotiate the format of data(typically image format) exchanged between driver andapplication.
To query the current parameters applications set the
type
field of a structv4l2_format
to the respective buffer (stream)type. For example video capture devices useV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
. When the applicationcalls theVIDIOC_G_FMT
ioctl with a pointer tothis structure the driver fills the respective member of thefmt
union. In case of video capture devicesthat is the struct v4l2_pix_formatpix
member.When the requested buffer type is not supported drivers return anEINVAL error code.To change the current format parameters applicationsinitialize the
type
field and allfields of the respectivefmt
union member. For details see the documentation of the various devicestypes inChapter 4. Good practice is to query thecurrent parameters first, and tomodify only those parameters not suitable for the application. Whenthe application calls theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctlwith a pointer to av4l2_format
structurethe driver checksand adjusts the parameters against hardware abilities. Driversshould not return an error code unless the input is ambiguous, this isa mechanism to fathom device capabilities and to approach parametersacceptable for both the application and driver. On success the drivermay program the hardware, allocate resources and generally prepare fordata exchange.Finally theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl returns thecurrent format parameters asVIDIOC_G_FMT
does.Very simple, inflexible devices may even ignore all input and alwaysreturn the default parameters. However all V4L2 devices exchangingdata with the application must implement theVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. When the requested buffertype is not supported drivers return anEINVAL error code on aVIDIOC_S_FMT
attempt. When I/O is already inprogress or the resource is not available for other reasons driversreturn theEBUSY error code.The
VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl is equivalenttoVIDIOC_S_FMT
with one exception: it does notchange driver state. It can also be called at any time, neverreturningEBUSY. This function is provided tonegotiate parameters, to learn about hardware limitations, withoutdisabling I/O or possibly time consuming hardware preparations.Although strongly recommended drivers are not required to implementthis ioctl.Table 1. struct
v4l2_format
enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the data stream, see Table 3-2. union fmt
struct v4l2_pix_format pix
Definition of an image format, seeChapter 2, used by video capture and outputdevices. struct v4l2_window win
Definition of an overlaid image, seeSection 4.2, used by video overlay devices. struct v4l2_vbi_format vbi
Raw VBI capture or output parameters. This isdiscussed in more detail in Section 4.7. Used by raw VBIcapture and output devices. struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format sliced
Sliced VBI capture or output parameters. SeeSection 4.8 for details. Used by sliced VBIcapture and output devices. __u8 raw_data
[200]Place holder for future extensions and custom(driver defined) formats with type
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
and higher.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EBUSY
- EINVAL
The data format cannot be changed at thistime, for example because I/O is already in progress.
The struct v4l2_format
type
field is invalid, the requested buffer type not supported, orVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
was called and is notsupported with this buffer type.ioctl VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY, VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY, VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
argp
Description
To get the current tuner or modulator radio frequencyapplications set the
tuner
field of astruct v4l2_frequency to the respective tuner or modulator number (onlyinput devices have tuners, only output devices have modulators), zeroout thereserved
array andcall theVIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. The driver stores the current frequency in thefrequency
field.To change the current tuner or modulator radio frequencyapplications initialize the
tuner
,type
andfrequency
fields, and thereserved
array of a struct v4l2_frequency andcall theVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. When the requested frequency is not possible thedriver assumes the closest possible value. HoweverVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
is a write-only ioctl, it doesnot return the actual new frequency.Table 1. struct
v4l2_frequency
__u32 tuner
The tuner or modulator index number. This is thesame value as in the struct v4l2_input tuner
field and the struct v4l2_tunerindex
field, orthe struct v4l2_outputmodulator
field and thestruct v4l2_modulatorindex
field.enum v4l2_tuner_type type
The tuner type. This is the same value as in thestruct v4l2_tuner type
field. The field is notapplicable to modulators, i. e. ignored by drivers.__u32 frequency
Tuning frequency in units of 62.5 kHz, or if thestruct v4l2_tuner or struct v4l2_modulator capabilities
flagV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
is set, in units of 62.5Hz.__u32 reserved
[8];Reserved for future extensions. Drivers and applications must set the array to zero. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The
tuner
index is out ofbounds or the value in thetype
field iswrong.ioctl VIDIOC_G_INPUT, VIDIOC_S_INPUT
Description
To query the current video input applications call the
VIDIOC_G_INPUT
ioctl with a pointer to an integerwhere the driver stores the number of the input, as in thestruct v4l2_inputindex
field. This ioctl willfail only when there are no video inputs, returningEINVAL.To select a video input applications store the number of thedesired input in an integer and call the
VIDIOC_S_INPUT
ioctl with a pointer to thisinteger. Side effects are possible. For example inputs may supportdifferent video standards, so the driver may implicitly switch thecurrent standard. It is good practice to select an input beforequerying or negotiating any other parameters.Information about video inputs is available using the
VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
ioctl.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EBUSY
The number of the video input is out of bounds, orthere are no video inputs at all and this ioctl is notsupported.
I/O is in progress, the input cannot beswitched.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_JPEGCOMP, VIDIOC_S_JPEGCOMP
Description
[to do]
Ronald Bultje elaborates:
APP is some application-specific information. Theapplication can set it itself, and it'll be stored in the JPEG-encodedfields (eg; interlacing information for in an AVI or so). COM is thesame, but it's comments, like 'encoded by me' or so.
jpeg_markers describes whether the huffman tables,quantization tables and the restart interval information (allJPEG-specific stuff) should be stored in the JPEG-encoded fields.These define how the JPEG field is encoded. If you omit them,applications assume you've used standard encoding. You usually do wantto add them.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_jpegcompression
int quality
int APPn
int APP_len
char APP_data
[60]int COM_len
char COM_data
[60]__u32 jpeg_markers
See Table 2. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
This ioctl is not supported.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR, VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
Arguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR, VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
argp
Description
To query the attributes of a modulator applications initializethe
index
field and zero out thereserved
array of a struct v4l2_modulator andcall theVIDIOC_G_MODULATOR
ioctl with a pointerto this structure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate all modulatorsapplications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by one until thedriver returns EINVAL.Modulators have two writable properties, an audiomodulation set and the radio frequency. To change the modulated audiosubprograms, applications initialize the
index
andtxsubchans
fields and thereserved
array and call theVIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
ioctl. Drivers may choose adifferent audio modulation if the request cannot be satisfied. Howeverthis is a write-only ioctl, it does not return the actual audiomodulation selected.To change the radio frequency the
VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
ioctlis available.Table 1. struct
v4l2_modulator
__u32 index
Identifies the modulator, set by theapplication. __u8 name
[32]Name of the modulator, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring. This information is intended for the user. __u32 capability
Modulator capability flags. No flags are definedfor this field, the tuner flags in struct v4l2_tunerare used accordingly. The audio flags indicate the abilityto encode audio subprograms. They will notchange for example with the current video standard. __u32 rangelow
The lowest tunable frequency in units of 62.5KHz, or if the capability
flagV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
is set, in units of 62.5Hz.__u32 rangehigh
The highest tunable frequency in units of 62.5KHz, or if the capability
flagV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
is set, in units of 62.5Hz.__u32 txsubchans
With this field applications can determine howaudio sub-carriers shall be modulated. It contains a set of flags asdefined inTable 2. Note the tuner rxsubchans
flags are reused, but thesemantics are different. Video output devices are assumed to have ananalog or PCM audio input with 1-3 channels. Thetxsubchans
flags select one or morechannels for modulation, together with some audio subprogramindicator, for example a stereo pilot tone.__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 2. Modulator Audio Transmission Flags
V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
0x0001 Modulate channel 1 as mono audio, when the inputhas more channels, a down-mix of channel 1 and 2. This flag does notcombine with V4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
orV4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
.V4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
0x0002 Modulate channel 1 and 2 as left and rightchannel of a stereo audio signal. When the input has only one channelor two channels and V4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP
is alsoset, channel 1 is encoded as left and right channel. This flag doesnot combine withV4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
orV4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
. When the driver does notsupport stereo audio it shall fall back to mono.V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
0x0008 Modulate channel 1 and 2 as primary and secondarylanguage of a bilingual audio signal. When the input has only onechannel it is used for both languages. It is not possible to encodethe primary or secondary language only. This flag does not combinewith V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
orV4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
. If the hardware does notsupport the respective audio matrix, or the current video standarddoes not permit bilingual audio theVIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
ioctl shall return anEINVAL error codeand the driver shall fall back to mono or stereo mode.V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG2
0x0004 Same effect as V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
.V4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP
0x0004 When combined with V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
the first channel is encoded as mono audio, the lastchannel as Second Audio Program. When the input has only one channelit is used for both audio tracks. When the input has three channelsthe mono track is a down-mix of channel 1 and 2. When combined withV4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
channel 1 and 2 areencoded as left and right stereo audio, channel 3 as Second AudioProgram. When the input has only two channels, the first is encoded asleft and right channel and the second as SAP. When the input has onlyone channel it is used for all audio tracks. It is not possible toencode a Second Audio Program only. This flag must combine withV4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
orV4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
. If the hardware does notsupport the respective audio matrix, or the current video standarddoes not permit SAP theVIDIOC_S_MODULATOR
ioctlshall return anEINVAL error code and driver shall fall back to mono or stereomode.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_modulator
index
is out of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_G_OUTPUT, VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT
Description
To query the current video output applications call the
VIDIOC_G_OUTPUT
ioctl with a pointer to an integerwhere the driver stores the number of the output, as in thestruct v4l2_outputindex
field. This ioctlwill fail only when there are no video outputs, returning theEINVAL error code.To select a video output applications store the number of thedesired output in an integer and call the
VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT
ioctl with a pointer to this integer.Side effects are possible. For example outputs may support differentvideo standards, so the driver may implicitly switch the currentstandard. It is good practice to select an output before querying ornegotiating any other parameters.Information about video outputs is available using the
VIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT
ioctl.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EBUSY
The number of the video output is out of bounds, orthere are no video outputs at all and this ioctl is notsupported.
I/O is in progress, the output cannot beswitched.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_PARM, VIDIOC_S_PARM
Description
The current video standard determines a nominal number offrames per second. If less than this number of frames is to becaptured or output, applications can request frame skipping orduplicating on the driver side. This is especially useful when usingthe
read()
orwrite()
, whichare not augmented by timestamps or sequence counters, and to avoidunneccessary data copying.Further these ioctls can be used to determine the number ofbuffers used internally by a driver in read/write mode. Forimplications see the section discussing the
read()
function.To get and set the streaming parameters applications callthe
VIDIOC_G_PARM
andVIDIOC_S_PARM
ioctl, respectively. They take apointer to a structv4l2_streamparm
whichcontains a union holding separate parameters for input and outputdevices.Table 1. struct
v4l2_streamparm
enum v4l2_buf_type type
The buffer (stream) type, same as struct v4l2_format type
, set by the application.union parm
struct v4l2_captureparm capture
Parameters for capture devices, used when type
isV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
.struct v4l2_outputparm output
Parameters for output devices, used when type
isV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
.__u8 raw_data
[200]A place holder for future extensions and custom(driver defined) buffer types V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
andhigher.Table 2. struct
v4l2_captureparm
__u32 capability
See Table 4. __u32 capturemode
Set by drivers and applications, see Table 5. struct v4l2_fract timeperframe
This is is the desired period betweensuccessive frames captured by the driver, in seconds. Thefield is intended to skip frames on the driver side, saving I/Obandwidth.
Applications store here the desired frameperiod, drivers return the actual frame period, which must be greateror equal to the nominal frame period determined by the current videostandard (struct v4l2_standard
frameperiod
field). Changing the video standard (also implicitly by switching thevideo input) may reset this parameter to the nominal frame period. Toreset manually applications can just set this field tozero.Drivers support this function only when they set the
V4L2_CAP_TIMEPERFRAME
flag in thecapability
field.__u32 extendedmode
Custom (driver specific) streaming parameters. Whenunused, applications and drivers must set this field to zero.Applications using this field should check the driver name andversion, seeSection 1.2. __u32 readbuffers
Applications set this field to the desired numberof buffers used internally by the driver in read()
mode. Driversreturn the actual number of buffers. When an application requests zerobuffers, drivers should just return the current setting rather thanthe minimum or an error code. For details seeSection 3.1.__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 3. struct
v4l2_outputparm
__u32 capability
See Table 4. __u32 outputmode
Set by drivers and applications, see Table 5. struct v4l2_fract timeperframe
This is is the desired period betweensuccessive frames output by the driver, in seconds. The field is intended torepeat frames on the driver side in
write()
mode (in streamingmode timestamps can be used to throttle the output), saving I/Obandwidth.Applications store here the desired frameperiod, drivers return the actual frame period, which must be greateror equal to the nominal frame period determined by the current videostandard (struct v4l2_standard
frameperiod
field). Changing the video standard (also implicitly by switching thevideo output) may reset this parameter to the nominal frame period. Toreset manually applications can just set this field tozero.Drivers support this function only when they set the
V4L2_CAP_TIMEPERFRAME
flag in thecapability
field.__u32 extendedmode
Custom (driver specific) streaming parameters. Whenunused, applications and drivers must set this field to zero.Applications using this field should check the driver name andversion, seeSection 1.2. __u32 writebuffers
Applications set this field to the desired numberof buffers used internally by the driver in write()
mode. Drivers return the actual number ofbuffers. When an application requests zero buffers, drivers shouldjust return the current setting rather than the minimum or an errorcode. For details seeSection 3.1.__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 4. Streaming Parameters Capabilites
V4L2_CAP_TIMEPERFRAME
0x1000 The frame skipping/repeating controlled by the timeperframe
field is supported.Table 5. Capture Parameters Flags
V4L2_MODE_HIGHQUALITY
0x0001 High quality imaging mode. High quality modeis intended for still imaging applications. The idea is to get thebest possible image quality that the hardware can deliver. It is notdefined how the driver writer may achieve that; it will depend on thehardware and the ingenuity of the driver writer. High quality mode isa different mode from the the regular motion video capture modes. Inhigh quality mode:
The driver may be able to capture higherresolutions than for motion capture.
The driver may support fewer pixel formatsthan motion capture (eg; true color).
The driver may capture and arithmeticallycombine multiple successive fields or frames to remove color edgeartifacts and reduce the noise in the video data.
The driver may capture images in slices likea scanner in order to handle larger format images than would otherwisebe possible.
An image capture operation may besignificantly slower than motion capture.
Moving objects in the image might haveexcessive motion blur.
Capture might only work through the
read()
call.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
This ioctl is not supported.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY, VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
Name
VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY, VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY -- Query or request the access priority associated with afile descriptorArguments
fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.request
VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY, VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
argp
Pointer to an enum v4l2_priority type.
Description
To query the current access priorityapplications call the
VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY
ioctlwith a pointer to an enum v4l2_priority variable where the driver storesthe current priority.To request an access priority applications store thedesired priority in an enum v4l2_priority variable and call
VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
ioctl with a pointer to thisvariable.Table 1. enum v4l2_priority
V4L2_PRIORITY_UNSET
0 V4L2_PRIORITY_BACKGROUND
1 Lowest priority, usually applications running inbackground, for example monitoring VBI transmissions. A proxyapplication running in user space will be necessary if multipleapplications want to read from a device at this priority. V4L2_PRIORITY_INTERACTIVE
2 V4L2_PRIORITY_DEFAULT
2 Medium priority, usually applications started andinteractively controlled by the user. For example TV viewers, Teletextbrowsers, or just "panel" applications to change the channel or videocontrols. This is the default priority unless an application requestsanother. V4L2_PRIORITY_RECORD
3 Highest priority. Only one file descriptor can havethis priority, it blocks any other fd from changing device properties.Usually applications which must not be interrupted, like videorecording. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
- EBUSY
The requested priority value is invalid, or thedriver does not support access priorities.
Another application already requested higherpriority.
ioctl VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP
Description
To find out which data services are supported by a slicedVBI capture or output device, applications initialize the
type
field of a struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap,clear thereserved
array andcall theVIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP
ioctl. Thedriver fills in the remaining fields or returns anEINVAL error code if thesliced VBI API is unsupported ortype
is invalid.Note the
type
field was added,and the ioctl changed from read-only to write-read, in Linux 2.6.19.Table 1. struct
v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap
__u16 service_set
A set of all data servicessupported by the driver. Equal to the union of all elements of the service_lines
array.__u16 service_lines
[2][24]Each element of this arraycontains a set of data services the hardware can look for or insertinto a particular scan line. Data services are defined inTable 2. Array indices map to ITU-Rline numbers (see alsoFigure 4-2 andFigure 4-3) as follows: Element 525 line systems 625 line systems service_lines
[0][1]1 1 service_lines
[0][23]23 23 service_lines
[1][1]264 314 service_lines
[1][23]286 336 The number of VBI lines thehardware can capture or output per frame, or the number of services itcan identify on a given line may be limited. For example on PAL line16 the hardware may be able to look for a VPS or Teletext signal, butnot both at the same time. Applications can learn about these limitsusing the VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl as described in Section 4.8.Drivers must set service_lines
[0][0] andservice_lines
[1][0] to zero.enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the data stream, see Table 3-2. Should be V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
orV4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
.__u32 reserved
[3]This array is reserved for futureextensions. Applications and drivers must set it to zero. Table 2. Sliced VBI services
Symbol Value Reference Lines, usually Payload V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B
(TeletextSystem B)0x0001 ETS 300 706,ITU BT.653 PAL/SECAM line 7-22, 320-335 (second field 7-22) Last 42 of the 45 byte Teletext packet, that iswithout clock run-in and framing code, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_VPS
0x0400 ETS 300 231 PAL line 16 Byte number 3 to 15 according to Figure 9 ofETS 300 231, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525
0x1000 EIA 608-B NTSC line 21, 284 (second field 21) Two bytes in transmission order, including paritybit, lsb first transmitted. V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625
0x4000 EN 300 294,ITU BT.1119 PAL/SECAM line 23 Byte 0 1 msb lsb msb lsb Bit 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 x x 13 12 11 10 9V4L2_SLICED_VBI_525
0x1000 Set of services applicable to 525line systems. V4L2_SLICED_VBI_625
0x4401 Set of services applicable to 625line systems. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The device does not support sliced VBI capturing oroutput, or the value in the
type
field iswrong.ioctl VIDIOC_G_STD, VIDIOC_S_STD
Description
To query and select the current video standard applicationsuse the
VIDIOC_G_STD
andVIDIOC_S_STD
ioctls which take a pointer to av4l2_std_id type as argument.VIDIOC_G_STD
canreturn a single flag or a set of flags as in struct v4l2_standard fieldid
. The flags must be unambiguous suchthat they appear in only one enumeratedv4l2_standard
structure.
VIDIOC_S_STD
accepts one or moreflags, being a write-only ioctl it does not return the actual new standard asVIDIOC_G_STD
does. When no flags are given orthe current input does not support the requested standard the driverreturns an EINVAL error code. When the standard set is ambiguous drivers mayreturnEINVAL or choose any of the requestedstandards.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
This ioctl is not supported, or the
VIDIOC_S_STD
parameter was unsuitable.ioctl VIDIOC_G_TUNER, VIDIOC_S_TUNER
Description
To query the attributes of a tuner applications initialize the
index
field and zero out thereserved
array of a struct v4l2_tuner and call theVIDIOC_G_TUNER
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. Drivers fill the rest of the structure or return anEINVAL error code when the index is out of bounds. To enumerate all tunersapplications shall begin at index zero, incrementing by one until thedriver returns EINVAL.Tuners have two writable properties, the audio mode andthe radio frequency. To change the audio mode, applications initializethe
index
,audmode
andreserved
fields and call theVIDIOC_S_TUNER
ioctl. This willnot change the current tuner, which is determinedby the current video input. Drivers may choose a different audio modeif the requested mode is invalid or unsupported. Since this is awrite-only ioctl, it does not return the actuallyselected audio mode.To change the radio frequency the
VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
ioctlis available.Table 1. struct
v4l2_tuner
__u32 index
Identifies the tuner, set by theapplication. __u8 name
[32]Name of the tuner, aNUL-terminated ASCII string. This information is intended for theuser.
enum v4l2_tuner_type type
Type of the tuner, see Table 2. __u32 capability
Tuner capability flags, seeTable 3. Audio flags indicate the abilityto decode audio subprograms. They willnotchange, for example with the current video standard.
Whenthe structure refers to a radio tuner only the
V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
andV4L2_TUNER_CAP_STEREO
flags can beset.__u32 rangelow
The lowest tunable frequency inunits of 62.5 kHz, or if the capability
flagV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
is set, in units of 62.5Hz.__u32 rangehigh
The highest tunable frequency inunits of 62.5 kHz, or if the capability
flagV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
is set, in units of 62.5Hz.__u32 rxsubchans
Some tuners or audiodecoders can determine the received audio subprograms by analyzingaudio carriers, pilot tones or other indicators. To pass thisinformation drivers set flags defined inTable 4 in this field. Forexample:
V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
receiving mono audio STEREO | SAP
receiving stereo audio and a secondary audioprogram MONO | STEREO
receiving mono or stereo audio, the hardware cannotdistinguish LANG1 | LANG2
receiving bilingual audio MONO | STEREO | LANG1 | LANG2
receiving mono, stereo or bilingualaudio When the
V4L2_TUNER_CAP_STEREO
,_LANG1
,_LANG2
or_SAP
flag is cleared in thecapability
field, the correspondingV4L2_TUNER_SUB_
flag must not be sethere.This field is valid only if this is the tuner of thecurrent video input, or when the structure refers to a radiotuner.
__u32 audmode
The selected audio mode, seeTable 5 for valid values. The audio mode doesnot affect audio subprogram detection, and like acontrol it does not automatically changeunless the requested mode is invalid or unsupported. SeeTable 6 for possible results whenthe selected and received audio programs do notmatch.
Currently this is the only field of struct
v4l2_tuner
applications canchange.__u32 signal
The signal strength if known, rangingfrom 0 to 65535. Higher values indicate a better signal. __s32 afc
Automatic frequency control: When the afc
value is negative, the frequency is toolow, when positive too high.__u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers andapplications must set the array to zero. Table 3. Tuner and Modulator Capability Flags
V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
0x0001 When set, tuning frequencies are expressed in units of62.5 Hz, otherwise in units of 62.5 kHz. V4L2_TUNER_CAP_NORM
0x0002 This is a multi-standard tuner; the video standardcan or must be switched. (B/G PAL tuners for example are typically not considered multi-standard because the video standard is automatically determined from the frequency band.) The set of supported video standards is available from the struct v4l2_input pointing to this tuner, see the description of ioctl VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
for details. OnlyV4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners can have this capability.V4L2_TUNER_CAP_STEREO
0x0010 Stereo audio reception is supported. V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LANG1
0x0040 Reception of the primary language of a bilingualaudio program is supported. Bilingual audio is a feature oftwo-channel systems, transmitting the primary language monaural on themain audio carrier and a secondary language monaural on a secondcarrier. Only V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners can have this capability.V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LANG2
0x0020 Reception of the secondary language of a bilingualaudio program is supported. Only V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners can have this capability.V4L2_TUNER_CAP_SAP
0x0020 Reception of a secondary audio program issupported. This is a feature of the BTSC system which accompanies theNTSC video standard. Two audio carriers are available for mono orstereo transmissions of a primary language, and an independent thirdcarrier for a monaural secondary language. Only
V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners can have this capability.Note the
V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LANG2
andV4L2_TUNER_CAP_SAP
flags are synonyms.V4L2_TUNER_CAP_SAP
applies when the tunersupports theV4L2_STD_NTSC_M
videostandard.Table 4. Tuner Audio Reception Flags
V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO
0x0001 The tuner receives a mono audio signal. V4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
0x0002 The tuner receives a stereo audio signal. V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
0x0008 The tuner receives the primary language of abilingual audio signal. Drivers must clear this flag when the currentvideo standard is V4L2_STD_NTSC_M
.V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG2
0x0004 The tuner receives the secondary language of abilingual audio signal (or a second audio program). V4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP
0x0004 The tuner receives a Second Audio Program. Note the V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG2
andV4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP
flags are synonyms. TheV4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP
flag applies when thecurrent video standard isV4L2_STD_NTSC_M
.Table 5. Tuner Audio Modes
V4L2_TUNER_MODE_MONO
0 Play mono audio. When the tuner receives a stereosignal this a down-mix of the left and right channel. When the tunerreceives a bilingual or SAP signal this mode selects the primarylanguage. V4L2_TUNER_MODE_STEREO
1 Play stereo audio. When the tuner receivesbilingual audio it may play different languages on the left and rightchannel or the primary language on both channels. behave as in monomode.
Playing different languages in this mode isdeprecated. New drivers should do this only in
MODE_LANG1_LANG2
.When the tunerreceives no stereo signal or does not support stereo reception thedriver shall fall back to
MODE_MONO
.V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG1
3 Play the primary language, mono or stereo. Only V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners support thismode.V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG2
2 Play the secondary language, mono. When the tunerreceives no bilingual audio or SAP, or their reception is notsupported the driver shall fall back to mono or stereo mode. Only V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners support thismode.V4L2_TUNER_MODE_SAP
2 Play the Second Audio Program. When the tunerreceives no bilingual audio or SAP, or their reception is notsupported the driver shall fall back to mono or stereo mode. Only V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners support this mode.Note theV4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG2
andV4L2_TUNER_MODE_SAP
are synonyms.V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG1_LANG2
4 Play the primary language on the left channel, thesecondary language on the right channel. When the tuner receives nobilingual audio or SAP, it shall fall back to MODE_LANG1
orMODE_MONO
.OnlyV4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV
tuners support thismode.Table 6. Tuner Audio Matrix
Selected V4L2_TUNER_MODE_
Received V4L2_TUNER_SUB_
MONO
STEREO
LANG1
LANG2 = SAP
LANG1_LANG2
[a]MONO
Mono Mono/Mono Mono Mono Mono/Mono MONO | SAP
Mono Mono/Mono Mono SAP Mono/SAP (preferred) or Mono/Mono STEREO
L+R L/R Stereo L/R (preferred) or Mono L+R Stereo L/R (preferred) or Mono L+R L/R (preferred) or L+R/L+R STEREO | SAP
L+R L/R Stereo L/R (preferred) or Mono L+R SAP L+R/SAP (preferred) or L/R or L+R/L+R LANG1 | LANG2
Language 1 Lang1/Lang2 (deprecated[b]) orLang1/Lang1 Language 1 Language 2 Lang1/Lang2 (preferred) or Lang1/Lang1 Notes:
a. This mode has been added in Linux 2.6.17 and may not be supported by olderdrivers.
b. Playback ofboth languages inMODE_STEREO
is deprecated. Inthe future drivers should produce only the primary language in thismode. Applications should requestMODE_LANG1_LANG2
to record both languages or astereo signal.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_tuner
index
isout of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS
Description
As the video/audio devices become more complicated itbecomes harder to debug problems. When this ioctl is called the driverwill output the current device status to the kernel log. This isparticular useful when dealing with problems like no sound, no videoand incorrectly tuned channels. Also many modern devices autodetectvideo and audio standards and this ioctl will report what the devicethinks what the standard is. Mismatches may give an indication wherethe problem is.
This ioctl is optional and not all drivers support it. Itwas introduced in Linux 2.6.15.
Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The driver does not support this ioctl.
ioctl VIDIOC_OVERLAY
Description
This ioctl is part of the video overlay I/O method. Applications call
VIDIOC_OVERLAY
to start or stop the overlay. It takes a pointer to an integer which must be set to zero by the application to stop overlay, to one to start.Drivers do not support
VIDIOC_STREAMON
orVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
withV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
Video overlay is not supported, or theparameters have not been set up. See Section 4.2 for the necessary steps.
ioctl VIDIOC_QBUF, VIDIOC_DQBUF
Description
Applications call the
VIDIOC_QBUF
ioctlto enqueue an empty (capturing) or filled (output) buffer in thedriver's incoming queue. The semantics depend on the selected I/Omethod.To enqueue a memory mappedbuffer applications set the
type
field of astruct v4l2_buffer to the same buffer type as previously struct v4l2_formattype
and struct v4l2_requestbufferstype
, thememory
field toV4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
and theindex
field. Valid index numbers range fromzero to the number of buffers allocated withVIDIOC_REQBUFS
(struct v4l2_requestbufferscount
) minus one. Thecontents of the structv4l2_buffer
returnedby aVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl will do as well. When the buffer isintended for output (type
isV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
orV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
) applications must alsoinitialize thebytesused
,field
andtimestamp
fields. SeeSection 3.5 for details. WhenVIDIOC_QBUF
is called with a pointer to thisstructure the driver sets theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_MAPPED
andV4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED
flags and clears theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE
flag in theflags
field, or it returns anEINVAL error code.To enqueue a user pointerbuffer applications set the
type
field of astruct v4l2_buffer to the same buffer type as previously struct v4l2_formattype
and struct v4l2_requestbufferstype
, thememory
field toV4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR
and them.userptr
field to the address of thebuffer andlength
to its size. When thebuffer is intended for output additional fields must be set as above.WhenVIDIOC_QBUF
is called with a pointer to thisstructure the driver sets theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED
flag and clears theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_MAPPED
andV4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE
flags in theflags
field, or it returns an error code.This ioctl locks the memory pages of the buffer in physical memory,they cannot be swapped out to disk. Buffers remain locked untildequeued, until theVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
orVIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl arecalled, or until the device is closed.Applications call the
VIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl to dequeue a filled (capturing) or displayed (output) bufferfrom the driver's outgoing queue. They just set thetype
andmemory
fields of a struct v4l2_buffer as above, whenVIDIOC_DQBUF
is called with a pointer to this structure the driver fills theremaining fields or returns an error code.By default
VIDIOC_DQBUF
blocks when nobuffer is in the outgoing queue. When theO_NONBLOCK
flag was given to theopen()
function,VIDIOC_DQBUF
returns immediatelywith an EAGAIN error code when no buffer is available.The
v4l2_buffer
structure isspecified in Section 3.5.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EAGAIN
- EINVAL
Non-blocking I/O has been selected using
O_NONBLOCK
and no buffer was in the outgoingqueue.- ENOMEM
The buffer
type
is notsupported, or theindex
is out of bounds,or no buffers have been allocated yet, or theuserptr
orlength
are invalid.- EIO
Not enough physical or virtual memory was available toenqueue a user pointer buffer.
VIDIOC_DQBUF
failed due to aninternal error. Can also indicate temporary problems like signalloss. Note the driver might dequeue an (empty) buffer despitereturning an error, or even stop capturing.ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
Description
This ioctl is part of the memorymapping I/O method. It can be used to query the status of abuffer at any time after buffers have been allocated with the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl.Applications set the
type
field of a struct v4l2_buffer to the same buffer type as previouslystruct v4l2_formattype
and struct v4l2_requestbufferstype
, and theindex
field. Valid index numbers range from zeroto the number of buffers allocated withVIDIOC_REQBUFS
(struct v4l2_requestbufferscount
) minus one.After callingVIDIOC_QUERYBUF
with a pointer to this structure drivers return an error code or fill the rest ofthe structure.In the
flags
field theV4L2_BUF_FLAG_MAPPED
,V4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED
andV4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE
flags will be valid. Thememory
field will be set toV4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
, them.offset
contains the offset of the buffer from the start of the device memory,thelength
field its size. The driver mayor may not set the remaining fields and flags, they are meaningless inthis context.The
v4l2_buffer
structure is specified in Section 3.5.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The buffer
type
is notsupported, or theindex
is out of bounds.ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
Description
All V4L2 devices support the
VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. It is used to identifykernel devices compatible with this specification and to obtaininformation about driver and hardware capabilities. The ioctl takes apointer to a struct v4l2_capability which is filled by the driver. When thedriver is not compatible with this specification the ioctl returns anEINVAL error code.Table 1. struct
v4l2_capability
__u8 driver
[16]Name of the driver, a unique NUL-terminatedASCII string. For example: "bttv". Driver specific applications canuse this information to verify the driver identity. It is also usefulto work around known bugs, or to identify drivers in error reports.The driver version is stored in the
version
field.Storing strings in fixed sized arrays is badpractice but unavoidable here. Drivers and applications should takeprecautions to never read or write beyond the end of the array and tomake sure the strings are properly NUL-terminated.
__u8 card
[32]Name of the device, a NUL-terminated ASCII string.For example: "Yoyodyne TV/FM". One driver may support different brandsor models of video hardware. This information is intended for users,for example in a menu of available devices. Since multiple TV cards ofthe same brand may be installed which are supported by the samedriver, this name should be combined with the character device filename (e. g./dev/video2) or the bus_info
string to avoidambiguities.__u8 bus_info
[32]Location of the device in the system, aNUL-terminated ASCII string. For example: "PCI Slot 4". Thisinformation is intended for users, to distinguish multipleidentical devices. If no such information is available the field maysimply count the devices controlled by the driver, or contain theempty string ( bus_info
[0] = 0).__u32 version
Version number of the driver. Together withthe
driver
field this identifies aparticular driver. The version number is formatted using theKERNEL_VERSION()
macro: #define KERNEL_VERSION(a,b,c) (((a) << 16) + ((b) << 8) + (c)) __u32 version = KERNEL_VERSION(0, 8, 1); printf ("Version: %u.%u.%u\n", (version >> 16) & 0xFF, (version >> 8) & 0xFF, version & 0xFF);__u32 capabilities
Device capabilities, see Table 2. __u32 reserved
[4]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthis array to zero. Table 2. Device Capabilities Flags
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE
0x00000001 The device supports the Video Capture interface. V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT
0x00000002 The device supports the Video Output interface. V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
0x00000004 The device supports the Video Overlay interface. A video overlay devicetypically stores captured images directly in the video memory of agraphics card, with hardware clipping and scaling. V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE
0x00000010 The device supports the RawVBI Capture interface, providing Teletext and Closed Captiondata. V4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT
0x00000020 The device supports the Raw VBI Output interface. V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
0x00000040 The device supports the Sliced VBI Capture interface. V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
0x00000080 The device supports the Sliced VBI Output interface. V4L2_CAP_RDS_CAPTURE
0x00000100 [to be defined] V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
0x00000200 The device supports the VideoOutput Overlay (OSD) interface. Unlike theVideoOverlay interface, this is a secondary function of videooutput devices and overlays an image onto an outgoing video signal.When the driver sets this flag, it must clear the V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
flag and viceversa.[a]V4L2_CAP_TUNER
0x00010000 The device has some sort of tuner or modulator toreceive or emit RF-modulated video signals. For more information abouttuner and modulator programming seeSection 1.6. V4L2_CAP_AUDIO
0x00020000 The device has audio inputs or outputs. It may ormay not support audio recording or playback, in PCM or compressedformats. PCM audio support must be implemented as ALSA or OSSinterface. For more information on audio inputs and outputs seeSection 1.5. V4L2_CAP_RADIO
0x00040000 This is a radio receiver. V4L2_CAP_READWRITE
0x01000000 The device supports the read() and/or write()I/O methods. V4L2_CAP_ASYNCIO
0x02000000 The device supports the asynchronous I/O methods. V4L2_CAP_STREAMING
0x04000000 The device supports the streaming I/O method. Notes:
a. The struct v4l2_framebuffer lacks anenum v4l2_buf_type field, therefore the type of overlay is implied by thedriver capabilities.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The device is not compatible with thisspecification.
ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
Description
To query the attributes of a control applications set the
id
field of a struct v4l2_queryctrl and call theVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. The driver fills the rest of the structure or returns anEINVAL error code when theid
is invalid.It is possible to enumerate controls by calling
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
with successiveid
values starting fromV4L2_CID_BASE
up to and exclusiveV4L2_CID_BASE_LASTP1
. Drivers may returnEINVAL if a control in this range is notsupported. Further applications can enumerate private controls, whichare not defined in this specification, by starting atV4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE
and incrementingid
until the driver returnsEINVAL.In both cases, when the driver sets the
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED
flag in theflags
field this control is permanentlydisabled and should be ignored by the application.[24]When the application ORs
id
withV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL
the driver returns thenext supported control, orEINVAL if there isnone. Drivers which do not support this flag yet always returnEINVAL.Additional information is required for menu controls, thename of menu items. To query them applications set the
id
andindex
fields of struct v4l2_querymenu and call theVIDIOC_QUERYMENU
ioctl with a pointer to thisstructure. The driver fills the rest of the structure or returns anEINVALerror code when theid
orindex
is invalid. Menu items are enumeratedby callingVIDIOC_QUERYMENU
with successiveindex
values from struct v4l2_queryctrlminimum
(0) tomaximum
, inclusive.See also the examples in Section 1.8.
Table 1. struct
v4l2_queryctrl
__u32 id
Identifies the control, set by the application. SeeTable 1-1 for predefined IDs. When the ID is ORedwith V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL the driver clears the flag and returnsthe first control with a higher ID. Drivers which do not support thisflag yet always return anEINVAL error code. enum v4l2_ctrl_type type
Type of control, see Table 3. __u8 name
[32]Name of the control, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring. This information is intended for the user. __s32 minimum
Minimum value, inclusive. This field gives a lowerbound for V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER
controls. It maynot be valid for any other type of control, includingV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64
controls. Note this is asigned value.__s32 maximum
Maximum value, inclusive. This field gives an upperbound for V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER
controls and thehighest valid index forV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU
controls. It may not be valid for any other type of control, includingV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64
controls. Note this is asigned value.__s32 step
This field gives a step size for
V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER
controls. It may not bevalid for any other type of control, includingV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64
controls.Generally drivers should not scale hardwarecontrol values. It may be necessary for example when the
name
orid
implya particular unit and the hardware actually accepts only multiples ofsaid unit. If so, drivers must take care values are properly roundedwhen scaling, such that errors will not accumulate on repeatedread-write cycles.This field gives the smallest change ofan integer control actually affecting hardware. Often the informationis needed when the user can change controls by keyboard or GUIbuttons, rather than a slider. When for example a hardware registeraccepts values 0-511 and the driver reports 0-65535, step should be128.
Note although signed, the step value is supposed tobe always positive.
__s32 default_value
The default value of a V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER
,_BOOLEAN
or_MENU
control.Not valid for other types of controls. Drivers reset controls onlywhen the driver is loaded, not later, in particular not when thefunc-open; is called.__u32 flags
Control flags, see Table 4. __u32 reserved
[2]Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Table 2. struct
v4l2_querymenu
__u32 id
Identifies the control, set by the applicationfrom the respective struct v4l2_queryctrl id
.__u32 index
Index of the menu item, starting at zero, set by the application. __u8 name
[32]Name of the menu item, a NUL-terminated ASCIIstring. This information is intended for the user. __u32 reserved
Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must setthe array to zero. Table 3. enum v4l2_ctrl_type
Type minimum
step
maximum
Description V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER
any any any An integer-valued control ranging from minimum tomaximum inclusive. The step value indicates the increment betweenvalues which are actually different on the hardware. V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BOOLEAN
0 1 1 A boolean-valued control. Zero corresponds to"disabled", and one means "enabled". V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU
0 1 N-1 The control has a menu of N choices. The names ofthe menu items can be enumerated with the VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
ioctl.V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BUTTON
0 0 0 A control which performs an action when set.Drivers must ignore the value passed with VIDIOC_S_CTRL
and return anEINVAL error code on aVIDIOC_G_CTRL
attempt.V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64
n/a n/a n/a A 64-bit integer valued control. Minimum, maximumand step size cannot be queried. V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_CTRL_CLASS
n/a n/a n/a This is not a control. When VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
is called with a control IDequal to a control class code (seeTable 3), theioctl returns the name of the control class and this control type.Older drivers which do not support this feature return anEINVAL error code.Table 4. Control Flags
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED
0x0001 This control is permanently disabled and should beignored by the application. Any attempt to change the control willresult in anEINVAL error code. V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRABBED
0x0002 This control is temporarily unchangeable, forexample because another application took over control of therespective resource. Such controls may be displayed specially in auser interface. Attempts to change the control may result in anEBUSY error code. V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_READ_ONLY
0x0004 This control is permanently readable only. Anyattempt to change the control will result in anEINVAL error code. V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_UPDATE
0x0008 A hint that changing this control may affect thevalue of other controls within the same control class. Applicationsshould update their user interface accordingly. V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_INACTIVE
0x0010 This control is not applicable to the currentconfiguration and should be displayed accordingly in a user interface.For example the flag may be set on a MPEG audio level 2 bitratecontrol when MPEG audio encoding level 1 was selected with anothercontrol. V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_SLIDER
0x0020 A hint that this control is best represented as aslider-like element in a user interface. Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
The struct v4l2_queryctrl
id
is invalid. The struct v4l2_querymenuid
orindex
is invalid.ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYSTD
Description
The hardware may be able to detect the current videostandard automatically. To do so, applications call
VIDIOC_QUERYSTD
with a pointer to av4l2_std_idtype. Thedriver stores here a set of candidates, this can be a single flag or aset of supported standards if for example the hardware can onlydistinguish between 50 and 60 Hz systems. When detection is notpossible or fails, the set must contain all standards supported by thecurrent video input or output.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
This ioctl is not supported.
ioctl VIDIOC_REQBUFS
Description
This ioctl is used to initiate memorymapped or user pointerI/O. Memory mapped buffers are located in device memory and must beallocated with this ioctl before they can be mapped into theapplication's address space. User buffers are allocated byapplications themselves, and this ioctl is merely used to switch thedriver into user pointer I/O mode.
To allocate device buffers applications initialize threefields of a
v4l2_requestbuffers
structure.They set thetype
field to the respectivestream or buffer type, thecount
field tothe desired number of buffers, andmemory
must be set toV4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
. When the ioctlis called with a pointer to this structure the driver attempts toallocate the requested number of buffers and stores the actual numberallocated in thecount
field. It can besmaller than the number requested, even zero, when the driver runs outof free memory. A larger number is possible when the driver requiresmore buffers to function correctly.[25] When memory mapping I/O is not supported the ioctlreturns an EINVAL error code.Applications can call
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
again to change the number of buffers, however this cannot succeedwhen any buffers are still mapped. Acount
value of zero frees all buffers, after aborting or finishing any DMAin progress, an implicitVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
.To negotiate user pointer I/O, applications initialize onlythe
type
field and setmemory
toV4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR
. When the ioctl is calledwith a pointer to this structure the driver prepares for user pointerI/O, when this I/O method is not supported the ioctl returns anEINVAL error code.Table 1. struct
v4l2_requestbuffers
__u32 count
The number of buffers requested or granted. Thisfield is only used when memory
is set toV4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
.enum v4l2_buf_type type
Type of the stream or buffers, this is the sameas the struct v4l2_format type
field. SeeTable 3-2 for valid values.enum v4l2_memory memory
Applications set this field to V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP
orV4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR
.__u32 reserved
[2]A place holder for future extensions and custom(driver defined) buffer types V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
andhigher.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EBUSY
- EINVAL
The driver supports multiple opens and I/O is alreadyin progress, or reallocation of buffers was attempted although one ormore are still mapped.
The buffer type (
type
field) or therequested I/O method (memory
) is notsupported.ioctl VIDIOC_STREAMON, VIDIOC_STREAMOFF
Description
The
VIDIOC_STREAMON
andVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl start and stop the captureor output process during streaming (memorymapping oruser pointer) I/O.Specifically the capture hardware is disabled and no inputbuffers are filled (if there are any empty buffers in the incomingqueue) until
VIDIOC_STREAMON
has been called.Accordingly the output hardware is disabled, no video signal isproduced untilVIDIOC_STREAMON
has been called.The ioctl will succeed only when at least one output buffer is in theincoming queue.The
VIDIOC_STREAMOFF
ioctl, apart ofaborting or finishing any DMA in progress, unlocks any user pointerbuffers locked in physical memory, and it removes all buffers from theincoming and outgoing queues. That means all images captured but notdequeued yet will be lost, likewise all images enqueued for output butnot transmitted yet. I/O returns to the same state as after callingVIDIOC_REQBUFS
and can be restarted accordingly.Both ioctls take a pointer to an integer, the desired buffer orstream type. This is the same as struct v4l2_requestbuffers
type
.Note applications can be preempted for unknown periods rightbefore or after the
VIDIOC_STREAMON
orVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
calls, there is no notion ofstarting or stopping "now". Buffer timestamps can be used tosynchronize with other events.Return Value
On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the
errno
variable is set appropriately:EINVAL
Streaming I/O is not supported, the buffer
type
is not supported, or no buffers havebeen allocated (memory mapping) or enqueued (output) yet.V4L2 mmap()
Arguments
start
Map the buffer to this address in the application's address space. When the
MAP_FIXED
flag is specified,start
must be a multiple of thepagesize and mmap will fail when the specified addresscannot be used. Use of this option is discouraged; applications shouldjust specify aNULL
pointer here.length
Length of the memory area to map. This must be thesame value as returned by the driver in the struct v4l2_buffer
length
field.prot
The
prot
argument describes thedesired memory protection. Regardless of the device type and thedirection of data exchange it should be set toPROT_READ
|PROT_WRITE
,permitting read and write access to image buffers. Drivers shouldsupport at least this combination of flags. Note the Linuxvideo-buf kernel module, which is used by thebttv, saa7134, saa7146, cx88 and vivi driver supports onlyPROT_READ
|PROT_WRITE
. Whenthe driver does not support the desired protection themmap()
function fails.Note device memory accesses (e. g. the memory on agraphics card with video capturing hardware) may incur a performancepenalty compared to main memory accesses, or reads may besignificantly slower than writes or vice versa. Other I/O methods maybe more efficient in this case.
flags
The
flags
parameterspecifies the type of the mapped object, mapping options and whethermodifications made to the mapped copy of the page are private to theprocess or are to be shared with other references.
MAP_FIXED
requests that thedriver selects no other address than the one specified. If thespecified address cannot be used,mmap()
will fail. IfMAP_FIXED
is specified,start
must be a multiple of the pagesize. Useof this option is discouraged.One of the
MAP_SHARED
orMAP_PRIVATE
flags must be set.MAP_SHARED
allows applications to share themapped memory with other (e. g. child-) processes. Note the Linuxvideo-buf module which is used by the bttv,saa7134, saa7146, cx88 and vivi driver supports onlyMAP_SHARED
.MAP_PRIVATE
requests copy-on-write semantics. V4L2 applications should not set theMAP_PRIVATE
,MAP_DENYWRITE
,MAP_EXECUTABLE
orMAP_ANON
flag.fd
File descriptor returned by
open()
.offset
Offset of the buffer in device memory. This must be thesame value as returned by the driver in the struct v4l2_buffer
m
unionoffset
field.Description
The
mmap()
function asks to maplength
bytes starting atoffset
in the memory of the device specified byfd
into the application address space,preferably at addressstart
. This latteraddress is a hint only, and is usually specified as 0.Suitable length and offset parameters are queried with the
VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl. Buffers must be allocated with theVIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl before they can be queried.To unmap buffers the
munmap()
function is used.Return Value
On success
mmap()
returns a pointer tothe mapped buffer. On errorMAP_FAILED
(-1) isreturned, and theerrno
variable is setappropriately. Possible error codes are:EBADF
- EACCES
fd
is not a valid filedescriptor.- EINVAL
fd
isnot open for reading and writing.- ENOMEM
The
start
orlength
oroffset
are notsuitable. (E. g. they are too large, or not aligned on aPAGESIZE
boundary.)The
flags
orprot
value is not supported.No buffers have been allocated with the
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl.Not enough physical or virtual memory was available tocomplete the request.
V4L2 munmap()
Arguments
start
Address of the mapped buffer as returned by the
mmap()
function.length
Length of the mapped buffer. This must be the samevalue as given to
mmap()
and returned by thedriver in the struct v4l2_bufferlength
field.Return Value
On success
munmap()
returns 0, onfailure -1 and theerrno
variable is setappropriately:EINVAL
The
start
orlength
is incorrect, or no buffers have beenmapped yet.V4L2 open()
Arguments
device_name
Device to be opened.
flags
Open flags. Access mode must be
O_RDWR
. This is just a technicality, input devicesstill support only reading and output devices only writing.When the
O_NONBLOCK
flag isgiven, the read() function and theVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl will returntheEAGAIN error code when no data is available or no buffer is in the driveroutgoing queue, otherwise these functions block until data becomesavailable. All V4L2 drivers exchanging data with applications mustsupport theO_NONBLOCK
flag.Other flags have no effect.
Description
To open a V4L2 device applications call
open()
with the desired device name. Thisfunction has no side effects; all data format parameters, currentinput or output, control values or other properties remain unchanged.At the firstopen()
call after loading the driverthey will be reset to default values, drivers are never in anundefined state.Return Value
On success
open
returns the new filedescriptor. On error -1 is returned, and theerrno
variable is set appropriately. Possible error codes are:EACCES
- EBUSY
The caller has no permission to access thedevice.
- ENXIO
The driver does not support multiple opens and thedevice is already in use.
- ENOMEM
No device corresponding to this device special fileexists.
- EMFILE
Not enough kernel memory was available to complete therequest.
- ENFILE
The process already has the maximum number offiles open.
The limit on the total number of files open on thesystem has been reached.
V4L2 poll()
Description
With the
poll()
function applicationscan suspend execution until the driver has captured data or is readyto accept data for output.When streaming I/O has been negotiated this function waitsuntil a buffer has been filled or displayed and can be dequeued withthe
VIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. When buffers are already in the outgoingqueue of the driver the function returns immediately.On success
poll()
returns the number offile descriptors that have been selected (that is, file descriptorsfor which therevents
field of therespectivepollfd
structure is non-zero).Capture devices set thePOLLIN
andPOLLRDNORM
flags in therevents
field, output devices thePOLLOUT
andPOLLWRNORM
flags. When the function timed out it returns a value of zero, onfailure it returns-1 and theerrno
variable is set appropriately. When theapplication did not callVIDIOC_QBUF
orVIDIOC_STREAMON
yet thepoll()
function succeeds, but sets thePOLLERR
flag in therevents
field.When use of the
read()
function hasbeen negotiated and the driver does not capture yet, thepoll
function starts capturing. When that failsit returns aPOLLERR
as above. Otherwise it waitsuntil data has been captured and can be read. When the driver capturescontinuously (as opposed to, for example, still images) the functionmay return immediately.When use of the
write()
function hasbeen negotiated thepoll
function just waitsuntil the driver is ready for a non-blockingwrite()
call.All drivers implementing the
read()
orwrite()
function or streaming I/O must alsosupport thepoll()
function.For more details see the
poll()
manual page.Return Value
On success,
poll()
returns the numberstructures which have non-zerorevents
fields, or zero if the call timed out. On error-1 is returned, and theerrno
variable is set appropriately:EBADF
- EBUSY
One or more of the
ufds
membersspecify an invalid file descriptor.- EFAULT
The driver does not support multiple read or writestreams and the device is already in use.
- EINTR
ufds
references an inaccessiblememory area.- EINVAL
The call was interrupted by a signal.
The
nfds
argument is greaterthanOPEN_MAX
.V4L2 read()
Description
read()
attempts to read up tocount
bytes from file descriptorfd
into the buffer starting atbuf
. The layout of the data in the buffer isdiscussed in the respective device interface section, see ##. Ifcount
is zero,read()
returns zero and has no other results. Ifcount
is greater thanSSIZE_MAX
, the result is unspecified. Regardlessof thecount
value eachread()
call will provide at most one frame (twofields) worth of data.By default
read()
blocks until databecomes available. When theO_NONBLOCK
flag wasgiven to theopen()
function itreturns immediately with anEAGAINerror code when no data is available. Theselect()
orpoll()
functionscan always be used to suspend execution until data becomes available. Alldrivers supporting theread()
function must alsosupportselect()
andpoll()
.Drivers can implement read functionality in differentways, using a single or multiple buffers and discarding the oldest ornewest frames once the internal buffers are filled.
read()
never returns a "snapshot" of abuffer being filled. Using a single buffer the driver will stopcapturing when the application starts reading the buffer until theread is finished. Thus only the period of the vertical blankinginterval is available for reading, or the capture rate must fall belowthe nominal frame rate of the video standard.The behavior of
read()
when called during the active pictureperiod or the vertical blanking separating the top and bottom fielddepends on the discarding policy. A driver discarding the oldestframes keeps capturing into an internal buffer, continuouslyoverwriting the previously, not read frame, and returns the framebeing received at the time of theread()
call assoon as it is complete.A driver discarding the newest frames stops capturing untilthe next
read()
call. The frame being received atread()
time is discarded, returning the followingframe instead. Again this implies a reduction of the capture rate toone half or less of the nominal frame rate. An example of this modelis the video read mode of the bttv driver, initiating a DMA to usermemory whenread()
is called and returning whenthe DMA finished.In the multiple buffer model drivers maintain a ring ofinternal buffers, automatically advancing to the next free buffer.This allows continuous capturing when the application can empty thebuffers fast enough. Again, the behavior when the driver runs out offree buffers depends on the discarding policy.
Applications can get and set the number of buffers usedinternally by the driver with the
VIDIOC_G_PARM
andVIDIOC_S_PARM
ioctls. They are optional, however. The discarding policy is notreported and cannot be changed. For minimum requirements seeChapter 4.Return Value
On success, the number of bytes read is returned. It is notan error if this number is smaller than the number of bytes requested,or the amount of data required for one frame. This may happen forexample because
read()
was interrupted by asignal. On error, -1 is returned, and theerrno
variable is set appropriately. In this case the next read will startat the beginning of a new frame. Possible error codes are:EAGAIN
- EBADF
Non-blocking I/O has been selected usingO_NONBLOCK and no data was immediately available for reading.
- EBUSY
fd
is not a valid filedescriptor or is not open for reading, or the process already has themaximum number of files open.- EFAULT
The driver does not support multiple read streams and thedevice is already in use.
- EINTR
buf
references an inaccessiblememory area.- EIO
The call was interrupted by a signal before anydata was read.
- EINVAL
I/O error. This indicates some hardware problem or afailure to communicate with a remote device (USB camera etc.).
The
read()
function is notsupported by this driver, not on this device, or generally not on thistype of device.V4L2 select()
Description
With the
select()
function applicationscan suspend execution until the driver has captured data or is readyto accept data for output.When streaming I/O has been negotiated this function waitsuntil a buffer has been filled or displayed and can be dequeued withthe
VIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. When buffers are already in the outgoingqueue of the driver the function returns immediately.On success
select()
returns the totalnumber of bits set in thefd_set
s. When thefunction timed out it returns a value of zero. On failure it returns-1and theerrno
variable is set appropriately. When the application did not callVIDIOC_QBUF
orVIDIOC_STREAMON
yet theselect()
function succeeds, setting the bit ofthe file descriptor inreadfds
orwritefds
, but subsequentVIDIOC_DQBUF
callswill fail.[26]When use of the
read()
function hasbeen negotiated and the driver does not capture yet, theselect()
function starts capturing. When thatfails,select()
returns successful and asubsequentread()
call, which also attempts tostart capturing, will return an appropriate error code. When thedriver captures continuously (as opposed to, for example, stillimages) and data is already available theselect()
function returns immediately.When use of the
write()
function hasbeen negotiated theselect()
function just waitsuntil the driver is ready for a non-blockingwrite()
call.All drivers implementing the
read()
orwrite()
function or streaming I/O must alsosupport theselect()
function.For more details see the
select()
manual page.Return Value
On success,
select()
returns the numberof descriptors contained in the three returned descriptor sets, whichwill be zero if the timeout expired. On error-1 is returned, and theerrno
variable is set appropriately; the sets andtimeout
are undefined. Possible error codesare:EBADF
- EBUSY
One or more of the file descriptor sets specified afile descriptor that is not open.
- EFAULT
The driver does not support multiple read or writestreams and the device is already in use.
- EINTR
The
readfds
,writefds
,exceptfds
ortimeout
pointer references an inaccessible memoryarea.- EINVAL
The call was interrupted by a signal.
The
nfds
argument is less thanzero or greater thanFD_SETSIZE
.V4L2 write()
Description
write()
writes up tocount
bytes to the device referenced by thefile descriptorfd
from the buffer starting atbuf
. When the hardware outputs are not activeyet, this function enables them. Whencount
iszero,write()
returns0 without any other effect.When the application does not provide more data in time, theprevious video frame, raw VBI image, sliced VPS or WSS data isdisplayed again. Sliced Teletext or Closed Caption data is notrepeated, the driver inserts a blank line instead.
Return Value
On success, the number of bytes written are returned. Zeroindicates nothing was written. On error,-1is returned, and the
errno
variable is setappropriately. In this case the next write will start at the beginningof a new frame. Possible error codes are:EAGAIN
- EBADF
Non-blocking I/O has been selected using the
O_NONBLOCK
flag and nobuffer space was available to write the data immediately.- EBUSY
fd
is not a valid filedescriptor or is not open for writing.- EFAULT
The driver does not support multiple write streams and thedevice is already in use.
- EINTR
buf
references an inaccessiblememory area.- EIO
The call was interrupted by a signal before anydata was written.
- EINVAL
I/O error. This indicates some hardware problem.
The
write()
function is notsupported by this driver, not on this device, or generally not on thistype of device.
Chapter 6. Changes
The following chapters document the evolution of the V4L2 API,errata or extensions. They are also intended to help application anddriver writers to port or update their code.
6.1. Differences between V4L and V4L2
The Video For Linux API was first introduced in Linux 2.1 tounify and replace various TV and radio device related interfaces,developed independently by driver writers in prior years. Startingwith Linux 2.5 the much improved V4L2 API replaces the V4L API,although existing drivers will continue to support V4L applications inthe future, either directly or through the V4L2 compatibility layer inthevideodev kernel module translating ioctls onthe fly. For a transition period not all drivers will support the V4L2API.
6.1.1. Opening and Closing Devices
For compatibility reasons the character device file namesrecommended for V4L2 video capture, overlay, radio, teletext and rawvbi capture devices did not change from those used by V4L. They arelisted inChapter 4 and below inTable 6-1.
The V4L videodev module automaticallyassigns minor numbers to drivers in load order, depending on theregistered device type. We recommend that V4L2 drivers by defaultregister devices with the same numbers, but the system administratorcan assign arbitrary minor numbers using driver module options. Themajor device number remains 81.
Table 6-1. V4L Device Types, Names and Numbers
Device Type File Name Minor Numbers Video capture and overlay /dev/video and/dev/bttv0a,/dev/video0 to/dev/video63
0-63 Radio receiver /dev/radiob, /dev/radio0 to/dev/radio63
64-127 Teletext decoder /dev/vtx,/dev/vtx0 to/dev/vtx31
192-223 Raw VBI capture /dev/vbi,/dev/vbi0 to/dev/vbi31
224-255 Notes:
a. According toDocumentation/devices.txt these should be symbolic links to/dev/video0. Note the original bttv interface isnot compatible with V4L or V4L2.
b. According toDocumentation/devices.txt a symbolic link to/dev/radio0.V4L prohibits (or used to prohibit) multiple opens of adevice file. V4L2 driversmay support multipleopens, seeSection 1.1 for details and consequences.
V4L drivers respond to V4L2 ioctls with an EINVAL error code. Thecompatibility layer in the V4L2videodev modulecan translate V4L ioctl requests to their V4L2 counterpart, however aV4L2 driver usually needs more preparation to become fully V4Lcompatible. This is covered in more detail inChapter 5.
6.1.2. Querying Capabilities
The V4L
VIDIOCGCAP
ioctl isequivalent to V4L2'sVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
.The
name
field in structvideo_capability
becamecard
in struct v4l2_capability,type
was replaced bycapabilities
. Note V4L2 does notdistinguish between device types like this, better think of basicvideo input, video output and radio devices supporting a set ofrelated functions like video capturing, video overlay and VBIcapturing. See Section 1.1 for anintroduction.
struct video_capability
type
struct v4l2_capability capabilities
flagsPurpose VID_TYPE_CAPTURE
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE
The videocapture interface is supported. VID_TYPE_TUNER
V4L2_CAP_TUNER
The device has a tuner ormodulator. VID_TYPE_TELETEXT
V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE
The raw VBIcapture interface is supported. VID_TYPE_OVERLAY
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
The videooverlay interface is supported. VID_TYPE_CHROMAKEY
V4L2_FBUF_CAP_CHROMAKEY
infieldcapability
ofstruct v4l2_framebufferWhether chromakey overlay is supported. Formore information on overlay seeSection 4.2. VID_TYPE_CLIPPING
V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LIST_CLIPPING
andV4L2_FBUF_CAP_BITMAP_CLIPPING
in fieldcapability
of struct v4l2_framebufferWhether clipping the overlaid image issupported, see Section 4.2. VID_TYPE_FRAMERAM
V4L2_FBUF_CAP_EXTERNOVERLAY
not setin fieldcapability
of struct v4l2_framebufferWhether overlay overwrites frame buffer memory,see Section 4.2. VID_TYPE_SCALES
-
This flag indicates if the hardware can scaleimages. The V4L2 API implies the scale factor by setting the croppingdimensions and image size with the VIDIOC_S_CROP
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl, respectively. The driver returns the closest sizes possible.For more information on cropping and scaling seeSection 1.11.VID_TYPE_MONOCHROME
-
Applications can enumerate the supported imageformats with the VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
ioctl to determine if the devicesupports grey scale capturing only. For more information on imageformats seeChapter 2.VID_TYPE_SUBCAPTURE
-
Applications can call the VIDIOC_G_CROP
ioctlto determine if the device supports capturing a subsection of the fullpicture ("cropping" in V4L2). If not, the ioctl returns theEINVAL error code.For more information on cropping and scaling seeSection 1.11.VID_TYPE_MPEG_DECODER
-
Applications can enumerate the supported imageformats with the VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
ioctl to determine if the devicesupports MPEG streams.VID_TYPE_MPEG_ENCODER
-
See above. VID_TYPE_MJPEG_DECODER
-
See above. VID_TYPE_MJPEG_ENCODER
-
See above. The
audios
field was replacedbycapabilities
flagV4L2_CAP_AUDIO
, indicatingif the device has any audio inputs or outputs. Todetermine their number applications can enumerate audio inputs withtheVIDIOC_G_AUDIO
ioctl. The audio ioctls are described inSection 1.5.The
maxwidth
,maxheight
,minwidth
andminheight
fields were removed. Calling theVIDIOC_S_FMT
orVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl with the desired dimensionsreturns the closest size possible, taking into account the currentvideo standard, cropping and scaling limitations.
6.1.3. Video Sources
V4L provides the
VIDIOCGCHAN
andVIDIOCSCHAN
ioctl using structvideo_channel
to enumeratethe video inputs of a V4L device. The equivalent V4L2 ioctlsareVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
,VIDIOC_G_INPUT
andVIDIOC_S_INPUT
using struct v4l2_input as discussed inSection 1.4.The
channel
field countinginputs was renamed toindex
, the videoinput types were renamed as follows:
struct video_channel
type
struct v4l2_input type
VIDEO_TYPE_TV
V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER
VIDEO_TYPE_CAMERA
V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_CAMERA
Unlike the
tuners
fieldexpressing the number of tuners of this input, V4L2 assumes each videoinput is connected to at most one tuner. However a tuner can have morethan one input, i. e. RF connectors, and a device can have multipletuners. The index number of the tuner associated with the input, ifany, is stored in fieldtuner
ofstruct v4l2_input. Enumeration of tuners is discussed inSection 1.6.The redundant
VIDEO_VC_TUNER
flag wasdropped. Video inputs associated with a tuner are of typeV4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER
. TheVIDEO_VC_AUDIO
flag was replaced by theaudioset
field. V4L2 considers devices withup to 32 audio inputs. Each set bit in theaudioset
field represents one audio inputthis video input combines with. For information about audio inputs andhow to switch between them seeSection 1.5.The
norm
field describing thesupported video standards was replaced bystd
. The V4L specification mentions a flagVIDEO_VC_NORM
indicating whether the standard canbe changed. This flag was a later addition together with thenorm
field and has been removed in themeantime. V4L2 has a similar, albeit more comprehensive approachto video standards, seeSection 1.7 for moreinformation.
6.1.4. Tuning
The V4L
VIDIOCGTUNER
andVIDIOCSTUNER
ioctl and structvideo_tuner
can be used to enumerate thetuners of a V4L TV or radio device. The equivalent V4L2 ioctls areVIDIOC_G_TUNER
andVIDIOC_S_TUNER
using struct v4l2_tuner. Tuners arecovered inSection 1.6.The
tuner
field counting tunerswas renamed toindex
. The fieldsname
,rangelow
andrangehigh
remained unchanged.The
VIDEO_TUNER_PAL
,VIDEO_TUNER_NTSC
andVIDEO_TUNER_SECAM
flags indicating the supportedvideo standards were dropped. This information is now contained in theassociated struct v4l2_input. No replacement exists for theVIDEO_TUNER_NORM
flag indicating whether thevideo standard can be switched. Themode
field to select a different video standard was replaced by a whole newset of ioctls and structures described inSection 1.7.Due to its ubiquity it should be mentioned the BTTV driver supportsseveral standards in addition to the regularVIDEO_MODE_PAL
(0),VIDEO_MODE_NTSC
,VIDEO_MODE_SECAM
andVIDEO_MODE_AUTO
(3). Namely N/PAL Argentina,M/PAL, N/PAL, and NTSC Japan with numbers 3-6 (sic).The
VIDEO_TUNER_STEREO_ON
flagindicating stereo reception becameV4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO
in fieldrxsubchans
. This field also permits thedetection of monaural and bilingual audio, see the definition ofstruct v4l2_tuner for details. Presently no replacement exists for theVIDEO_TUNER_RDS_ON
andVIDEO_TUNER_MBS_ON
flags.The
VIDEO_TUNER_LOW
flag was renamedtoV4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW
in the struct v4l2_tunercapability
field.The
VIDIOCGFREQ
andVIDIOCSFREQ
ioctl to change the tuner frequencywhere renamed toVIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY
andVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
. Theytake a pointer to a struct v4l2_frequency instead of an unsigned longinteger.
6.1.5. Image Properties
V4L2 has no equivalent of the
VIDIOCGPICT
andVIDIOCSPICT
ioctl and structvideo_picture
. The followingfields where replaced by V4L2 controls accessible with theVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
,VIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls:
struct video_picture
V4L2 Control ID brightness
V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS
hue
V4L2_CID_HUE
colour
V4L2_CID_SATURATION
contrast
V4L2_CID_CONTRAST
whiteness
V4L2_CID_WHITENESS
The V4L picture controls are assumed to range from 0 to65535 with no particular reset value. The V4L2 API permits arbitrarylimits and defaults which can be queried with the
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
ioctl. For general information about controls seeSection 1.8.The
depth
(average number ofbits per pixel) of a video image is implied by the selected imageformat. V4L2 does not explicitely provide such information assumingapplications recognizing the format are aware of the image depth andothers need not know. Thepalette
fieldmoved into the struct v4l2_pix_format:
struct video_picture
palette
struct v4l2_pix_format pixfmt
VIDEO_PALETTE_GREY
VIDEO_PALETTE_HI240
VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB565
VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB555
VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB24
VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB32
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV422
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUYV
cVIDEO_PALETTE_UYVY
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV420
None VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV411
VIDEO_PALETTE_RAW
Nonee
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV422P
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV411P
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV420P
VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV410P
Notes:
a. This is a custom format used by the BTTVdriver, not one of the V4L2 standard formats.
b. Presumably all V4L RGB formats arelittle-endian, although some drivers might interpret them according to machine endianess. V4L2 defines little-endian, big-endian and red/blueswapped variants. For details seeSection 2.4.
c.VIDEO_PALETTE_YUV422
andVIDEO_PALETTE_YUYV
are the same formats. SomeV4L drivers respond to one, some to the other.
d. Not to be confused withV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P
, which is a planarformat.
e. V4L explains thisas: "RAW capture (BT848)"
f. Not to be confused withV4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
, which is a packedformat.V4L2 image formats are defined in Chapter 2. The image format can be selected with the
VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl.
6.1.6. Audio
The
VIDIOCGAUDIO
andVIDIOCSAUDIO
ioctl and structvideo_audio
are used to enumerate theaudio inputs of a V4L device. The equivalent V4L2 ioctls areVIDIOC_G_AUDIO
andVIDIOC_S_AUDIO
using struct v4l2_audio asdiscussed inSection 1.5.The
audio
"channel number"field counting audio inputs was renamed toindex
.On
VIDIOCSAUDIO
themode
field selectsoneof theVIDEO_SOUND_MONO
,VIDEO_SOUND_STEREO
,VIDEO_SOUND_LANG1
orVIDEO_SOUND_LANG2
audio demodulation modes. Whenthe current audio standard is BTSCVIDEO_SOUND_LANG2
refers to SAP andVIDEO_SOUND_LANG1
is meaningless. Alsoundocumented in the V4L specification, there is no way to query theselected mode. OnVIDIOCGAUDIO
the driver returnstheactually received audio programmes in thisfield. In the V4L2 API this information is stored in the struct v4l2_tunerrxsubchans
andaudmode
fields, respectively. SeeSection 1.6 for more information on tuners. Related to audiomodes struct v4l2_audio also reports if this is a mono or stereoinput, regardless if the source is a tuner.The following fields where replaced by V4L2 controlsaccessible with the
VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
,VIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls:
struct video_audio
V4L2 Control ID volume
V4L2_CID_AUDIO_VOLUME
bass
V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BASS
treble
V4L2_CID_AUDIO_TREBLE
balance
V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BALANCE
To determine which of these controls are supported by adriver V4L provides the
flags
VIDEO_AUDIO_VOLUME
,VIDEO_AUDIO_BASS
,VIDEO_AUDIO_TREBLE
andVIDEO_AUDIO_BALANCE
. In the V4L2 API theVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
ioctl reports if the respective control issupported. Accordingly theVIDEO_AUDIO_MUTABLE
andVIDEO_AUDIO_MUTE
flags where replaced by thebooleanV4L2_CID_AUDIO_MUTE
control.All V4L2 controls have a
step
attribute replacing the structvideo_audio
step
field. The V4L audio controls areassumed to range from 0 to 65535 with no particular reset value. TheV4L2 API permits arbitrary limits and defaults which can be queriedwith theVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
ioctl. For general information aboutcontrols seeSection 1.8.
6.1.7. Frame Buffer Overlay
The V4L2 ioctls equivalent to
VIDIOCGFBUF
andVIDIOCSFBUF
areVIDIOC_G_FBUF
andVIDIOC_S_FBUF
. Thebase
field of structvideo_buffer
remained unchanged, except V4L2defines a flag to indicate non-destructive overlays instead of aNULL
pointer. All other fields moved into thestruct v4l2_pix_formatfmt
substructure ofstruct v4l2_framebuffer. Thedepth
field wasreplaced bypixelformat
. See Section 2.4 for a list of RGB formats and theirrespective color depths.Instead of the special ioctls
VIDIOCGWIN
andVIDIOCSWIN
V4L2 uses the general-purpose data format negotiation ioctlsVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
. They take a pointer to astruct v4l2_format as argument. Here thewin
member of thefmt
union is used, astruct v4l2_window.The
x
,y
,width
andheight
fields of structvideo_window
moved into struct v4l2_rectsubstructurew
of structv4l2_window
. Thechromakey
,clips
, andclipcount
fields remained unchanged. Structvideo_clip
was renamed to struct v4l2_clip, alsocontaining a structv4l2_rect
, but thesemantics are still the same.The
VIDEO_WINDOW_INTERLACE
flag wasdropped. Instead applications must set thefield
field toV4L2_FIELD_ANY
orV4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
. TheVIDEO_WINDOW_CHROMAKEY
flag moved intostruct v4l2_framebuffer, under the new nameV4L2_FBUF_FLAG_CHROMAKEY
.In V4L, storing a bitmap pointer in
clips
and settingclipcount
toVIDEO_CLIP_BITMAP
(-1) requests bitmapclipping, using a fixed size bitmap of 1024 × 625 bits. Structv4l2_window
has a separatebitmap
pointer field for this purpose andthe bitmap size is determined byw.width
andw.height
.The
VIDIOCCAPTURE
ioctl to enable ordisable overlay was renamed toVIDIOC_OVERLAY
.
6.1.8. Cropping
To capture only a subsection of the full picture V4Ldefines the
VIDIOCGCAPTURE
andVIDIOCSCAPTURE
ioctls using structvideo_capture
. The equivalent V4L2 ioctls areVIDIOC_G_CROP
andVIDIOC_S_CROP
using struct v4l2_crop, and the relatedVIDIOC_CROPCAP
ioctl. This is a rather complex matter, seeSection 1.11 for details.The
x
,y
,width
andheight
fields moved into struct v4l2_rectsubstructurec
of structv4l2_crop
. Thedecimation
field was dropped. In the V4L2API the scaling factor is implied by the size of the croppingrectangle and the size of the captured or overlaid image.The
VIDEO_CAPTURE_ODD
andVIDEO_CAPTURE_EVEN
flags to capture only theodd or even field, respectively, were replaced byV4L2_FIELD_TOP
andV4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
in the field namedfield
of struct v4l2_pix_format andstruct v4l2_window. These structures are used to select a capture oroverlay format with theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl.
6.1.9. Reading Images, Memory Mapping
6.1.9.1. Capturing using the read method
There is no essential difference between reading imagesfrom a V4L or V4L2 device using the
read()
function, however V4L2drivers are not required to support this I/O method. Applications candetermine if the function is available with theVIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl. All V4L2 devices exchanging data with applications must supporttheselect()
andpoll()
functions.To select an image format and size, V4L provides the
VIDIOCSPICT
andVIDIOCSWIN
ioctls. V4L2 uses the general-purpose data format negotiation ioctlsVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
. They take a pointer to astruct v4l2_format as argument, here the struct v4l2_pix_format namedpix
of itsfmt
union is used.For more information about the V4L2 read interface seeSection 3.1.
6.1.9.2. Capturing using memory mapping
Applications can read from V4L devices by mappingbuffers in device memory, or more often just buffers allocated inDMA-able system memory, into their address space. This avoids the datacopying overhead of the read method. V4L2 supports memory mapping aswell, with a few differences.
V4L V4L2 The image format must be selected beforebuffers are allocated, with the VIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl. When no formatis selected the driver may use the last, possibly by anotherapplication requested format.Applications cannot change the number ofbuffers. The it is built into the driver, unless it has a moduleoption to change the number when the driver module isloaded.
The
VIDIOC_REQBUFS
ioctl allocates thedesired number of buffers, this is a required step in the initializationsequence.Drivers map all buffers as one contiguousrange of memory. The
VIDIOCGMBUF
ioctl isavailable to query the number of buffers, the offset of each bufferfrom the start of the virtual file, and the overall amount of memoryused, which can be used as arguments for themmap()
function.Buffers are individually mapped. Theoffset and size of each buffer can be determined with the
VIDIOC_QUERYBUF
ioctl.The
VIDIOCMCAPTURE
ioctl prepares a buffer for capturing. It also determines the imageformat for this buffer. The ioctl returns immediately, eventually withanEAGAIN error code if no video signal had been detected. When the driversupports more than one buffer applications can call the ioctl multipletimes and thus have multiple outstanding capturerequests.The
VIDIOCSYNC
ioctlsuspends execution until a particular buffer has beenfilled.Drivers maintain an incoming and outgoingqueue.
VIDIOC_QBUF
enqueues any empty buffer into the incomingqueue. Filled buffers are dequeued from the outgoing queue with theVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctl. To wait until filled buffers become available thisfunction,select()
orpoll()
can be used. TheVIDIOC_STREAMON
ioctl must be called once after enqueuing one ormore buffers to start capturing. Its counterpartVIDIOC_STREAMOFF
stops capturing and dequeues all buffers from bothqueues. Applications can query the signal status, if known, with theVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
ioctl.For a more in-depth discussion of memory mapping andexamples, see Section 3.2.
6.1.10. Reading Raw VBI Data
Originally the V4L API did not specify a raw VBI captureinterface, only the device file/dev/vbi wasreserved for this purpose. The only driver supporting this interfacewas the BTTV driver, de-facto defining the V4L VBI interface. Readingfrom the device yields a raw VBI image with the followingparameters:
struct v4l2_vbi_format V4L, BTTV driver sampling_rate 28636363 Hz NTSC (or any other 525-linestandard); 35468950 Hz PAL and SECAM (625-line standards) offset ? samples_per_line 2048 sample_format V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY. The last four bytes (amachine endianess integer) contain a frame counter. start[] 10, 273 NTSC; 22, 335 PAL and SECAM count[] 16, 16a
flags 0 Notes:
a. Old driverversions used different values, eventually the customBTTV_VBISIZE
ioctl was added to query thecorrect values.Undocumented in the V4L specification, in Linux 2.3 the
VIDIOCGVBIFMT
andVIDIOCSVBIFMT
ioctls using structvbi_format
were added to determine the VBIimage parameters. These ioctls are only partially compatible with theV4L2 VBI interface specified inSection 4.7.An
offset
field does notexist,sample_format
is supposed to beVIDEO_PALETTE_RAW
, equivalent toV4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY
. The remaining fields areprobably equivalent to struct v4l2_vbi_format.Apparently only the Zoran (ZR 36120) driver implementsthese ioctls. The semantics differ from those specified for V4L2 in twoways. The parameters are reset on
open()
andVIDIOCSVBIFMT
always returns anEINVAL error code if theparameters are invalid.
6.1.11. Miscellaneous
V4L2 has no equivalent of the
VIDIOCGUNIT
ioctl. Applications can find the VBIdevice associated with a video capture device (or vice versa) byreopening the device and requesting VBI data. For details seeSection 1.1.No replacement exists for
VIDIOCKEY
,and the V4L functions for microcode programming. A new interface forMPEG compression and playback devices is documented inSection 1.9.
6.2. Changes of the V4L2 API
Soon after the V4L API was added to the kernel it wascriticised as too inflexible. In August 1998 Bill Dirks proposed anumber of improvements and began to work on documentation, exampledrivers and applications. With the help of other volunteers thiseventually became the V4L2 API, not just an extension but areplacement for the V4L API. However it took another four years andtwo stable kernel releases until the new API was finally accepted forinclusion into the kernel in its present form.
6.2.1. Early Versions
1998-08-20: First version.
1998-08-27: The
select()
function was introduced.1998-09-10: New video standard interface.
1998-09-18: The
VIDIOC_NONCAP
ioctlwas replaced by the otherwise meaninglessO_TRUNC
open()
flag, and the aliasesO_NONCAP
andO_NOIO
were defined. Applications can set thisflag if they intend to access controls only, as opposed to captureapplications which need exclusive access. TheVIDEO_STD_XXX
identifiers are now ordinalsinstead of flags, and thevideo_std_construct()
helper function takes id and transmission arguments.1998-09-28: Revamped video standard. Made video controlsindividually enumerable.
1998-10-02: The
id
field wasremoved from structvideo_standard
and thecolor subcarrier fields were renamed. TheVIDIOC_QUERYSTD
ioctl wasrenamed toVIDIOC_ENUMSTD
,VIDIOC_G_INPUT
toVIDIOC_ENUMINPUT
. Afirst draft of the Codec API was released.1998-11-08: Many minor changes. Most symbols have beenrenamed. Some material changes to struct v4l2_capability.
1998-11-12: The read/write directon of some ioctls was misdefined.
1998-11-14:
V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB24
changed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
, andV4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB32
changed toV4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR32
. Audio controls are nowaccessible with theVIDIOC_G_CTRL
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls undernames starting withV4L2_CID_AUDIO
. TheV4L2_MAJOR
define was removed fromvideodev.h since it was only used once in thevideodev kernel module. TheYUV422
andYUV411
planarimage formats were added.1998-11-28: A few ioctl symbols changed. Interfaces for codecs andvideo output devices were added.
1999-01-14: A raw VBI capture interface was added.
1999-01-19: The
VIDIOC_NEXTBUF
ioctl was removed.
6.2.2. V4L2 Version 0.16 1999-01-31
1999-01-27: There is now one QBUF ioctl, VIDIOC_QWBUF and VIDIOC_QRBUFare gone. VIDIOC_QBUF takes a v4l2_buffer as a parameter. Addeddigital zoom (cropping) controls.
6.2.3. V4L2 Version 0.18 1999-03-16
Added a v4l to V4L2 ioctl compatibility layer tovideodev.c. Driver writers, this changes how you implement your ioctlhandler. See the Driver Writer's Guide. Added some more control idcodes.
6.2.4. V4L2 Version 0.19 1999-06-05
1999-03-18: Fill in the category and catname fields ofv4l2_queryctrl objects before passing them to the driver. Required aminor change to the VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL handlers in the sampledrivers.
1999-03-31: Better compatibility for v4l memory captureioctls. Requires changes to drivers to fully support new compatibilityfeatures, see Driver Writer's Guide and v4l2cap.c. Added new controlIDs: V4L2_CID_HFLIP, _VFLIP. Changed V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P to _YUV422P,and _YUV411P to _YUV411P.
1999-04-04: Added a few more control IDs.
1999-04-07: Added the button control type.
1999-05-02: Fixed a typo in videodev.h, and added theV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRAYED (later V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRABBED) flag.
1999-05-20: Definition of VIDIOC_G_CTRL was wrong causinga malfunction of this ioctl.
1999-06-05: Changed the value ofV4L2_CID_WHITENESS.
6.2.5. V4L2 Version 0.20 (1999-09-10)
Version 0.20 introduced a number of changes which werenot backward compatible with 0.19 and earlierversions. Purpose of these changes was to simplify the API, whilemaking it more extensible and following common Linux driver APIconventions.
Some typos in
V4L2_FMT_FLAG
symbols were fixed. struct v4l2_clip was changed for compatibility withv4l. (1999-08-30)
V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1
was added.(1999-09-05)All ioctl() commands that used an integer argument nowtake a pointer to an integer. Where it makes sense, ioctls will returnthe actual new value in the integer pointed to by the argument, acommon convention in the V4L2 API. The affected ioctls are:VIDIOC_PREVIEW, VIDIOC_STREAMON, VIDIOC_STREAMOFF, VIDIOC_S_FREQ,VIDIOC_S_INPUT, VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT, VIDIOC_S_EFFECT. For example
err = ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_XXX, V4L2_XXX);becomesint a = V4L2_XXX; err = ioctl(fd, VIDIOC_XXX, &a);All the different get- and set-format commands wereswept into one
VIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctl taking a unionand a type field selecting the union member as parameter. Purpose is tosimplify the API by eliminating several ioctls and to allow new anddriver private data streams without adding new ioctls.This change obsoletes the following ioctls:
VIDIOC_S_INFMT
,VIDIOC_G_INFMT
,VIDIOC_S_OUTFMT
,VIDIOC_G_OUTFMT
,VIDIOC_S_VBIFMT
andVIDIOC_G_VBIFMT
. The image format structurev4l2_format
was renamed to struct v4l2_pix_format,while struct v4l2_format is now the envelopping structure for all formatnegotiations.Similar to the changes above, the
VIDIOC_G_PARM
andVIDIOC_S_PARM
ioctls were merged withVIDIOC_G_OUTPARM
andVIDIOC_S_OUTPARM
. Atype
field in the new struct v4l2_streamparmselects the respective union member.This change obsoletes the
VIDIOC_G_OUTPARM
andVIDIOC_S_OUTPARM
ioctls.Control enumeration was simplified, and two newcontrol flags were introduced and one dropped. The
catname
field was replaced by agroup
field.Drivers can now flag unsupported and temporarilyunavailable controls with
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED
andV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRABBED
respectively. Thegroup
name indicates a possibly narrowerclassification than thecategory
. In otherwords, there may be multiple groups within a category. Controls withina group would typically be drawn within a group box. Controls indifferent categories might have a greater separation, or may evenappear in separate windows.The struct v4l2_buffer
timestamp
was changed to a 64 bit integer, containing the sampling or outputtime of the frame in nanoseconds. Additionally timestamps will be inabsolute system time, not starting from zero at the beginning of astream. The data type name for timestamps is stamp_t, defined as asigned 64-bit integer. Output devices should not send a buffer outuntil the time in the timestamp field has arrived. I would like tofollow SGI's lead, and adopt a multimedia timestamping system liketheir UST (Unadjusted System Time). Seehttp://reality.sgi.com/cpirazzi_engr/lg/time/intro.html. [This link isno longer valid.] UST uses timestamps that are 64-bit signed integers(not struct timeval's) and given in nanosecond units. The UST clockstarts at zero when the system is booted and runs continuously anduniformly. It takes a little over 292 years for UST to overflow. Thereis no way to set the UST clock. The regular Linux time-of-day clockcan be changed periodically, which would cause errors if it were beingused for timestamping a multimedia stream. A real UST style clock willrequire some support in the kernel that is not there yet. But inanticipation, I will change the timestamp field to a 64-bit integer,and I will change the v4l2_masterclock_gettime() function (used onlyby drivers) to return a 64-bit integer.A
sequence
field was addedto struct v4l2_buffer. Thesequence
field countscaptured frames, it is ignored by output devices. When a capturedriver drops a frame, the sequence number of that frame isskipped.
6.2.6. V4L2 Version 0.20 incremental changes
1999-12-23: In struct v4l2_vbi_format the
reserved1
field becameoffset
. Previously drivers were required toclear thereserved1
field.2000-01-13: The
V4L2_FMT_FLAG_NOT_INTERLACED
flag was added.2000-07-31: The linux/poll.h headeris now included byvideodev.h for compatibilitywith the originalvideodev.h file.
2000-11-20:
V4L2_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
andV4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P
were added.2000-11-25:
V4L2_TYPE_VBI_INPUT
wasadded.2000-12-04: A couple typos in symbol names were fixed.
2001-01-18: To avoid namespace conflicts the
fourcc
macro defined in thevideodev.h header file was renamed tov4l2_fourcc
.2001-01-25: A possible driver-level compatibility problembetween the videodev.h file in Linux 2.4.0 andthe videodev.h file included in thevideodevXpatch was fixed. Users of an earlierversion ofvideodevX on Linux 2.4.0 shouldrecompile their V4L and V4L2 drivers.
2001-01-26: A possible kernel-level incompatibilitybetween the videodev.h file in thevideodevX patch and thevideodev.h file in Linux 2.2.x with devfs patchesapplied was fixed.
2001-03-02: Certain V4L ioctls which pass data in bothdirection although they are defined with read-only parameter, did notwork correctly through the backward compatibility layer.[Solution?]
2001-04-13: Big endian 16-bit RGB formats were added.
2001-09-17: New YUV formats and the
VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY
andVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
ioctls were added. (The oldVIDIOC_G_FREQ
andVIDIOC_S_FREQ
ioctls did not take multiple tunersinto account.)2000-09-18:
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI
wasadded. This maybreak compatibility as theVIDIOC_G_FMT
andVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctls may fail now if the structv4l2_fmt
type
field does not containV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI
. In thedocumentation of the struct v4l2_vbi_formatoffset
field the ambiguous phrase "risingedge" was changed to "leading edge".
6.2.7. V4L2 Version 0.20 2000-11-23
A number of changes were made to the raw VBIinterface.
Figures clarifying the line numbering scheme wereadded to the V4L2 API specification. The
start
[0] andstart
[1] fields no longer count linenumbers beginning at zero. Rationale: a) The previous definition wasunclear. b) Thestart
[] values are ordinalnumbers. c) There is no point in inventing a new line numberingscheme. We now use line number as defined by ITU-R, period.Compatibility: Add one to the start values. Applications depending onthe previous semantics may not function correctly.The restriction "count[0] > 0 and count[1] > 0"has been relaxed to "(count[0] + count[1]) > 0". Rationale:Drivers may allocate resources at scan line granularity and some dataservices are transmitted only on the first field. The comment thatboth
count
values will usually be equal ismisleading and pointless and has been removed. This changebreaks compatibility with earlier versions:Drivers may return EINVAL, applications may not functioncorrectly.Drivers are again permitted to return negative(unknown) start values as proposed earlier. Why this feature wasdropped is unclear. This change maybreakcompatibility with applications depending on the startvalues being positive. The use of
EBUSY
andEINVAL
error codes with theVIDIOC_S_FMT
ioctlwas clarified. TheEBUSY error code was finally documented, and thereserved2
field which was previouslymentioned only in thevideodev.h headerfile.New buffer types
V4L2_TYPE_VBI_INPUT
andV4L2_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
were added. The former is analias for the oldV4L2_TYPE_VBI
, the latter wasmissing in thevideodev.h file.
6.2.9. V4L2 in Linux 2.5.46, 2002-10
Around October-November 2002, prior to an announcedfeature freeze of Linux 2.5, the API was revised, drawing fromexperience with V4L2 0.20. This unnamed version was finally mergedinto Linux 2.5.46.
As specified in Section 1.1.2, driversmust make related device functions available under all minor devicenumbers.
The
open()
function requires access modeO_RDWR
regardless of the device type. All V4L2drivers exchanging data with applications must support theO_NONBLOCK
flag. TheO_NOIO
flag, a V4L2 symbol which aliased the meaninglessO_TRUNC
to indicate accesses without dataexchange (panel applications) was dropped. Drivers must stay in "panelmode" until the application attempts to initiate a data exchange, seeSection 1.1.The struct v4l2_capability changed dramatically. Note thatalso the size of the structure changed, which is encoded in the ioctlrequest code, thus older V4L2 devices will respond with an EINVAL error code tothe new
VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl.There are new fields to identify the driver, a new (asof yet unspecified) device function
V4L2_CAP_RDS_CAPTURE
, theV4L2_CAP_AUDIO
flag indicates if the device hasany audio connectors, another I/O capabilityV4L2_CAP_ASYNCIO
can be flagged. In response tothese changes thetype
field became a bitset and was merged into theflags
field.V4L2_FLAG_TUNER
was renamed toV4L2_CAP_TUNER
,V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY
replacedV4L2_FLAG_PREVIEW
andV4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE
andV4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT
replacedV4L2_FLAG_DATA_SERVICE
.V4L2_FLAG_READ
andV4L2_FLAG_WRITE
were merged intoV4L2_CAP_READWRITE
.The redundant fields
inputs
,outputs
andaudios
were removed. These propertiescan be determined as described inSection 1.4 andSection 1.5.The somewhat volatile and therefore barely usefulfields
maxwidth
,maxheight
,minwidth
,minheight
,maxframerate
were removed. This informationis available as described inSection 1.10 andSection 1.7.
V4L2_FLAG_SELECT
was removed. Webelieve the select() function is important enough to require supportof it in all V4L2 drivers exchanging data with applications. TheredundantV4L2_FLAG_MONOCHROME
flag was removed,this information is available as described inSection 1.10.In struct v4l2_input the
assoc_audio
field and thecapability
field and its only flagV4L2_INPUT_CAP_AUDIO
was replaced by the newaudioset
field. Instead of linking onevideo input to one audio input this field reports all audio inputsthis video input combines with.New fields are
tuner
(reversing the former link from tuners to video inputs),std
andstatus
.Accordingly struct v4l2_output lost its
capability
andassoc_audio
fields.audioset
,modulator
andstd
where added instead.The struct v4l2_audio field
audio
was renamed toindex
, for consistency with otherstructures. A new capability flagV4L2_AUDCAP_STEREO
was added to indicated if theaudio input in question supports stereo sound.V4L2_AUDCAP_EFFECTS
and the correspondingV4L2_AUDMODE
flags where removed. This can beeasily implemented using controls. (However the same applies to AVLwhich is still there.)Again for consistency the struct v4l2_audioout field
audio
was renamed toindex
.The struct v4l2_tuner
input
field was replaced by anindex
field, permitting devices withmultiple tuners. The link between video inputs and tuners is nowreversed, inputs point to their tuner. Thestd
substructure became asimple set (more about this below) and moved into struct v4l2_input. Atype
field was added.Accordingly in struct v4l2_modulator the
output
was replaced by anindex
field.In struct v4l2_frequency the
port
field was replaced by atuner
field containing the respective tuneror modulator index number. A tunertype
field was added and thereserved
fieldbecame larger for future extensions (satellite tuners inparticular).The idea of completely transparent video standards wasdropped. Experience showed that applications must be able to work withvideo standards beyond presenting the user a menu. Instead ofenumerating supported standards with an ioctl applications can nowrefer to standards byv4l2_std_id and symbols defined in thevideodev2.h header file. For details seeSection 1.7. The
VIDIOC_G_STD
andVIDIOC_S_STD
now take a pointer to this type as argument.VIDIOC_QUERYSTD
was added to autodetect the received standard, ifthe hardware has this capability. In struct v4l2_standard anindex
field was added forVIDIOC_ENUMSTD
.Av4l2_std_id field namedid
was added asmachine readable identifier, also replacing thetransmission
field. The misleadingframerate
field was renamedtoframeperiod
. The now obsoletecolorstandard
information, originallyneeded to distguish between variations of standards, wereremoved.Struct
v4l2_enumstd
ceased tobe.VIDIOC_ENUMSTD
now takes a pointer to a struct v4l2_standarddirectly. The information which standards are supported by aparticular video input or output moved into struct v4l2_input andstruct v4l2_output fields namedstd
,respectively.The struct v4l2_queryctrl fields
category
andgroup
did not catch on and/or were notimplemented as expected and therefore removed.The
VIDIOC_TRY_FMT
ioctl was added to negotiate dataformats as withVIDIOC_S_FMT
, but without the overhead ofprogramming the hardware and regardless of I/O in progress.In struct v4l2_format the
fmt
union was extended to contain struct v4l2_window. All image formatnegotiations are now possible withVIDIOC_G_FMT
,VIDIOC_S_FMT
andVIDIOC_TRY_FMT
; ioctl. TheVIDIOC_G_WIN
andVIDIOC_S_WIN
ioctls to prepare for a videooverlay were removed. Thetype
fieldchanged to type enum v4l2_buf_type and the buffer type names changed asfollows.
Old defines enum v4l2_buf_type V4L2_BUF_TYPE_CAPTURE
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_CODECIN
Omitted for now V4L2_BUF_TYPE_CODECOUT
Omitted for now V4L2_BUF_TYPE_EFFECTSIN
Omitted for now V4L2_BUF_TYPE_EFFECTSIN2
Omitted for now V4L2_BUF_TYPE_EFFECTSOUT
Omitted for now V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEOOUT
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT
-
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
-
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_CAPTURE
-
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT
-
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
-
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE_BASE
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE
In struct v4l2_fmtdesc a enum v4l2_buf_type field named
type
was added as in struct v4l2_format. TheVIDIOC_ENUM_FBUFFMT
ioctl is no longer needed andwas removed. These calls can be replaced byVIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
withtypeV4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY
.In struct v4l2_pix_format the
depth
field was removed, assumingapplications which recognize the format by its four-character-codealready know the color depth, and others do not care about it. Thesame rationale lead to the removal of theV4L2_FMT_FLAG_COMPRESSED
flag. TheV4L2_FMT_FLAG_SWCONVECOMPRESSED
flag was removedbecause drivers are not supposed to convert images in kernel space. Auser library of conversion functions should be provided instead. TheV4L2_FMT_FLAG_BYTESPERLINE
flag was redundant.Applications can set thebytesperline
fieldto zero to get a reasonable default. Since the remaining flags werereplaced as well, theflags
field itselfwas removed.The interlace flags were replaced by a enum v4l2_fieldvalue in a newly added
field
field.
Old flag enum v4l2_field V4L2_FMT_FLAG_NOT_INTERLACED
? V4L2_FMT_FLAG_INTERLACED
=V4L2_FMT_FLAG_COMBINED
V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED
V4L2_FMT_FLAG_TOPFIELD
=V4L2_FMT_FLAG_ODDFIELD
V4L2_FIELD_TOP
V4L2_FMT_FLAG_BOTFIELD
=V4L2_FMT_FLAG_EVENFIELD
V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM
-
V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB
-
V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT
-
V4L2_FIELD_ALTERNATE
The color space flags were replaced by aenum v4l2_colorspace value in a newly added
colorspace
field, where one ofV4L2_COLORSPACE_SMPTE170M
,V4L2_COLORSPACE_BT878
,V4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_M
orV4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_BG
replacesV4L2_FMT_CS_601YUV
.In struct v4l2_requestbuffers the
type
field was properly defined asenum v4l2_buf_type. Buffer types changed as mentioned above. A newmemory
field of type enum v4l2_memory wasadded to distinguish between I/O methods using buffers allocatedby the driver or the application. See Chapter 3 fordetails.In struct v4l2_buffer the
type
field was properly defined as enum v4l2_buf_type. Buffer types changed asmentioned above. Afield
field of typeenum v4l2_field was added to indicate if a buffer contains a top orbottom field. The old field flags were removed. Since no unadjustedsystem time clock was added to the kernel as planned, thetimestamp
field changed back from typestamp_t, an unsigned 64 bit integer expressing the sample time innanoseconds, to structtimeval
. With theaddition of a second memory mapping method theoffset
field moved into unionm
, and a newmemory
field of type enum v4l2_memory wasadded to distinguish between I/O methods. SeeChapter 3for details.The
V4L2_BUF_REQ_CONTIG
flag was used by the V4L compatibility layer, after changes to thiscode it was no longer needed. TheV4L2_BUF_ATTR_DEVICEMEM
flag would indicate ifthe buffer was indeed allocated in device memory rather than DMA-ablesystem memory. It was barely useful and so was removed.In struct v4l2_framebuffer the
base[3]
array anticipating double- andtriple-buffering in off-screen video memory, however without defininga synchronization mechanism, was replaced by a single pointer. TheV4L2_FBUF_CAP_SCALEUP
andV4L2_FBUF_CAP_SCALEDOWN
flags were removed.Applications can determine this capability more accurately using thenew cropping and scaling interface. TheV4L2_FBUF_CAP_CLIPPING
flag was replaced byV4L2_FBUF_CAP_LIST_CLIPPING
andV4L2_FBUF_CAP_BITMAP_CLIPPING
.In struct v4l2_clip the
x
,y
,width
andheight
field moved into ac
substructure of type struct v4l2_rect. Thex
andy
fieldswere renamed toleft
andtop
, i. e. offsets to a context dependentorigin.In struct v4l2_window the
x
,y
,width
andheight
field moved into aw
substructure as above. Afield
field of type %v4l2-field; was addedto distinguish between field and frame (interlaced) overlay.The digital zoom interface, including struct
v4l2_zoomcap
, structv4l2_zoom
,V4L2_ZOOM_NONCAP
andV4L2_ZOOM_WHILESTREAMING
was replaced by a newcropping and scaling interface. The previously unused structv4l2_cropcap
andv4l2_crop
where redefined for this purpose.SeeSection 1.11for details.In struct v4l2_vbi_format the
SAMPLE_FORMAT
field now contains afour-character-code as used to identify video image formats andV4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY
replaces theV4L2_VBI_SF_UBYTE
define. Thereserved
field was extended.In struct v4l2_captureparm the type of the
timeperframe
field changed from unsignedlong to struct v4l2_fract. This allows the accurate expression of multiplesof the NTSC-M frame rate 30000 / 1001. A new fieldreadbuffers
was added to control the driverbehaviour in read I/O mode.Similar changes were made to struct v4l2_outputparm.
The struct
v4l2_performance
andVIDIOC_G_PERF
ioctl were dropped. Except whenusing the read/write I/O method, which islimited anyway, this information is already available toapplications.The example transformation from RGB to YCbCr colorspace in the old V4L2 documentation was inaccurate, this has beencorrected inChapter 2.
6.2.10. V4L2 2003-06-19
A new capability flag
V4L2_CAP_RADIO
was added for radio devices. Priorto this change radio devices would identify solely by having exactly onetuner whose type field readsV4L2_TUNER_RADIO
.An optional driver access priority mechanism wasadded, see Section 1.3 for details.
The audio input and output interface was found to beincomplete.
Previously the
VIDIOC_G_AUDIO
ioctl would enumerate the available audio inputs. An ioctl todetermine the current audio input, if more than one combines with thecurrent video input, did not exist. SoVIDIOC_G_AUDIO
was renamed toVIDIOC_G_AUDIO_OLD
, this ioctl will be removed inthe future. TheVIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO
ioctl was added to enumerateaudio inputs, whileVIDIOC_G_AUDIO
now reports the current audioinput.The same changes were made to
VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT
andVIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT
.Until further the "videodev" module will automaticallytranslate between the old and new ioctls, but drivers and applicationsmust be updated to successfully compile again.
The
VIDIOC_OVERLAY
ioctl was incorrectly defined withwrite-read parameter. It was changed to write-only, while the write-readversion was renamed toVIDIOC_OVERLAY_OLD
. The oldioctl will be removed in the future. Until further the "videodev"kernel module will automatically translate to the new version, so driversmust be recompiled, but not applications.Section 4.2 incorrectly stated thatclipping rectangles define regions where the video can be seen.Correct is that clipping rectangles define regions whereno video shall be displayed and so the graphicssurface can be seen.
The
VIDIOC_S_PARM
andVIDIOC_S_CTRL
ioctls weredefined with write-only parameter, inconsistent with other ioctlsmodifying their argument. They were changed to write-read, while a_OLD
suffix was added to the write-only versions.The old ioctls will be removed in the future. Drivers andapplications assuming a constant parameter need an update.
6.2.11. V4L2 2003-11-05
In Section 2.4 the following pixelformats were incorrectly transferred from Bill Dirks' V4L2specification. Descriptions below refer to bytes in memory, inascending address order.
The
Symbol In this document prior to revision0.5 Corrected V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB24
B, G, R R, G, B V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
R, G, B B, G, R V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB32
B, G, R, X R, G, B, X V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR32
R, G, B, X B, G, R, X V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24
example was alwayscorrect.In Section 6.1.5 the mappingof the V4L
VIDEO_PALETTE_RGB24
andVIDEO_PALETTE_RGB32
formats to V4L2 pixel formatswas accordingly corrected.Unrelated to the fixes above, drivers may stillinterpret some V4L2 RGB pixel formats differently. These issues haveyet to be addressed, for details seeSection 2.4.
6.2.12. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.6, 2004-05-09
The
VIDIOC_CROPCAP
ioctl was incorrectly definedwith read-only parameter. It is now defined as write-read ioctl, whilethe read-only version was renamed toVIDIOC_CROPCAP_OLD
. The old ioctl will be removedin the future.
6.2.13. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.8
A new field
input
(formerreserved[0]
) was added to the struct v4l2_bufferstructure. Purpose of this field is to alternate between video inputs(e. g. cameras) in step with the video capturing process. This functionmust be enabled with the newV4L2_BUF_FLAG_INPUT
flag. Theflags
field is no longerread-only.
6.2.14. V4L2 spec erratum 2004-08-01
The return value of theV4L2 open()(2) function was incorrectly documented.
Audio output ioctls end in -AUDOUT, not -AUDIOOUT.
In the Current Audio Input example the
VIDIOC_G_AUDIO
ioctl took the wrongargument.The documentation of the
VIDIOC_QBUF
andVIDIOC_DQBUF
ioctls did not mention the struct v4l2_buffermemory
field. It was also missing fromexamples. Also on theVIDIOC_DQBUF
page theEIO error codewas not documented.
6.2.15. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.14
A new sliced VBI interface was added. It is documentedin Section 4.8 and replaces the interface firstproposed in V4L2 specification 0.8.
6.2.16. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.15
The
VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS
ioctl was added.New video standards
V4L2_STD_NTSC_443
,V4L2_STD_SECAM_LC
,V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK
(a set of SECAM D, K and K1),andV4L2_STD_ATSC
(a set ofV4L2_STD_ATSC_8_VSB
andV4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB
) were defined. Note theV4L2_STD_525_60
set now includesV4L2_STD_NTSC_443
. See alsoTable 3.The
VIDIOC_G_COMP
andVIDIOC_S_COMP
ioctl were renamed toVIDIOC_G_MPEGCOMP
andVIDIOC_S_MPEGCOMP
respectively. Their argumentwas replaced by a structv4l2_mpeg_compression
pointer. (TheVIDIOC_G_MPEGCOMP
andVIDIOC_S_MPEGCOMP
ioctls where removed in Linux2.6.25.)
6.2.17. V4L2 spec erratum 2005-11-27
The capture example in Appendix Bcalled the
VIDIOC_S_CROP
ioctl without checking if cropping issupported. In the video standard selection example inSection 1.7 theVIDIOC_S_STD
call used the wrongargument type.
6.2.18. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-01-10
The
V4L2_IN_ST_COLOR_KILL
flag instruct v4l2_input not only indicates if the color killer is enabled, butalso if it is active. (The color killer disables color decoding whenit detects no color in the video signal to improve the imagequality.)
VIDIOC_S_PARM
is a write-read ioctl, not write-only asstated on its reference page. The ioctl changed in 2003 as noted above.
6.2.19. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-02-03
In struct v4l2_captureparm and struct v4l2_outputparm the
timeperframe
field gives the time inseconds, not microseconds.
6.2.20. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-02-04
The
clips
field instruct v4l2_window must point to an array of struct v4l2_clip, not a linkedlist, because drivers ignore the structv4l2_clip
.next
pointer.
6.2.21. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.17
New video standard macros were added:
V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR
(NTSC M South Korea), and thesetsV4L2_STD_MN
,V4L2_STD_B
,V4L2_STD_GH
andV4L2_STD_DK
. TheV4L2_STD_NTSC
andV4L2_STD_SECAM
sets now includeV4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR
andV4L2_STD_SECAM_LC
respectively.A new
V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG1_LANG2
was defined to record both languages of a bilingual program. Theuse ofV4L2_TUNER_MODE_STEREO
for this purposeis deprecated now. See theVIDIOC_G_TUNER
section fordetails.
6.2.22. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-09-23 (Draft 0.15)
In various places
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE
andV4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT
of the sliced VBIinterface were not mentioned along with other buffer types.In ioctl VIDIOC_G_AUDIO, VIDIOC_S_AUDIO(2) it was clarifiedthat the struct v4l2_audio
mode
field is a flagsfield.ioctl VIDIOC_QUERYCAP(2) did not mention thesliced VBI and radio capability flags.
In ioctl VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY, VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY(2) it wasclarified that applications must initialize the tuner
type
field of struct v4l2_frequency beforecallingVIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY
.The
reserved
arrayin struct v4l2_requestbuffers has 2 elements, not 32.In Section 4.3 andSection 4.7 the device file names/dev/vout which never caught on were replacedby/dev/video.
With Linux 2.6.15 the possible range for VBI device minornumbers was extended from 224-239 to 224-255. Accordingly device file names/dev/vbi0 to/dev/vbi31 arepossible now.
6.2.23. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.18
New ioctls
VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS
,VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS
andVIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS
were added, a flag to skip unsupportedcontrols withVIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
, new control typesV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64
andV4L2_CTRL_TYPE_CTRL_CLASS
(Table 3), and new control flagsV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_READ_ONLY
,V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_UPDATE
,V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_INACTIVE
andV4L2_CTRL_FLAG_SLIDER
(Table 4). SeeSection 1.9 for details.
6.2.24. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.19
In struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap a buffer type field was addedreplacing a reserved field. Note on architectures where the size ofenum types differs from int types the size of the structure changed.The
VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP
ioctl was redefined from being read-onlyto write-read. Applications must initialize the type field and clearthe reserved fields now. These changes maybreak thecompatibility with older drivers and applications.The ioctls
VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES
andVIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS
were added.A new pixel format
V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB444
(Table 2-1) was added.
6.2.25. V4L2 spec erratum 2006-10-12 (Draft 0.17)
V4L2_PIX_FMT_HM12
(Table 2-8) is a YUV 4:2:0, not 4:2:2 format.
6.2.26. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.21
The videodev2.h header file isnow dual licensed under GNU General Public License version two orlater, and under a 3-clause BSD-style license.
6.2.27. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.22
Two new field orders
V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB
andV4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT
were added. SeeTable 3-8 for details.Three new clipping/blending methods with a global orstraight or inverted local alpha value were added to the video overlayinterface. See the description of the
VIDIOC_G_FBUF
andVIDIOC_S_FBUF
ioctls for details.A new
global_alpha
fieldwas added tov4l2_window
,extending the structure. This maybreakcompatibility with applications using a structv4l2_window
directly. However theVIDIOC_G/S/TRY_FMT ioctls, which take apointer to av4l2_format parentstructure with padding bytes at the end, are not affected.The format of the
chromakey
field in struct v4l2_window changed from "host order RGB32" to a pixelvalue in the same format as the framebuffer. This may breakcompatibility with existing applications. Driverssupporting the "host order RGB32" format are not known.
6.2.28. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.24
The pixel formats
V4L2_PIX_FMT_PAL8
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV444
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV555
,V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV565
andV4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV32
were added.
6.2.29. V4L2 in Linux 2.6.25
The pixel formats
V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16
andV4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16
were added.New controls
V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY
,V4L2_CID_HUE_AUTO
,V4L2_CID_WHITE_BALANCE_TEMPERATURE
,V4L2_CID_SHARPNESS
andV4L2_CID_BACKLIGHT_COMPENSATION
were added. ThecontrolsV4L2_CID_BLACK_LEVEL
,V4L2_CID_WHITENESS
,V4L2_CID_HCENTER
andV4L2_CID_VCENTER
were deprecated.A Camera controlsclass was added, with the new controls
V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO
,V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO_PRIORITY
,V4L2_CID_PAN_RELATIVE
,V4L2_CID_TILT_RELATIVE
,V4L2_CID_PAN_RESET
,V4L2_CID_TILT_RESET
,V4L2_CID_PAN_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_TILT_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_FOCUS_ABSOLUTE
,V4L2_CID_FOCUS_RELATIVE
andV4L2_CID_FOCUS_AUTO
.The
VIDIOC_G_MPEGCOMP
andVIDIOC_S_MPEGCOMP
ioctls, which were supersededby theextended controlsinterface in Linux 2.6.18, where finally removed from thevideodev2.h header file.
6.3. Relation of V4L2 to other Linux multimedia APIs
6.3.1. X Video Extension
The X Video Extension (abbreviated XVideo or just Xv) isan extension of the X Window system, implemented for example by theXFree86 project. Its scope is similar to V4L2, an API to video captureand output devices for X clients. Xv allows applications to displaylive video in a window, send window contents to a TV output, andcapture or output still images in XPixmaps[27]. With their implementation XFree86 makes theextension available across many operating systems andarchitectures.
Because the driver is embedded into the X server Xv has anumber of advantages over the V4L2videooverlay interface. The driver can easily determine the overlaytarget, i. e. visible graphics memory or off-screen buffers for adestructive overlay. It can program the RAMDAC for a non-destructiveoverlay, scaling or color-keying, or the clipping functions of thevideo capture hardware, always in sync with drawing operations orwindows moving or changing their stacking order.
To combine the advantages of Xv and V4L a special Xvdriver exists in XFree86 and XOrg, just programming any overlay capableVideo4Linux device it finds. To enable it/etc/X11/XF86Config must contain these lines:
Section "Module" Load "v4l" EndSectionAs of XFree86 4.2 this driver still supports only V4Lioctls, however it should work just fine with all V4L2 devices throughthe V4L2 backward-compatibility layer. Since V4L2 permits multipleopens it is possible (if supported by the V4L2 driver) to capturevideo while an X client requested video overlay. Restrictions ofsimultaneous capturing and overlay are discussed inSection 4.2 apply.
Only marginally related to V4L2, XFree86 extended Xv tosupport hardware YUV to RGB conversion and scaling for faster videoplayback, and added an interface to MPEG-2 decoding hardware. This APIis useful to display images captured with V4L2 devices.
6.3.2. Digital Video
V4L2 does not support digital terrestrial, cable orsatellite broadcast. A separate project aiming at digital receiversexists. You can find its homepage athttp://linuxtv.org. The Linux DVB APIhas no connection to the V4L2 API except that drivers for hybridhardware may support both.
6.4. Experimental API Elements
The following V4L2 API elements are currently experimentaland may change in the future.
Video Output Overlay (OSD) Interface, Section 4.4.
V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
, enum v4l2_buf_type,Table 3-2.
V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY
,VIDIOC_QUERYCAP
ioctl,Table 2.
VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES
andVIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS
ioctls.
VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX
ioctl.
VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD
andVIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD
ioctls.
VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER
andVIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER
ioctls.
VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT
ioctl.
6.5. Obsolete API Elements
The following V4L2 API elements were superseded by newinterfaces and should not be implemented in new drivers.
VIDIOC_G_MPEGCOMP
andVIDIOC_S_MPEGCOMP
ioctls. Use Extended Controls,Section 1.9.
Appendix A. Video For Linux Two Header File
/* * Video for Linux Two header file * * Copyright (C) 1999-2007 the contributors * * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or * (at your option) any later version. * * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * GNU General Public License for more details. * * Alternatively you can redistribute this file under the terms of the * BSD license as stated below: * * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions * are met: * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright * notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in * the documentation and/or other materials provided with the * distribution. * 3. The names of its contributors may not be used to endorse or promote * products derived from this software without specific prior written * permission. * * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS * "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT * LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR * A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT * OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED * TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR * PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING * NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS * SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. * * Header file for v4l or V4L2 drivers and applications * with public API. * All kernel-specific stuff were moved to media/v4l2-dev.h, so * no #if __KERNEL tests are allowed here * * See http://linuxtv.org for more info * * Author: Bill Dirks <bill@thedirks.org> * Justin Schoeman * Hans Verkuil <hverkuil@xs4all.nl> * et al. */ #ifndef __LINUX_VIDEODEV2_H #define __LINUX_VIDEODEV2_H #ifdef __KERNEL__ #include <linux/time.h> /* need struct timeval */ #include <linux/compiler.h> /* need __user */ #else #define __user #include <sys/time.h> #endif #include <linux/ioctl.h> #include <linux/types.h> /* * Common stuff for both V4L1 and V4L2 * Moved from videodev.h */ #define VIDEO_MAX_FRAME 32 #define VID_TYPE_CAPTURE 1 /* Can capture */ #define VID_TYPE_TUNER 2 /* Can tune */ #define VID_TYPE_TELETEXT 4 /* Does teletext */ #define VID_TYPE_OVERLAY 8 /* Overlay onto frame buffer */ #define VID_TYPE_CHROMAKEY 16 /* Overlay by chromakey */ #define VID_TYPE_CLIPPING 32 /* Can clip */ #define VID_TYPE_FRAMERAM 64 /* Uses the frame buffer memory */ #define VID_TYPE_SCALES 128 /* Scalable */ #define VID_TYPE_MONOCHROME 256 /* Monochrome only */ #define VID_TYPE_SUBCAPTURE 512 /* Can capture subareas of the image */ #define VID_TYPE_MPEG_DECODER 1024 /* Can decode MPEG streams */ #define VID_TYPE_MPEG_ENCODER 2048 /* Can encode MPEG streams */ #define VID_TYPE_MJPEG_DECODER 4096 /* Can decode MJPEG streams */ #define VID_TYPE_MJPEG_ENCODER 8192 /* Can encode MJPEG streams */ /* * M I S C E L L A N E O U S */ /* Four-character-code (FOURCC) */ #define v4l2_fourcc(a,b,c,d)\ (((__u32)(a)<<0)|((__u32)(b)<<8)|((__u32)(c)<<16)|((__u32)(d)<<24)) /* * E N U M S */ enum v4l2_field { V4L2_FIELD_ANY = 0, /* driver can choose from none, top, bottom, interlaced depending on whatever it thinks is approximate ... */ V4L2_FIELD_NONE = 1, /* this device has no fields ... */ V4L2_FIELD_TOP = 2, /* top field only */ V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM = 3, /* bottom field only */ V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED = 4, /* both fields interlaced */ V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB = 5, /* both fields sequential into one buffer, top-bottom order */ V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT = 6, /* same as above + bottom-top order */ V4L2_FIELD_ALTERNATE = 7, /* both fields alternating into separate buffers */ V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB = 8, /* both fields interlaced, top field first and the top field is transmitted first */ V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT = 9, /* both fields interlaced, top field first and the bottom field is transmitted first */ }; #define V4L2_FIELD_HAS_TOP(field) \ ((field) == V4L2_FIELD_TOP ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT) #define V4L2_FIELD_HAS_BOTTOM(field) \ ((field) == V4L2_FIELD_BOTTOM ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT) #define V4L2_FIELD_HAS_BOTH(field) \ ((field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED_BT ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_TB ||\ (field) == V4L2_FIELD_SEQ_BT) enum v4l2_buf_type { V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE = 1, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT = 2, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY = 3, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_CAPTURE = 4, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_OUTPUT = 5, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE = 6, V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT = 7, #if 1 /*KEEP*/ /* Experimental */ V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY = 8, #endif V4L2_BUF_TYPE_PRIVATE = 0x80, }; enum v4l2_ctrl_type { V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER = 1, V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BOOLEAN = 2, V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU = 3, V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BUTTON = 4, V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64 = 5, V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_CTRL_CLASS = 6, }; enum v4l2_tuner_type { V4L2_TUNER_RADIO = 1, V4L2_TUNER_ANALOG_TV = 2, V4L2_TUNER_DIGITAL_TV = 3, }; enum v4l2_memory { V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP = 1, V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR = 2, V4L2_MEMORY_OVERLAY = 3, }; /* see also http://vektor.theorem.ca/graphics/ycbcr/ */ enum v4l2_colorspace { /* ITU-R 601 -- broadcast NTSC/PAL */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_SMPTE170M = 1, /* 1125-Line (US) HDTV */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_SMPTE240M = 2, /* HD and modern captures. */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_REC709 = 3, /* broken BT878 extents (601, luma range 16-253 instead of 16-235) */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_BT878 = 4, /* These should be useful. Assume 601 extents. */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_M = 5, V4L2_COLORSPACE_470_SYSTEM_BG = 6, /* I know there will be cameras that send this. So, this is * unspecified chromaticities and full 0-255 on each of the * Y'CbCr components */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_JPEG = 7, /* For RGB colourspaces, this is probably a good start. */ V4L2_COLORSPACE_SRGB = 8, }; enum v4l2_priority { V4L2_PRIORITY_UNSET = 0, /* not initialized */ V4L2_PRIORITY_BACKGROUND = 1, V4L2_PRIORITY_INTERACTIVE = 2, V4L2_PRIORITY_RECORD = 3, V4L2_PRIORITY_DEFAULT = V4L2_PRIORITY_INTERACTIVE, }; struct v4l2_rect { __s32 left; __s32 top; __s32 width; __s32 height; }; struct v4l2_fract { __u32 numerator; __u32 denominator; }; /* * D R I V E R C A P A B I L I T I E S */ struct v4l2_capability { __u8 driver[16]; /* i.e.ie; "bttv" */ __u8 card[32]; /* i.e.ie; "Hauppauge WinTV" */ __u8 bus_info[32]; /* "PCI:" + pci_name(pci_dev) */ __u32 version; /* should use KERNEL_VERSION() */ __u32 capabilities; /* Device capabilities */ __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* Values for 'capabilities' field */ #define V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE 0x00000001 /* Is a video capture device */ #define V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT 0x00000002 /* Is a video output device */ #define V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OVERLAY 0x00000004 /* Can do video overlay */ #define V4L2_CAP_VBI_CAPTURE 0x00000010 /* Is a raw VBI capture device */ #define V4L2_CAP_VBI_OUTPUT 0x00000020 /* Is a raw VBI output device */ #define V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE 0x00000040 /* Is a sliced VBI capture device */ #define V4L2_CAP_SLICED_VBI_OUTPUT 0x00000080 /* Is a sliced VBI output device */ #define V4L2_CAP_RDS_CAPTURE 0x00000100 /* RDS data capture */ #define V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_OUTPUT_OVERLAY 0x00000200 /* Can do video output overlay */ #define V4L2_CAP_TUNER 0x00010000 /* has a tuner */ #define V4L2_CAP_AUDIO 0x00020000 /* has audio support */ #define V4L2_CAP_RADIO 0x00040000 /* is a radio device */ #define V4L2_CAP_READWRITE 0x01000000 /* read/write systemcalls */ #define V4L2_CAP_ASYNCIO 0x02000000 /* async I/O */ #define V4L2_CAP_STREAMING 0x04000000 /* streaming I/O ioctls */ /* * V I D E O I M A G E F O R M A T */ struct v4l2_pix_format { __u32 width; __u32 height; __u32 pixelformat; enum v4l2_field field; __u32 bytesperline; /* for padding, zero if unused */ __u32 sizeimage; enum v4l2_colorspace colorspace; __u32 priv; /* private data, depends on pixelformat */ }; /* Pixel format FOURCC depth Description */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB332 v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','1') /* 8 RGB-3-3-2 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB444 v4l2_fourcc('R','4','4','4') /* 16 xxxxrrrr ggggbbbb */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555 v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','O') /* 16 RGB-5-5-5 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565 v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','P') /* 16 RGB-5-6-5 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB555X v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','Q') /* 16 RGB-5-5-5 BE */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB565X v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','R') /* 16 RGB-5-6-5 BE */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR24 v4l2_fourcc('B','G','R','3') /* 24 BGR-8-8-8 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB24 v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','3') /* 24 RGB-8-8-8 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_BGR32 v4l2_fourcc('B','G','R','4') /* 32 BGR-8-8-8-8 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_RGB32 v4l2_fourcc('R','G','B','4') /* 32 RGB-8-8-8-8 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_GREY v4l2_fourcc('G','R','E','Y') /* 8 Greyscale */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y16 v4l2_fourcc('Y','1','6',' ') /* 16 Greyscale */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_PAL8 v4l2_fourcc('P','A','L','8') /* 8 8-bit palette */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU410 v4l2_fourcc('Y','V','U','9') /* 9 YVU 4:1:0 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YVU420 v4l2_fourcc('Y','V','1','2') /* 12 YVU 4:2:0 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','Y','V') /* 16 YUV 4:2:2 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_UYVY v4l2_fourcc('U','Y','V','Y') /* 16 YUV 4:2:2 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV422P v4l2_fourcc('4','2','2','P') /* 16 YVU422 planar */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV411P v4l2_fourcc('4','1','1','P') /* 16 YVU411 planar */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_Y41P v4l2_fourcc('Y','4','1','P') /* 12 YUV 4:1:1 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV444 v4l2_fourcc('Y','4','4','4') /* 16 xxxxyyyy uuuuvvvv */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV555 v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','V','O') /* 16 YUV-5-5-5 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV565 v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','V','P') /* 16 YUV-5-6-5 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV32 v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','V','4') /* 32 YUV-8-8-8-8 */ /* two planes -- one Y, one Cr + Cb interleaved */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV12 v4l2_fourcc('N','V','1','2') /* 12 Y/CbCr 4:2:0 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_NV21 v4l2_fourcc('N','V','2','1') /* 12 Y/CrCb 4:2:0 */ /* The following formats are not defined in the V4L2 specification */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV410 v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','V','9') /* 9 YUV 4:1:0 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUV420 v4l2_fourcc('Y','U','1','2') /* 12 YUV 4:2:0 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_YYUV v4l2_fourcc('Y','Y','U','V') /* 16 YUV 4:2:2 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_HI240 v4l2_fourcc('H','I','2','4') /* 8 8-bit color */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_HM12 v4l2_fourcc('H','M','1','2') /* 8 YUV 4:2:0 16x16 macroblocks */ /* see http://www.siliconimaging.com/RGB%20Bayer.htm */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR8 v4l2_fourcc('B','A','8','1') /* 8 BGBG.. GRGR.. */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_SBGGR16 v4l2_fourcc('B','Y','R','2') /* 16 BGBG.. GRGR.. */ /* compressed formats */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_MJPEG v4l2_fourcc('M','J','P','G') /* Motion-JPEG */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_JPEG v4l2_fourcc('J','P','E','G') /* JFIF JPEG */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_DV v4l2_fourcc('d','v','s','d') /* 1394 */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_MPEG v4l2_fourcc('M','P','E','G') /* MPEG-1/2/4 */ /* Vendor-specific formats */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_WNVA v4l2_fourcc('W','N','V','A') /* Winnov hw compress */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_SN9C10X v4l2_fourcc('S','9','1','0') /* SN9C10x compression */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_PWC1 v4l2_fourcc('P','W','C','1') /* pwc older webcam */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_PWC2 v4l2_fourcc('P','W','C','2') /* pwc newer webcam */ #define V4L2_PIX_FMT_ET61X251 v4l2_fourcc('E','6','2','5') /* ET61X251 compression */ /* * F O R M A T E N U M E R A T I O N */ struct v4l2_fmtdesc { __u32 index; /* Format number */ enum v4l2_buf_type type; /* buffer type */ __u32 flags; __u8 description[32]; /* Description string */ __u32 pixelformat; /* Format fourcc */ __u32 reserved[4]; }; #define V4L2_FMT_FLAG_COMPRESSED 0x0001 #if 1 /*KEEP*/ /* Experimental Frame Size and frame rate enumeration */ /* * F R A M E S I Z E E N U M E R A T I O N */ enum v4l2_frmsizetypes { V4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_DISCRETE = 1, V4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_CONTINUOUS = 2, V4L2_FRMSIZE_TYPE_STEPWISE = 3, }; struct v4l2_frmsize_discrete { __u32 width; /* Frame width [pixel] */ __u32 height; /* Frame height [pixel] */ }; struct v4l2_frmsize_stepwise { __u32 min_width; /* Minimum frame width [pixel] */ __u32 max_width; /* Maximum frame width [pixel] */ __u32 step_width; /* Frame width step size [pixel] */ __u32 min_height; /* Minimum frame height [pixel] */ __u32 max_height; /* Maximum frame height [pixel] */ __u32 step_height; /* Frame height step size [pixel] */ }; struct v4l2_frmsizeenum { __u32 index; /* Frame size number */ __u32 pixel_format; /* Pixel format */ __u32 type; /* Frame size type the device supports. */ union { /* Frame size */ struct v4l2_frmsize_discrete discrete; struct v4l2_frmsize_stepwise stepwise; }; __u32 reserved[2]; /* Reserved space for future use */ }; /* * F R A M E R A T E E N U M E R A T I O N */ enum v4l2_frmivaltypes { V4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_DISCRETE = 1, V4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_CONTINUOUS = 2, V4L2_FRMIVAL_TYPE_STEPWISE = 3, }; struct v4l2_frmival_stepwise { struct v4l2_fract min; /* Minimum frame interval [s] */ struct v4l2_fract max; /* Maximum frame interval [s] */ struct v4l2_fract step; /* Frame interval step size [s] */ }; struct v4l2_frmivalenum { __u32 index; /* Frame format index */ __u32 pixel_format; /* Pixel format */ __u32 width; /* Frame width */ __u32 height; /* Frame height */ __u32 type; /* Frame interval type the device supports. */ union { /* Frame interval */ struct v4l2_fract discrete; struct v4l2_frmival_stepwise stepwise; }; __u32 reserved[2]; /* Reserved space for future use */ }; #endif /* * T I M E C O D E */ struct v4l2_timecode { __u32 type; __u32 flags; __u8 frames; __u8 seconds; __u8 minutes; __u8 hours; __u8 userbits[4]; }; /* Type */ #define V4L2_TC_TYPE_24FPS 1 #define V4L2_TC_TYPE_25FPS 2 #define V4L2_TC_TYPE_30FPS 3 #define V4L2_TC_TYPE_50FPS 4 #define V4L2_TC_TYPE_60FPS 5 /* Flags */ #define V4L2_TC_FLAG_DROPFRAME 0x0001 /* "drop-frame" mode */ #define V4L2_TC_FLAG_COLORFRAME 0x0002 #define V4L2_TC_USERBITS_field 0x000C #define V4L2_TC_USERBITS_USERDEFINED 0x0000 #define V4L2_TC_USERBITS_8BITCHARS 0x0008 /* The above is based on SMPTE timecodes */ struct v4l2_jpegcompression { int quality; int APPn; /* Number of APP segment to be written, * must be 0..15 */ int APP_len; /* Length of data in JPEG APPn segment */ char APP_data[60]; /* Data in the JPEG APPn segment. */ int COM_len; /* Length of data in JPEG COM segment */ char COM_data[60]; /* Data in JPEG COM segment */ __u32 jpeg_markers; /* Which markers should go into the JPEG * output. Unless you exactly know what * you do, leave them untouched. * Inluding less markers will make the * resulting code smaller, but there will * be fewer aplications which can read it. * The presence of the APP and COM marker * is influenced by APP_len and COM_len * ONLY, not by this property! */ #define V4L2_JPEG_MARKER_DHT (1<<3) /* Define Huffman Tables */ #define V4L2_JPEG_MARKER_DQT (1<<4) /* Define Quantization Tables */ #define V4L2_JPEG_MARKER_DRI (1<<5) /* Define Restart Interval */ #define V4L2_JPEG_MARKER_COM (1<<6) /* Comment segment */ #define V4L2_JPEG_MARKER_APP (1<<7) /* App segment, driver will * allways use APP0 */ }; /* * M E M O R Y - M A P P I N G B U F F E R S */ struct v4l2_requestbuffers { __u32 count; enum v4l2_buf_type type; enum v4l2_memory memory; __u32 reserved[2]; }; struct v4l2_buffer { __u32 index; enum v4l2_buf_type type; __u32 bytesused; __u32 flags; enum v4l2_field field; struct timeval timestamp; struct v4l2_timecode timecode; __u32 sequence; /* memory location */ enum v4l2_memory memory; union { __u32 offset; unsigned long userptr; } m; __u32 length; __u32 input; __u32 reserved; }; /* Flags for 'flags' field */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_MAPPED 0x0001 /* Buffer is mapped (flag) */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_QUEUED 0x0002 /* Buffer is queued for processing */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_DONE 0x0004 /* Buffer is ready */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_KEYFRAME 0x0008 /* Image is a keyframe (I-frame) */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_PFRAME 0x0010 /* Image is a P-frame */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_BFRAME 0x0020 /* Image is a B-frame */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_TIMECODE 0x0100 /* timecode field is valid */ #define V4L2_BUF_FLAG_INPUT 0x0200 /* input field is valid */ /* * O V E R L A Y P R E V I E W */ struct v4l2_framebuffer { __u32 capability; __u32 flags; /* FIXME: in theory we should pass something like PCI device + memory * region + offset instead of some physical address */ void* base; struct v4l2_pix_format fmt; }; /* Flags for the 'capability' field. Read only */ #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_EXTERNOVERLAY 0x0001 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_CHROMAKEY 0x0002 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LIST_CLIPPING 0x0004 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_BITMAP_CLIPPING 0x0008 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LOCAL_ALPHA 0x0010 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_GLOBAL_ALPHA 0x0020 #define V4L2_FBUF_CAP_LOCAL_INV_ALPHA 0x0040 /* Flags for the 'flags' field. */ #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_PRIMARY 0x0001 #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_OVERLAY 0x0002 #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_CHROMAKEY 0x0004 #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_LOCAL_ALPHA 0x0008 #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_GLOBAL_ALPHA 0x0010 #define V4L2_FBUF_FLAG_LOCAL_INV_ALPHA 0x0020 struct v4l2_clip { struct v4l2_rect c; struct v4l2_clip __user *next; }; struct v4l2_window { struct v4l2_rect w; enum v4l2_field field; __u32 chromakey; struct v4l2_clip __user *clips; __u32 clipcount; void __user *bitmap; __u8 global_alpha; }; /* * C A P T U R E P A R A M E T E R S */ struct v4l2_captureparm { __u32 capability; /* Supported modes */ __u32 capturemode; /* Current mode */ struct v4l2_fract timeperframe; /* Time per frame in .1us units */ __u32 extendedmode; /* Driver-specific extensions */ __u32 readbuffers; /* # of buffers for read */ __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* Flags for 'capability' and 'capturemode' fields */ #define V4L2_MODE_HIGHQUALITY 0x0001 /* High quality imaging mode */ #define V4L2_CAP_TIMEPERFRAME 0x1000 /* timeperframe field is supported */ struct v4l2_outputparm { __u32 capability; /* Supported modes */ __u32 outputmode; /* Current mode */ struct v4l2_fract timeperframe; /* Time per frame in seconds */ __u32 extendedmode; /* Driver-specific extensions */ __u32 writebuffers; /* # of buffers for write */ __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* * I N P U T I M A G E C R O P P I N G */ struct v4l2_cropcap { enum v4l2_buf_type type; struct v4l2_rect bounds; struct v4l2_rect defrect; struct v4l2_fract pixelaspect; }; struct v4l2_crop { enum v4l2_buf_type type; struct v4l2_rect c; }; /* * A N A L O G V I D E O S T A N D A R D */ typedef __u64 v4l2_std_id; /* one bit for each */ #define V4L2_STD_PAL_B ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000001) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_B1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000002) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_G ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000004) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_H ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000008) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_I ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000010) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_D ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000020) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_D1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000040) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_K ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000080) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_M ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000100) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_N ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000200) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000400) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_60 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00000800) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M ((v4l2_std_id)0x00001000) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_JP ((v4l2_std_id)0x00002000) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_443 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00004000) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR ((v4l2_std_id)0x00008000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_B ((v4l2_std_id)0x00010000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_D ((v4l2_std_id)0x00020000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_G ((v4l2_std_id)0x00040000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_H ((v4l2_std_id)0x00080000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_K ((v4l2_std_id)0x00100000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_K1 ((v4l2_std_id)0x00200000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_L ((v4l2_std_id)0x00400000) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_LC ((v4l2_std_id)0x00800000) /* ATSC/HDTV */ #define V4L2_STD_ATSC_8_VSB ((v4l2_std_id)0x01000000) #define V4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB ((v4l2_std_id)0x02000000) /* FIXME: Although std_id is 64 bits, there is an issue on PPC32 architecture that makes switch(__u64) to break. So, there's a hack on v4l2-common.c rounding this value to 32 bits. As, currently, the max value is for V4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB (30 bits wide), it should work fine. However, if needed to add more than two standards, v4l2-common.c should be fixed. */ /* some merged standards */ #define V4L2_STD_MN (V4L2_STD_PAL_M|V4L2_STD_PAL_N|V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc|V4L2_STD_NTSC) #define V4L2_STD_B (V4L2_STD_PAL_B|V4L2_STD_PAL_B1|V4L2_STD_SECAM_B) #define V4L2_STD_GH (V4L2_STD_PAL_G|V4L2_STD_PAL_H|V4L2_STD_SECAM_G|V4L2_STD_SECAM_H) #define V4L2_STD_DK (V4L2_STD_PAL_DK|V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK) /* some common needed stuff */ #define V4L2_STD_PAL_BG (V4L2_STD_PAL_B |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_B1 |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_G) #define V4L2_STD_PAL_DK (V4L2_STD_PAL_D |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_D1 |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_K) #define V4L2_STD_PAL (V4L2_STD_PAL_BG |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_DK |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_H |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_I) #define V4L2_STD_NTSC (V4L2_STD_NTSC_M |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_JP |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_M_KR) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK (V4L2_STD_SECAM_D |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_K |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_K1) #define V4L2_STD_SECAM (V4L2_STD_SECAM_B |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_G |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_H |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_DK |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_L |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM_LC) #define V4L2_STD_525_60 (V4L2_STD_PAL_M |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_60 |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC |\ V4L2_STD_NTSC_443) #define V4L2_STD_625_50 (V4L2_STD_PAL |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_N |\ V4L2_STD_PAL_Nc |\ V4L2_STD_SECAM) #define V4L2_STD_ATSC (V4L2_STD_ATSC_8_VSB |\ V4L2_STD_ATSC_16_VSB) #define V4L2_STD_UNKNOWN 0 #define V4L2_STD_ALL (V4L2_STD_525_60 |\ V4L2_STD_625_50) struct v4l2_standard { __u32 index; v4l2_std_id id; __u8 name[24]; struct v4l2_fract frameperiod; /* Frames, not fields */ __u32 framelines; __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* * V I D E O I N P U T S */ struct v4l2_input { __u32 index; /* Which input */ __u8 name[32]; /* Label */ __u32 type; /* Type of input */ __u32 audioset; /* Associated audios (bitfield) */ __u32 tuner; /* Associated tuner */ v4l2_std_id std; __u32 status; __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* Values for the 'type' field */ #define V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER 1 #define V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_CAMERA 2 /* field 'status' - general */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_POWER 0x00000001 /* Attached device is off */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_SIGNAL 0x00000002 #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_COLOR 0x00000004 /* field 'status' - analog */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_H_LOCK 0x00000100 /* No horizontal sync lock */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_COLOR_KILL 0x00000200 /* Color killer is active */ /* field 'status' - digital */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_SYNC 0x00010000 /* No synchronization lock */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_EQU 0x00020000 /* No equalizer lock */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_CARRIER 0x00040000 /* Carrier recovery failed */ /* field 'status' - VCR and set-top box */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_MACROVISION 0x01000000 /* Macrovision detected */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_NO_ACCESS 0x02000000 /* Conditional access denied */ #define V4L2_IN_ST_VTR 0x04000000 /* VTR time constant */ /* * V I D E O O U T P U T S */ struct v4l2_output { __u32 index; /* Which output */ __u8 name[32]; /* Label */ __u32 type; /* Type of output */ __u32 audioset; /* Associated audios (bitfield) */ __u32 modulator; /* Associated modulator */ v4l2_std_id std; __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* Values for the 'type' field */ #define V4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_MODULATOR 1 #define V4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_ANALOG 2 #define V4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_ANALOGVGAOVERLAY 3 /* * C O N T R O L S */ struct v4l2_control { __u32 id; __s32 value; }; struct v4l2_ext_control { __u32 id; __u32 reserved2[2]; union { __s32 value; __s64 value64; void *reserved; }; } __attribute__ ((packed)); struct v4l2_ext_controls { __u32 ctrl_class; __u32 count; __u32 error_idx; __u32 reserved[2]; struct v4l2_ext_control *controls; }; /* Values for ctrl_class field */ #define V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_USER 0x00980000 /* Old-style 'user' controls */ #define V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG 0x00990000 /* MPEG-compression controls */ #define V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_CAMERA 0x009a0000 /* Camera class controls */ #define V4L2_CTRL_ID_MASK (0x0fffffff) #define V4L2_CTRL_ID2CLASS(id) ((id) & 0x0fff0000UL) #define V4L2_CTRL_DRIVER_PRIV(id) (((id) & 0xffff) >= 0x1000) /* Used in the VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL ioctl for querying controls */ struct v4l2_queryctrl { __u32 id; enum v4l2_ctrl_type type; __u8 name[32]; /* Whatever */ __s32 minimum; /* Note signedness */ __s32 maximum; __s32 step; __s32 default_value; __u32 flags; __u32 reserved[2]; }; /* Used in the VIDIOC_QUERYMENU ioctl for querying menu items */ struct v4l2_querymenu { __u32 id; __u32 index; __u8 name[32]; /* Whatever */ __u32 reserved; }; /* Control flags */ #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED 0x0001 #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRABBED 0x0002 #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_READ_ONLY 0x0004 #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_UPDATE 0x0008 #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_INACTIVE 0x0010 #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_SLIDER 0x0020 /* Query flag, to be ORed with the control ID */ #define V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL 0x80000000 /* User-class control IDs defined by V4L2 */ #define V4L2_CID_BASE (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_USER | 0x900) #define V4L2_CID_USER_BASE V4L2_CID_BASE /* IDs reserved for driver specific controls */ #define V4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE 0x08000000 #define V4L2_CID_USER_CLASS (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_USER | 1) #define V4L2_CID_BRIGHTNESS (V4L2_CID_BASE+0) #define V4L2_CID_CONTRAST (V4L2_CID_BASE+1) #define V4L2_CID_SATURATION (V4L2_CID_BASE+2) #define V4L2_CID_HUE (V4L2_CID_BASE+3) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_VOLUME (V4L2_CID_BASE+5) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BALANCE (V4L2_CID_BASE+6) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_BASS (V4L2_CID_BASE+7) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_TREBLE (V4L2_CID_BASE+8) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_MUTE (V4L2_CID_BASE+9) #define V4L2_CID_AUDIO_LOUDNESS (V4L2_CID_BASE+10) #define V4L2_CID_BLACK_LEVEL (V4L2_CID_BASE+11) /* Deprecated */ #define V4L2_CID_AUTO_WHITE_BALANCE (V4L2_CID_BASE+12) #define V4L2_CID_DO_WHITE_BALANCE (V4L2_CID_BASE+13) #define V4L2_CID_RED_BALANCE (V4L2_CID_BASE+14) #define V4L2_CID_BLUE_BALANCE (V4L2_CID_BASE+15) #define V4L2_CID_GAMMA (V4L2_CID_BASE+16) #define V4L2_CID_WHITENESS (V4L2_CID_GAMMA) /* Deprecated */ #define V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE (V4L2_CID_BASE+17) #define V4L2_CID_AUTOGAIN (V4L2_CID_BASE+18) #define V4L2_CID_GAIN (V4L2_CID_BASE+19) #define V4L2_CID_HFLIP (V4L2_CID_BASE+20) #define V4L2_CID_VFLIP (V4L2_CID_BASE+21) /* Deprecated, use V4L2_CID_PAN_RESET and V4L2_CID_TILT_RESET */ #define V4L2_CID_HCENTER_DEPRECATED (V4L2_CID_BASE+22) #define V4L2_CID_VCENTER_DEPRECATED (V4L2_CID_BASE+23) #define V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY (V4L2_CID_BASE+24) enum v4l2_power_line_frequency { V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_DISABLED = 0, V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_50HZ = 1, V4L2_CID_POWER_LINE_FREQUENCY_60HZ = 2, }; #define V4L2_CID_HUE_AUTO (V4L2_CID_BASE+25) #define V4L2_CID_WHITE_BALANCE_TEMPERATURE (V4L2_CID_BASE+26) #define V4L2_CID_SHARPNESS (V4L2_CID_BASE+27) #define V4L2_CID_BACKLIGHT_COMPENSATION (V4L2_CID_BASE+28) #define V4L2_CID_LASTP1 (V4L2_CID_BASE+29) /* last CID + 1 */ /* MPEG-class control IDs defined by V4L2 */ #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG | 0x900) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CLASS (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG | 1) /* MPEG streams */ #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+0) enum v4l2_mpeg_stream_type { V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_PS = 0, /* MPEG-2 program stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_TS = 1, /* MPEG-2 transport stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG1_SS = 2, /* MPEG-1 system stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_DVD = 3, /* MPEG-2 DVD-compatible stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG1_VCD = 4, /* MPEG-1 VCD-compatible stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_TYPE_MPEG2_SVCD = 5, /* MPEG-2 SVCD-compatible stream */ }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_PMT (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+1) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_AUDIO (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+2) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_VIDEO (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+3) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PID_PCR (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+4) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PES_ID_AUDIO (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+5) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_PES_ID_VIDEO (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+6) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+7) enum v4l2_mpeg_stream_vbi_fmt { V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_NONE = 0, /* No VBI in the MPEG stream */ V4L2_MPEG_STREAM_VBI_FMT_IVTV = 1, /* VBI in private packets, IVTV format */ }; /* MPEG audio */ #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+100) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_sampling_freq { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_44100 = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_48000 = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_SAMPLING_FREQ_32000 = 2, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+101) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_encoding { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_1 = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_2 = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_ENCODING_LAYER_3 = 2, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+102) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_l1_bitrate { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_32K = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_64K = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_96K = 2, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_128K = 3, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_160K = 4, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_192K = 5, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_224K = 6, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_256K = 7, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_288K = 8, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_320K = 9, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_352K = 10, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_384K = 11, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_416K = 12, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L1_BITRATE_448K = 13, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+103) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_l2_bitrate { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_32K = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_48K = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_56K = 2, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_64K = 3, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_80K = 4, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_96K = 5, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_112K = 6, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_128K = 7, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_160K = 8, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_192K = 9, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_224K = 10, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_256K = 11, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_320K = 12, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L2_BITRATE_384K = 13, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+104) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_l3_bitrate { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_32K = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_40K = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_48K = 2, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_56K = 3, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_64K = 4, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_80K = 5, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_96K = 6, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_112K = 7, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_128K = 8, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_160K = 9, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_192K = 10, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_224K = 11, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_256K = 12, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_L3_BITRATE_320K = 13, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+105) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_mode { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_STEREO = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_JOINT_STEREO = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_DUAL = 2, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_MONO = 3, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+106) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_mode_extension { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_4 = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_8 = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_12 = 2, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_MODE_EXTENSION_BOUND_16 = 3, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+107) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_emphasis { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_NONE = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_50_DIV_15_uS = 1, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_EMPHASIS_CCITT_J17 = 2, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+108) enum v4l2_mpeg_audio_crc { V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC_NONE = 0, V4L2_MPEG_AUDIO_CRC_CRC16 = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_AUDIO_MUTE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+109) /* MPEG video */ #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+200) enum v4l2_mpeg_video_encoding { V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING_MPEG_1 = 0, V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ENCODING_MPEG_2 = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+201) enum v4l2_mpeg_video_aspect { V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_1x1 = 0, V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_4x3 = 1, V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_16x9 = 2, V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_ASPECT_221x100 = 3, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_B_FRAMES (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+202) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_GOP_SIZE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+203) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_GOP_CLOSURE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+204) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_PULLDOWN (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+205) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+206) enum v4l2_mpeg_video_bitrate_mode { V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE_VBR = 0, V4L2_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_MODE_CBR = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+207) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_BITRATE_PEAK (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+208) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_DECIMATION (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+209) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_MUTE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+210) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_VIDEO_MUTE_YUV (V4L2_CID_MPEG_BASE+211) /* MPEG-class control IDs specific to the CX2584x driver as defined by V4L2 */ #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_MPEG | 0x1000) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+0) enum v4l2_mpeg_cx2341x_video_spatial_filter_mode { V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE_MANUAL = 0, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER_MODE_AUTO = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_SPATIAL_FILTER (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+1) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+2) enum v4l2_mpeg_cx2341x_video_luma_spatial_filter_type { V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_OFF = 0, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_HOR = 1, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_VERT = 2, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_2D_HV_SEPARABLE = 3, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_2D_SYM_NON_SEPARABLE = 4, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+3) enum v4l2_mpeg_cx2341x_video_chroma_spatial_filter_type { V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_OFF = 0, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_SPATIAL_FILTER_TYPE_1D_HOR = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+4) enum v4l2_mpeg_cx2341x_video_temporal_filter_mode { V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE_MANUAL = 0, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER_MODE_AUTO = 1, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_TEMPORAL_FILTER (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+5) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+6) enum v4l2_mpeg_cx2341x_video_median_filter_type { V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_OFF = 0, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_HOR = 1, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_VERT = 2, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_HOR_VERT = 3, V4L2_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_MEDIAN_FILTER_TYPE_DIAG = 4, }; #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_BOTTOM (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+7) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_LUMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_TOP (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+8) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_BOTTOM (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+9) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_VIDEO_CHROMA_MEDIAN_FILTER_TOP (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+10) #define V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_STREAM_INSERT_NAV_PACKETS (V4L2_CID_MPEG_CX2341X_BASE+11) /* Camera class control IDs */ #define V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_CAMERA | 0x900) #define V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS (V4L2_CTRL_CLASS_CAMERA | 1) #define V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+1) enum v4l2_exposure_auto_type { V4L2_EXPOSURE_AUTO = 0, V4L2_EXPOSURE_MANUAL = 1, V4L2_EXPOSURE_SHUTTER_PRIORITY = 2, V4L2_EXPOSURE_APERTURE_PRIORITY = 3 }; #define V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_ABSOLUTE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+2) #define V4L2_CID_EXPOSURE_AUTO_PRIORITY (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+3) #define V4L2_CID_PAN_RELATIVE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+4) #define V4L2_CID_TILT_RELATIVE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+5) #define V4L2_CID_PAN_RESET (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+6) #define V4L2_CID_TILT_RESET (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+7) #define V4L2_CID_PAN_ABSOLUTE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+8) #define V4L2_CID_TILT_ABSOLUTE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+9) #define V4L2_CID_FOCUS_ABSOLUTE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+10) #define V4L2_CID_FOCUS_RELATIVE (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+11) #define V4L2_CID_FOCUS_AUTO (V4L2_CID_CAMERA_CLASS_BASE+12) /* * T U N I N G */ struct v4l2_tuner { __u32 index; __u8 name[32]; enum v4l2_tuner_type type; __u32 capability; __u32 rangelow; __u32 rangehigh; __u32 rxsubchans; __u32 audmode; __s32 signal; __s32 afc; __u32 reserved[4]; }; struct v4l2_modulator { __u32 index; __u8 name[32]; __u32 capability; __u32 rangelow; __u32 rangehigh; __u32 txsubchans; __u32 reserved[4]; }; /* Flags for the 'capability' field */ #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LOW 0x0001 #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_NORM 0x0002 #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_STEREO 0x0010 #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LANG2 0x0020 #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_SAP 0x0020 #define V4L2_TUNER_CAP_LANG1 0x0040 /* Flags for the 'rxsubchans' field */ #define V4L2_TUNER_SUB_MONO 0x0001 #define V4L2_TUNER_SUB_STEREO 0x0002 #define V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG2 0x0004 #define V4L2_TUNER_SUB_SAP 0x0004 #define V4L2_TUNER_SUB_LANG1 0x0008 /* Values for the 'audmode' field */ #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_MONO 0x0000 #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_STEREO 0x0001 #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG2 0x0002 #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_SAP 0x0002 #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG1 0x0003 #define V4L2_TUNER_MODE_LANG1_LANG2 0x0004 struct v4l2_frequency { __u32 tuner; enum v4l2_tuner_type type; __u32 frequency; __u32 reserved[8]; }; /* * A U D I O */ struct v4l2_audio { __u32 index; __u8 name[32]; __u32 capability; __u32 mode; __u32 reserved[2]; }; /* Flags for the 'capability' field */ #define V4L2_AUDCAP_STEREO 0x00001 #define V4L2_AUDCAP_AVL 0x00002 /* Flags for the 'mode' field */ #define V4L2_AUDMODE_AVL 0x00001 struct v4l2_audioout { __u32 index; __u8 name[32]; __u32 capability; __u32 mode; __u32 reserved[2]; }; /* * M P E G S E R V I C E S * * NOTE: EXPERIMENTAL API */ #if 1 /*KEEP*/ #define V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_I (0) #define V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_P (1) #define V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_B (2) #define V4L2_ENC_IDX_FRAME_MASK (0xf) struct v4l2_enc_idx_entry { __u64 offset; __u64 pts; __u32 length; __u32 flags; __u32 reserved[2]; }; #define V4L2_ENC_IDX_ENTRIES (64) struct v4l2_enc_idx { __u32 entries; __u32 entries_cap; __u32 reserved[4]; struct v4l2_enc_idx_entry entry[V4L2_ENC_IDX_ENTRIES]; }; #define V4L2_ENC_CMD_START (0) #define V4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP (1) #define V4L2_ENC_CMD_PAUSE (2) #define V4L2_ENC_CMD_RESUME (3) /* Flags for V4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP */ #define V4L2_ENC_CMD_STOP_AT_GOP_END (1 << 0) struct v4l2_encoder_cmd { __u32 cmd; __u32 flags; union { struct { __u32 data[8]; } raw; }; }; #endif /* * D A T A S E R V I C E S ( V B I ) * * Data services API by Michael Schimek */ /* Raw VBI */ struct v4l2_vbi_format { __u32 sampling_rate; /* in 1 Hz */ __u32 offset; __u32 samples_per_line; __u32 sample_format; /* V4L2_PIX_FMT_* */ __s32 start[2]; __u32 count[2]; __u32 flags; /* V4L2_VBI_* */ __u32 reserved[2]; /* must be zero */ }; /* VBI flags */ #define V4L2_VBI_UNSYNC (1<< 0) #define V4L2_VBI_INTERLACED (1<< 1) /* Sliced VBI * * This implements is a proposal V4L2 API to allow SLICED VBI * required for some hardware encoders. It should change without * notice in the definitive implementation. */ struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format { __u16 service_set; /* service_lines[0][...] specifies lines 0-23 (1-23 used) of the first field service_lines[1][...] specifies lines 0-23 (1-23 used) of the second field (equals frame lines 313-336 for 625 line video standards, 263-286 for 525 line standards) */ __u16 service_lines[2][24]; __u32 io_size; __u32 reserved[2]; /* must be zero */ }; /* Teletext World System Teletext (WST), defined on ITU-R BT.653-2 */ #define V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B (0x0001) /* Video Program System, defined on ETS 300 231*/ #define V4L2_SLICED_VPS (0x0400) /* Closed Caption, defined on EIA-608 */ #define V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525 (0x1000) /* Wide Screen System, defined on ITU-R BT1119.1 */ #define V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625 (0x4000) #define V4L2_SLICED_VBI_525 (V4L2_SLICED_CAPTION_525) #define V4L2_SLICED_VBI_625 (V4L2_SLICED_TELETEXT_B | V4L2_SLICED_VPS | V4L2_SLICED_WSS_625) struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap { __u16 service_set; /* service_lines[0][...] specifies lines 0-23 (1-23 used) of the first field service_lines[1][...] specifies lines 0-23 (1-23 used) of the second field (equals frame lines 313-336 for 625 line video standards, 263-286 for 525 line standards) */ __u16 service_lines[2][24]; enum v4l2_buf_type type; __u32 reserved[3]; /* must be 0 */ }; struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_data { __u32 id; __u32 field; /* 0: first field, 1: second field */ __u32 line; /* 1-23 */ __u32 reserved; /* must be 0 */ __u8 data[48]; }; /* * A G G R E G A T E S T R U C T U R E S */ /* Stream data format */ struct v4l2_format { enum v4l2_buf_type type; union { struct v4l2_pix_format pix; // V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE struct v4l2_window win; // V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OVERLAY struct v4l2_vbi_format vbi; // V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VBI_CAPTURE struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format sliced; // V4L2_BUF_TYPE_SLICED_VBI_CAPTURE __u8 raw_data[200]; // user-defined } fmt; }; /* Stream type-dependent parameters */ struct v4l2_streamparm { enum v4l2_buf_type type; union { struct v4l2_captureparm capture; struct v4l2_outputparm output; __u8 raw_data[200]; /* user-defined */ } parm; }; /* * A D V A N C E D D E B U G G I N G * * NOTE: EXPERIMENTAL API */ /* VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER and VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER */ #define V4L2_CHIP_MATCH_HOST 0 /* Match against chip ID on host (0 for the host) */ #define V4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_DRIVER 1 /* Match against I2C driver ID */ #define V4L2_CHIP_MATCH_I2C_ADDR 2 /* Match against I2C 7-bit address */ struct v4l2_register { __u32 match_type; /* Match type */ __u32 match_chip; /* Match this chip, meaning determined by match_type */ __u64 reg; __u64 val; }; /* VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT */ struct v4l2_chip_ident { __u32 match_type; /* Match type */ __u32 match_chip; /* Match this chip, meaning determined by match_type */ __u32 ident; /* chip identifier as specified in <media/v4l2-chip-ident.h> */ __u32 revision; /* chip revision, chip specific */ }; /* * I O C T L C O D E S F O R V I D E O D E V I C E S * */ #define VIDIOC_QUERYCAP _IOR ('V', 0, struct v4l2_capability) #define VIDIOC_RESERVED _IO ('V', 1) #define VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT _IOWR ('V', 2, struct v4l2_fmtdesc) #define VIDIOC_G_FMT _IOWR ('V', 4, struct v4l2_format) #define VIDIOC_S_FMT _IOWR ('V', 5, struct v4l2_format) #define VIDIOC_REQBUFS _IOWR ('V', 8, struct v4l2_requestbuffers) #define VIDIOC_QUERYBUF _IOWR ('V', 9, struct v4l2_buffer) #define VIDIOC_G_FBUF _IOR ('V', 10, struct v4l2_framebuffer) #define VIDIOC_S_FBUF _IOW ('V', 11, struct v4l2_framebuffer) #define VIDIOC_OVERLAY _IOW ('V', 14, int) #define VIDIOC_QBUF _IOWR ('V', 15, struct v4l2_buffer) #define VIDIOC_DQBUF _IOWR ('V', 17, struct v4l2_buffer) #define VIDIOC_STREAMON _IOW ('V', 18, int) #define VIDIOC_STREAMOFF _IOW ('V', 19, int) #define VIDIOC_G_PARM _IOWR ('V', 21, struct v4l2_streamparm) #define VIDIOC_S_PARM _IOWR ('V', 22, struct v4l2_streamparm) #define VIDIOC_G_STD _IOR ('V', 23, v4l2_std_id) #define VIDIOC_S_STD _IOW ('V', 24, v4l2_std_id) #define VIDIOC_ENUMSTD _IOWR ('V', 25, struct v4l2_standard) #define VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT _IOWR ('V', 26, struct v4l2_input) #define VIDIOC_G_CTRL _IOWR ('V', 27, struct v4l2_control) #define VIDIOC_S_CTRL _IOWR ('V', 28, struct v4l2_control) #define VIDIOC_G_TUNER _IOWR ('V', 29, struct v4l2_tuner) #define VIDIOC_S_TUNER _IOW ('V', 30, struct v4l2_tuner) #define VIDIOC_G_AUDIO _IOR ('V', 33, struct v4l2_audio) #define VIDIOC_S_AUDIO _IOW ('V', 34, struct v4l2_audio) #define VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL _IOWR ('V', 36, struct v4l2_queryctrl) #define VIDIOC_QUERYMENU _IOWR ('V', 37, struct v4l2_querymenu) #define VIDIOC_G_INPUT _IOR ('V', 38, int) #define VIDIOC_S_INPUT _IOWR ('V', 39, int) #define VIDIOC_G_OUTPUT _IOR ('V', 46, int) #define VIDIOC_S_OUTPUT _IOWR ('V', 47, int) #define VIDIOC_ENUMOUTPUT _IOWR ('V', 48, struct v4l2_output) #define VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT _IOR ('V', 49, struct v4l2_audioout) #define VIDIOC_S_AUDOUT _IOW ('V', 50, struct v4l2_audioout) #define VIDIOC_G_MODULATOR _IOWR ('V', 54, struct v4l2_modulator) #define VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR _IOW ('V', 55, struct v4l2_modulator) #define VIDIOC_G_FREQUENCY _IOWR ('V', 56, struct v4l2_frequency) #define VIDIOC_S_FREQUENCY _IOW ('V', 57, struct v4l2_frequency) #define VIDIOC_CROPCAP _IOWR ('V', 58, struct v4l2_cropcap) #define VIDIOC_G_CROP _IOWR ('V', 59, struct v4l2_crop) #define VIDIOC_S_CROP _IOW ('V', 60, struct v4l2_crop) #define VIDIOC_G_JPEGCOMP _IOR ('V', 61, struct v4l2_jpegcompression) #define VIDIOC_S_JPEGCOMP _IOW ('V', 62, struct v4l2_jpegcompression) #define VIDIOC_QUERYSTD _IOR ('V', 63, v4l2_std_id) #define VIDIOC_TRY_FMT _IOWR ('V', 64, struct v4l2_format) #define VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO _IOWR ('V', 65, struct v4l2_audio) #define VIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT _IOWR ('V', 66, struct v4l2_audioout) #define VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY _IOR ('V', 67, enum v4l2_priority) #define VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY _IOW ('V', 68, enum v4l2_priority) #define VIDIOC_G_SLICED_VBI_CAP _IOWR ('V', 69, struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap) #define VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS _IO ('V', 70) #define VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS _IOWR ('V', 71, struct v4l2_ext_controls) #define VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS _IOWR ('V', 72, struct v4l2_ext_controls) #define VIDIOC_TRY_EXT_CTRLS _IOWR ('V', 73, struct v4l2_ext_controls) #if 1 /*KEEP*/ #define VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMESIZES _IOWR ('V', 74, struct v4l2_frmsizeenum) #define VIDIOC_ENUM_FRAMEINTERVALS _IOWR ('V', 75, struct v4l2_frmivalenum) #define VIDIOC_G_ENC_INDEX _IOR ('V', 76, struct v4l2_enc_idx) #define VIDIOC_ENCODER_CMD _IOWR ('V', 77, struct v4l2_encoder_cmd) #define VIDIOC_TRY_ENCODER_CMD _IOWR ('V', 78, struct v4l2_encoder_cmd) /* Experimental, only implemented if CONFIG_VIDEO_ADV_DEBUG is defined */ #define VIDIOC_DBG_S_REGISTER _IOW ('V', 79, struct v4l2_register) #define VIDIOC_DBG_G_REGISTER _IOWR ('V', 80, struct v4l2_register) #define VIDIOC_G_CHIP_IDENT _IOWR ('V', 81, struct v4l2_chip_ident) #endif #ifdef __OLD_VIDIOC_ /* for compatibility, will go away some day */ #define VIDIOC_OVERLAY_OLD _IOWR ('V', 14, int) #define VIDIOC_S_PARM_OLD _IOW ('V', 22, struct v4l2_streamparm) #define VIDIOC_S_CTRL_OLD _IOW ('V', 28, struct v4l2_control) #define VIDIOC_G_AUDIO_OLD _IOWR ('V', 33, struct v4l2_audio) #define VIDIOC_G_AUDOUT_OLD _IOWR ('V', 49, struct v4l2_audioout) #define VIDIOC_CROPCAP_OLD _IOR ('V', 58, struct v4l2_cropcap) #endif #define BASE_VIDIOC_PRIVATE 192 /* 192-255 are private */ #endif /* __LINUX_VIDEODEV2_H */ /* * Local variables: * c-basic-offset: 8 * End: */
Appendix B. Video Capture Example
/* * V4L2 video capture example * * This program can be used and distributed without restrictions. */ #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <string.h> #include <assert.h> #include <getopt.h> /* getopt_long() */ #include <fcntl.h> /* low-level i/o */ #include <unistd.h> #include <errno.h> #include <malloc.h> #include <sys/stat.h> #include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/time.h> #include <sys/mman.h> #include <sys/ioctl.h> #include <asm/types.h> /* for videodev2.h */ #include <linux/videodev2.h> #define CLEAR(x) memset (&(x), 0, sizeof (x)) typedef enum { IO_METHOD_READ, IO_METHOD_MMAP, IO_METHOD_USERPTR, } io_method; struct buffer { void * start; size_t length; }; static char * dev_name = NULL; static io_method io = IO_METHOD_MMAP; static int fd = -1; struct buffer * buffers = NULL; static unsigned int n_buffers = 0; static void errno_exit (const char * s) { fprintf (stderr, "%s error %d, %s\n", s, errno, strerror (errno)); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } static int xioctl (int fd, int request, void * arg) { int r; do r = ioctl (fd, request, arg); while (-1 == r && EINTR == errno); return r; } static void process_image (const void * p) { fputc ('.', stdout); fflush (stdout); } static int read_frame (void) { struct v4l2_buffer buf; unsigned int i; switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: if (-1 == read (fd, buffers[0].start, buffers[0].length)) { switch (errno) { case EAGAIN: return 0; case EIO: /* Could ignore EIO, see spec. */ /* fall through */ default: errno_exit ("read"); } } process_image (buffers[0].start); break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: CLEAR (buf); buf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; buf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_DQBUF, &buf)) { switch (errno) { case EAGAIN: return 0; case EIO: /* Could ignore EIO, see spec. */ /* fall through */ default: errno_exit ("VIDIOC_DQBUF"); } } assert (buf.index < n_buffers); process_image (buffers[buf.index].start); if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QBUF, &buf)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QBUF"); break; case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: CLEAR (buf); buf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; buf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_DQBUF, &buf)) { switch (errno) { case EAGAIN: return 0; case EIO: /* Could ignore EIO, see spec. */ /* fall through */ default: errno_exit ("VIDIOC_DQBUF"); } } for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; ++i) if (buf.m.userptr == (unsigned long) buffers[i].start && buf.length == buffers[i].length) break; assert (i < n_buffers); process_image ((void *) buf.m.userptr); if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QBUF, &buf)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QBUF"); break; } return 1; } static void mainloop (void) { unsigned int count; count = 100; while (count-- > 0) { for (;;) { fd_set fds; struct timeval tv; int r; FD_ZERO (&fds); FD_SET (fd, &fds); /* Timeout. */ tv.tv_sec = 2; tv.tv_usec = 0; r = select (fd + 1, &fds, NULL, NULL, &tv); if (-1 == r) { if (EINTR == errno) continue; errno_exit ("select"); } if (0 == r) { fprintf (stderr, "select timeout\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } if (read_frame ()) break; /* EAGAIN - continue select loop. */ } } } static void stop_capturing (void) { enum v4l2_buf_type type; switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: /* Nothing to do. */ break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_STREAMOFF, &type)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_STREAMOFF"); break; } } static void start_capturing (void) { unsigned int i; enum v4l2_buf_type type; switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: /* Nothing to do. */ break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; ++i) { struct v4l2_buffer buf; CLEAR (buf); buf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; buf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; buf.index = i; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QBUF, &buf)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QBUF"); } type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_STREAMON, &type)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_STREAMON"); break; case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; ++i) { struct v4l2_buffer buf; CLEAR (buf); buf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; buf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR; buf.index = i; buf.m.userptr = (unsigned long) buffers[i].start; buf.length = buffers[i].length; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QBUF, &buf)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QBUF"); } type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_STREAMON, &type)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_STREAMON"); break; } } static void uninit_device (void) { unsigned int i; switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: free (buffers[0].start); break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; ++i) if (-1 == munmap (buffers[i].start, buffers[i].length)) errno_exit ("munmap"); break; case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; ++i) free (buffers[i].start); break; } free (buffers); } static void init_read (unsigned int buffer_size) { buffers = calloc (1, sizeof (*buffers)); if (!buffers) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } buffers[0].length = buffer_size; buffers[0].start = malloc (buffer_size); if (!buffers[0].start) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } static void init_mmap (void) { struct v4l2_requestbuffers req; CLEAR (req); req.count = 4; req.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; req.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_REQBUFS, &req)) { if (EINVAL == errno) { fprintf (stderr, "%s does not support " "memory mapping\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } else { errno_exit ("VIDIOC_REQBUFS"); } } if (req.count < 2) { fprintf (stderr, "Insufficient buffer memory on %s\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } buffers = calloc (req.count, sizeof (*buffers)); if (!buffers) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } for (n_buffers = 0; n_buffers < req.count; ++n_buffers) { struct v4l2_buffer buf; CLEAR (buf); buf.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; buf.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_MMAP; buf.index = n_buffers; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYBUF, &buf)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QUERYBUF"); buffers[n_buffers].length = buf.length; buffers[n_buffers].start = mmap (NULL /* start anywhere */, buf.length, PROT_READ | PROT_WRITE /* required */, MAP_SHARED /* recommended */, fd, buf.m.offset); if (MAP_FAILED == buffers[n_buffers].start) errno_exit ("mmap"); } } static void init_userp (unsigned int buffer_size) { struct v4l2_requestbuffers req; unsigned int page_size; page_size = getpagesize (); buffer_size = (buffer_size + page_size - 1) & ~(page_size - 1); CLEAR (req); req.count = 4; req.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; req.memory = V4L2_MEMORY_USERPTR; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_REQBUFS, &req)) { if (EINVAL == errno) { fprintf (stderr, "%s does not support " "user pointer i/o\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } else { errno_exit ("VIDIOC_REQBUFS"); } } buffers = calloc (4, sizeof (*buffers)); if (!buffers) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } for (n_buffers = 0; n_buffers < 4; ++n_buffers) { buffers[n_buffers].length = buffer_size; buffers[n_buffers].start = memalign (/* boundary */ page_size, buffer_size); if (!buffers[n_buffers].start) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } } static void init_device (void) { struct v4l2_capability cap; struct v4l2_cropcap cropcap; struct v4l2_crop crop; struct v4l2_format fmt; unsigned int min; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_QUERYCAP, &cap)) { if (EINVAL == errno) { fprintf (stderr, "%s is no V4L2 device\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } else { errno_exit ("VIDIOC_QUERYCAP"); } } if (!(cap.capabilities & V4L2_CAP_VIDEO_CAPTURE)) { fprintf (stderr, "%s is no video capture device\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: if (!(cap.capabilities & V4L2_CAP_READWRITE)) { fprintf (stderr, "%s does not support read i/o\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: if (!(cap.capabilities & V4L2_CAP_STREAMING)) { fprintf (stderr, "%s does not support streaming i/o\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } break; } /* Select video input, video standard and tune here. */ CLEAR (cropcap); cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; if (0 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_CROPCAP, &cropcap)) { crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; crop.c = cropcap.defrect; /* reset to default */ if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CROP, &crop)) { switch (errno) { case EINVAL: /* Cropping not supported. */ break; default: /* Errors ignored. */ break; } } } else { /* Errors ignored. */ } CLEAR (fmt); fmt.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE; fmt.fmt.pix.width = 640; fmt.fmt.pix.height = 480; fmt.fmt.pix.pixelformat = V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV; fmt.fmt.pix.field = V4L2_FIELD_INTERLACED; if (-1 == xioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_FMT, &fmt)) errno_exit ("VIDIOC_S_FMT"); /* Note VIDIOC_S_FMT may change width and height. */ /* Buggy driver paranoia. */ min = fmt.fmt.pix.width * 2; if (fmt.fmt.pix.bytesperline < min) fmt.fmt.pix.bytesperline = min; min = fmt.fmt.pix.bytesperline * fmt.fmt.pix.height; if (fmt.fmt.pix.sizeimage < min) fmt.fmt.pix.sizeimage = min; switch (io) { case IO_METHOD_READ: init_read (fmt.fmt.pix.sizeimage); break; case IO_METHOD_MMAP: init_mmap (); break; case IO_METHOD_USERPTR: init_userp (fmt.fmt.pix.sizeimage); break; } } static void close_device (void) { if (-1 == close (fd)) errno_exit ("close"); fd = -1; } static void open_device (void) { struct stat st; if (-1 == stat (dev_name, &st)) { fprintf (stderr, "Cannot identify '%s': %d, %s\n", dev_name, errno, strerror (errno)); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } if (!S_ISCHR (st.st_mode)) { fprintf (stderr, "%s is no device\n", dev_name); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } fd = open (dev_name, O_RDWR /* required */ | O_NONBLOCK, 0); if (-1 == fd) { fprintf (stderr, "Cannot open '%s': %d, %s\n", dev_name, errno, strerror (errno)); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } static void usage (FILE * fp, int argc, char ** argv) { fprintf (fp, "Usage: %s [options]\n\n" "Options:\n" "-d | --device name Video device name [/dev/video]\n" "-h | --help Print this message\n" "-m | --mmap Use memory mapped buffers\n" "-r | --read Use read() calls\n" "-u | --userp Use application allocated buffers\n" "", argv[0]); } static const char short_options [] = "d:hmru"; static const struct option long_options [] = { { "device", required_argument, NULL, 'd' }, { "help", no_argument, NULL, 'h' }, { "mmap", no_argument, NULL, 'm' }, { "read", no_argument, NULL, 'r' }, { "userp", no_argument, NULL, 'u' }, { 0, 0, 0, 0 } }; int main (int argc, char ** argv) { dev_name = "/dev/video"; for (;;) { int index; int c; c = getopt_long (argc, argv, short_options, long_options, &index); if (-1 == c) break; switch (c) { case 0: /* getopt_long() flag */ break; case 'd': dev_name = optarg; break; case 'h': usage (stdout, argc, argv); exit (EXIT_SUCCESS); case 'm': io = IO_METHOD_MMAP; break; case 'r': io = IO_METHOD_READ; break; case 'u': io = IO_METHOD_USERPTR; break; default: usage (stderr, argc, argv); exit (EXIT_FAILURE); } } open_device (); init_device (); start_capturing (); mainloop (); stop_capturing (); uninit_device (); close_device (); exit (EXIT_SUCCESS); return 0; }
Appendix C. GNU Free Documentation License
C.1. 0. PREAMBLE
The purpose of this License is to make a manual, textbook, or other written document"free" in the sense of freedom: to assure everyone the effective freedom to copy and redistribute it, with or without modifying it, either commercially or noncommercially. Secondarily, this License preserves for the author and publisher a way to get credit for their work, while not being considered responsible for modifications made by others.
This License is a kind of "copyleft", which means that derivative works of the document must themselves be free in the same sense. It complements the GNU General Public License, which is a copyleft license designed for free software.
We have designed this License in order to use it for manuals for free software, because free software needs free documentation: a free program should come with manuals providing the same freedoms that the software does. But this License is not limited to software manuals; it can be used for any textual work, regardless of subject matter or whether it is published as a printed book. We recommend this License principally for works whose purpose is instruction or reference.
C.2. 1. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
This License applies to any manual or other work that contains a notice placed by the copyright holder saying it can be distributed under the terms of this License. The"Document", below, refers to any such manual or work. Any member of the public is a licensee, and is addressed as"you".
A "Modified Version" of the Document means any work containing the Document or a portion of it, either copied verbatim, or with modifications and/or translated into another language.
A "Secondary Section" is a named appendix or a front-matter section of theDocument that deals exclusively with the relationship of the publishers or authors of the Document to the Document's overall subject (or to related matters) and contains nothing that could fall directly within that overall subject. (For example, if the Document is in part a textbook of mathematics, a Secondary Section may not explain any mathematics.) The relationship could be a matter of historical connection with the subject or with related matters, or of legal, commercial, philosophical, ethical or political position regarding them.
The "Invariant Sections" are certain Secondary Sections whose titles are designated, as being those of Invariant Sections, in the notice that says that theDocument is released under this License.
The "Cover Texts" are certain short passages of text that are listed, as Front-Cover Texts or Back-Cover Texts, in the notice that says that theDocument is released under this License.
A "Transparent" copy of the Document means a machine-readable copy, represented in a format whose specification is available to the general public, whose contents can be viewed and edited directly and straightforwardly with generic text editors or (for images composed of pixels) generic paint programs or (for drawings) some widely available drawing editor, and that is suitable for input to text formatters or for automatic translation to a variety of formats suitable for input to text formatters. A copy made in an otherwise Transparent file format whose markup has been designed to thwart or discourage subsequent modification by readers is not Transparent. A copy that is not"Transparent" is called"Opaque".
Examples of suitable formats for Transparent copies include plain ASCII without markup, Texinfo input format, LaTeX input format, SGML or XML using a publicly available DTD, and standard-conforming simple HTML designed for human modification. Opaque formats include PostScript, PDF, proprietary formats that can be read and edited only by proprietary word processors, SGML or XML for which the DTD and/or processing tools are not generally available, and the machine-generated HTML produced by some word processors for output purposes only.
The "Title Page" means, for a printed book, the title page itself, plus such following pages as are needed to hold, legibly, the material this License requires to appear in the title page. For works in formats which do not have any title page as such, "Title Page" means the text near the most prominent appearance of the work's title, preceding the beginning of the body of the text.
C.3. 2. VERBATIM COPYING
You may copy and distribute the Document in any medium, either commercially or noncommercially, provided that this License, the copyright notices, and the license notice saying this License applies to the Document are reproduced in all copies, and that you add no other conditions whatsoever to those of this License. You may not use technical measures to obstruct or control the reading or further copying of the copies you make or distribute. However, you may accept compensation in exchange for copies. If you distribute a large enough number of copies you must also follow the conditions in section 3.
You may also lend copies, under the same conditions stated above, and you may publicly display copies.
C.4. 3. COPYING IN QUANTITY
If you publish printed copies of the Document numbering more than 100, and the Document's license notice requires Cover Texts, you must enclose the copies in covers that carry, clearly and legibly, all these Cover Texts: Front-Cover Texts on the front cover, and Back-Cover Texts on the back cover. Both covers must also clearly and legibly identify you as the publisher of these copies. The front cover must present the full title with all words of the title equally prominent and visible. You may add other material on the covers in addition. Copying with changes limited to the covers, as long as they preserve the title of the Document and satisfy these conditions, can be treated as verbatim copying in other respects.
If the required texts for either cover are too voluminous to fit legibly, you should put the first ones listed (as many as fit reasonably) on the actual cover, and continue the rest onto adjacent pages.
If you publish or distribute Opaque copies of the Document numbering more than 100, you must either include a machine-readable Transparent copy along with each Opaque copy, or state in or with each Opaque copy a publicly-accessible computer-network location containing a complete Transparent copy of the Document, free of added material, which the general network-using public has access to download anonymously at no charge using public-standard network protocols. If you use the latter option, you must take reasonably prudent steps, when you begin distribution of Opaque copies in quantity, to ensure that this Transparent copy will remain thus accessible at the stated location until at least one year after the last time you distribute an Opaque copy (directly or through your agents or retailers) of that edition to the public.
It is requested, but not required, that you contact the authors of the Document well before redistributing any large number of copies, to give them a chance to provide you with an updated version of the Document.
C.5. 4. MODIFICATIONS
You may copy and distribute a Modified Version of the Document under the conditions of sections 2 and 3 above, provided that you release the Modified Version under precisely this License, with the Modified Version filling the role of the Document, thus licensing distribution and modification of the Modified Version to whoever possesses a copy of it. In addition, you must do these things in the Modified Version:
A. Use in the Title Page (and on the covers, if any) a title distinct from that of the Document, and from those of previous versions (which should, if there were any, be listed in the History section of the Document). You may use the same title as a previous version if the original publisher of that version gives permission.
B. List on the Title Page, as authors, one or more persons or entities responsible for authorship of the modifications in theModified Version, together with at least five of the principal authors of theDocument (all of its principal authors, if it has less than five).
C. State on the Title Page the name of the publisher of the Modified Version, as the publisher.
D. Preserve all the copyright notices of the Document.
E. Add an appropriate copyright notice for your modifications adjacent to the other copyright notices.
F. Include, immediately after the copyright notices, a license notice giving the public permission to use theModified Version under the terms of this License, in the form shown in the Addendum below.
G. Preserve in that license notice the full lists of Invariant Sections and required Cover Texts given in the Document's license notice.
H. Include an unaltered copy of this License.
I. Preserve the section entitled "History", and its title, and add to it an item stating at least the title, year, new authors, and publisher of theModified Versionas given on the Title Page. If there is no section entitled "History" in theDocument, create one stating the title, year, authors, and publisher of the Document as given on its Title Page, then add an item describing the Modified Version as stated in the previous sentence.
J. Preserve the network location, if any, given in the Document for public access to a Transparent copy of the Document, and likewise the network locations given in the Document for previous versions it was based on. These may be placed in the"History" section. You may omit a network location for a work that was published at least four years before the Document itself, or if the original publisher of the version it refers to gives permission.
K. In any section entitled "Acknowledgements" or"Dedications", preserve the section's title, and preserve in the section all the substance and tone of each of the contributor acknowledgements and/or dedications given therein.
L. Preserve all the Invariant Sections of the Document, unaltered in their text and in their titles. Section numbers or the equivalent are not considered part of the section titles.
M. Delete any section entitled "Endorsements". Such a section may not be included in theModified Version.
N. Do not retitle any existing section as "Endorsements" or to conflict in title with any Invariant Section.
If the Modified Version includes new front-matter sections or appendices that qualify asSecondary Sections and contain no material copied from the Document, you may at your option designate some or all of these sections as invariant. To do this, add their titles to the list ofInvariant Sections in the Modified Version's license notice. These titles must be distinct from any other section titles.
You may add a section entitled "Endorsements", provided it contains nothing but endorsements of yourModified Version by various parties--for example, statements of peer review or that the text has been approved by an organization as the authoritative definition of a standard.
You may add a passage of up to five words as a Front-Cover Text, and a passage of up to 25 words as a Back-Cover Text, to the end of the list ofCover Texts in the Modified Version. Only one passage of Front-Cover Text and one of Back-Cover Text may be added by (or through arrangements made by) any one entity. If theDocument already includes a cover text for the same cover, previously added by you or by arrangement made by the same entity you are acting on behalf of, you may not add another; but you may replace the old one, on explicit permission from the previous publisher that added the old one.
The author(s) and publisher(s) of the Document do not by this License give permission to use their names for publicity for or to assert or imply endorsement of anyModified Version.
C.6. 5. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
You may combine the Document with other documents released under this License, under the terms defined insection 4 above for modified versions, provided that you include in the combination all of theInvariant Sections of all of the original documents, unmodified, and list them all as Invariant Sections of your combined work in its license notice.
The combined work need only contain one copy of this License, and multiple identicalInvariant Sections may be replaced with a single copy. If there are multiple Invariant Sections with the same name but different contents, make the title of each such section unique by adding at the end of it, in parentheses, the name of the original author or publisher of that section if known, or else a unique number. Make the same adjustment to the section titles in the list of Invariant Sections in the license notice of the combined work.
In the combination, you must combine any sections entitled "History" in the various original documents, forming one section entitled "History"; likewise combine any sections entitled "Acknowledgements", and any sections entitled"Dedications". You must delete all sections entitled"Endorsements."
C.7. 6. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
You may make a collection consisting of the Document and other documents released under this License, and replace the individual copies of this License in the various documents with a single copy that is included in the collection, provided that you follow the rules of this License for verbatim copying of each of the documents in all other respects.
You may extract a single document from such a collection, and dispbibute it individually under this License, provided you insert a copy of this License into the extracted document, and follow this License in all other respects regarding verbatim copying of that document.
C.8. 7. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A compilation of the Document or its derivatives with other separate and independent documents or works, in or on a volume of a storage or distribution medium, does not as a whole count as aModified Version of the Document, provided no compilation copyright is claimed for the compilation. Such a compilation is called an"aggregate", and this License does not apply to the other self-contained works thus compiled with the Document , on account of their being thus compiled, if they are not themselves derivative works of the Document. If theCover Text requirement ofsection 3 is applicable to these copies of the Document, then if the Document is less than one quarter of the entire aggregate, the Document's Cover Texts may be placed on covers that surround only the Document within the aggregate. Otherwise they must appear on covers around the whole aggregate.
C.9. 8. TRANSLATION
Translation is considered a kind of modification, so you may distribute translations of theDocument under the terms ofsection 4. ReplacingInvariant Sections with translations requires special permission from their copyright holders, but you may include translations of some or all Invariant Sections in addition to the original versions of these Invariant Sections. You may include a translation of this License provided that you also include the original English version of this License. In case of a disagreement between the translation and the original English version of this License, the original English version will prevail.
C.10. 9. TERMINATION
You may not copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute the Document except as expressly provided for under this License. Any other attempt to copy, modify, sublicense or distribute the Document is void, and will automatically terminate your rights under this License. However, parties who have received copies, or rights, from you under this License will not have their licenses terminated so long as such parties remain in full compliance.
C.11. 10. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
The Free Software Foundation may publish new, revised versions of the GNU Free Documentation License from time to time. Such new versions will be similar in spirit to the present version, but may differ in detail to address new problems or concerns. See http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/.
Each version of the License is given a distinguishing version number. If the Document specifies that a particular numbered version of this License "or any later version" applies to it, you have the option of following the terms and conditions either of that specified version or of any later version that has been published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation. If the Document does not specify a version number of this License, you may choose any version ever published (not as a draft) by the Free Software Foundation.
C.12. Addendum
To use this License in a document you have written, include a copy of the License in the document and put the following copyright and license notices just after the title page:
Copyright © YEAR YOUR NAME.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with theInvariant Sections being LIST THEIR TITLES, with theFront-Cover Texts being LIST, and with theBack-Cover Texts being LIST. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled"GNU Free Documentation License".
If you have no Invariant Sections, write "with no Invariant Sections" instead of saying which ones are invariant. If you have noFront-Cover Texts, write"no Front-Cover Texts" instead of "Front-Cover Texts being LIST"; likewise forBack-Cover Texts.
If your document contains nontrivial examples of program code, we recommend releasing these examples in parallel under your choice of free software license, such as theGNU General Public License, to permit their use in free software.
List of Types
v4l2_std_id enum v4l2_buf_type enum v4l2_colorspace enum v4l2_ctrl_type enum v4l2_field enum v4l2_frmivaltypes enum v4l2_frmsizetypes enum v4l2_memory enum v4l2_priority enum v4l2_tuner_type struct v4l2_audio struct v4l2_audioout struct v4l2_buffer struct v4l2_capability struct v4l2_captureparm struct v4l2_chip_ident struct v4l2_clip struct v4l2_control struct v4l2_crop struct v4l2_cropcap struct v4l2_enc_idx struct v4l2_enc_idx_entry struct v4l2_encoder_cmd struct v4l2_ext_control struct v4l2_ext_controls struct v4l2_fmtdesc struct v4l2_format struct v4l2_fract struct v4l2_framebuffer struct v4l2_frequency struct v4l2_frmival_stepwise struct v4l2_frmivalenum struct v4l2_frmsize_discrete struct v4l2_frmsize_stepwise struct v4l2_frmsizeenum struct v4l2_input struct v4l2_jpegcompression struct v4l2_modulator struct v4l2_output struct v4l2_outputparm struct v4l2_pix_format struct v4l2_queryctrl struct v4l2_querymenu struct v4l2_rect struct v4l2_register struct v4l2_requestbuffers struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_cap struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_data struct v4l2_sliced_vbi_format struct v4l2_standard struct v4l2_streamparm struct v4l2_timecode struct v4l2_tuner struct v4l2_vbi_format struct v4l2_window
References
[EIA 608-B] Electronic Industries Alliance (http://www.eia.org),EIA 608-B "Recommended Practice for Line 21 DataService".
[EN 300 294] European Telecommunication Standards Institute(http://www.etsi.org),EN 300 294 "625-line television Wide Screen Signalling(WSS)".
[ETS 300 231] European Telecommunication Standards Institute(http://www.etsi.org),ETS 300 231 "Specification of the domestic videoProgramme Delivery Control system (PDC)".
[ETS 300 706] European Telecommunication Standards Institute(http://www.etsi.org),ETS 300 706 "Enhanced Teletext specification".
[ISO 13818-1] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch), InternationalOrganisation for Standardisation (http://www.iso.ch),ITU-T Rec. H.222.0 | ISO/IEC 13818-1 "Informationtechnology — Generic coding of moving pictures and associatedaudio information: Systems".
[ISO 13818-2] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch), InternationalOrganisation for Standardisation (http://www.iso.ch),ITU-T Rec. H.262 | ISO/IEC 13818-2 "Informationtechnology — Generic coding of moving pictures and associatedaudio information: Video".
[ITU BT.470] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch),ITU-R Recommendation BT.470-6 "Conventional TelevisionSystems".
[ITU BT.601] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch),ITU-R Recommendation BT.601-5 "Studio Encoding Parametersof Digital Television for Standard 4:3 and Wide-Screen 16:9 AspectRatios".
[ITU BT.653] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch),ITU-R Recommendation BT.653-3 "Teletext systems".
[ITU BT.709] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch),ITU-R Recommendation BT.709-5 "Parameter values for theHDTV standards for production and international programmeexchange".
[ITU BT.1119] International Telecommunication Union (http://www.itu.ch),ITU-R Recommendation BT.1119 "625-linetelevision Wide Screen Signalling (WSS)".
[JFIF] Independent JPEG Group (http://www.ijg.org),JPEG File Interchange Format: Version 1.02.
[SMPTE 12M] Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(http://www.smpte.org),SMPTE 12M-1999 "Television, Audio and Film - Time andControl Code".
[SMPTE 170M] Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(http://www.smpte.org),SMPTE 170M-1999 "Television - Composite Analog VideoSignal - NTSC for Studio Applications".
[SMPTE 240M] Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers(http://www.smpte.org),SMPTE 240M-1999 "Television - Signal Parameters -1125-Line High-Definition Production".
[V4L] Alan Cox, Video4Linux API Specification.
This file is part of the Linux kernel sources underDocumentation/video4linux.
[V4LPROG] Alan Cox, Video4Linux Programming (a.k.a. The Video4LinuxBook), 2000.
About V4L driver programming. Thisbook is part of the Linux kernel DocBook documentation, for example athttp://kernelnewbies.org/documents/. SGML sources are includedin the kernel sources.
Notes
[27]
[1] Access permissions are associated with characterdevice special files, hence we must ensure device numbers cannotchange with the module load order. To this end minor numbers are nolonger automatically assigned by the "videodev" module as in V4L butrequested by the driver. The defaults will suffice for most peopleunless two drivers compete for the same minor numbers.
[2] In earlier versions of the V4L2 API the module optionswhere named after the device special file with a "unit_" prefix, expressingthe minor number itself, not an offset. Rationale for this change is unknown.Lastly the naming and semantics are just a convention among driver writers,the point to note is that minor numbers are not supposed to be hardcodedinto drivers.
[3] Given a device file name one cannot reliable findrelated devices. For once names are arbitrary and in a system withmultiple devices, where only some support VBI capturing, a/dev/video2 is not necessarily related to/dev/vbi2. The V4L
VIDIOCGUNIT
ioctl would require a search for adevice file with a particular major and minor number.[4] Drivers could recognize the
O_EXCL
open flag. Presently this is not required,so applications cannot know if it really works.[5] Actually struct v4l2_audio ought to have a
tuner
field like struct v4l2_input, not onlymaking the API more consistent but also permitting radio devices withmultiple tuners.[6] Some users are already confused by technical terms PAL,NTSC and SECAM. There is no point asking them to distinguish betweenB, G, D, or K when the software or hardware can do thatautomatically.
[7] An alternative to the current scheme is to use pointersto indices as arguments of
VIDIOC_G_STD
andVIDIOC_S_STD
, the struct v4l2_inputandstruct v4l2_outputstd
field would be a set ofindices likeaudioset
.Indices are consistent with the rest of the APIand identify the standard unambiguously. In the present scheme ofthings an enumerated standard is looked up byv4l2_std_id. Now thestandards supported by the inputs of a device can overlap. Justassume the tuner and composite input in the example above bothexist on a device. An enumeration of "PAL-B/G", "PAL-H/I" suggestsa choice which does not exist. We cannot merge or omit sets, becauseapplications would be unable to find the standards reported by
VIDIOC_G_STD
. That leaves separate enumerationsfor each input. Also selecting a standard byv4l2_std_id can beambiguous. Advantage of this method is that applications need notidentify the standard indirectly, after enumerating.So insummary, the lookup itself is unavoidable. The difference is onlywhether the lookup is necessary to find an enumerated standard or toswitch to a standard byv4l2_std_id.
[8] See Section 3.5 for a rationale. Probablyeven USB cameras follow some well known video standard. It might havebeen better to explicitly indicate elsewhere if a device cannot liveup to normal expectations, instead of this exception.
[9] It will be more convenient for applications if driversmake use of the
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED
flag, butthat was never required.[10] Applications could call an ioctl to request events.After another process called
VIDIOC_S_CTRL
or another ioctl changingshared properties theselect()
function would indicatereadability until any ioctl (querying the properties) iscalled.[11] Enumerating formats an application has no a-prioriknowledge of (otherwise it could explicitely ask for them and need notenumerate) seems useless, but there are applications serving as proxybetween drivers and the actual video applications for which this isuseful.
[12] It would be desirable if applications could depend ondrivers supporting all I/O interfaces, but as much as the complexmemory mapping I/O can be inadequate for some devices we have noreason to require this interface, which is most useful for simpleapplications capturing still images.
[13] At the driver level
select()
andpoll()
are the same, andselect()
is too important to be optional.[14] One could use one file descriptor and set the buffertype field accordingly when calling
VIDIOC_QBUF
etc., but it makestheselect()
function ambiguous. We also like theclean approach of one file descriptor per logical stream. Videooverlay for example is also a logical stream, although the CPU is notneeded for continuous operation.[15] Random enqueue order permits applications processingimages out of order (such as video codecs) to return buffers earlier,reducing the probability of data loss. Random fill order allowsdrivers to reuse buffers on a LIFO-basis, taking advantage of cachesholding scatter-gather lists and the like.
[16] At the driver level
select()
andpoll()
are the same, andselect()
is too important to be optional. Therest should be evident.[17] We expect that frequently used buffers are typically notswapped out. Anyway, the process of swapping, locking or generatingscatter-gather lists may be time consuming. The delay can be masked bythe depth of the incoming buffer queue, and perhaps by maintainingcaches assuming a buffer will be soon enqueued again. On the otherhand, to optimize memory usage drivers can limit the number of bufferslocked in advance and recycle the most recently used buffers first. Ofcourse, the pages of empty buffers in the incoming queue need not besaved to disk. Output buffers must be saved on the incoming andoutgoing queue because an application may share them with otherprocesses.
[18] At the driver level
select()
andpoll()
are the same, andselect()
is too important to be optional. Therest should be evident.[19] Since no other Linux multimediaAPI supports unadjusted time it would be foolish to introduce here. Wemust use a universally supported clock to synchronize different media,hence time of day.
[20] A common application of two file descriptors is theXFree86 Xv/V4L interface driver anda V4L2 application. While the X server controls video overlay, theapplication can take advantage of memory mapping and DMA.
In the opinion of the designers of this API, no driverwriter taking the efforts to support simultaneous capturing andoverlay will restrict this ability by requiring a single filedescriptor, as in V4L and earlier versions of V4L2. Making thisoptional means applications depending on two file descriptors needbackup routines to be compatible with all drivers, which isconsiderable more work than using two fds in applications which donot. Also two fd's fit the general concept of one file descriptor foreach logical stream. Hence as a complexity trade-off driversmust support two file descriptors andmay support single fd operation.
[21] The X Window system defines "regions" which arevectors of struct BoxRec { short x1, y1, x2, y2; } with width = x2 -x1 and height = y2 - y1, so one cannot pass X11 clip listsdirectly.
[22] ASK: Amplitude-Shift Keying. A high signallevel represents a '1' bit, a low level a '0' bit.
[23] The supported standards may overlap and we need anunambiguous set to find the current standard returned by
VIDIOC_G_STD
.[24]
V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED
wasintended for two purposes: Drivers can skip predefined controls notsupported by the hardware (although returning EINVAL would do aswell), or disable predefined and private controls after hardwaredetection without the trouble of reordering control arrays and indices(EINVAL cannot be used to skip private controls because it wouldprematurely end the enumeration).[25] For example video output requires at least two buffers,one displayed and one filled by the application.
[26] The Linux kernel implements
select()
like thepoll()
function, butselect()
cannot return aPOLLERR
.This is not implemented in XFree86.