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https://github.com/Freescale/libimxvpuapi

i.MX VPU API Library
https://github.com/Freescale/libimxvpuapi

Last synced: 16 days ago
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i.MX VPU API Library

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README 

        
libimxvpuapi - frontend for i.MX hardware video codecs

======================================================



This library provides an API for using hardware video codecs on i.MX platforms.

The API abstracts away platform specific details and allows for using the same

code with different hardware video codecs on different i.MX platforms.



The hardware video codec is referred to as the _VPU_.



Currently, the following platforms are supported (listed with their VPUs):



* i.MX6 (Chips&Media CODA960 codec)

* i.MX8m quad (Hantro G1/G2 decoder, no encoder)

  it is also sometimes referred to as just "the i.MX8m"

* i.MX8m mini (Hantro G1/G2 decoder, Hantro H1 encoder)

* i.MX8m plus (Hantro G1/G2 decoder, Hantro VC8000E encoder)



Not yet supported:



* i.MX8 / i.MX8X (Amphion Malone codec)



This is the second version of this library. Differences to the older version

are described below.



License

-------



This library is licensed under the LGPL v2.1.



Dependencies

------------



libimxvpuapi depends on [libimxdmabuffer](https://github.com/dv1/libimxdmabuffer).



Additional dependencies are specific to the target platform:



* i.MX6: `imx-vpu` package version 3.10.17 or newer.

* i.MX8m quad & i.MX8m mini: `imx-vpu-hantro` 1.8.0 or newer.

  Please note that the build scripts assume that this is a version of the

  `imx-vpu-hantro` package with fixed header installation destination. Earlier

  versions installed all Hantro headers in the main include directory. Newer

  ones create `hantro_enc` and `hantro_dec`subdirectories. libimxvpuapi

  expects these directories to exist.

* i.MX8m plus: `imx-vpu-hantro` 1.8.0 or newer, just like above

  (since the plus has the same G1 / G2 decoder as the i.MX8m mini),

  and also `imx-vpu-hantro-vc` 1.1.0 or newer (for the VC8000E encoder).



Building and installing

-----------------------



This project uses the [waf meta build system](https://waf.io/).

To configure , first set the following environment variables to whatever is

necessary for cross compilation for your platform:



* `CC`

* `CFLAGS`

* `LDFLAGS`

* `PKG_CONFIG_PATH`

* `PKG_CONFIG_SYSROOT_DIR`



Then, run:



    ./waf configure --prefix=PREFIX --imx-platform=IMX_PLATFORM --sysroot-path=SYSROOT



(The aforementioned environment variables are only necessary for this

configure call.)



The arguments are as follows:

* `PREFIX` defines the installation prefix, that is, where the built binaries

  will be installed.

* `IMX_PLATFORM` specifies what i.MX platform to build for. See the list below

  for the valid values.

* `SYSROOT` is the absolute path to the sysroot for the platform. This is the

  path where `usr/include/imx/mxcfb.h` can be found. In cross compilation

  environments like Yocto or buildroot, this is where the sysroot files for the

  target i.MX platforms are.



Valid `IMX_PLATFORM` values are:



* `imx6` : i.MX6 (all variants)

* `imx8m` : i.MX8m quad

* `imx8mm` : i.MX8m mini

* `imx8mp` : i.MX8m plus



Once configuration is complete, run:



    ./waf



This builds the library.

Finally, to install, run:



    ./waf install



This will install the headers in `$PREFIX/include/imxvpuapi2/`, the libraries

in `$PREFIX/lib/`, and generate a pkg-config .pc file, which is placed in

`$PREFIX/lib/pkgconfig/` .



API documentation

-----------------



The API is documented in the `imxvpuapi/imxvpuapi.h` header.



Examples

--------



libimxvpuapi comes with these examples in the `example/` directory:



* `decode-example.c` : demonstrates how to use the decoder API

* `encode-example.c` : demonstrates how to use the encoder API



(Other source files in the `example/` directory are common utility code used

by all examples above.)



Raw frames are read/written as [YUV4MPEG2 (y4m) data](https://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php/YUV4MPEG2),

and encoded to / decoded from h.264.



Known issues

------------



**i.MX6 VPU timeout**



If errors like `imx_vpu_api_dec_decode() failed: timeout` or `VPU blocking: timeout`

are observed, check if the following workarounds for known problems help:



* Overclocked VPU: The i.MX6 VPU is clocked at 266 MHz by default (according to the

  VPU documentation). Some configurations clock the VPU at 352 MHz, and can

  exhibit VPU timeout problems, particularly during h.264 encoding. Try running

  the VPU at 266 MHz.



* Known issue with IPU configuration: As shown by [this Github entry](https://github.com/Freescale/libimxvpuapi/issues/11),

  the `CONFIG_IMX_IPUV3_CORE` kernel config flag can cause problems with the

  VPU. Disable it, then try again.



* Low-level i.MX6 VPU library bug: imx-vpu versions prior to 5.4.31 also have been

  observed to cause VPU timeouts. These seem to be related to the 5.4.31 fix

  described as: "Fix VPU blocked in BWB module".



**VP6 frames decoded upside down by Hantro G1 decoder**



This seems to be a bug in imx-vpu-hantro. A workaround is currently not known.



**imx_vpu_api_dec_add_framebuffers_to_pool() fails on Hantro VPUs, logs show "CODEC_ERROR_UNSPECIFIED"**

This can happen when too many framebuffers are added. One common situation is when

libimxvpuapi is used through gstreamer-imx, and downstream has a queue that soaks

up too many buffers. Example:



    gst-launch-1.0 filesrc location=test-vp8.mkv ! matroskademux ! imxvpudec_vp8 ! queue ! autovideosink



If the video sink takes a while to start, it is possible that the queue in this example

keeps storing more and more buffers without releasing them. This causes the VPU to

repeatedly request more framebuffers to decode more frames into. Newer versions of

imx-vpu-hantro define upper limits to how many framebuffers can be added, and if these

limits are exceeded, the error occurs.



It is recommended to not hold on to too many framebuffers at once. Keep it below 16

framebuffers. In the GStreamer case above, it is sufficient to set the `max-size-buffers`

property of the queue there to 1, since a queue that is right before a video sink is

meant for decoupling the upstream portion of that pipeline from the video sink. This

helps with reducing the likelihood of lost frames. More than 1 buffer in the queue is

not needed for this.



DWL and EWL errors

------------------



On machines with Hantro based VPUs, "DWL" and "EWL" errors may appear. DWL and EWL

are low level layers used by the Hantro drivers. Errors typically happen when certain

device nodes are not available. If such errors occur, check for the presence of:



* `/dev/ion` : Used with older imx kernels (<5.15)

* `/dev/dma_heap/linux,cma-uncached` : Used with newer imx kernels (>=5.15)

* `/dev/mxc_hantro` : Hantro G1 and G2 decoder ; found on the i.MX8m mini,

  i.MX8m quad, i.MX8m plus

* `/dev/mxc_hantro_h1` : Hantro H1 encoder ; found on the i.MX8m mini

* `/dev/mxc_hantro_vc8000e` : Hantro VC8000E encoder ; found on the i.MX8m plus



If at least one of these are missing, check the kernel configuration. The ION

and/or the dma-heap CMA allocator needs to be enabled. Also check that the

Hantro VPU is enabled.



Differences to the older libimxvpuapi version

---------------------------------------------



This is version 2 of libimxvpuapi. Major changes are:



* The API has been rewritten, and is incompatible with the older one.

* The `imx_vpu_` prefix has been changed to `imx_vpu_api_`.

* Files have been renamed from `imxvpuapi*` to `imxvpuapi2` to reflect the

  new and incompatible API and to allow for coexistence with the old version

  of the library.

* DMA allocation functions have been factored out as a separate library,

  [libimxdmabuffer](https://github.com/Freescale/libimxdmabuffer).

* The old API required checks with `imx_vpu_dec_check_if_can_decode()` to see

  if decoding is possible now to avoid a deadlock. This is no longer needed.

  Decoders either perform internal DMA-based copies of frames (i.MX6, in the

  same step as detiling from the VPU layout), or accept additional framebuffers

  in their framebuffer pools on the fly. This simplifies the use of the

  decoding API considerably.

* API for getting global en/decoder information and list of supported formats,

  profiles, levels has been added.

* Color formats have been merged with the semi/fully planar attribute.

* h.265 colorimetry information has been added.

* Encoder API now returns encoded data in a two-step approach: First, the size

  of the encoded data is returned. Then the user allocates a buffer with at

  least that size. Finally, that buffer is passed to the encoder to retrieve

  the encoded data.

* the `imx_vpu_load()` and `imx_vpu_unload()` functions are gone. (Un)loading

  the i.MX6 VPU firmware is now done internally.

* 10-bit support and tiled output support have been added (the latter's tiling

  layout is platform specific).

* `codec_format` was renamed to `compression_format` to avoid confusion with

  the notion of hardware video codecs.



To do

-----



* Add more encoder options (and evaluate which ones to add)

* More wiki entries describing format support per i.MX platform / codec

* RealVideo decoding support