FFmpeg Plugin — Media Communications Mesh

FFmpeg Plugin — Media Communications Mesh#

FFmpeg plugin is the software extension of FFmpeg, a free and open-source software project consisting of a suite of libraries and programs for handling video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams.

The plugin adds video and audio muxers and demuxers that support sending and receiving media streams via Media Communications Mesh. It uses SDK API to establish and manage connections to the Mesh.

Build and install steps#

  1. Install Media Communications Mesh. See Setup Guide for detailed process.

  2. Clone the FFmpeg repository and apply patches.

    By default, FFmpeg Release 7.0 is installed. For FFmpeg Release 6.1, replace 7.0 with 6.1 in the following script.

    ./clone-and-patch-ffmpeg.sh

  3. Run the FFmpeg configuration tool

    ./configure-ffmpeg.sh

  4. Build and install FFmpeg with the Media Communications Mesh FFmpeg plugin

    ./build-ffmpeg.sh

Executable file name: ffmpeg

FFmpeg with the plugin should be running in privileged mode.

Muxers and Demuxers#

Media Proxy SDK API address configuration#

Refer to the SDK API Definition for the options of configuring the Media Proxy SDK API address.

Command line arguments#

General parameters#

Argument

Description

Example

-conn_type

Connection type, "st2110" or "multipoint-group". Default “multipoint-group”.

-conn_type st2110

-conn_delay

Connection creation delay in milliseconds, 0..10000. Default 0.

-conn_delay 100

-buf_queue_cap

Buffer queue capacity, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, or 128. Default: 8 for video, 16 for audio.

-buf_queue_cap 64

SMPTE ST 2110 connection parameters (-conn_type st2110)#

Argument

Description

Example

-ip_addr

Tx connection: destination IP address.
Rx connection: multicast IP address or unicast source IP address. Default “192.168.96.1”.

-ip_addr 224.0.0.1

-port

Tx connection: destination port number.
Rx connection: local port number.

-port 9001

-mcast_sip_addr

Rx connection only: optional multicast source filter IP address.

—

-transport

Only for Video Muxer/Demuxer: SMPTE ST 2110-2x transport type, "st2110-20" or "st2110-22". Default “st2110-20”.
In Audio Muxers/Demuxers this argument is not available. The SMPTE ST 2110 transport type is set internally to “st2110-30”.

-transport st2110-20

-payload_type

SMPTE ST 2110 payload type, typically between 96..127.
Default 112 for video, 111 for audio.

-payload_type 112

-transport_pixel_format

Required only for the "st2110-20" transport type, default “yuv422p10rfc4175”

-transport_pixel_format yuv422p10rfc4175

Multipoint Group connection parameters (-conn_type multipoint-group)#

Argument

Description

Example

-urn

Multipoint group Uniform Resource Name, or URN. Default “192.168.97.1”

-urn 192.168.97.1

Video payload parameters#

Argument

Description

Example

-video_size

Video frame size, "640x480", "hd720", etc. Default “1920x1080”.

-video_size 1920x1080

-pixel_format

Video pixel format, "yuv422p10le", "v210", or "yuv422p10rfc4175". Default “yuv422p10le”.

-pixel_format yuv422p10le

-frame_rate

Video frame rate, 25, 50, 59.94, 60, etc. Default 25.

-frame_rate 60

Audio payload parameters#

Argument

Description

Example

-channels

Number of audio channels, 1, 2, etc. Default: 2.

-channels 2

-sample_rate

Audio sample rate, 48000 or 96000. Default 48000.

-sample_rate 48000

-ptime

Audio packet time according to SMPTE ST 2110-30. Default “1ms”.

-ptime 1ms

Example – Run video transmission#

This example demonstrates sending a video file from the 1st FFmpeg instance to the 2nd FFmpeg instance via Media Communications Mesh, then streaming it to a remote machine via UDP.

Run Mesh Agent#

mesh-agent

Receiver side setup#

  1. Start Media Proxy

    sudo media_proxy        \
     -d 0000:32:01.1    \
     -i 192.168.96.11   \
     -r 192.168.97.11   \
     -p 9200-9299       \
     -t 8002

  2. Start FFmpeg to receive frames from Media Communications Mesh and stream them to a remote machine via UDP

    sudo MCM_MEDIA_PROXY_PORT=8002 ffmpeg -f mcm                      \
   -conn_type st2110                                              \
   -transport st2110-20                                           \
   -ip_addr 192.168.96.10                                         \
   -port 9001                                                     \
   -frame_rate 60                                                 \
   -video_size 1920x1080                                          \
   -pixel_format yuv422p10le                                      \
   -i - -vcodec mpeg4 -f mpegts udp://<remote-ip>:<remote-port>

Sender side setup#

  1. Start Media Proxy

    sudo media_proxy        \
     -d 0000:32:01.0    \
     -i 192.168.96.10   \
     -r 192.168.97.10   \
     -p 9100-9199       \
     -t 8001

  2. Start FFmpeg to stream a video file to the receiver via Media Communications Mesh

    sudo MCM_MEDIA_PROXY_PORT=8001 ffmpeg -i <video-file-path> -f mcm   \
   -conn_type st2110                                                \
   -transport st2110-20                                             \
   -ip_addr 192.168.96.11                                           \
   -port 9001                                                       \
   -frame_rate 60                                                   \
   -video_size 1920x1080                                            \
   -pixel_format yuv422p10le -

    When sending a raw video file that lack metadata, you must explicitly provide FFmpeg with the necessary video frame details. This includes specifying the format -f rawvideo, pixel format -pix_fmt, and resolution -s WxH. Example:

    ffmpeg -f rawvideo -pix_fmt yuv422p10le -s 1920x1080 -i <video-file-path> ...

VLC player setup#

On the remote machine start the VLC player and open a network stream from the following URL:

udp://@:1234

Example – Run audio transmission, PCM 24-bit#

This example demonstrates sending a PCM 24-bit encoded audio file from the 1st FFmpeg instance to the 2nd FFmpeg instance via Media Communications Mesh.

Run Mesh Agent#

mesh-agent

Receiver side setup#

  1. Start Media Proxy

    sudo media_proxy        \
     -d 0000:32:01.1    \
     -i 192.168.96.11   \
     -r 192.168.97.11   \
     -p 9200-9299       \
     -t 8002

  2. Start FFmpeg to receive packets from Media Communications Mesh and store on the disk

    sudo MCM_MEDIA_PROXY_PORT=8002 ffmpeg -f mcm_audio_pcm24   \
   -conn_type st2110                                       \
   -ip_addr 192.168.96.10                                  \
   -port 9001                                              \
   -channels 2                                             \
   -sample_rate 48000                                      \
   -ptime 1ms                                              \
   -i - output.wav

Sender side setup#

  1. Start Media Proxy

    sudo media_proxy        \
     -d 0000:32:01.0    \
     -i 192.168.96.10   \
     -r 192.168.97.10   \
     -p 9100-9199       \
     -t 8001

  2. Start FFmpeg to stream an audio file to the receiver via Media Communications Mesh

    sudo MCM_MEDIA_PROXY_PORT=8001 ffmpeg -i <audio-file-path> -f mcm_audio_pcm24   \
   -conn_type st2110                                                            \
   -ip_addr 192.168.96.11                                                       \
   -port 9001                                                                   \
   -channels 2                                                                  \
   -sample_rate 48000                                                           \
   -ptime 1ms -

Troubleshooting#

Shared libraries error#

While the FFmpeg plugin build was successful, an attempt to run ffmpeg results in the shared libraries error:

root@my-machine:~# ffmpeg

ffmpeg: error while loading shared libraries: libavfilter.so.9: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Resolution: Export the LD_LIBRARY_PATH directory path in your shell session by pointing to /usr/local/lib. Examples:

root@my-machine:~# LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib ffmpeg

ffmpeg version n6.1.1-152-ge821e6c21d Copyright (c) 2000-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 11 (Ubuntu 11.4.0-1ubuntu1~22.04)

Using export:

root@my-machine:~# export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/lib
root@my-machine:~# ffmpeg

ffmpeg version n6.1.1-152-ge821e6c21d Copyright (c) 2000-2023 the FFmpeg developers
  built with gcc 11 (Ubuntu 11.4.0-1ubuntu1~22.04)
Contents