path: root/doc/decoders.texi

@chapter Decoders
@c man begin DECODERS

Decoders are configured elements in FFmpeg which allow the decoding of
multimedia streams.

When you configure your FFmpeg build, all the supported native decoders
are enabled by default. Decoders requiring an external library must be enabled
manually via the corresponding @code{--enable-lib} option. You can list all
available decoders using the configure option @code{--list-decoders}.

You can disable all the decoders with the configure option
@code{--disable-decoders} and selectively enable / disable single decoders
with the options @code{--enable-decoder=@var{DECODER}} /
@code{--disable-decoder=@var{DECODER}}.

The option @code{-decoders} of the ff* tools will display the list of
enabled decoders.

@c man end DECODERS

@chapter Video Decoders
@c man begin VIDEO DECODERS

A description of some of the currently available video decoders
follows.

@section rawvideo

Raw video decoder.

This decoder decodes rawvideo streams.

@subsection Options

@table @option
@item top @var{top_field_first}
Specify the assumed field type of the input video.
@table @option
@item -1
the video is assumed to be progressive (default)
@item 0
bottom-field-first is assumed
@item 1
top-field-first is assumed
@end table

@end table

@c man end VIDEO DECODERS

@chapter Audio Decoders
@c man begin AUDIO DECODERS

A description of some of the currently available audio decoders
follows.

@section ac3

AC-3 audio decoder.

This decoder implements part of ATSC A/52:2010 and ETSI TS 102 366, as well as
the undocumented RealAudio 3 (a.k.a. dnet).

@subsection AC-3 Decoder Options

@table @option

@item -drc_scale @var{value}
Dynamic Range Scale Factor. The factor to apply to dynamic range values
from the AC-3 stream. This factor is applied exponentially.
There are 3 notable scale factor ranges:
@table @option
@item drc_scale == 0
DRC disabled. Produces full range audio.
@item 0 < drc_scale <= 1
DRC enabled.  Applies a fraction of the stream DRC value.
Audio reproduction is between full range and full compression.
@item drc_scale > 1
DRC enabled. Applies drc_scale asymmetrically.
Loud sounds are fully compressed.  Soft sounds are enhanced.
@end table

@end table

@section ffwavesynth

Internal wave synthetizer.

This decoder generates wave patterns according to predefined sequences. Its
use is purely internal and the format of the data it accepts is not publicly
documented.

@section libcelt

libcelt decoder wrapper.

libcelt allows libavcodec to decode the Xiph CELT ultra-low delay audio codec.
Requires the presence of the libcelt headers and library during configuration.
You need to explicitly configure the build with @code{--enable-libcelt}.

@section libgsm

libgsm decoder wrapper.

libgsm allows libavcodec to decode the GSM full rate audio codec. Requires
the presence of the libgsm headers and library during configuration. You need
to explicitly configure the build with @code{--enable-libgsm}.

This decoder supports both the ordinary GSM and the Microsoft variant.

@section libilbc

libilbc decoder wrapper.

libilbc allows libavcodec to decode the Internet Low Bitrate Codec (iLBC)
audio codec. Requires the presence of the libilbc headers and library during
configuration. You need to explicitly configure the build with
@code{--enable-libilbc}.

@subsection Options

The following option is supported by the libilbc wrapper.

@table @option
@item enhance

Enable the enhancement of the decoded audio when set to 1. The default
value is 0 (disabled).

@end table

@section libopencore-amrnb

libopencore-amrnb decoder wrapper.

libopencore-amrnb allows libavcodec to decode the Adaptive Multi-Rate
Narrowband audio codec. Using it requires the presence of the
libopencore-amrnb headers and library during configuration. You need to
explicitly configure the build with @code{--enable-libopencore-amrnb}.

An FFmpeg native decoder for AMR-NB exists, so users can decode AMR-NB
without this library.

@section libopencore-amrwb

libopencore-amrwb decoder wrapper.

libopencore-amrwb allows libavcodec to decode the Adaptive Multi-Rate
Wideband audio codec. Using it requires the presence of the
libopencore-amrwb headers and library during configuration. You need to
explicitly configure the build with @code{--enable-libopencore-amrwb}.

An FFmpeg native decoder for AMR-WB exists, so users can decode AMR-WB
without this library.

@section libopus

libopus decoder wrapper.

libopus allows libavcodec to decode the Opus Interactive Audio Codec.
Requires the presence of the libopus headers and library during
configuration. You need to explicitly configure the build with
@code{--enable-libopus}.

An FFmpeg native decoder for Opus exists, so users can decode Opus
without this library.

@c man end AUDIO DECODERS

@chapter Subtitles Decoders
@c man begin SUBTILES DECODERS

@section dvdsub

This codec decodes the bitmap subtitles used in DVDs; the same subtitles can
also be found in VobSub file pairs and in some Matroska files.

@subsection Options

@table @option
@item palette
Specify the global palette used by the bitmaps. When stored in VobSub, the
palette is normally specified in the index file; in Matroska, the palette is
stored in the codec extra-data in the same format as in VobSub. In DVDs, the
palette is stored in the IFO file, and therefore not available when reading
from dumped VOB files.

The format for this option is a string containing 16 24-bits hexadecimal
numbers (without 0x prefix) separated by comas, for example @code{0d00ee,
ee450d, 101010, eaeaea, 0ce60b, ec14ed, ebff0b, 0d617a, 7b7b7b, d1d1d1,
7b2a0e, 0d950c, 0f007b, cf0dec, cfa80c, 7c127b}.

@item forced_subs_only
Only decode subtitle entries marked as forced. Some titles have forced
and non-forced subtitles in the same track. Setting this flag to @code{1}
will only keep the forced subtitles. Default value is @code{0}.
@end table

@section libzvbi-teletext

Libzvbi allows libavcodec to decode DVB teletext pages and DVB teletext
subtitles. Requires the presence of the libzvbi headers and library during
configuration. You need to explicitly configure the build with
@code{--enable-libzvbi}.

@subsection Options

@table @option
@item txt_page
List of teletext page numbers to decode. You may use the special * string to
match all pages. Pages that do not match the specified list are dropped.
Default value is *.
@item txt_chop_top
Discards the top teletext line. Default value is 1.
@item txt_format
Specifies the format of the decoded subtitles. The teletext decoder is capable
of decoding the teletext pages to bitmaps or to simple text, you should use
"bitmap" for teletext pages, because certain graphics and colors cannot be
expressed in simple text. You might use "text" for teletext based subtitles if
your application can handle simple text based subtitles. Default value is
bitmap.
@item txt_left
X offset of generated bitmaps, default is 0.
@item txt_top
Y offset of generated bitmaps, default is 0.
@item txt_chop_spaces
Chops leading and trailing spaces and removes empty lines from the generated
text. This option is useful for teletext based subtitles where empty spaces may
be present at the start or at the end of the lines or empty lines may be
present between the subtitle lines because of double-sized teletext charactes.
Default value is 1.
@item txt_duration
Sets the display duration of the decoded teletext pages or subtitles in
miliseconds. Default value is 30000 which is 30 seconds.
@item txt_transparent
Force transparent background of the generated teletext bitmaps. Default value
is 0 which means an opaque (black) background.
@end table

@c man end SUBTILES DECODERS