| .. -*- coding: utf-8; mode: rst -*- |
| |
| .. _subdev: |
| |
| ******************** |
| Sub-device Interface |
| ******************** |
| |
| The complex nature of V4L2 devices, where hardware is often made of |
| several integrated circuits that need to interact with each other in a |
| controlled way, leads to complex V4L2 drivers. The drivers usually |
| reflect the hardware model in software, and model the different hardware |
| components as software blocks called sub-devices. |
| |
| V4L2 sub-devices are usually kernel-only objects. If the V4L2 driver |
| implements the media device API, they will automatically inherit from |
| media entities. Applications will be able to enumerate the sub-devices |
| and discover the hardware topology using the media entities, pads and |
| links enumeration API. |
| |
| In addition to make sub-devices discoverable, drivers can also choose to |
| make them directly configurable by applications. When both the |
| sub-device driver and the V4L2 device driver support this, sub-devices |
| will feature a character device node on which ioctls can be called to |
| |
| - query, read and write sub-devices controls |
| |
| - subscribe and unsubscribe to events and retrieve them |
| |
| - negotiate image formats on individual pads |
| |
| Sub-device character device nodes, conventionally named |
| ``/dev/v4l-subdev*``, use major number 81. |
| |
| |
| Controls |
| ======== |
| |
| Most V4L2 controls are implemented by sub-device hardware. Drivers |
| usually merge all controls and expose them through video device nodes. |
| Applications can control all sub-devices through a single interface. |
| |
| Complex devices sometimes implement the same control in different pieces |
| of hardware. This situation is common in embedded platforms, where both |
| sensors and image processing hardware implement identical functions, |
| such as contrast adjustment, white balance or faulty pixels correction. |
| As the V4L2 controls API doesn't support several identical controls in a |
| single device, all but one of the identical controls are hidden. |
| |
| Applications can access those hidden controls through the sub-device |
| node with the V4L2 control API described in :ref:`control`. The ioctls |
| behave identically as when issued on V4L2 device nodes, with the |
| exception that they deal only with controls implemented in the |
| sub-device. |
| |
| Depending on the driver, those controls might also be exposed through |
| one (or several) V4L2 device nodes. |
| |
| |
| Events |
| ====== |
| |
| V4L2 sub-devices can notify applications of events as described in |
| :ref:`event`. The API behaves identically as when used on V4L2 device |
| nodes, with the exception that it only deals with events generated by |
| the sub-device. Depending on the driver, those events might also be |
| reported on one (or several) V4L2 device nodes. |
| |
| |
| .. _pad-level-formats: |
| |
| Pad-level Formats |
| ================= |
| |
| .. warning:: |
| |
| Pad-level formats are only applicable to very complex devices that |
| need to expose low-level format configuration to user space. Generic |
| V4L2 applications do *not* need to use the API described in this |
| section. |
| |
| .. note:: |
| |
| For the purpose of this section, the term *format* means the |
| combination of media bus data format, frame width and frame height. |
| |
| Image formats are typically negotiated on video capture and output |
| devices using the format and |
| :ref:`selection <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_SELECTION>` ioctls. The driver is |
| responsible for configuring every block in the video pipeline according |
| to the requested format at the pipeline input and/or output. |
| |
| For complex devices, such as often found in embedded systems, identical |
| image sizes at the output of a pipeline can be achieved using different |
| hardware configurations. One such example is shown on |
| :ref:`pipeline-scaling`, where image scaling can be performed on both |
| the video sensor and the host image processing hardware. |
| |
| |
| .. _pipeline-scaling: |
| |
| .. figure:: dev-subdev_files/pipeline.* |
| :alt: pipeline.pdf / pipeline.png |
| :align: center |
| |
| Image Format Negotiation on Pipelines |
| |
| High quality and high speed pipeline configuration |
| |
| |
| |
| The sensor scaler is usually of less quality than the host scaler, but |
| scaling on the sensor is required to achieve higher frame rates. |
| Depending on the use case (quality vs. speed), the pipeline must be |
| configured differently. Applications need to configure the formats at |
| every point in the pipeline explicitly. |
| |
| Drivers that implement the :ref:`media API <media-controller-intro>` |
| can expose pad-level image format configuration to applications. When |
| they do, applications can use the |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` and |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_S_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` ioctls. to |
| negotiate formats on a per-pad basis. |
| |
| Applications are responsible for configuring coherent parameters on the |
| whole pipeline and making sure that connected pads have compatible |
| formats. The pipeline is checked for formats mismatch at |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_STREAMON <VIDIOC_STREAMON>` time, and an ``EPIPE`` error |
| code is then returned if the configuration is invalid. |
| |
| Pad-level image format configuration support can be tested by calling |
| the :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT` ioctl on pad |
| 0. If the driver returns an ``EINVAL`` error code pad-level format |
| configuration is not supported by the sub-device. |
| |
| |
| Format Negotiation |
| ------------------ |
| |
| Acceptable formats on pads can (and usually do) depend on a number of |
| external parameters, such as formats on other pads, active links, or |
| even controls. Finding a combination of formats on all pads in a video |
| pipeline, acceptable to both application and driver, can't rely on |
| formats enumeration only. A format negotiation mechanism is required. |
| |
| Central to the format negotiation mechanism are the get/set format |
| operations. When called with the ``which`` argument set to |
| :ref:`V4L2_SUBDEV_FORMAT_TRY <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>`, the |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` and |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_S_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` ioctls operate on |
| a set of formats parameters that are not connected to the hardware |
| configuration. Modifying those 'try' formats leaves the device state |
| untouched (this applies to both the software state stored in the driver |
| and the hardware state stored in the device itself). |
| |
| While not kept as part of the device state, try formats are stored in |
| the sub-device file handles. A |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` call will return |
| the last try format set *on the same sub-device file handle*. Several |
| applications querying the same sub-device at the same time will thus not |
| interact with each other. |
| |
| To find out whether a particular format is supported by the device, |
| applications use the |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_S_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` ioctl. Drivers |
| verify and, if needed, change the requested ``format`` based on device |
| requirements and return the possibly modified value. Applications can |
| then choose to try a different format or accept the returned value and |
| continue. |
| |
| Formats returned by the driver during a negotiation iteration are |
| guaranteed to be supported by the device. In particular, drivers |
| guarantee that a returned format will not be further changed if passed |
| to an :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_S_FMT <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_FMT>` call as-is |
| (as long as external parameters, such as formats on other pads or links' |
| configuration are not changed). |
| |
| Drivers automatically propagate formats inside sub-devices. When a try |
| or active format is set on a pad, corresponding formats on other pads of |
| the same sub-device can be modified by the driver. Drivers are free to |
| modify formats as required by the device. However, they should comply |
| with the following rules when possible: |
| |
| - Formats should be propagated from sink pads to source pads. Modifying |
| a format on a source pad should not modify the format on any sink |
| pad. |
| |
| - Sub-devices that scale frames using variable scaling factors should |
| reset the scale factors to default values when sink pads formats are |
| modified. If the 1:1 scaling ratio is supported, this means that |
| source pads formats should be reset to the sink pads formats. |
| |
| Formats are not propagated across links, as that would involve |
| propagating them from one sub-device file handle to another. |
| Applications must then take care to configure both ends of every link |
| explicitly with compatible formats. Identical formats on the two ends of |
| a link are guaranteed to be compatible. Drivers are free to accept |
| different formats matching device requirements as being compatible. |
| |
| :ref:`sample-pipeline-config` shows a sample configuration sequence |
| for the pipeline described in :ref:`pipeline-scaling` (table columns |
| list entity names and pad numbers). |
| |
| |
| .. raw:: latex |
| |
| \begin{adjustbox}{width=\columnwidth} |
| |
| .. tabularcolumns:: |p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}|p{4.5cm}| |
| |
| .. _sample-pipeline-config: |
| |
| .. flat-table:: Sample Pipeline Configuration |
| :header-rows: 1 |
| :stub-columns: 0 |
| :widths: 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 |
| |
| |
| - .. row 1 |
| |
| - |
| - Sensor/0 format |
| |
| - Frontend/0 format |
| |
| - Frontend/1 format |
| |
| - Scaler/0 format |
| |
| - Scaler/0 compose selection rectangle |
| |
| - Scaler/1 format |
| |
| - .. row 2 |
| |
| - Initial state |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - .. row 3 |
| |
| - Configure frontend sink format |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - *2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8* |
| |
| - *2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8* |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - (default) |
| |
| - .. row 4 |
| |
| - Configure scaler sink format |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - 2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - *2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8* |
| |
| - *0,0/2046x1534* |
| |
| - *2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8* |
| |
| - .. row 5 |
| |
| - Configure scaler sink compose selection |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - 2048x1536/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - 2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - 2046x1534/SGRBG8_1X8 |
| |
| - *0,0/1280x960* |
| |
| - *1280x960/SGRBG8_1X8* |
| |
| .. raw:: latex |
| |
| \end{adjustbox}\newline\newline |
| |
| 1. Initial state. The sensor source pad format is set to its native 3MP |
| size and V4L2_MBUS_FMT_SGRBG8_1X8 media bus code. Formats on the |
| host frontend and scaler sink and source pads have the default |
| values, as well as the compose rectangle on the scaler's sink pad. |
| |
| 2. The application configures the frontend sink pad format's size to |
| 2048x1536 and its media bus code to V4L2_MBUS_FMT_SGRBG_1X8. The |
| driver propagates the format to the frontend source pad. |
| |
| 3. The application configures the scaler sink pad format's size to |
| 2046x1534 and the media bus code to V4L2_MBUS_FMT_SGRBG_1X8 to |
| match the frontend source size and media bus code. The media bus code |
| on the sink pad is set to V4L2_MBUS_FMT_SGRBG_1X8. The driver |
| propagates the size to the compose selection rectangle on the |
| scaler's sink pad, and the format to the scaler source pad. |
| |
| 4. The application configures the size of the compose selection |
| rectangle of the scaler's sink pad 1280x960. The driver propagates |
| the size to the scaler's source pad format. |
| |
| When satisfied with the try results, applications can set the active |
| formats by setting the ``which`` argument to |
| ``V4L2_SUBDEV_FORMAT_ACTIVE``. Active formats are changed exactly as try |
| formats by drivers. To avoid modifying the hardware state during format |
| negotiation, applications should negotiate try formats first and then |
| modify the active settings using the try formats returned during the |
| last negotiation iteration. This guarantees that the active format will |
| be applied as-is by the driver without being modified. |
| |
| |
| .. _v4l2-subdev-selections: |
| |
| Selections: cropping, scaling and composition |
| --------------------------------------------- |
| |
| Many sub-devices support cropping frames on their input or output pads |
| (or possible even on both). Cropping is used to select the area of |
| interest in an image, typically on an image sensor or a video decoder. |
| It can also be used as part of digital zoom implementations to select |
| the area of the image that will be scaled up. |
| |
| Crop settings are defined by a crop rectangle and represented in a |
| struct :c:type:`v4l2_rect` by the coordinates of the top |
| left corner and the rectangle size. Both the coordinates and sizes are |
| expressed in pixels. |
| |
| As for pad formats, drivers store try and active rectangles for the |
| selection targets :ref:`v4l2-selections-common`. |
| |
| On sink pads, cropping is applied relative to the current pad format. |
| The pad format represents the image size as received by the sub-device |
| from the previous block in the pipeline, and the crop rectangle |
| represents the sub-image that will be transmitted further inside the |
| sub-device for processing. |
| |
| The scaling operation changes the size of the image by scaling it to new |
| dimensions. The scaling ratio isn't specified explicitly, but is implied |
| from the original and scaled image sizes. Both sizes are represented by |
| struct :c:type:`v4l2_rect`. |
| |
| Scaling support is optional. When supported by a subdev, the crop |
| rectangle on the subdev's sink pad is scaled to the size configured |
| using the |
| :ref:`VIDIOC_SUBDEV_S_SELECTION <VIDIOC_SUBDEV_G_SELECTION>` IOCTL |
| using ``V4L2_SEL_TGT_COMPOSE`` selection target on the same pad. If the |
| subdev supports scaling but not composing, the top and left values are |
| not used and must always be set to zero. |
| |
| On source pads, cropping is similar to sink pads, with the exception |
| that the source size from which the cropping is performed, is the |
| COMPOSE rectangle on the sink pad. In both sink and source pads, the |
| crop rectangle must be entirely contained inside the source image size |
| for the crop operation. |
| |
| The drivers should always use the closest possible rectangle the user |
| requests on all selection targets, unless specifically told otherwise. |
| ``V4L2_SEL_FLAG_GE`` and ``V4L2_SEL_FLAG_LE`` flags may be used to round |
| the image size either up or down. :ref:`v4l2-selection-flags` |
| |
| |
| Types of selection targets |
| -------------------------- |
| |
| |
| Actual targets |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| Actual targets (without a postfix) reflect the actual hardware |
| configuration at any point of time. There is a BOUNDS target |
| corresponding to every actual target. |
| |
| |
| BOUNDS targets |
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |
| |
| BOUNDS targets is the smallest rectangle that contains all valid actual |
| rectangles. It may not be possible to set the actual rectangle as large |
| as the BOUNDS rectangle, however. This may be because e.g. a sensor's |
| pixel array is not rectangular but cross-shaped or round. The maximum |
| size may also be smaller than the BOUNDS rectangle. |
| |
| |
| Order of configuration and format propagation |
| --------------------------------------------- |
| |
| Inside subdevs, the order of image processing steps will always be from |
| the sink pad towards the source pad. This is also reflected in the order |
| in which the configuration must be performed by the user: the changes |
| made will be propagated to any subsequent stages. If this behaviour is |
| not desired, the user must set ``V4L2_SEL_FLAG_KEEP_CONFIG`` flag. This |
| flag causes no propagation of the changes are allowed in any |
| circumstances. This may also cause the accessed rectangle to be adjusted |
| by the driver, depending on the properties of the underlying hardware. |
| |
| The coordinates to a step always refer to the actual size of the |
| previous step. The exception to this rule is the source compose |
| rectangle, which refers to the sink compose bounds rectangle --- if it |
| is supported by the hardware. |
| |
| 1. Sink pad format. The user configures the sink pad format. This format |
| defines the parameters of the image the entity receives through the |
| pad for further processing. |
| |
| 2. Sink pad actual crop selection. The sink pad crop defines the crop |
| performed to the sink pad format. |
| |
| 3. Sink pad actual compose selection. The size of the sink pad compose |
| rectangle defines the scaling ratio compared to the size of the sink |
| pad crop rectangle. The location of the compose rectangle specifies |
| the location of the actual sink compose rectangle in the sink compose |
| bounds rectangle. |
| |
| 4. Source pad actual crop selection. Crop on the source pad defines crop |
| performed to the image in the sink compose bounds rectangle. |
| |
| 5. Source pad format. The source pad format defines the output pixel |
| format of the subdev, as well as the other parameters with the |
| exception of the image width and height. Width and height are defined |
| by the size of the source pad actual crop selection. |
| |
| Accessing any of the above rectangles not supported by the subdev will |
| return ``EINVAL``. Any rectangle referring to a previous unsupported |
| rectangle coordinates will instead refer to the previous supported |
| rectangle. For example, if sink crop is not supported, the compose |
| selection will refer to the sink pad format dimensions instead. |
| |
| |
| .. _subdev-image-processing-crop: |
| |
| .. figure:: dev-subdev_files/subdev-image-processing-crop.* |
| :alt: subdev-image-processing-crop.svg |
| :align: center |
| |
| **Figure 4.5. Image processing in subdevs: simple crop example** |
| |
| In the above example, the subdev supports cropping on its sink pad. To |
| configure it, the user sets the media bus format on the subdev's sink |
| pad. Now the actual crop rectangle can be set on the sink pad --- the |
| location and size of this rectangle reflect the location and size of a |
| rectangle to be cropped from the sink format. The size of the sink crop |
| rectangle will also be the size of the format of the subdev's source |
| pad. |
| |
| |
| .. _subdev-image-processing-scaling-multi-source: |
| |
| .. figure:: dev-subdev_files/subdev-image-processing-scaling-multi-source.* |
| :alt: subdev-image-processing-scaling-multi-source.svg |
| :align: center |
| |
| **Figure 4.6. Image processing in subdevs: scaling with multiple sources** |
| |
| In this example, the subdev is capable of first cropping, then scaling |
| and finally cropping for two source pads individually from the resulting |
| scaled image. The location of the scaled image in the cropped image is |
| ignored in sink compose target. Both of the locations of the source crop |
| rectangles refer to the sink scaling rectangle, independently cropping |
| an area at location specified by the source crop rectangle from it. |
| |
| |
| .. _subdev-image-processing-full: |
| |
| .. figure:: dev-subdev_files/subdev-image-processing-full.* |
| :alt: subdev-image-processing-full.svg |
| :align: center |
| |
| **Figure 4.7. Image processing in subdevs: scaling and composition with multiple sinks and sources** |
| |
| The subdev driver supports two sink pads and two source pads. The images |
| from both of the sink pads are individually cropped, then scaled and |
| further composed on the composition bounds rectangle. From that, two |
| independent streams are cropped and sent out of the subdev from the |
| source pads. |
| |
| |
| .. toctree:: |
| :maxdepth: 1 |
| |
| subdev-formats |