Streaming Formats

Streaming Formats

MediaX supports multiple video encoding formats for different use cases.

Format Comparison

Encoder Format AMD Intel Jetson ARM64 Notes
RGB24 Uncompressed ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ RFC 4175
YUV422 Uncompressed ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ RFC 4175
Mono8 Uncompressed ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ RFC 4175
Mono16 Uncompressed ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ RFC 4175
OpenH264 H.264 ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ Cisco software encoder
VAAPI H.264/H.265 ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ Intel/AMD hardware only
NVENC H.264 ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ NVIDIA desktop GPUs (GTX/RTX)
Jetson V4L2 H.264 ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ Jetson Orin AGX/NX native V4L2 M2M
AV1 (VAAPI) AV1 ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ Intel 12th gen+ / AMD RDNA2+

Uncompressed Formats

Best for low-latency, high-quality video where bandwidth is available.

RGB24

24-bit RGB color, 8 bits per channel.

stream_info.encoding = mediax::rtp::ColourspaceType::kColourspaceRgb24;

Bandwidth: ~221 Mbps at 1080p30

YUV422

YCbCr 4:2:2 color sampling, commonly used in broadcast.

stream_info.encoding = mediax::rtp::ColourspaceType::kColourspaceYuv422;

Bandwidth: ~166 Mbps at 1080p30

Mono8

8-bit grayscale, used for thermal and infrared cameras.

stream_info.encoding = mediax::rtp::ColourspaceType::kColourspaceMono8;

Bandwidth: ~50 Mbps at 1080p30

Mono16

16-bit grayscale, higher dynamic range for scientific imaging.

stream_info.encoding = mediax::rtp::ColourspaceType::kColourspaceMono16;

Bandwidth: ~99 Mbps at 1080p30

Compressed Formats

Use when bandwidth is limited or for storage efficiency.

H.264

Most widely supported compressed format.

// Using Intel VAAPI
mediax::RtpSapTransmit<mediax::rtp::h264::vaapi::RtpH264VaapiPayloader> rtp(...);

// Using OpenH264 software encoder
mediax::RtpSapTransmit<mediax::rtp::h264::openh264::RtpH264OpenH264Payloader> rtp(...);

Bandwidth: 2-20 Mbps (configurable)

H.265 (HEVC)

Better compression than H.264, requires more processing.

mediax::RtpSapTransmit<mediax::rtp::h265::vaapi::RtpH265VaapiPayloader> rtp(...);

Bandwidth: 1-10 Mbps (configurable)

AV1

Newest codec, excellent compression, royalty-free. Native VAAPI backend (Intel 12th gen+ / AMD RDNA2+):

#include "av1/vaapi/rtp_av1_vaapi_payloader.h"
mediax::rtp::av1::vaapi::RtpAv1VaapiPayloader payloader;

Runtime Codec Discovery

Use the CodecQuery API to discover available codecs at runtime:

#include "rtp/codec_query.h"
#include <iostream>

int main() {
    // Print a summary of all codecs
    mediax::rtp::CodecQuery::PrintCodecSummary();

    // Check what is actually usable on this machine
    auto available = mediax::rtp::CodecQuery::GetAvailableCodecs();
    std::cout << "Available codecs: " << available.size() << "\n";

    // Quick backend check before creating a payloader
    if (mediax::rtp::CodecQuery::IsBackendAvailable("vaapi")) {
        std::cout << "VAAPI hardware acceleration is available\n";
    }

    // List only hardware encoders
    for (const auto& c : mediax::rtp::CodecQuery::GetHardwareCodecs()) {
        std::cout << c.name << " [" << (c.available ? "ready" : "unavailable") << "]\n";
    }

    return 0;
}

See the C++ API Reference for the full CodecQuery API.

Choosing a Format

Use Case Recommended Format
Low latency (<10ms) Uncompressed (RGB24/YUV422)
Bandwidth limited H.264 or H.265
Thermal cameras Mono8 or Mono16
Scientific imaging Mono16
Long-term storage H.265 or AV1
Maximum compatibility H.264

Support

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