ToolX

Discover. Stream. Manage. Zero-configuration video distribution for GVA platforms. DEF STAN 00-082 Compliant Video Streaming

The Challenge

Modern armored vehicles carry 20+ cameras — daylight, thermal, passenger — all streaming simultaneously over a shared Ethernet backbone. DEF STAN 00-082 demands that every display on the vehicle can discover and render any feed, automatically, with no manual setup.

ToolX makes that happen.

How It Works

Plug a camera into the vehicle network. ToolX announces it. Every display finds it. Video flows. That's it.

sequenceDiagram participant Camera as Camera Source participant Net as Vehicle Network participant Display as GVA Display Camera->>Net: SAP Announcement (multicast) Note over Net: "Front Center DL" @ 239.192.1.1 Net->>Display: SAP received — stream discovered Display->>Net: Join RTP multicast group Camera->>Net: RTP Video (continuous) Net->>Display: Live video rendered Note over Camera,Display: Zero configuration required

Three protocols work together seamlessly:

ProtocolWhat It Does
DiscoverSAPCameras announce themselves on the network every few seconds
DescribeSDPEach announcement carries resolution, codec, and address details
DeliverRTPVideo payload streams over efficient UDP multicast

Key Features

Automatic Stream Discovery

No IP addresses to configure. No spreadsheets to maintain. Cameras broadcast SAP announcements on the network, and ToolX builds a live inventory of every available feed — updated in real time.

  • Streams appear within seconds of a camera coming online
  • Stale feeds are automatically flagged when announcements stop
  • Clean removal via SAP deletion when a camera is powered down

Wide Codec Support

From lossless uncompressed to bandwidth-efficient compressed — choose the right format for the mission.

graph LR subgraph " DEF STAN 00-082 Core" A["RGB 24-bit"] B["YCbCr 4:2:2"] C["Mono 8-bit"] D["Mono 16-bit"] end subgraph "Extended Codecs" E["H.264"] F["H.265 / HEVC"] G["JPEG 2000"] H["AV1"] end A --> I{"RTP\nPayloader"} B --> I C --> I D --> I E --> I F --> I G --> I H --> I I --> J["239.192.x.x\nMulticast"]
FormatQualityBandwidthBest For
YCbCr 42Lossless~368 MbpsMaximum fidelity, 10 GbE networks
RGB 24-bitLossless~553 MbpsGeneral purpose, full color depth
Mono 8 / 16-bitLossless~18 / 37 MbpsThermal imaging (TI) sensors
H.264Near-lossless~2–8 MbpsStandard 1 GbE networks, multi-camera
H.265Near-lossless~1–4 MbpsBandwidth-constrained links

Hardware-Accelerated Encoding

Multiple encoder backends keep latency low and CPU usage minimal:

  • VA-API — GPU hardware acceleration (default)
  • OpenH264 — Portable software codec
  • OpenMAX — Embedded platforms (Raspberry Pi, SBCs)

Built-In Device Management (VIVOE MIB)

Every camera on a GVA network exposes a standard SNMP management interface defined by DEF STAN 00-082 Appendix A. ToolX includes a built-in SNMP browser to query any compliant device.

graph TD subgraph "VIVOE MIB Tree" ROOT["1.3.6.1.4.1.35990.3.1"] A["deviceInfo
Manufacturer, serial, versions"] B["videoFormatTable
Resolution, codec, colourspace"] C["channelControl
Multicast IP, RTP config, SAP"] D["vivoeNotifications
Error & conflict traps"] end ROOT --> A ROOT --> B ROOT --> C ROOT --> D

DEF STAN 00-082 at a Glance

Everything ToolX does maps directly to the standard. Here's what compliance looks like:

RequirementStandard SaysToolX Delivers
Stream transportRTP over UDP multicastAll streams on 239.192.x.x:5004
Uncompressed videoRFC 4175 mandatoryRGB24, YCbCr 42, Mono8, Mono16
Stream discoverySAP/SDP requiredAutomatic announce + live discovery table
Stream removalSAP deletion requiredClean shutdown announcements
Device managementVIVOE MIB over SNMPv2cBuilt-in SNMP walk & query
Camera namingGVA designationsStandard DL / TI / PAX naming
Multi-stream20+ simultaneous feedsTested with full vehicle camera suites

GVA Camera Designations

Cameras follow a standardized naming scheme so operators always know which view they're looking at:

CodeMeaningExample
DLDaylight (visible spectrum)Front Center DL
TIThermal Imaging (infrared)Front Center TI
PAXPassenger / interiorPAX Camera 1

Combined with position — Front, Rear, Left, Right, Center — every camera on the vehicle has a unique, human-readable identity.

Network Architecture

graph TB subgraph "Application Layer" SAP["SAP
Stream Discovery"] RTP["RTP
Video Delivery"] SNMP["SNMPv2c
VIVOE MIB"] end subgraph "Transport" SAP --> UDP1["UDP 224.2.127.254:9875"] RTP --> UDP2["UDP 239.192.x.x:5004"] SNMP --> UDP3["UDP unicast :161"] end subgraph "Network" UDP1 --> MC["IPv4 Multicast"] UDP2 --> MC UDP3 --> UC["IPv4 Unicast"] end MC --> ETH["1 GbE / 10 GbE Ethernet"] UC --> ETH

Bandwidth Planning

Running multiple cameras? Here's what to expect at 1280×720 @ 25 fps:

CodecPer Stream11 Cameras20 Cameras
YCbCr 42369 Mbps4.1 Gbps7.4 Gbps
H.2642–8 Mbps22–88 Mbps40–160 Mbps
H.2651–4 Mbps11–44 Mbps20–80 Mbps

Bottom line: H.264 fits a full vehicle camera suite comfortably onto a standard 1 GbE backbone. Uncompressed requires 10 GbE but delivers zero-latency, pixel-perfect imagery.

Deployment Scenarios

graph LR subgraph "Boxer MIV" C1["11 Cameras
H.264 720p 25fps"] end subgraph "Trailblaizer Pod" C2["2 Cameras
Day + Night
1080p H.264"] end subgraph "Pi Camera Array" C3["6 × Raspberry Pi
720p H.264"] end C1 --> N["GVA Ethernet Backbone"] C2 --> N C3 --> N N --> D1["Crew Station 1"] N --> D2["Crew Station 2"] N --> D3["Commander Display"] N --> TX["ToolX
Diagnostics &
Monitoring"]

Why ToolX

  • Standards-first — Built from the ground up for DEF STAN 00-082 Issue 3
  • Zero configuration — SAP/SDP auto-discovery means no manual stream setup
  • Codec flexibility — Uncompressed for quality, H.264/H.265 for bandwidth, your choice
  • Full diagnostics — Live SAP monitoring, stream playback, SNMP device inspection, recording
  • Open architecture — Built on the MediaX open-source library
  • Cross-platform — Linux-native with Qt6 GUI, headless CLI tools for embedded deployment
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