gstreamer-cheat-sheet/network_transfer.md
2018-03-20 08:18:38 +00:00

5.6 KiB

Transfer of audio/video via a network socket (GStreamer command-line cheat sheet)

GStreamer can send and receive audio and video via a network socket, using either UDP or TCP.

UDP is faster but lossy - there is no attempt to resend lost network packets to it will fail if the network is not perfect. TCP acknowledges every network packet so is slower, but more reliable.

UDP

Audio via UDP

To send an audio test source:

gst-launch-1.0 audiotestsrc ! avenc_ac3 ! mpegtsmux ! rtpmp2tpay ! udpsink host=127.0.0.1 port=7001

To send an audio file:

# Make sure $SRC is set to an audio file (e.g. an MP3 file)
gst-launch-1.0 -v filesrc location=$AUDIO_SRC ! mpegaudioparse ! udpsink port=7001

And to receive audio:

gst-launch-1.0 udpsrc port=7001 ! decodebin ! autoaudiosink

Video via UDP, as h264

To send a test stream:

gst-launch-1.0 videotestsrc ! decodebin ! x264enc ! rtph264pay ! udpsink port=7001

Or to send a file (video or audio only, not both):

# Make sure $SRC is set to an video file (e.g. an MP4 file)
gst-launch-1.0  filesrc location=$SRC ! decodebin ! x264enc ! rtph264pay ! udpsink port=7001

To receive:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    udpsrc port=7001 caps = "application/x-rtp, media=(string)video, clock-rate=(int)90000, encoding-name=(string)H264, payload=(int)96" ! \
    rtph264depay ! decodebin ! videoconvert ! autovideosink

Video via UDP, as MPEG-2

To send a video test source:

gst-launch-1.0 videotestsrc ! x264enc ! mpegtsmux ! rtpmp2tpay ! udpsink host=127.0.0.1 port=7001

To receive:

gst-launch-1.0 udpsrc port=7001 ! decodebin ! autovideosink

Both video and audio

To send both a video and audio test source (mixed together):

gst-launch-1.0 \
    videotestsrc ! x264enc ! muxer. \
    audiotestsrc ! avenc_ac3 ! muxer. \
    mpegtsmux name=muxer ! rtpmp2tpay ! udpsink host=127.0.0.1 port=7001

And to receive both video and audio together:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    udpsrc port=7001 caps="application/x-rtp" ! \
    rtpmp2tdepay ! decodebin name=decoder ! autoaudiosink  decoder. ! autovideosink

TCP

### Audio via TCP

To send a test stream:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    audiotestsrc ! \
    avenc_ac3 ! mpegtsmux ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0

To send a file:

# Make sure $SRC is set to an audio file (e.g. an MP3 file)
gst-launch-1.0 \
    filesrc location=$AUDIO_SRC ! \
    mpegaudioparse ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0

And to receive:

gst-launch-1.0 tcpclientsrc port=7001 host=0.0.0.0 ! decodebin ! autoaudiosink

Video via TCP

Test video stream:

gst-launch-1.0 videotestsrc ! \
    decodebin ! x264enc ! mpegtsmux ! queue ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=127.0.0.1 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

MP4 file (video only):

gst-launch-1.0 \
    filesrc location=$SRC ! decodebin ! x264enc ! mpegtsmux ! queue ! \
    tcpserversink host=127.0.0.1 port=7001 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

To receive, either use VLC (tcp://localhost:7001) or this command:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    tcpclientsrc host=127.0.0.1 port=7001 ! \
    decodebin ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false

Stream and receive video via TCP, using Matroska

Should you wish to use the Matroska container rather than MPEG, here are some examples. (The Matroska FAQ nicely describes what it is, if you're interested.)

To send a test stream:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    videotestsrc is-live=true ! \
    queue ! videoconvert ! x264enc byte-stream=true ! \
    h264parse config-interval=1 ! queue ! matroskamux ! queue leaky=2 ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

To send a file (video only):

# Make sure $SRC is set to an video file (e.g. an MP4 file)
gst-launch-1.0 \
    filesrc location=$SRC ! decodebin ! \
    queue ! videoconvert ! x264enc byte-stream=true ! \
    h264parse config-interval=1 ! queue ! matroskamux ! queue leaky=2 ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

To receive:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    tcpclientsrc host=0.0.0.0 port=7001 typefind=true do-timestamp=false ! \
    matroskademux ! typefind ! avdec_h264 ! autovideosink

I struggle to get VLC to play this (through tcp://localhost:7001).

Audio and Video via TCP

We can of course mux to send audio and video together.

To send both audio and video test:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    videotestsrc ! decodebin ! x264enc ! muxer. \
    audiotestsrc ! avenc_ac3 ! muxer. \
    mpegtsmux name=muxer ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

To send audio and video of an MP4 file: (Note, quite a few queue2 elements are required now... there's an explanation of why here.)

gst-launch-1.0 \
    filesrc location=$SRC ! \
    qtdemux name=demux \
    demux.video_0 ! queue2 ! decodebin ! x264enc ! queue2 ! muxer. \
    demux.audio_0 ! queue2 ! decodebin ! audioconvert ! audioresample ! avenc_ac3 ! queue2 ! muxer. \
    mpegtsmux name=muxer ! \
    tcpserversink port=7001 host=0.0.0.0 recover-policy=keyframe sync-method=latest-keyframe sync=false

To receive, either use VLC (tcp://localhost:7001) or this command:

gst-launch-1.0 \
    tcpclientsrc host=127.0.0.1 port=7001 ! \
    decodebin name=decoder ! autoaudiosink  decoder. ! autovideosink