Configuration File Parameters

Parameters that specify the length of an array, such as ExplicitFrameInvervalPatternLength or ExplicitFrameInvervalPattern, do not need to be set or may be set to 0. In either case, the application uses the default array size of 1000.

General Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the general configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
InputFile Identifies the file sent to the encoder.
InputFileFormat

Input file format. The values can be:

  • 0: IYUV
  • 1: YV12
  • 3: IYUV444
  • 4: IYUV420_10bit (LSB aligned)
  • 5: IYUV444_10bit (LSB aligned)
  • 6: IYUV420_10bit (MSB aligned)
  • 7: IYUV444_10bit (MSB aligned)
  • 8: IYUV420_12bit (LSB aligned)
OutputFile Specifies the output file.
StartFrame Specifies the start frame for encoding. Encoding for StartFrame−1 is skipped.
FramesToBeEncoded Number of frames to encode.
EPCodec

Specifies the video codec type. The values can be:

  • 0: H.264 codec
  • 1: H.265 codec
  • 2: VP9 codec
  • 3: AV1 codec
EPRateControlSectionIndex Index of the RC_params section to use for encoder initialization.
ExplicitFrameIntervalPattern

Specifies the frame interval pattern. The values in the string represent the EncodePic_Params section to use for each frame.

For example, if the given pattern is 123, then:

  • For frames 1, 4, 7, 10 etc... EncodePic_Params section 1 is used.
  • For frames 2, 5, 8, 11 etc... EncodePic_Params section 2 is used.
  • For frames 3, 6, 9, 12 etc... EncodePic_Params section 3 is used.
ExplicitFrameIntervalPatternLength Specifies the length of the interval pattern.

Encode Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the encode configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
EPEncodeWidth Specifies the width of the encode.
EPEncodeHeight Specifies the height of the encode.

EPFrameRateNum

EPFrameRateDen

Specifies the numerator and denominator for the frame rate to use for encoding, in frames per second. The frame rate is:

EPFrameRateNum / EPFrameRateDen
EPGopLength Specifies the number of pictures in a GOP. If 0, keyframes are not inserted automatically.
EPGopPattern

Specifies the GOP pattern. If the GOP length is 0, the Frame Interval Pattern must be set to IPP. The values can be:

  • 0: I
  • 1: IPP
  • 2: IBP
  • 3: IBBP
EPMaxNumRefFrames

Specifies the maximum number of reference frames. The value can be:

  • EPMaxNumRefFrames =0 for I Only mode
  • EPMaxNumRefFrames =1 for IP mode
  • EPMaxNumRefFrames =2 for IBP mode

Quantization Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the quantization configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
QPBSlice Specifies the Quantization parameter for B slices [0-51].
QPISlice Specifies the Quantization parameter for I Slices [0-51].
QPPSlice Specifies the Quantization parameter P Slices [0-51].

Rate Control Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the rate control configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
RCMode

Specifies the rate control mode. The values can be:

  • 0x0 = Constant bitrate mode
  • 0x1 = Constant QP mode
  • 0x2 = Variable bitrate mode
  • 0x3 = Variable bitrate mode with MinQP
RCAverageBitrate Specifies the average bit rate in bits/second; used for encoding.
RCMaxBitrate Specifies the maximum bit rate for the encoded output. This is used in Variable Bit Rate (VBR) mode and is ignored for Constant Bit Rate (CBR) mode.
RCVbvBufferSize Specifies the VBV (HRD) buffer size in bits. Set to 0 to use the default VBV buffer size.
RCVbvInitialDelay Specifies the VBV(HRD) initial delay in bits. Set to 0 to use the default VBV initial delay.
RCEnableMinQP Set to 1 if minimum QP is used for the rate control.
RCEnableMaxQP Set to 1 if maximum QP is used for the rate control.
RCConstQPInde[JS7] x Specifies the initial QP_Params section index used for encoding. In Constant QP mode these values are used for all frames.
RCMinQPIndex Specifies the QP_Paramssection index used as the minimum QP values for rate control.
RCMaxQPIndex Specifies the QP_Params section index used as the maximum QP values for rate control.

Per-Frame Encode Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the per-frame encode configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
EPEencodePicFlags

Specifies the bitwise OR’ed encode picture flags.

The flags are:

  • 0x1: Encodes the current picture as an Intra picture.
  • 0x2: Encodes the current picture as an IDR picture. This flag is valid when the enoder makes the picture type decision. (Set EPPictureType to 0).
  • 0x4: Writes the sequence and picture header in the encoded bitstream of the current picture.
  • 0x8: Indicates the end of the input stream.
  • 0x10: Indicates a change in bit rate from the current picture onwards.
  • 0x20: Indicates that the user forced constant QP Rate control from the current picture onwards.
  • 0x40: Indicates a change in the rate control mode on the fly from current picture onwards.
EPInputDuration Specifies the duration of the input picture.
EPPictureType

Specifies the input picture type. The client must set this parameter explicitly if it has not set the Enable PTD (picture type decision) to 1.

The picture types are:

  • 0x00: Forward predicted picture
  • 0x01: Bi-directionally predicted picture
  • 0x02: Intra predicted picture
  • 0x03: IDR picture
  • 0x04: Bidirectionally predicted picture with only Intra MBs
  • 0x05: Picture is skipped
  • 0x06: First picture in intra refresh cycle
  • 0xFF: Picture type unknown
EPH264PicParamsIndex Codec specific parameters: EncodePicH264_Param section index to be used.
EPRCParamsIndex Rate control parameters: RC_Params section index to be used.

H.264 Encode Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.264 encode configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
H264Profile

Supported profiles are:

  • 0: Automatic profile selection
  • 66: Baseline profile
  • 77: Main profile
  • 88: Extended profile
  • 100: High profile
  • 244: High444 profile (lossless)
H264Level Specifies the encoding level. The recommendation isfor the client to set the level to 0 to enable the NvMedia Encode interface to select the correct level.
H264Features

Specifies the bitwise OR'ed configuration feature flags. The flags are:

  • ENABLE_OUTPUT_AUD (1 << 0)
  • ENABLE_INTRA_REFRESH (1 << 1)
  • ENABLE_DYNAMIC_SLICE_MODE (1 << 2)
  • ENABLE_CONSTRANED_ENCODING (1 << 3)
H264IdrPeriod Specifies the IDR interval. If not set, it defaults to the GOP length. A low latency application client must set the IDR interval to 0 so that IDR frames are not inserted automatically.
H264RepeatSPSPPSMode

Specifies the frequency of writing Sequence and Picture parameters. The values can be:

  • 0x0: Repeating SPS/PPS is disabled
  • 0x1: SPS/PPS is repeated for every intra frame
  • 0x2: SPS/PPS is repeated for every IDR frame
H264NumSliceCountMinus1 One less than the number of slices desired per frame.
H264DisableDeblockingFilterIDC Deblocking filter mode. The value can be 0, 1, or 2.
H264IntraRefreshPeriod

The interval between successive intra refreshes if intra refresh is enabled and one-time intra refresh configuration is desired.

If H264IntraRefreshPeriod is specified, the first IDR is encoded, and no more key frames are encoded.

The client must set EPPictureType to 6 for the first picture of every intra refresh period.
H264IntraRefreshCnt The number of frames over which intra refresh occurs.
H264MaxSliceSizeInBytes The maximum slice size, in bytes, for dynamic slice mode. The client must enable dynamic slice mode to use this parameter.
H264AdaptiveTransformMode

Specifies the Adaptive Transform Mode. Available modes are:

  • 0x0: The encoder driver automatically selects Adaptive Transform 8x8 mode.
  • 0x1: Adaptive Transform 8x8 mode disabled.
  • 0x2: Adaptive Transform 8x8 mode must be used.
H264BdirectMode

Specifies the B Direct mode. Available modes are:

  • 0x0: Spatial B Direct mode
  • 0x1: Disable B Direct mode
  • 0x2: Temporal B Direct mode
H264EntropyCodingMode

Specifies the entropy coding mode. Available modes are:

  • 0x0: Entropy coding mode is automatically selected by the encoder driver
  • 0x1: Entropy coding mode is CABAC
  • 0x2: Entropy coding mode is CAVLC
H264MotionPredictionExclusionFlags

Specifies the bitwise OR’ed exclusion flags for motion prediction. Available flags are:

  • (1 << 0): Disable Intra 4x4 vertical prediction
  • (1 << 1): Disable Intra 4x4 horizontal prediction
  • (1 << 2): Disable Intra 4x4 DC prediction
  • (1 << 3): Disable Intra 4x4 diagonal down left prediction
  • (1 << 4): Disable Intra 4x4 diagonal down right prediction
  • (1 << 5): Disable Intra 4x4 vertical right prediction
  • (1 << 6): Disable Intra 4x4 horizontal down prediction
  • (1 << 7): Disable Intra 4x4 vertical left prediction
  • (1 << 8): Disable Intra 4x4 horizontal up prediction
  • (1 << 9): Disable Intra 8x8 vertical prediction
  • (1 << 10): Disable Intra 8x8 horizontal prediction
  • (1 << 11): Disable Intra 8x8 DC prediction
  • (1 << 12): Disable Intra 8x8 diagonal down left prediction
  • (1 << 13): Disable Intra 8x8 diagonal down right prediction
  • (1 << 14): Disable Intra 8x8 vertical right prediction
  • (1 << 15): Disable Intra 8x8 horizontal down prediction
  • (1 << 16): Disable Intra 8x8 vertical left prediction
  • (1 << 17): Disable Intra 8x8 horizontal up prediction
  • (1 << 18): Disable Intra 16x16 vertical prediction
  • (1 << 19): Disable Intra 16x16 horizontal prediction
  • (1 << 20): Disable Intra 16x16 DC prediction
  • (1 << 21): Disable Intra 16x16 plane prediction
  • (1 << 22): Disable Intra chroma vertical prediction
  • (1 << 23): Disable Intra chroma horizontal prediction
  • (1 << 24): Disable Intra chroma DC prediction
  • (1 << 25): Disable Intra chroma plane prediction
  • (1 << 26): Disable Inter L0 partition 16x16 prediction
  • (1 << 27): Disable Inter L0 partition 16x8 prediction
  • (1 << 28): Disable Inter L0 partition 8x16 prediction
  • (1 << 29): Disable Inter L0 partition 8x8 prediction

H.264 VUI Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.264 VUI configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
VUIAspectRatioInfoPresentFlag A value of 1 indicates that the aspect ratio information is present.
VUIAspectRatioIDC Specifies the sample aspect ratio of the luma samples.
VUIAspectSARWidth Specifies the horizontal size of the sample aspect ratio.
VUIAspectSARHeight Specifies the vertical size of the sample aspect ratio.
VUIOverscanInfoPresentFlag A value of 1 indicates that overscan info is present.
VUIOverscanInfo Specifies overscan information, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
VUIVideoSignalTypePresentFlag If set to 1, specifies that Video Format, Video Full Range Flag, and Color Description Present Flag are present.
VUIVideoFormat Specifies the source video format as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
VUIVideoFullRangeFlag Specifies the output range of the luma and chroma samples, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
VUIColourDescriptionPresentFlag A value of NVMEDIA_TRUE indicates that the color primaries, transfer characteristics, and color matrix are present.
VUIColourPrimaries Specifies the color primaries for converting to RGB, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
VUITransferCharacteristics Specifies the opto-electronic transfer characteristics to use, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
VUIMatrixCoefficients Specifies the matrix coefficients used to derive the luma and chroma from the RGB primaries, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.

H.264 Payload Configuration Parameters

The following describes the H.264 payload configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
H264PayloadSize SEI payload 1 size in bytes. SEI payload must be byte aligned, as described in Annex D of the H.264 Specification.
H264PayloadType SEI payload 1 types and syntax is available in Annex D of the H.264 Specification.
H264Payload Payload 1 data.

H.264 Per-Frame Encode Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.264 per-frame encode configuration parameters. These are in addition to the per-frame encode configuration parameters. These parameters must be sent on a per-frame basis.

Parameter Description
H264PayloadArraySize Size of Payload Array.
H264PayloadArrayIndexes Array of the Payload section indexes to be used.

H.265 Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.265 configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
H265Profile

Supported profiles are:

1: Main profile (supported)
H265Level Specifies the encoding level. It is recommended that the client set the level to 0 to enable the NvMedia Encode interface to select the correct level.
H265Features

Specifies bitwise OR'ed configuration feature flags. The flags are:

  • ENABLE_OUTPUT_AUD (1 << 0)
  • ENABLE_INTRA_REFRESH (1 << 1)
  • ENABLE_DYNAMIC_SLICE_MODE (1 << 2)
  • ENABLE_CONSTRANED _ENCODING (1 << 3)
H265IdrPeriod Specifies the IDR interval. If not set, defaults to the GOP Length. A low latency application client can set the IDR interval to 0 so that IDR frames are not inserted automatically.
H265RepeatSPSPPSMode

Specifies the frequency of writing Sequence and Picture parameters.

Available values are:

  • 0x0: Repeating SPS/PPS is disabled
  • 0x1: SPS/PPS is repeated for every intra frame
  • 0x2: SPS/PPS is repeated for every IDR frame
H265NumSliceCountMinus1 One less than the number of slices desired per frame.
H265DisableDeblockingFilterIDC Deblocking filter mode. Possible values are 0 and 1.
H265IntraRefreshPeriod

The interval between successive intra refreshes, assuming:

  • Intra refresh is enabled.
  • one time intra refresh configuration is desired.

If H265IntraRefreshPeriod is specified, the first IDR is encoded and no more key frames are encoded.

The client must set EPPictureType to 6 for the first picture of every intra refresh period.
H265IntraRefreshCnt Specifies the number of frames over which intra refresh occurs.
H265MaxSliceSizeInBytes Specifies the maximum slice size, in bytes, for dynamic slice mode. The client must enable dynamic slice mode to use this parameter.

H.265 VUI Configuration Parameters

This table describes the H.265 VUI configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
H265VUIAspectRatioInfoPresentFlag A value of 1 indicates that aspect ratio information is present.
H265VUIAspectRatioIDC Specifies the value of the sample aspect ratio of the luma samples.
H265VUIAspectSARWidth Horizontal size of the sample aspect ratio.
H265VUIOverscanInfoPresentFlag A value of 1 indicates that overscan information is present.
H265VUIOverscanInfo Specifies overscan information, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
H265VUIVideoSignalTypePresentFlag A value of 1 indicates that Video Format, Video Full Range Flag, and Color Description Present Flag are present.
H265VUIVideoFormat Specifies the source video format, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
H265VUIVideoFullRangeFlag Specifies the output range of the luma and chroma samples, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
H265VUIColourDescriptionPresentFlag A value of NVMEDIA_TRUE indicates that the color primaries, transfer characteristics, and color matrix are present.
H265VUIColourPrimaries Specifies color primaries for converting to RGB, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
H265VUITransferCharacteristics Specifies the opto-electronic transfer characteristics to use, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.
H265VUIMatrixCoefficients Specifies the matrix coefficients to use to derive the luma and chroma from the RGB primaries, as defined in Annex E of the ITU-T Specification.

H.265 Payload Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.265 payload configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
H265PayloadSize SEI payload 1 size in bytes. SEI payload must be byte aligned, as described in Annex D of the ITU‑T Specification.
H265PayloadType SEI payload 1 types and syntax are available in Annex D of the ITU‑T Specification.
H265Payload Payload 1 data.

H.265 Per-Frame Encode Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the H.265 per-frame encode configuration parameters. These parameters must be sent on a per frame basis.

Parameter Description
EPH265PicParamsIndex Codec specific parameters: EncodePicH265_Params section index to be used.
H265PayloadArrayIndexes Array of Payload section indexes to be used.
H265PayloadArraySize Size of Payload Array.

VP9 Configuration Parameters

This table describes the VP9 configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
VP9Features

Specifies bitwise OR'ed configuration feature flags. The flags are:

  • ENABLE_LOOP_FILTER_PARAMS (1 << 0),
  • ENABLE_QUANTIZATION_PARAMS (1 << 1),
  • ENABLE_TRANSFORM_MODE (1 << 2),
  • ENABLE_HIGH_PRECISION_MV (1 << 3),
  • DISABLE_ERROR_RESILIENT (1 << 4),
  • ENABLE_PROFILING (1 << 5),
  • INIT_QP (1 << 6),
  • QP_MAX (1 << 7)
VP9IdrPeriod

Specifies the IDR interval. If not set,the interval will equal the GOP length. The low-latency application client can set the IDR interval to 0 so that IDR frames are not inserted automatically.

Default value = 17
EPlog2NumTileInRow Specifies the log of number of tiles in a row.
EPlog2NumTileInCol Specifies the log of number of tiles in a column.
EPNumEpCores

Specifies the number of Entropy Cores to be used. Supported values – 1 and 4.

Default value – 1.

4 EP Cores are only supported for multiple tile configuration.

VP9/AV1 Per-Frame Encode Configuration Parameters

The following describes the VP9/AV1 per-frame encode configuration parameters. These parameters must be sent on a per frame basis.

Parameter Description
EPVP9PicParamsIndex Codec specific parameters: EncodePicVP9_Params section index to be used.

AV1 Configuration Parameters

The following table describes the AV1 configuration parameters:

Parameter Description
EPEnableTileEncode Enable encoding with multiple tile configuration.
EPlog2NumTileInRow Specifies the log of number of tiles in a row.
EPlog2NumTileInCol Specifies the log of number of tiles in a column.
AV1EnableInternalHighBitDepth Enables internal high bit depth. When enabled, input YUV is 8 bit, but the encoded bitstream is 10 bit.
AV1EnableSsimRdo Enables SSIM-based rate distortion optimization
AV1FrameRestorationType Specifies the frame restoration type.
AV1EnableUniCompound Enables the uni-compound for P frames.
AV1IdrPeriod

Specifies the IDR interval. If not set, the interval is equal to the GOP length. Low latency application client can set the IDR interval to 0 so that IDR frames are not inserted automatically.

Default value = 17
AV1EncodeQuality

Specifies the encode quality setting. Supported values:

1 – HP

2 - UHP
AV1Features

Specifies bitwise OR'ed configuration feature flags. The flags are:

  • ENABLE_QUANTIZATION_PARAMS (1 << 1),
  • DISABLE_CDF_UPDATE (1 << 2),
  • INIT_QP (1 << 6),
  • QP_MAX (1 << 7)