This page provides all the information related to Design Module 14 - VCU TRD YUV444 Video Capture and Display design.

1 1 Overview
- 1.1 1.1 Board Setup
- 1.2 1.2 Run Flow
  - 1.2.1 1.2.1 GStreamer Application (vcu_gst_app)
- 1.3 1.3 Build Flow
2 2 Other Information
- 2.1 2.1 Known Issues
- 2.2 2.2 Limitations
3 3 Appendix A - Input Configuration File (input.cfg)
4 4 Appendix B - HDMI-RX/TX Link-up and GStreamer Commands
5 5 References

1 Overview

This module enables the capture of YUV444 8-bit and 10-bit video from HDMI-RX. The video can be displayed on HDMI-TX or DisplayPort and recorded on SD cards or USB/SATA drives. The module can stream-in or stream-out encoded data through an Ethernet interface. This module supports up to single-stream 4kp30 YU24 and X403 format.

Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ VCU HW does not support YUV444 encode/decode processing. Only YUV 4:0:0, 4:2:0 and 4:2:2 sub-sampling modes are supported. This feature enables encoding yuv444p (single planar) video frames using VCU, reading them as YUV4:0:0 of Width x 3*Height buffer. Similarly at the decoder side, VCU Decoder output Width x 3*Height YUV4:0:0 raw video frame but display will treat that buffers YUV444 planar buffer. This feature also includes enhancing FB_RD, FB_WR IP/Drivers and V4l2 and DRM frameworks to support YUV444 planar buffer format.

This design supports the following video interfaces:

Sources:

HDMI-RX capture pipeline implemented in the PL.
File source (SD card, USB storage, SATA hard disk).
Stream-In from network or internet.

Sinks:

HDMI-TX display pipeline implemented in the PL.
DisplayPort-Tx display pipeline implemented in the PS.
Stream-out to network or internet

VCU Codec:

Video Encode/Decode capability using VCU hard block in the PL
- AVC/HEVC encoding
- Encoder/decoder parameter configuration.

Video format:

YU24 (YUV444 8-bit planar format)
X403 (YUV444 10-bit planar format)
Note: 8-bit or 10-bit in the above video formats represents color depth.

Supported Resolutions:

The table below provides the supported resolutions from the command line app only in this design.

Resolution	Command Line
Resolution	Single Stream	Multi-stream
4kp60	x	x
4kp30	√	x
1080p60	√	x

√ - Supported
x – Not supported

The below table gives information about the features supported in this design.

Pipeline	Input source	Format	Output Type	Resolution	VCU codec

Pipeline	Input source	Format	Output Type	Resolution	VCU codec
Pass-through/RAW Pipeline `(Capture -> Display)`	HDMI-Rx	YU24/X403	HDMI-Tx/DP-Tx	4kp30/1080p60	N.A.
Record `(Capture -> Encode -> Filesink)` / Stream-Out `(Capture -> Encode -> Stream-out)` pipeline	HDMI-Rx	YU24/X403	File Sink/ Stream-Out	4kp30/1080p60	HEVC/AVC
Playback `(Filesrc -> Decode -> Display)` / Stream-in `(Stream-in -> Decode -> Display)` pipeline	File Source/ Stream-In	YU24/X403	HDMI-Tx/DP-Tx	4kp30/1080p60	HEVC/AVC

YUV444 8-bit/10-bit is not supported with serial (capture -> Encode -> Decode -> Display) pipeline.

The below figure shows the ZCU106 YUV444 design hardware block diagram.

The below figures shows the YUV444 enablement in the frame buffer read and frame buffer write IPs.

The below figure shows the ZCU106 YUV444 design software block diagram.

1.1 Board Setup

Refer to the below link for Board Setup

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU TRD 2022.2 Board Setup

1.2 Run Flow

The TRD package is released with the source code, Vivado project, PetaLinux BSP, and SD card image that enables the user to run the demonstration.

It also includes the binaries necessary to configure and boot the ZCU106 board. Prior to running the steps outlined in this wiki page, download the TRD package and extract its contents to a directory referred to as TRD_HOME which is the home directory.

Refer to the below link to download all TRD contents.

Refer to Section 4.1 : Download the TRD in the Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU TRD 2022.2 wiki page to download all TRD contents.

TRD package contents are placed in the following directory structure. The user needs to copy all of the files from the $TRD_HOME/images/vcu_yuv444/ to the FAT32 formatted SD card directory.

rdf0428-zcu106-vcu-trd-2022-2/
├── apu
│   └── vcu_petalinux_bsp
├── images
│   ├── vcu_audio
│   ├── vcu_llp2_hdmi_nv12
│   ├── vcu_llp2_hlg_sdi
│   ├── vcu_llp2_plddr_hdmi
│   ├── vcu_multistream_nv12
│   ├── vcu_plddrv1_hdr10_hdmi
│   ├── vcu_plddrv2_hdr10_hdmi
│   └── vcu_yuv444
├── pl
│   ├── constrs
│   ├── designs
│   ├── prebuild
│   ├── README.md
│   └── srcs
├── README.txt
└── zcu106_vcu_trd_sources_and_licenses.tar.gz

16 directories, 3 files

TRD package content specific to the YUV444 design is placed in the following directory structure.

rdf0428-zcu106-vcu-trd-2022-2
├── apu
│   └── vcu_petalinux_bsp
│       └── xilinx-vcu-zcu106-v2022.2-final.bsp
├── images
│   └── vcu_yuv444
│       ├── autostart.sh
│       ├── BOOT.BIN
│       ├── bootfiles/
│       ├── boot.scr
│       ├── config/
│       ├── Image
│       ├── rootfs.cpio.gz.u-boot
│       ├── system.dtb
│       └── vcu/
├── pl
│   ├── constrs/
│   ├── designs
│   │   ├── zcu106_HDMI_YUV444/
│   ├── prebuild
│   │   ├── zcu106_HDMI_YUV444/
│   ├── README.md
│   └── srcs
├── README.txt
└── zcu106_vcu_trd_sources_and_licenses.tar.gz

Scripts to run yuv444 use-cases for various resolutions are placed in the following directory structure:

config
├── 1080p60
│   ├── Display
│   ├── Playback
│   ├── Record
│   ├── Stream-in
│   └── Stream-out
└── 4kp30
    ├── Display
    ├── Playback
    ├── Record
    ├── Stream-in
    └── Stream-out

1.2.1 GStreamer Application (vcu_gst_app)

The vcu_gst_app is a command-line multi-threaded Linux application. The command-line application requires an input configuration file (input.cfg) to be provided in plain text.

Execution of the application is shown below:

vcu_gst_app <path to *.cfg file>

Make sure that the HDMI-Rx is configured to 4kp30 mode to run the below pipelines.
Make sure the scalar is set with respective YUV444 format (8-bit or 10-bit) to run the below pipelines. (check Appendix-B for media-ctl and modetest commands)

Run the below pipelines for the YUV444 10-bit display over HDMI-Tx.

4kp30 X403 YUV444 10-bit Display HDMI Pass-through pipeline execution

vcu_gst_app /media/card/config/4kp30/Display/Single_4kp30_RAW.cfg

4kp30 X403 HEVC YUV444 10-bit record pipeline execution

vcu_gst_app /media/card/config/4kp30/Record/Single_4kp30_HEVC.cfg

4kp30 X403 HEVC YUV444 10-bit HDMI playback pipeline execution

vcu_gst_app /media/card/config/4kp30/Playback/input.cfg

4kp30 X403 HEVC YUV444 10-bit stream-out pipeline execution

vcu_gst_app /media/card/config/4kp30/Stream-out/Single_4kp30_HEVC.cfg

4kp30 X403 HEVC YUV444 10-bit stream-in HDMI pipeline execution

vcu_gst_app /media/card/config/4kp30/Stream-in/input.cfg

To display the output stream over Display Port, change the output to DP in config file
To run a yuv444 8-bit pipeline, change the format to YU24 in config file

Refer to the below link for detailed run flow steps:

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU TRD 2022.2 - Run Flow

1.3 Build Flow

Refer to the below link for detailed build flow steps:

Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU TRD 2022.2 - Build Flow

2 Other Information

2.1 Known Issues

For PetaLinux related known issues please see PetaLinux 2022.2 - Product Update Release Notes and Known Issues
For VCU related known issues please see AR# 76600: LogiCORE H.264/H.265 Video Codec Unit (VCU) - Release Notes and Known Issues and Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC Video Codec Unit.
2022.2 Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC VCU - Why do I need to install separate VCU firmware to support YUV444?

2.2 Limitations

For PetaLinux related limitations please see: PetaLinux 2022.2 - Product Update Release Notes and Known Issues
For VCU related limitations please see AR# 76600: LogiCORE H.264/H.265 Video Codec Unit (VCU) - Release Notes and Known Issues, Xilinx Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC Video Codec Unit and PG252.
YUV444 8-bit/10-bit does not support serial (capture -> Encode -> Decode -> Display) pipeline.
YUV444 8-bit/10-bit does not support 4kp60 resolution use-cases.

3 Appendix A - Input Configuration File (input.cfg)

The example configuration files are stored at /media/card/config/ folder.

Configuration Type	Configuration Name	Description	Available Options

Configuration Type	Configuration Name	Description	Available Options
Common	Common Configuration	It is the starting point of common configuration
	Num of Input	Provide the number of inputs. Set to 1 as it supports only single stream	1
	Output	Select the video interface	HDMI, DP
	Out Type	Type of output	display, record, stream
	Display Rate	Pipeline frame rate	30 or 60 fps
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over
Input	Input Configuration	It is the starting point of the input configuration
	Input Num	Starting N^th input configuration	1
	Input Type	Input source type	HDMI, File, Stream
	Uri	File path or Network URL. Applicable for file playback and stream-in pipeline only. Supported file formats for playback are ts, mp4, and mkv.	`file:///run/media/sda/abc.ts` OR `file:///run/abc.ts` OR `file:///media/usb/abc.ts` (for file path), `udp://192.168.25.89:5004/` (for Network streaming, Here `192.168.25.89` is Client's IP address and `5004` is port number)
	Raw	To tell the pipeline is processed or pass-through	True, False
	Width	The width of the live source	3840, 1920
	Height	The height of the live source	2160, 1080
	Format	The format of input data	YU24 (for YUV444 8-bit), X403 (for YUV444 10-bit)
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over
Encoder	Encoder Configuration	It is the starting point of encoder configuration
	Encoder Num	Starting N^th encoder configuration	1
	Encoder Name	Name of the encoder	AVC, HEVC
	Profile	Name of the profile	AVC: `high` for YU24, `high-10` for X403 HEVC: `monochrome` for YU24, `monochrome-10` for X403
	Rate Control	Rate control options	CBR, VBR, and Low_Latency
	Filler Data	Filler Data NAL units for CBR rate control	True, False
	QP	QP control mode used by the VCU encoder	Uniform, Auto
	L2 Cache	Enable or Disable L2Cache buffer in encoding process	True, False
	Latency Mode	Encoder latency mode.	Normal, sub_frame
	Low Bandwidth	If enabled, decrease the vertical search range used for P-frame motion estimation to reduce the bandwidth.	True, False
	Gop Mode	Group of Pictures mode.	Basic, low_delay_p, low_delay_b
	Bitrate	Target bitrate in Kbps	1-60000
	B Frames	Number of B-frames between two consecutive P-frames	0-4
	Slice	The number of slices produced for each frame. Each slice contains one or more complete macroblock/CTU row(s). Slices are distributed over the frame as regularly as possible. If slice-size is defined as well more slices may be produced to fit the slice-size requirement. Number of slices should be in multiple of 3 for YUV444	4-22 4Kp resolution with HEVC codec 4-32 4Kp resolution with AVC codec 4-32 1080p resolution with HEVC codec 4-32 1080p resolution with AVC codec
	GoP Length	The distance between two consecutive I frames	1-1000
	GDR Mode	It specifies which Gradual Decoder Refresh(GDR) scheme should be used when gop-mode = low_delay_p GDR mode is currently supported with LLP1/LLP2 low-delay-p use-cases only	Horizontal, Vertical, Disabled
	Entropy Mode	It specifies the entropy mode for H.264 (AVC) encoding process	CAVLC, CABAC, Default
	Preset	Based on provided six presets, predefined configuration will be set for encoder parameters. Select custom to provide user-specific options for encoder parameters.	HEVC_HIGH, HEVC_MEDIUM, HEVC_LOW, AVC_HIGH, AVC_MEDIUM, AVC_LOW, Custom
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over
Record	Record Configuration	It is the starting point of record configuration
	Record Num	Starting N^th record configuration	1
	Out-File Name	Record file path	e.g. `/run/media/sda/abc.ts`, `/run/abc.ts`, `/media/usb/abc.ts`
	Duration	Duration in minutes	1-3
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over
Streaming	Streaming Configuration	It is the starting point of streaming configuration.
	Streaming Num	Starting N^th Streaming configuration	1
	Host IP	The host to send the packets to the client	`192.168.25.89` or Windows PC IP
	Port	The port to send the packets to port number	5004
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over.
Trace	Trace Configuration	It is the starting point of trace configuration
	FPS Info	To display achieved frame per second information on the console	True, False
	APM Info	To display APM counter number on the console	True, False
	Pipeline Info	To display pipeline info on console	True, False
	Loop Playback	To play recorded file in loop	True, False
	Loop Interval	Interval between loop playback (in seconds) default value: 5 seconds	5-60 seconds
	Exit	It indicates to the application that the configuration is over

4 Appendix B - HDMI-RX/TX Link-up and GStreamer Commands

This section covers configuration of HDMI-RX using the media-ctl utility and HDMI-TX using the modetest utility, along with demonstrating HDMI-RX/TX link-up issues and steps to switch HDMI-RX resolution. It also contains sample GStreamer HDMI video pipelines for Display, Record & Playback, Stream-in and Stream-out use-cases.

The HDMI source can be locked to any resolution. Run the below command for all media nodes to print the media device topology, where mediaX represents different media nodes. In the topology log, look for the v_hdmi_rx_ss string to identify the HDMI input source media node.

media-ctl -p -d /dev/media0

To check the link status, resolution and video node of the HDMI input source, run the below media-ctl command, where ,mediaX indicates the media node for the HDMI input source.