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Based on kernel version 3.9. Page generated on 2013-05-02 23:03 EST.

1	  <title>Common API Elements</title>
2	
3	  <para>Programming a V4L2 device consists of these
4	steps:</para>
5	
6	  <itemizedlist>
7	    <listitem>
8	      <para>Opening the device</para>
9	    </listitem>
10	    <listitem>
11	      <para>Changing device properties, selecting a video and audio
12	input, video standard, picture brightness a.&nbsp;o.</para>
13	    </listitem>
14	    <listitem>
15	      <para>Negotiating a data format</para>
16	    </listitem>
17	    <listitem>
18	      <para>Negotiating an input/output method</para>
19	    </listitem>
20	    <listitem>
21	      <para>The actual input/output loop</para>
22	    </listitem>
23	    <listitem>
24	      <para>Closing the device</para>
25	    </listitem>
26	  </itemizedlist>
27	
28	  <para>In practice most steps are optional and can be executed out of
29	order. It depends on the V4L2 device type, you can read about the
30	details in <xref linkend="devices" />. In this chapter we will discuss
31	the basic concepts applicable to all devices.</para>
32	
33	  <section id="open">
34	    <title>Opening and Closing Devices</title>
35	
36	    <section>
37	      <title>Device Naming</title>
38	
39	      <para>V4L2 drivers are implemented as kernel modules, loaded
40	manually by the system administrator or automatically when a device is
41	first opened. The driver modules plug into the "videodev" kernel
42	module. It provides helper functions and a common application
43	interface specified in this document.</para>
44	
45	      <para>Each driver thus loaded registers one or more device nodes
46	with major number 81 and a minor number between 0 and 255. Assigning
47	minor numbers to V4L2 devices is entirely up to the system administrator,
48	this is primarily intended to solve conflicts between devices.<footnote>
49		  <para>Access permissions are associated with character
50	device special files, hence we must ensure device numbers cannot
51	change with the module load order. To this end minor numbers are no
52	longer automatically assigned by the "videodev" module as in V4L but
53	requested by the driver. The defaults will suffice for most people
54	unless two drivers compete for the same minor numbers.</para>
55		</footnote> The module options to select minor numbers are named
56	after the device special file with a "_nr" suffix. For example "video_nr"
57	for <filename>/dev/video</filename> video capture devices. The number is
58	an offset to the base minor number associated with the device type.
59	<footnote>
60		  <para>In earlier versions of the V4L2 API the module options
61	where named after the device special file with a "unit_" prefix, expressing
62	the minor number itself, not an offset. Rationale for this change is unknown.
63	Lastly the naming and semantics are just a convention among driver writers,
64	the point to note is that minor numbers are not supposed to be hardcoded
65	into drivers.</para>
66		</footnote> When the driver supports multiple devices of the same
67	type more than one minor number can be assigned, separated by commas:
68	<informalexample>
69		  <screen>
70	&gt; insmod mydriver.o video_nr=0,1 radio_nr=0,1</screen>
71		</informalexample></para>
72	
73	      <para>In <filename>/etc/modules.conf</filename> this may be
74	written as: <informalexample>
75		  <screen>
76	alias char-major-81-0 mydriver
77	alias char-major-81-1 mydriver
78	alias char-major-81-64 mydriver              <co id="alias" />
79	options mydriver video_nr=0,1 radio_nr=0,1   <co id="options" />
80		  </screen>
81		  <calloutlist>
82		    <callout arearefs="alias">
83		      <para>When an application attempts to open a device
84	special file with major number 81 and minor number 0, 1, or 64, load
85	"mydriver" (and the "videodev" module it depends upon).</para>
86		    </callout>
87		    <callout arearefs="options">
88		      <para>Register the first two video capture devices with
89	minor number 0 and 1 (base number is 0), the first two radio device
90	with minor number 64 and 65 (base 64).</para>
91		    </callout>
92		  </calloutlist>
93		</informalexample> When no minor number is given as module
94	option the driver supplies a default. <xref linkend="devices" />
95	recommends the base minor numbers to be used for the various device
96	types. Obviously minor numbers must be unique. When the number is
97	already in use the <emphasis>offending device</emphasis> will not be
98	registered. <!-- Blessed by Linus Torvalds on
99	linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, 2002-11-20. --></para>
100	
101	      <para>By convention system administrators create various
102	character device special files with these major and minor numbers in
103	the <filename>/dev</filename> directory. The names recommended for the
104	different V4L2 device types are listed in <xref linkend="devices" />.
105	</para>
106	
107	      <para>The creation of character special files (with
108	<application>mknod</application>) is a privileged operation and
109	devices cannot be opened by major and minor number. That means
110	applications cannot <emphasis>reliable</emphasis> scan for loaded or
111	installed drivers. The user must enter a device name, or the
112	application can try the conventional device names.</para>
113	
114	      <para>Under the device filesystem (devfs) the minor number
115	options are ignored. V4L2 drivers (or by proxy the "videodev" module)
116	automatically create the required device files in the
117	<filename>/dev/v4l</filename> directory using the conventional device
118	names above.</para>
119	    </section>
120	
121	    <section id="related">
122	      <title>Related Devices</title>
123	
124	      <para>Devices can support several related functions. For example
125	video capturing, video overlay and VBI capturing are related because
126	these functions share, amongst other, the same video input and tuner
127	frequency. V4L and earlier versions of V4L2 used the same device name
128	and minor number for video capturing and overlay, but different ones
129	for VBI. Experience showed this approach has several problems<footnote>
130		  <para>Given a device file name one cannot reliable find
131	related devices. For once names are arbitrary and in a system with
132	multiple devices, where only some support VBI capturing, a
133	<filename>/dev/video2</filename> is not necessarily related to
134	<filename>/dev/vbi2</filename>. The V4L
135	<constant>VIDIOCGUNIT</constant> ioctl would require a search for a
136	device file with a particular major and minor number.</para>
137		</footnote>, and to make things worse the V4L videodev module
138	used to prohibit multiple opens of a device.</para>
139	
140	      <para>As a remedy the present version of the V4L2 API relaxed the
141	concept of device types with specific names and minor numbers. For
142	compatibility with old applications drivers must still register different
143	minor numbers to assign a default function to the device. But if related
144	functions are supported by the driver they must be available under all
145	registered minor numbers. The desired function can be selected after
146	opening the device as described in <xref linkend="devices" />.</para>
147	
148	      <para>Imagine a driver supporting video capturing, video
149	overlay, raw VBI capturing, and FM radio reception. It registers three
150	devices with minor number 0, 64 and 224 (this numbering scheme is
151	inherited from the V4L API). Regardless if
152	<filename>/dev/video</filename> (81, 0) or
153	<filename>/dev/vbi</filename> (81, 224) is opened the application can
154	select any one of the video capturing, overlay or VBI capturing
155	functions. Without programming (e.&nbsp;g. reading from the device
156	with <application>dd</application> or <application>cat</application>)
157	<filename>/dev/video</filename> captures video images, while
158	<filename>/dev/vbi</filename> captures raw VBI data.
159	<filename>/dev/radio</filename> (81, 64) is invariable a radio device,
160	unrelated to the video functions. Being unrelated does not imply the
161	devices can be used at the same time, however. The &func-open;
162	function may very well return an &EBUSY;.</para>
163	
164	      <para>Besides video input or output the hardware may also
165	support audio sampling or playback. If so, these functions are
166	implemented as OSS or ALSA PCM devices and eventually OSS or ALSA
167	audio mixer. The V4L2 API makes no provisions yet to find these
168	related devices. If you have an idea please write to the linux-media
169	mailing list: &v4l-ml;.</para>
170	    </section>
171	
172	    <section>
173	      <title>Multiple Opens</title>
174	
175	      <para>In general, V4L2 devices can be opened more than once.
176	When this is supported by the driver, users can for example start a
177	"panel" application to change controls like brightness or audio
178	volume, while another application captures video and audio. In other words, panel
179	applications are comparable to an OSS or ALSA audio mixer application.
180	When a device supports multiple functions like capturing and overlay
181	<emphasis>simultaneously</emphasis>, multiple opens allow concurrent
182	use of the device by forked processes or specialized applications.</para>
183	
184	      <para>Multiple opens are optional, although drivers should
185	permit at least concurrent accesses without data exchange, &ie; panel
186	applications. This implies &func-open; can return an &EBUSY; when the
187	device is already in use, as well as &func-ioctl; functions initiating
188	data exchange (namely the &VIDIOC-S-FMT; ioctl), and the &func-read;
189	and &func-write; functions.</para>
190	
191	      <para>Mere opening a V4L2 device does not grant exclusive
192	access.<footnote>
193		  <para>Drivers could recognize the
194	<constant>O_EXCL</constant> open flag. Presently this is not required,
195	so applications cannot know if it really works.</para>
196		</footnote> Initiating data exchange however assigns the right
197	to read or write the requested type of data, and to change related
198	properties, to this file descriptor. Applications can request
199	additional access privileges using the priority mechanism described in
200	<xref linkend="app-pri" />.</para>
201	    </section>
202	
203	    <section>
204	      <title>Shared Data Streams</title>
205	
206	      <para>V4L2 drivers should not support multiple applications
207	reading or writing the same data stream on a device by copying
208	buffers, time multiplexing or similar means. This is better handled by
209	a proxy application in user space. When the driver supports stream
210	sharing anyway it must be implemented transparently. The V4L2 API does
211	not specify how conflicts are solved. <!-- For example O_EXCL when the
212	application does not want to be preempted, PROT_READ mmapped buffers
213	which can be mapped twice, what happens when image formats do not
214	match etc.--></para>
215	    </section>
216	
217	    <section>
218	      <title>Functions</title>
219	
220	    <para>To open and close V4L2 devices applications use the
221	&func-open; and &func-close; function, respectively. Devices are
222	programmed using the &func-ioctl; function as explained in the
223	following sections.</para>
224	    </section>
225	  </section>
226	
227	  <section id="querycap">
228	    <title>Querying Capabilities</title>
229	
230	    <para>Because V4L2 covers a wide variety of devices not all
231	aspects of the API are equally applicable to all types of devices.
232	Furthermore devices of the same type have different capabilities and
233	this specification permits the omission of a few complicated and less
234	important parts of the API.</para>
235	
236	    <para>The &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; ioctl is available to check if the kernel
237	device is compatible with this specification, and to query the <link
238	linkend="devices">functions</link> and <link linkend="io">I/O
239	methods</link> supported by the device.</para>
240	
241	    <para>Starting with kernel version 3.1, VIDIOC-QUERYCAP will return the
242	V4L2 API version used by the driver, with generally matches the Kernel version.
243	There's no need of using &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; to check if an specific ioctl is
244	supported, the V4L2 core now returns ENOIOCTLCMD if a driver doesn't provide
245	support for an ioctl.</para>
246	
247	    <para>Other features can be queried
248	by calling the respective ioctl, for example &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT;
249	to learn about the number, types and names of video connectors on the
250	device. Although abstraction is a major objective of this API, the
251	ioctl also allows driver specific applications to reliable identify
252	the driver.</para>
253	
254	    <para>All V4L2 drivers must support
255	<constant>VIDIOC_QUERYCAP</constant>. Applications should always call
256	this ioctl after opening the device.</para>
257	  </section>
258	
259	  <section id="app-pri">
260	    <title>Application Priority</title>
261	
262	    <para>When multiple applications share a device it may be
263	desirable to assign them different priorities. Contrary to the
264	traditional "rm -rf /" school of thought a video recording application
265	could for example block other applications from changing video
266	controls or switching the current TV channel. Another objective is to
267	permit low priority applications working in background, which can be
268	preempted by user controlled applications and automatically regain
269	control of the device at a later time.</para>
270	
271	    <para>Since these features cannot be implemented entirely in user
272	space V4L2 defines the &VIDIOC-G-PRIORITY; and &VIDIOC-S-PRIORITY;
273	ioctls to request and query the access priority associate with a file
274	descriptor. Opening a device assigns a medium priority, compatible
275	with earlier versions of V4L2 and drivers not supporting these ioctls.
276	Applications requiring a different priority will usually call
277	<constant>VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY</constant> after verifying the device with
278	the &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; ioctl.</para>
279	
280	    <para>Ioctls changing driver properties, such as &VIDIOC-S-INPUT;,
281	return an &EBUSY; after another application obtained higher priority.
282	An event mechanism to notify applications about asynchronous property
283	changes has been proposed but not added yet.</para>
284	  </section>
285	
286	  <section id="video">
287	    <title>Video Inputs and Outputs</title>
288	
289	    <para>Video inputs and outputs are physical connectors of a
290	device. These can be for example RF connectors (antenna/cable), CVBS
291	a.k.a. Composite Video, S-Video or RGB connectors. Only video and VBI
292	capture devices have inputs, output devices have outputs, at least one
293	each. Radio devices have no video inputs or outputs.</para>
294	
295	    <para>To learn about the number and attributes of the
296	available inputs and outputs applications can enumerate them with the
297	&VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT; and &VIDIOC-ENUMOUTPUT; ioctl, respectively. The
298	&v4l2-input; returned by the <constant>VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT</constant>
299	ioctl also contains signal status information applicable when the
300	current video input is queried.</para>
301	
302	    <para>The &VIDIOC-G-INPUT; and &VIDIOC-G-OUTPUT; ioctl return the
303	index of the current video input or output. To select a different
304	input or output applications call the &VIDIOC-S-INPUT; and
305	&VIDIOC-S-OUTPUT; ioctl. Drivers must implement all the input ioctls
306	when the device has one or more inputs, all the output ioctls when the
307	device has one or more outputs.</para>
308	
309	    <!--
310	    <figure id=io-tree>
311	      <title>Input and output enumeration is the root of most device properties.</title>
312	      <mediaobject>
313		<imageobject>
314		  <imagedata fileref="links.pdf" format="ps" />
315		</imageobject>
316		<imageobject>
317		  <imagedata fileref="links.gif" format="gif" />
318		</imageobject>
319		<textobject>
320		  <phrase>Links between various device property structures.</phrase>
321		</textobject>
322	      </mediaobject>
323	    </figure>
324	    -->
325	
326	    <example>
327	      <title>Information about the current video input</title>
328	
329	      <programlisting>
330	&v4l2-input; input;
331	int index;
332	
333	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-INPUT;, &amp;index)) {
334		perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT");
335		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
336	}
337	
338	memset (&amp;input, 0, sizeof (input));
339	input.index = index;
340	
341	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT;, &amp;input)) {
342		perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMINPUT");
343		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
344	}
345	
346	printf ("Current input: %s\n", input.name);
347	      </programlisting>
348	    </example>
349	
350	    <example>
351	      <title>Switching to the first video input</title>
352	
353	      <programlisting>
354	int index;
355	
356	index = 0;
357	
358	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-S-INPUT;, &amp;index)) {
359		perror ("VIDIOC_S_INPUT");
360		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
361	}
362	      </programlisting>
363	    </example>
364	  </section>
365	
366	  <section id="audio">
367	    <title>Audio Inputs and Outputs</title>
368	
369	    <para>Audio inputs and outputs are physical connectors of a
370	device. Video capture devices have inputs, output devices have
371	outputs, zero or more each. Radio devices have no audio inputs or
372	outputs. They have exactly one tuner which in fact
373	<emphasis>is</emphasis> an audio source, but this API associates
374	tuners with video inputs or outputs only, and radio devices have
375	none of these.<footnote>
376		<para>Actually &v4l2-audio; ought to have a
377	<structfield>tuner</structfield> field like &v4l2-input;, not only
378	making the API more consistent but also permitting radio devices with
379	multiple tuners.</para>
380	      </footnote> A connector on a TV card to loop back the received
381	audio signal to a sound card is not considered an audio output.</para>
382	
383	    <para>Audio and video inputs and outputs are associated. Selecting
384	a video source also selects an audio source. This is most evident when
385	the video and audio source is a tuner. Further audio connectors can
386	combine with more than one video input or output. Assumed two
387	composite video inputs and two audio inputs exist, there may be up to
388	four valid combinations. The relation of video and audio connectors
389	is defined in the <structfield>audioset</structfield> field of the
390	respective &v4l2-input; or &v4l2-output;, where each bit represents
391	the index number, starting at zero, of one audio input or output.</para>
392	
393	    <para>To learn about the number and attributes of the
394	available inputs and outputs applications can enumerate them with the
395	&VIDIOC-ENUMAUDIO; and &VIDIOC-ENUMAUDOUT; ioctl, respectively. The
396	&v4l2-audio; returned by the <constant>VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO</constant> ioctl
397	also contains signal status information applicable when the current
398	audio input is queried.</para>
399	
400	    <para>The &VIDIOC-G-AUDIO; and &VIDIOC-G-AUDOUT; ioctl report
401	the current audio input and output, respectively. Note that, unlike
402	&VIDIOC-G-INPUT; and &VIDIOC-G-OUTPUT; these ioctls return a structure
403	as <constant>VIDIOC_ENUMAUDIO</constant> and
404	<constant>VIDIOC_ENUMAUDOUT</constant> do, not just an index.</para>
405	
406	    <para>To select an audio input and change its properties
407	applications call the &VIDIOC-S-AUDIO; ioctl. To select an audio
408	output (which presently has no changeable properties) applications
409	call the &VIDIOC-S-AUDOUT; ioctl.</para>
410	
411	    <para>Drivers must implement all input ioctls when the device
412	has one or more inputs, all output ioctls when the device has one
413	or more outputs. When the device has any audio inputs or outputs the
414	driver must set the <constant>V4L2_CAP_AUDIO</constant> flag in the
415	&v4l2-capability; returned by the &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; ioctl.</para>
416	
417	    <example>
418	      <title>Information about the current audio input</title>
419	
420	      <programlisting>
421	&v4l2-audio; audio;
422	
423	memset (&amp;audio, 0, sizeof (audio));
424	
425	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-AUDIO;, &amp;audio)) {
426		perror ("VIDIOC_G_AUDIO");
427		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
428	}
429	
430	printf ("Current input: %s\n", audio.name);
431	      </programlisting>
432	    </example>
433	
434	    <example>
435	      <title>Switching to the first audio input</title>
436	
437	      <programlisting>
438	&v4l2-audio; audio;
439	
440	memset (&amp;audio, 0, sizeof (audio)); /* clear audio.mode, audio.reserved */
441	
442	audio.index = 0;
443	
444	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-S-AUDIO;, &amp;audio)) {
445		perror ("VIDIOC_S_AUDIO");
446		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
447	}
448	      </programlisting>
449	    </example>
450	  </section>
451	
452	  <section id="tuner">
453	    <title>Tuners and Modulators</title>
454	
455	    <section>
456	      <title>Tuners</title>
457	
458	      <para>Video input devices can have one or more tuners
459	demodulating a RF signal. Each tuner is associated with one or more
460	video inputs, depending on the number of RF connectors on the tuner.
461	The <structfield>type</structfield> field of the respective
462	&v4l2-input; returned by the &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT; ioctl is set to
463	<constant>V4L2_INPUT_TYPE_TUNER</constant> and its
464	<structfield>tuner</structfield> field contains the index number of
465	the tuner.</para>
466	
467	      <para>Radio input devices have exactly one tuner with index zero, no
468	video inputs.</para>
469	
470	      <para>To query and change tuner properties applications use the
471	&VIDIOC-G-TUNER; and &VIDIOC-S-TUNER; ioctl, respectively. The
472	&v4l2-tuner; returned by <constant>VIDIOC_G_TUNER</constant> also
473	contains signal status information applicable when the tuner of the
474	current video or radio input is queried. Note that
475	<constant>VIDIOC_S_TUNER</constant> does not switch the current tuner,
476	when there is more than one at all. The tuner is solely determined by
477	the current video input. Drivers must support both ioctls and set the
478	<constant>V4L2_CAP_TUNER</constant> flag in the &v4l2-capability;
479	returned by the &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; ioctl when the device has one or
480	more tuners.</para>
481	    </section>
482	
483	    <section>
484	      <title>Modulators</title>
485	
486	      <para>Video output devices can have one or more modulators, uh,
487	modulating a video signal for radiation or connection to the antenna
488	input of a TV set or video recorder. Each modulator is associated with
489	one or more video outputs, depending on the number of RF connectors on
490	the modulator. The <structfield>type</structfield> field of the
491	respective &v4l2-output; returned by the &VIDIOC-ENUMOUTPUT; ioctl is
492	set to <constant>V4L2_OUTPUT_TYPE_MODULATOR</constant> and its
493	<structfield>modulator</structfield> field contains the index number
494	of the modulator.</para>
495	
496	      <para>Radio output devices have exactly one modulator with index
497	zero, no video outputs.</para>
498	
499	      <para>A video or radio device cannot support both a tuner and a
500	modulator. Two separate device nodes will have to be used for such
501	hardware, one that supports the tuner functionality and one that supports
502	the modulator functionality. The reason is a limitation with the
503	&VIDIOC-S-FREQUENCY; ioctl where you cannot specify whether the frequency
504	is for a tuner or a modulator.</para>
505	
506	      <para>To query and change modulator properties applications use
507	the &VIDIOC-G-MODULATOR; and &VIDIOC-S-MODULATOR; ioctl. Note that
508	<constant>VIDIOC_S_MODULATOR</constant> does not switch the current
509	modulator, when there is more than one at all. The modulator is solely
510	determined by the current video output. Drivers must support both
511	ioctls and set the <constant>V4L2_CAP_MODULATOR</constant> flag in
512	the &v4l2-capability; returned by the &VIDIOC-QUERYCAP; ioctl when the
513	device has one or more modulators.</para>
514	    </section>
515	
516	    <section>
517	      <title>Radio Frequency</title>
518	
519	      <para>To get and set the tuner or modulator radio frequency
520	applications use the &VIDIOC-G-FREQUENCY; and &VIDIOC-S-FREQUENCY;
521	ioctl which both take a pointer to a &v4l2-frequency;. These ioctls
522	are used for TV and radio devices alike. Drivers must support both
523	ioctls when the tuner or modulator ioctls are supported, or
524	when the device is a radio device.</para>
525	    </section>
526	  </section>
527	
528	  <section id="standard">
529	    <title>Video Standards</title>
530	
531	    <para>Video devices typically support one or more different video
532	standards or variations of standards. Each video input and output may
533	support another set of standards. This set is reported by the
534	<structfield>std</structfield> field of &v4l2-input; and
535	&v4l2-output; returned by the &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT; and
536	&VIDIOC-ENUMOUTPUT; ioctl, respectively.</para>
537	
538	    <para>V4L2 defines one bit for each analog video standard
539	currently in use worldwide, and sets aside bits for driver defined
540	standards, &eg; hybrid standards to watch NTSC video tapes on PAL TVs
541	and vice versa. Applications can use the predefined bits to select a
542	particular standard, although presenting the user a menu of supported
543	standards is preferred. To enumerate and query the attributes of the
544	supported standards applications use the &VIDIOC-ENUMSTD; ioctl.</para>
545	
546	    <para>Many of the defined standards are actually just variations
547	of a few major standards. The hardware may in fact not distinguish
548	between them, or do so internal and switch automatically. Therefore
549	enumerated standards also contain sets of one or more standard
550	bits.</para>
551	
552	    <para>Assume a hypothetic tuner capable of demodulating B/PAL,
553	G/PAL and I/PAL signals. The first enumerated standard is a set of B
554	and G/PAL, switched automatically depending on the selected radio
555	frequency in UHF or VHF band. Enumeration gives a "PAL-B/G" or "PAL-I"
556	choice. Similar a Composite input may collapse standards, enumerating
557	"PAL-B/G/H/I", "NTSC-M" and "SECAM-D/K".<footnote>
558		<para>Some users are already confused by technical terms PAL,
559	NTSC and SECAM. There is no point asking them to distinguish between
560	B, G, D, or K when the software or hardware can do that
561	automatically.</para>
562	    </footnote></para>
563	
564	    <para>To query and select the standard used by the current video
565	input or output applications call the &VIDIOC-G-STD; and
566	&VIDIOC-S-STD; ioctl, respectively. The <emphasis>received</emphasis>
567	standard can be sensed with the &VIDIOC-QUERYSTD; ioctl. Note that the parameter of all these ioctls is a pointer to a &v4l2-std-id; type (a standard set), <emphasis>not</emphasis> an index into the standard enumeration.<footnote>
568		<para>An alternative to the current scheme is to use pointers
569	to indices as arguments of <constant>VIDIOC_G_STD</constant> and
570	<constant>VIDIOC_S_STD</constant>, the &v4l2-input; and
571	&v4l2-output; <structfield>std</structfield> field would be a set of
572	indices like <structfield>audioset</structfield>.</para>
573		<para>Indices are consistent with the rest of the API
574	and identify the standard unambiguously. In the present scheme of
575	things an enumerated standard is looked up by &v4l2-std-id;. Now the
576	standards supported by the inputs of a device can overlap. Just
577	assume the tuner and composite input in the example above both
578	exist on a device. An enumeration of "PAL-B/G", "PAL-H/I" suggests
579	a choice which does not exist. We cannot merge or omit sets, because
580	applications would be unable to find the standards reported by
581	<constant>VIDIOC_G_STD</constant>. That leaves separate enumerations
582	for each input. Also selecting a standard by &v4l2-std-id; can be
583	ambiguous. Advantage of this method is that applications need not
584	identify the standard indirectly, after enumerating.</para><para>So in
585	summary, the lookup itself is unavoidable. The difference is only
586	whether the lookup is necessary to find an enumerated standard or to
587	switch to a standard by &v4l2-std-id;.</para>
588	      </footnote> Drivers must implement all video standard ioctls
589	when the device has one or more video inputs or outputs.</para>
590	
591	    <para>Special rules apply to devices such as USB cameras where the notion of video
592	standards makes little sense. More generally for any capture or output device
593	which is: <itemizedlist>
594		<listitem>
595		  <para>incapable of capturing fields or frames at the nominal
596	rate of the video standard, or</para>
597		</listitem>
598		<listitem>
599		  <para>that does not support the video standard formats at all.</para>
600		</listitem>
601	      </itemizedlist> Here the driver shall set the
602	<structfield>std</structfield> field of &v4l2-input; and &v4l2-output;
603	to zero and the <constant>VIDIOC_G_STD</constant>,
604	<constant>VIDIOC_S_STD</constant>,
605	<constant>VIDIOC_QUERYSTD</constant> and
606	<constant>VIDIOC_ENUMSTD</constant> ioctls shall return the
607	&ENOTTY;.<footnote>
608		<para>See <xref linkend="buffer" /> for a rationale.</para>
609		<para>Applications can make use of the <xref linkend="input-capabilities" /> and
610	<xref linkend="output-capabilities"/> flags to determine whether the video standard ioctls
611	are available for the device.</para>
612	
613		<para>See <xref linkend="buffer" /> for a rationale. Probably
614	even USB cameras follow some well known video standard. It might have
615	been better to explicitly indicate elsewhere if a device cannot live
616	up to normal expectations, instead of this exception.</para>
617		    </footnote></para>
618	
619	    <example>
620	      <title>Information about the current video standard</title>
621	
622	      <programlisting>
623	&v4l2-std-id; std_id;
624	&v4l2-standard; standard;
625	
626	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-STD;, &amp;std_id)) {
627		/* Note when VIDIOC_ENUMSTD always returns ENOTTY this
628		   is no video device or it falls under the USB exception,
629		   and VIDIOC_G_STD returning ENOTTY is no error. */
630	
631		perror ("VIDIOC_G_STD");
632		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
633	}
634	
635	memset (&amp;standard, 0, sizeof (standard));
636	standard.index = 0;
637	
638	while (0 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-ENUMSTD;, &amp;standard)) {
639		if (standard.id &amp; std_id) {
640		       printf ("Current video standard: %s\n", standard.name);
641		       exit (EXIT_SUCCESS);
642		}
643	
644		standard.index++;
645	}
646	
647	/* EINVAL indicates the end of the enumeration, which cannot be
648	   empty unless this device falls under the USB exception. */
649	
650	if (errno == EINVAL || standard.index == 0) {
651		perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMSTD");
652		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
653	}
654	      </programlisting>
655	    </example>
656	
657	    <example>
658	      <title>Listing the video standards supported by the current
659	input</title>
660	
661	      <programlisting>
662	&v4l2-input; input;
663	&v4l2-standard; standard;
664	
665	memset (&amp;input, 0, sizeof (input));
666	
667	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-INPUT;, &amp;input.index)) {
668		perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT");
669		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
670	}
671	
672	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT;, &amp;input)) {
673		perror ("VIDIOC_ENUM_INPUT");
674		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
675	}
676	
677	printf ("Current input %s supports:\n", input.name);
678	
679	memset (&amp;standard, 0, sizeof (standard));
680	standard.index = 0;
681	
682	while (0 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-ENUMSTD;, &amp;standard)) {
683		if (standard.id &amp; input.std)
684			printf ("%s\n", standard.name);
685	
686		standard.index++;
687	}
688	
689	/* EINVAL indicates the end of the enumeration, which cannot be
690	   empty unless this device falls under the USB exception. */
691	
692	if (errno != EINVAL || standard.index == 0) {
693		perror ("VIDIOC_ENUMSTD");
694		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
695	}
696	      </programlisting>
697	    </example>
698	
699	    <example>
700	      <title>Selecting a new video standard</title>
701	
702	      <programlisting>
703	&v4l2-input; input;
704	&v4l2-std-id; std_id;
705	
706	memset (&amp;input, 0, sizeof (input));
707	
708	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-INPUT;, &amp;input.index)) {
709		perror ("VIDIOC_G_INPUT");
710		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
711	}
712	
713	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-ENUMINPUT;, &amp;input)) {
714		perror ("VIDIOC_ENUM_INPUT");
715		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
716	}
717	
718	if (0 == (input.std &amp; V4L2_STD_PAL_BG)) {
719		fprintf (stderr, "Oops. B/G PAL is not supported.\n");
720		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
721	}
722	
723	/* Note this is also supposed to work when only B
724	   <emphasis>or</emphasis> G/PAL is supported. */
725	
726	std_id = V4L2_STD_PAL_BG;
727	
728	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-S-STD;, &amp;std_id)) {
729		perror ("VIDIOC_S_STD");
730		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
731	}
732	      </programlisting>
733	    </example>
734	  </section>
735	  <section id="dv-timings">
736		<title>Digital Video (DV) Timings</title>
737		<para>
738		The video standards discussed so far have been dealing with Analog TV and the
739	corresponding video timings. Today there are many more different hardware interfaces
740	such as High Definition TV interfaces (HDMI), VGA, DVI connectors etc., that carry
741	video signals and there is a need to extend the API to select the video timings
742	for these interfaces. Since it is not possible to extend the &v4l2-std-id; due to
743	the limited bits available, a new set of IOCTLs was added to set/get video timings at
744	the input and output: </para><itemizedlist>
745		<listitem>
746		<para>DV Timings: This will allow applications to define detailed
747	video timings for the interface. This includes parameters such as width, height,
748	polarities, frontporch, backporch etc. The <filename>linux/v4l2-dv-timings.h</filename>
749	header can be used to get the timings of the formats in the <xref linkend="cea861" /> and
750	<xref linkend="vesadmt" /> standards.
751		</para>
752		</listitem>
753		<listitem>
754		<para>DV Presets: Digital Video (DV) presets (<emphasis role="bold">deprecated</emphasis>).
755		These are IDs representing a
756	video timing at the input/output. Presets are pre-defined timings implemented
757	by the hardware according to video standards. A __u32 data type is used to represent
758	a preset unlike the bit mask that is used in &v4l2-std-id; allowing future extensions
759	to support as many different presets as needed. This API is deprecated in favor of the DV Timings
760	API.</para>
761		</listitem>
762		</itemizedlist>
763		<para>To enumerate and query the attributes of the DV timings supported by a device,
764		applications use the &VIDIOC-ENUM-DV-TIMINGS; and &VIDIOC-DV-TIMINGS-CAP; ioctls.
765		To set DV timings for the device, applications use the
766	&VIDIOC-S-DV-TIMINGS; ioctl and to get current DV timings they use the
767	&VIDIOC-G-DV-TIMINGS; ioctl. To detect the DV timings as seen by the video receiver applications
768	use the &VIDIOC-QUERY-DV-TIMINGS; ioctl.</para>
769		<para>To enumerate and query the attributes of DV presets supported by a device,
770	applications use the &VIDIOC-ENUM-DV-PRESETS; ioctl. To get the current DV preset,
771	applications use the &VIDIOC-G-DV-PRESET; ioctl and to set a preset they use the
772	&VIDIOC-S-DV-PRESET; ioctl. To detect the preset as seen by the video receiver applications
773	use the &VIDIOC-QUERY-DV-PRESET; ioctl.</para>
774		<para>Applications can make use of the <xref linkend="input-capabilities" /> and
775	<xref linkend="output-capabilities"/> flags to decide what ioctls are available to set the
776	video timings for the device.</para>
777	  </section>
778	
779	  &sub-controls;
780	
781	  <section id="format">
782	    <title>Data Formats</title>
783	
784	    <section>
785	      <title>Data Format Negotiation</title>
786	
787	      <para>Different devices exchange different kinds of data with
788	applications, for example video images, raw or sliced VBI data, RDS
789	datagrams. Even within one kind many different formats are possible,
790	in particular an abundance of image formats. Although drivers must
791	provide a default and the selection persists across closing and
792	reopening a device, applications should always negotiate a data format
793	before engaging in data exchange. Negotiation means the application
794	asks for a particular format and the driver selects and reports the
795	best the hardware can do to satisfy the request. Of course
796	applications can also just query the current selection.</para>
797	
798	      <para>A single mechanism exists to negotiate all data formats
799	using the aggregate &v4l2-format; and the &VIDIOC-G-FMT; and
800	&VIDIOC-S-FMT; ioctls. Additionally the &VIDIOC-TRY-FMT; ioctl can be
801	used to examine what the hardware <emphasis>could</emphasis> do,
802	without actually selecting a new data format. The data formats
803	supported by the V4L2 API are covered in the respective device section
804	in <xref linkend="devices" />. For a closer look at image formats see
805	<xref linkend="pixfmt" />.</para>
806	
807	      <para>The <constant>VIDIOC_S_FMT</constant> ioctl is a major
808	turning-point in the initialization sequence. Prior to this point
809	multiple panel applications can access the same device concurrently to
810	select the current input, change controls or modify other properties.
811	The first <constant>VIDIOC_S_FMT</constant> assigns a logical stream
812	(video data, VBI data etc.) exclusively to one file descriptor.</para>
813	
814	      <para>Exclusive means no other application, more precisely no
815	other file descriptor, can grab this stream or change device
816	properties inconsistent with the negotiated parameters. A video
817	standard change for example, when the new standard uses a different
818	number of scan lines, can invalidate the selected image format.
819	Therefore only the file descriptor owning the stream can make
820	invalidating changes. Accordingly multiple file descriptors which
821	grabbed different logical streams prevent each other from interfering
822	with their settings. When for example video overlay is about to start
823	or already in progress, simultaneous video capturing may be restricted
824	to the same cropping and image size.</para>
825	
826	      <para>When applications omit the
827	<constant>VIDIOC_S_FMT</constant> ioctl its locking side effects are
828	implied by the next step, the selection of an I/O method with the
829	&VIDIOC-REQBUFS; ioctl or implicit with the first &func-read; or
830	&func-write; call.</para>
831	
832	      <para>Generally only one logical stream can be assigned to a
833	file descriptor, the exception being drivers permitting simultaneous
834	video capturing and overlay using the same file descriptor for
835	compatibility with V4L and earlier versions of V4L2. Switching the
836	logical stream or returning into "panel mode" is possible by closing
837	and reopening the device. Drivers <emphasis>may</emphasis> support a
838	switch using <constant>VIDIOC_S_FMT</constant>.</para>
839	
840	      <para>All drivers exchanging data with
841	applications must support the <constant>VIDIOC_G_FMT</constant> and
842	<constant>VIDIOC_S_FMT</constant> ioctl. Implementation of the
843	<constant>VIDIOC_TRY_FMT</constant> is highly recommended but
844	optional.</para>
845	    </section>
846	
847	    <section>
848	      <title>Image Format Enumeration</title>
849	
850	      <para>Apart of the generic format negotiation functions
851	a special ioctl to enumerate all image formats supported by video
852	capture, overlay or output devices is available.<footnote>
853		  <para>Enumerating formats an application has no a-priori
854	knowledge of (otherwise it could explicitly ask for them and need not
855	enumerate) seems useless, but there are applications serving as proxy
856	between drivers and the actual video applications for which this is
857	useful.</para>
858		</footnote></para>
859	
860	      <para>The &VIDIOC-ENUM-FMT; ioctl must be supported
861	by all drivers exchanging image data with applications.</para>
862	
863	      <important>
864		<para>Drivers are not supposed to convert image formats in
865	kernel space. They must enumerate only formats directly supported by
866	the hardware. If necessary driver writers should publish an example
867	conversion routine or library for integration into applications.</para>
868	      </important>
869	    </section>
870	  </section>
871	
872	  &sub-planar-apis;
873	
874	  <section id="crop">
875	    <title>Image Cropping, Insertion and Scaling</title>
876	
877	    <para>Some video capture devices can sample a subsection of the
878	picture and shrink or enlarge it to an image of arbitrary size. We
879	call these abilities cropping and scaling. Some video output devices
880	can scale an image up or down and insert it at an arbitrary scan line
881	and horizontal offset into a video signal.</para>
882	
883	    <para>Applications can use the following API to select an area in
884	the video signal, query the default area and the hardware limits.
885	<emphasis>Despite their name, the &VIDIOC-CROPCAP;, &VIDIOC-G-CROP;
886	and &VIDIOC-S-CROP; ioctls apply to input as well as output
887	devices.</emphasis></para>
888	
889	    <para>Scaling requires a source and a target. On a video capture
890	or overlay device the source is the video signal, and the cropping
891	ioctls determine the area actually sampled. The target are images
892	read by the application or overlaid onto the graphics screen. Their
893	size (and position for an overlay) is negotiated with the
894	&VIDIOC-G-FMT; and &VIDIOC-S-FMT; ioctls.</para>
895	
896	    <para>On a video output device the source are the images passed in
897	by the application, and their size is again negotiated with the
898	<constant>VIDIOC_G/S_FMT</constant> ioctls, or may be encoded in a
899	compressed video stream. The target is the video signal, and the
900	cropping ioctls determine the area where the images are
901	inserted.</para>
902	
903	    <para>Source and target rectangles are defined even if the device
904	does not support scaling or the <constant>VIDIOC_G/S_CROP</constant>
905	ioctls. Their size (and position where applicable) will be fixed in
906	this case. <emphasis>All capture and output device must support the
907	<constant>VIDIOC_CROPCAP</constant> ioctl such that applications can
908	determine if scaling takes place.</emphasis></para>
909	
910	    <section>
911	      <title>Cropping Structures</title>
912	
913	      <figure id="crop-scale">
914		<title>Image Cropping, Insertion and Scaling</title>
915		<mediaobject>
916		  <imageobject>
917		    <imagedata fileref="crop.pdf" format="PS" />
918		  </imageobject>
919		  <imageobject>
920		    <imagedata fileref="crop.gif" format="GIF" />
921		  </imageobject>
922		  <textobject>
923		    <phrase>The cropping, insertion and scaling process</phrase>
924		  </textobject>
925		</mediaobject>
926	      </figure>
927	
928	      <para>For capture devices the coordinates of the top left
929	corner, width and height of the area which can be sampled is given by
930	the <structfield>bounds</structfield> substructure of the
931	&v4l2-cropcap; returned by the <constant>VIDIOC_CROPCAP</constant>
932	ioctl. To support a wide range of hardware this specification does not
933	define an origin or units. However by convention drivers should
934	horizontally count unscaled samples relative to 0H (the leading edge
935	of the horizontal sync pulse, see <xref linkend="vbi-hsync" />).
936	Vertically ITU-R line
937	numbers of the first field (<xref linkend="vbi-525" />, <xref
938	linkend="vbi-625" />), multiplied by two if the driver can capture both
939	fields.</para>
940	
941	      <para>The top left corner, width and height of the source
942	rectangle, that is the area actually sampled, is given by &v4l2-crop;
943	using the same coordinate system as &v4l2-cropcap;. Applications can
944	use the <constant>VIDIOC_G_CROP</constant> and
945	<constant>VIDIOC_S_CROP</constant> ioctls to get and set this
946	rectangle. It must lie completely within the capture boundaries and
947	the driver may further adjust the requested size and/or position
948	according to hardware limitations.</para>
949	
950	      <para>Each capture device has a default source rectangle, given
951	by the <structfield>defrect</structfield> substructure of
952	&v4l2-cropcap;. The center of this rectangle shall align with the
953	center of the active picture area of the video signal, and cover what
954	the driver writer considers the complete picture. Drivers shall reset
955	the source rectangle to the default when the driver is first loaded,
956	but not later.</para>
957	
958	      <para>For output devices these structures and ioctls are used
959	accordingly, defining the <emphasis>target</emphasis> rectangle where
960	the images will be inserted into the video signal.</para>
961	
962	    </section>
963	
964	    <section>
965	      <title>Scaling Adjustments</title>
966	
967	      <para>Video hardware can have various cropping, insertion and
968	scaling limitations. It may only scale up or down, support only
969	discrete scaling factors, or have different scaling abilities in
970	horizontal and vertical direction. Also it may not support scaling at
971	all. At the same time the &v4l2-crop; rectangle may have to be
972	aligned, and both the source and target rectangles may have arbitrary
973	upper and lower size limits. In particular the maximum
974	<structfield>width</structfield> and <structfield>height</structfield>
975	in &v4l2-crop; may be smaller than the
976	&v4l2-cropcap;.<structfield>bounds</structfield> area. Therefore, as
977	usual, drivers are expected to adjust the requested parameters and
978	return the actual values selected.</para>
979	
980	      <para>Applications can change the source or the target rectangle
981	first, as they may prefer a particular image size or a certain area in
982	the video signal. If the driver has to adjust both to satisfy hardware
983	limitations, the last requested rectangle shall take priority, and the
984	driver should preferably adjust the opposite one. The &VIDIOC-TRY-FMT;
985	ioctl however shall not change the driver state and therefore only
986	adjust the requested rectangle.</para>
987	
988	      <para>Suppose scaling on a video capture device is restricted to
989	a factor 1:1 or 2:1 in either direction and the target image size must
990	be a multiple of 16&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;16 pixels. The source cropping
991	rectangle is set to defaults, which are also the upper limit in this
992	example, of 640&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;400 pixels at offset 0,&nbsp;0. An
993	application requests an image size of 300&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;225
994	pixels, assuming video will be scaled down from the "full picture"
995	accordingly. The driver sets the image size to the closest possible
996	values 304&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;224, then chooses the cropping rectangle
997	closest to the requested size, that is 608&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;224
998	(224&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;2:1 would exceed the limit 400). The offset
999	0,&nbsp;0 is still valid, thus unmodified. Given the default cropping
1000	rectangle reported by <constant>VIDIOC_CROPCAP</constant> the
1001	application can easily propose another offset to center the cropping
1002	rectangle.</para>
1003	
1004	      <para>Now the application may insist on covering an area using a
1005	picture aspect ratio closer to the original request, so it asks for a
1006	cropping rectangle of 608&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;456 pixels. The present
1007	scaling factors limit cropping to 640&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;384, so the
1008	driver returns the cropping size 608&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;384 and adjusts
1009	the image size to closest possible 304&nbsp;&times;&nbsp;192.</para>
1010	
1011	    </section>
1012	
1013	    <section>
1014	      <title>Examples</title>
1015	
1016	      <para>Source and target rectangles shall remain unchanged across
1017	closing and reopening a device, such that piping data into or out of a
1018	device will work without special preparations. More advanced
1019	applications should ensure the parameters are suitable before starting
1020	I/O.</para>
1021	
1022	      <example>
1023		<title>Resetting the cropping parameters</title>
1024	
1025		<para>(A video capture device is assumed; change
1026	<constant>V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE</constant> for other
1027	devices.)</para>
1028	
1029		<programlisting>
1030	&v4l2-cropcap; cropcap;
1031	&v4l2-crop; crop;
1032	
1033	memset (&amp;cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap));
1034	cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1035	
1036	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-CROPCAP;, &amp;cropcap)) {
1037		perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP");
1038		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1039	}
1040	
1041	memset (&amp;crop, 0, sizeof (crop));
1042	crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1043	crop.c = cropcap.defrect;
1044	
1045	/* Ignore if cropping is not supported (EINVAL). */
1046	
1047	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-S-CROP;, &amp;crop)
1048	    &amp;&amp; errno != EINVAL) {
1049		perror ("VIDIOC_S_CROP");
1050		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1051	}
1052	      </programlisting>
1053	      </example>
1054	
1055	      <example>
1056		<title>Simple downscaling</title>
1057	
1058		<para>(A video capture device is assumed.)</para>
1059	
1060		<programlisting>
1061	&v4l2-cropcap; cropcap;
1062	&v4l2-format; format;
1063	
1064	reset_cropping_parameters ();
1065	
1066	/* Scale down to 1/4 size of full picture. */
1067	
1068	memset (&amp;format, 0, sizeof (format)); /* defaults */
1069	
1070	format.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1071	
1072	format.fmt.pix.width = cropcap.defrect.width &gt;&gt; 1;
1073	format.fmt.pix.height = cropcap.defrect.height &gt;&gt; 1;
1074	format.fmt.pix.pixelformat = V4L2_PIX_FMT_YUYV;
1075	
1076	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-S-FMT;, &amp;format)) {
1077		perror ("VIDIOC_S_FORMAT");
1078		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1079	}
1080	
1081	/* We could check the actual image size now, the actual scaling factor
1082	   or if the driver can scale at all. */
1083		</programlisting>
1084	      </example>
1085	
1086	      <example>
1087		<title>Selecting an output area</title>
1088	
1089		<programlisting>
1090	&v4l2-cropcap; cropcap;
1091	&v4l2-crop; crop;
1092	
1093	memset (&amp;cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap));
1094	cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT;
1095	
1096	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_CROPCAP;, &amp;cropcap)) {
1097		perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP");
1098		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1099	}
1100	
1101	memset (&amp;crop, 0, sizeof (crop));
1102	
1103	crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_OUTPUT;
1104	crop.c = cropcap.defrect;
1105	
1106	/* Scale the width and height to 50 % of their original size
1107	   and center the output. */
1108	
1109	crop.c.width /= 2;
1110	crop.c.height /= 2;
1111	crop.c.left += crop.c.width / 2;
1112	crop.c.top += crop.c.height / 2;
1113	
1114	/* Ignore if cropping is not supported (EINVAL). */
1115	
1116	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, VIDIOC_S_CROP, &amp;crop)
1117	    &amp;&amp; errno != EINVAL) {
1118		perror ("VIDIOC_S_CROP");
1119		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1120	}
1121	</programlisting>
1122	      </example>
1123	
1124	      <example>
1125		<title>Current scaling factor and pixel aspect</title>
1126	
1127		<para>(A video capture device is assumed.)</para>
1128	
1129		<programlisting>
1130	&v4l2-cropcap; cropcap;
1131	&v4l2-crop; crop;
1132	&v4l2-format; format;
1133	double hscale, vscale;
1134	double aspect;
1135	int dwidth, dheight;
1136	
1137	memset (&amp;cropcap, 0, sizeof (cropcap));
1138	cropcap.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1139	
1140	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-CROPCAP;, &amp;cropcap)) {
1141		perror ("VIDIOC_CROPCAP");
1142		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1143	}
1144	
1145	memset (&amp;crop, 0, sizeof (crop));
1146	crop.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1147	
1148	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-CROP;, &amp;crop)) {
1149		if (errno != EINVAL) {
1150			perror ("VIDIOC_G_CROP");
1151			exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1152		}
1153	
1154		/* Cropping not supported. */
1155		crop.c = cropcap.defrect;
1156	}
1157	
1158	memset (&amp;format, 0, sizeof (format));
1159	format.fmt.type = V4L2_BUF_TYPE_VIDEO_CAPTURE;
1160	
1161	if (-1 == ioctl (fd, &VIDIOC-G-FMT;, &amp;format)) {
1162		perror ("VIDIOC_G_FMT");
1163		exit (EXIT_FAILURE);
1164	}
1165	
1166	/* The scaling applied by the driver. */
1167	
1168	hscale = format.fmt.pix.width / (double) crop.c.width;
1169	vscale = format.fmt.pix.height / (double) crop.c.height;
1170	
1171	aspect = cropcap.pixelaspect.numerator /
1172		 (double) cropcap.pixelaspect.denominator;
1173	aspect = aspect * hscale / vscale;
1174	
1175	/* Devices following ITU-R BT.601 do not capture
1176	   square pixels. For playback on a computer monitor
1177	   we should scale the images to this size. */
1178	
1179	dwidth = format.fmt.pix.width / aspect;
1180	dheight = format.fmt.pix.height;
1181		</programlisting>
1182	      </example>
1183	    </section>
1184	  </section>
1185	
1186	  &sub-selection-api;
1187	
1188	  <section id="streaming-par">
1189	    <title>Streaming Parameters</title>
1190	
1191	    <para>Streaming parameters are intended to optimize the video
1192	capture process as well as I/O. Presently applications can request a
1193	high quality capture mode with the &VIDIOC-S-PARM; ioctl.</para>
1194	
1195	    <para>The current video standard determines a nominal number of
1196	frames per second. If less than this number of frames is to be
1197	captured or output, applications can request frame skipping or
1198	duplicating on the driver side. This is especially useful when using
1199	the &func-read; or &func-write;, which are not augmented by timestamps
1200	or sequence counters, and to avoid unnecessary data copying.</para>
1201	
1202	    <para>Finally these ioctls can be used to determine the number of
1203	buffers used internally by a driver in read/write mode. For
1204	implications see the section discussing the &func-read;
1205	function.</para>
1206	
1207	    <para>To get and set the streaming parameters applications call
1208	the &VIDIOC-G-PARM; and &VIDIOC-S-PARM; ioctl, respectively. They take
1209	a pointer to a &v4l2-streamparm;, which contains a union holding
1210	separate parameters for input and output devices.</para>
1211	
1212	    <para>These ioctls are optional, drivers need not implement
1213	them. If so, they return the &EINVAL;.</para>
1214	  </section>
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