xref: /aosp_15_r20/external/libvpx/usage_dx.dox (revision fb1b10ab9aebc7c7068eedab379b749d7e3900be)
1/*! \page usage_decode Decoding
2
3    The vpx_codec_decode() function is at the core of the decode loop. It
4    processes packets of compressed data passed by the application, producing
5    decoded images. The decoder expects packets to comprise exactly one image
6    frame of data. Packets \ref MUST be passed in decode order. If the
7    application wishes to associate some data with the frame, the
8    <code>user_priv</code> member may be set. The <code>deadline</code>
9    parameter controls the amount of time in microseconds the decoder should
10    spend working on the frame. This is typically used to support adaptive
11    \ref usage_postproc based on the amount of free CPU time. For more
12    information on the <code>deadline</code> parameter, see \ref usage_deadline.
13
14    \if samples
15    \ref samples
16    \endif
17
18
19    \section usage_cb Callback Based Decoding
20    There are two methods for the application to access decoded frame data. Some
21    codecs support asynchronous (callback-based) decoding \ref usage_features
22    that allow the application to register a callback to be invoked by the
23    decoder when decoded data becomes available. Decoders are not required to
24    support this feature, however. Like all \ref usage_features, support can be
25    determined by calling vpx_codec_get_caps(). Callbacks are available in both
26    frame-based and slice-based variants. Frame based callbacks conform to the
27    signature of #vpx_codec_put_frame_cb_fn_t and are invoked once the entire
28    frame has been decoded. Slice based callbacks conform to the signature of
29    #vpx_codec_put_slice_cb_fn_t and are invoked after a subsection of the frame
30    is decoded. For example, a slice callback could be issued for each
31    macroblock row. However, the number and size of slices to return is
32    implementation specific. Also, the image data passed in a slice callback is
33    not necessarily in the same memory segment as the data will be when it is
34    assembled into a full frame. For this reason, the application \ref MUST
35    examine the rectangles that describe what data is valid to access and what
36    data has been updated in this call. For all their additional complexity,
37    slice based decoding callbacks provide substantial speed gains to the
38    overall application in some cases, due to improved cache behavior.
39
40
41    \section usage_frame_iter Frame Iterator Based Decoding
42    If the codec does not support callback based decoding, or the application
43    chooses not to make use of that feature, decoded frames are made available
44    through the vpx_codec_get_frame() iterator. The application initializes the
45    iterator storage (of type #vpx_codec_iter_t) to NULL, then calls
46    vpx_codec_get_frame repeatedly until it returns NULL, indicating that all
47    images have been returned. This process may result in zero, one, or many
48    frames that are ready for display, depending on the codec.
49
50
51    \section usage_postproc Postprocessing
52    Postprocessing is a process that is applied after a frame is decoded to
53    enhance the image's appearance by removing artifacts introduced in the
54    compression process. It is not required to properly decode the frame, and
55    is generally done only when there is enough spare CPU time to execute
56    the required filters. Codecs may support a number of different
57    postprocessing filters, and the available filters may differ from platform
58    to platform. Embedded devices often do not have enough CPU to implement
59    postprocessing in software. The filter selection is generally handled
60    automatically by the codec, depending on the amount of time remaining before
61    hitting the user-specified \ref usage_deadline after decoding the frame.
62
63
64*/
65