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The GPU has supported 1080p hardware h264 decoding since the first Raspberry Pi. If you're having issues with video streams, you're not using the hardware decod

The GPU has supported 1080p hardware h264 decoding since the first Raspberry Pi. If you're having issues with video streams, you're not using the hardware decoder and probably using software decoding on the CPU.

techrat 6y ago
Then that means Raspberry Pi's own OS images are not using the hardware decoders for in Browser streaming.
- Const-me 6y ago
  V4L2’s h264 stateful video decoder is enabled in official OS images, and works great in practice on Pi4: https://github.com/Const-me/Vrmac/tree/master/VrmacVideo https://github.com/Const-me/Vrmac/tree/master/VrmacVideo VLC player shipped in these OS images uses that one as well. If it doesn’t work for you in Twitch, the likely issue is the web browser. Try to upgrade it to latest version, and/or configure it somehow.
- geerlingguy 6y ago
  Chromium support for hardware decode on the Pi was only added very recently (in the last month or two, I think).
  - HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
    hmmm. This could be root of the problem I described above. We were using the latest release of Chromium, but AFAIK the configuration screens claimed to be using the hardware decode. Good to know for the future. The project already shipped with an Intel PC for the video display.
- opan 6y ago
  Try it in a video player. They generally play video a lot better than a browser. mpv + youtube-dl can handle Twitch.
  - rasz 6y ago
    For twitch you can patch the worker javascript and intercept hls/.m3u8 links directly, no need for external parsers.
- ThatPlayer 6y ago
  Yes, browser support for hardware decoding video on Linux is generally lacking even on x86. Firefox barely added support for it last year with Chrome having no support at all, requiring custom build flags and browser settings in Chromium. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1619523 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1619523
HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
We tried the pi4 for a project where we had to playback 4-6 videos simultaneously. As far as I could tell, it was properly configured for hardware decoding. It bogged down noticeably after 3 videos and was barely capable of doing 4. On paper it looked great; in real life not so much. Ended up going with a NUC for that part of the project and it worked great. The other aspects of the project that didn't need video (we had close to a dozen total displays), the pi did just fine.
- ThatPlayer 6y ago
  1080p videos? I'm using an older Raspberry Pi 2 displaying 4 RTSP h264 720p videos as a security camera monitor running 24/7 fine with https://github.com/Anonymousdog/displaycameras https://github.com/Anonymousdog/displaycameras The issue trackers mentions a few attempts at getting 1080p streams running, but there definitely seems to be a limitation of some sort with more than 3 higher resolution videos.
  - HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
    We started out trying to do 4k and when that didn't work, dropped back to 1080P. Looked good with just one or two, but above that it got "stuttery." 6 videos on the screen was absolutely not possible with the pi.

techrat 6y ago

Then that means Raspberry Pi's own OS images are not using the hardware decoders for in Browser streaming.

Const-me 6y ago
V4L2’s h264 stateful video decoder is enabled in official OS images, and works great in practice on Pi4: https://github.com/Const-me/Vrmac/tree/master/VrmacVideo https://github.com/Const-me/Vrmac/tree/master/VrmacVideo VLC player shipped in these OS images uses that one as well. If it doesn’t work for you in Twitch, the likely issue is the web browser. Try to upgrade it to latest version, and/or configure it somehow.
geerlingguy 6y ago
Chromium support for hardware decode on the Pi was only added very recently (in the last month or two, I think).
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
  hmmm. This could be root of the problem I described above. We were using the latest release of Chromium, but AFAIK the configuration screens claimed to be using the hardware decode. Good to know for the future. The project already shipped with an Intel PC for the video display.
opan 6y ago
Try it in a video player. They generally play video a lot better than a browser. mpv + youtube-dl can handle Twitch.
- rasz 6y ago
  For twitch you can patch the worker javascript and intercept hls/.m3u8 links directly, no need for external parsers.
ThatPlayer 6y ago
Yes, browser support for hardware decoding video on Linux is generally lacking even on x86. Firefox barely added support for it last year with Chrome having no support at all, requiring custom build flags and browser settings in Chromium. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1619523 https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1619523

HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago

We tried the pi4 for a project where we had to playback 4-6 videos simultaneously. As far as I could tell, it was properly configured for hardware decoding. It bogged down noticeably after 3 videos and was barely capable of doing 4. On paper it looked great; in real life not so much. Ended up going with a NUC for that part of the project and it worked great. The other aspects of the project that didn't need video (we had close to a dozen total displays), the pi did just fine.

ThatPlayer 6y ago
1080p videos? I'm using an older Raspberry Pi 2 displaying 4 RTSP h264 720p videos as a security camera monitor running 24/7 fine with https://github.com/Anonymousdog/displaycameras https://github.com/Anonymousdog/displaycameras The issue trackers mentions a few attempts at getting 1080p streams running, but there definitely seems to be a limitation of some sort with more than 3 higher resolution videos.
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
  We started out trying to do 4k and when that didn't work, dropped back to 1080P. Looked good with just one or two, but above that it got "stuttery." 6 videos on the screen was absolutely not possible with the pi.