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Original commit message from CVS: * MAINTAINERS: Update with new email address. * docs/design/part-TODO.txt: Add some more info about future pad-block and negotiation changes. * docs/design/part-buffering.txt: Add some ideas about buffering reporting.
79 lines
2.6 KiB
Text
79 lines
2.6 KiB
Text
Buffering
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---------
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This document outlines the buffering policy used in the GStreamer
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core that can be used by plugins and applications.
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The purpose of buffering is to accumulate enough data in a pipeline so that
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playback can occur smoothly and without interruptions. It is typically done
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when reading from a (slow) and non-live network source.
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Some use cases:
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+---------+ +--------+ +-------+
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| httpsrc | | buffer | | demux |
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| src - sink src - sink ....
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+---------+ +--------+ +-------+
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In this case we are reading from a slow network source into a buffer element
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(such as queue).
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The buffer element has a low and high watermark expressed in bytes. The
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buffer uses the watermarks as follows:
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- The buffer element will not produce data on the src pad until the high
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watermark is hit. While accumulating data in the buffer, progress is
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reported by posting BUFFERING messages.
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- The source will stop to produce data on the src pad when the low watermark
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is hit.
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Messages
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--------
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A GST_MESSAGE_BUFFERING must be posted on the bus when playback temporarily
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stops to buffer and when buffering finishes. When percentage field in the
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BUFFERING message is 100, buffering is done. Values less than 100 mean that
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buffering is in progress.
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The BUFFERING message should be intercepted and acted upon by the application.
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Application
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-----------
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While data is buffered, the pipeline should remain in the PAUSED state. It is
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also possible that more data should be buffered while the pipeline is PLAYING,
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in which case the pipeline should be PAUSED until the buffering finished.
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BUFFERING messages can be posted while the pipeline is prerolling. The
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application should not set the pipeline to PLAYING before a BUFFERING message
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with 100 percent value is received, which might only happen after the pipeline
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prerolled.
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Buffering Query
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---------------
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It is possible to query the amount of buffering performed in the pipeline, which
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is defined as the amount of data made available at the source. This amount is
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expressed in some GstFormat and is usually compared to the duration or position
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of the media stream in the same GstFormat.
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The buffering query should return the following information:
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- format
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- position
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- duration
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The format is of lesser importance, the ratio of position versus duration can be
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used to calculate the percentage of available media. It should also be possible
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for the application to calculate the expected time when the complete file will
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be buffered.
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Incremental download
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--------------------
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