stellarHD GStreamer Guide

Overview

GStreamer is a powerful multimedia framework that allows for efficient video streaming and processing. The stellarHD supports MJPEG and raw YUYV compression formats, with high framerate support up to 60 FPS.

Requirements

You must have GStreamer installed on a Linux computer for this. You can use the following install command to get the required packages.

sudo apt install v4l-utils libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-x gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-libav gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly

Identifying Device Nodes

When you plug in a stellarHD camera, the Linux kernel (via V4L2) typically creates four device nodes (e.g., /dev/video0 through /dev/video3).

MJPEG / YUYV: Found on the first node of the group (e.g., /dev/video0).

You can verify your device nodes using v4l2-ctl:

v4l2-ctl --list-devices

Look for the entry corresponding to the stellarHD. It will list the paths associated with that specific camera.

MJPEG Mode

MJPEG mode is the primary way to achieve high framerates (up to 60 FPS) on the stellarHD.

Local Preview

Assuming /dev/video0 is the MJPEG node:

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
    image/jpeg,width=1600,height=1200,framerate=60/1 ! \
    jpegdec ! autovideosink

UDP Network Stream

To stream MJPEG over a network to another device (e.g., IP 192.168.1.50 on port 5600):

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
    image/jpeg,width=1600,height=1200,framerate=60/1 ! \
    rtpjpegpay ! udpsink host=192.168.1.50 port=5600

To receive the stream on a different computer you can use the following:

gst-launch-1.0 -v udpsrc port=5600 ! \
    "application/x-rtp, media=(string)video, clock-rate=(int)90000, encoding-name=(string)JPEG, payload=(int)26" ! \
    rtpjpegdepay ! jpegdec ! videoconvert ! autovideosink

YUYV Mode

Note that YUYV is limited to lower framerates at higher resolutions due to USB bandwidth.

Local Preview

Assuming /dev/video0 is the node:

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
    video/x-raw,format=YUY2,width=640,height=480,framerate=5/1 ! \
    videoconvert ! autovideosink

Refer to the stellarHD Technical Specifications to see which resolution and framerate combinations are supported in YUYV mode.

Software Encoding (H.264)

Since the stellarHD does not have a built-in hardware H.264 encoder, you can use GStreamer to perform software encoding if you need to stream H.264 over a network.

gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! \
    image/jpeg,width=1280,height=720,framerate=60/1 ! \
    jpegdec ! queue ! x264enc tune=zerolatency bitrate=4000 speed-preset=ultrafast ! \
    h264parse ! rtph264pay config-interval=10 pt=96 ! \
    udpsink host=192.168.1.50 port=5600

​Overview

​Requirements

​Identifying Device Nodes

​MJPEG Mode

​Local Preview

​UDP Network Stream

​YUYV Mode

​Local Preview

​Software Encoding (H.264)

Overview

Requirements

Identifying Device Nodes

MJPEG Mode

Local Preview

UDP Network Stream

YUYV Mode

Local Preview

Software Encoding (H.264)