Video Encoding Configuration

Overview

The host.video section controls all video encoding parameters including frame rate, bitrate adaptation, hardware encoder settings (NVENC/QSV/AMF), and HDR tone mapping.

Frame Rate and Timing

integer

default:"60"

Target frames per second for capture and encoding.Higher values provide smoother motion but require more bandwidth and processing power.Recommended values:

30 - Low bandwidth/performance
60 - Standard gaming
120 - High refresh rate gaming

integer

default:"16666"

Frame pacing interval in microseconds. Should match 1000000 / fps.For 60 FPS: 16666 μs (1000000 / 60)For 120 FPS: 8333 μs (1000000 / 120)

boolean

default:"false"

Enable GPU encode timing diagnostics. Logs encode duration for performance analysis.

Enable this when profiling encoder performance or diagnosing frame drops.

Bitrate Configuration

integer

default:"8000000"

Initial encoding bitrate in bits per second (bps).Default: 8000000 (8 Mbps)This is the starting point for adaptive bitrate control.

integer

default:"8000000"

Minimum allowed bitrate in bps for adaptive bitrate controller.Default: 8000000 (8 Mbps)

Setting this too low will result in poor visual quality during network congestion.

integer

default:"12000000"

Maximum allowed bitrate in bps for adaptive bitrate controller.Default: 12000000 (12 Mbps)Higher values improve quality but require more bandwidth.

Bitrate Controller

The adaptive bitrate controller adjusts encoding bitrate based on network conditions.

integer

default:"1000000"

Bitrate increase step size in bps when network conditions improve.Default: 1000000 (1 Mbps)

integer

default:"1000"

Cooldown period in milliseconds before allowing bitrate increases after a decrease.Default: 1000 ms

integer

default:"3"

Number of consecutive clean network samples required before increasing bitrate.Default: 3

integer

default:"1000"

Minimum interval in milliseconds between bitrate increases.Default: 1000 ms

Hardware Encoder Settings (NVENC)

string

default:"p2"

NVENC encoding preset. Lower numbers = faster encoding, higher latency. Higher numbers = slower encoding, better quality.Options: p1, p2, p3, p4, p5, p6, p7Default: p2Recommended:

p1 or p2 - Low latency gaming (fastest)
p4 - Balanced quality/performance
p6 or p7 - High quality (slowest)

For competitive gaming, use p1 or p2 to minimize encode latency.

string

default:"cbr"

Rate control mode for the encoder.Options:

cbr - Constant bitrate (best for streaming)
vbr - Variable bitrate (better quality, less predictable)

Default: cbr

Use CBR for consistent network bandwidth usage and predictable latency.

integer

default:"0"

Number of B-frames (bidirectional prediction frames).Default: 0

Keep this at 0 for minimum latency. B-frames add encoding delay.

integer

default:"0"

Rate control lookahead in frames. Higher values improve quality but add latency.Default: 0Set to 0 for lowest latency applications.

integer

default:"2"

Asynchronous encoding queue depth.Default: 2Controls how many frames can be queued for encoding simultaneously.

integer

default:"3"

Number of encode surfaces (GPU memory buffers).Default: 3Must be >= asyncDepth + 1.

Color and Range

boolean

default:"false"

YUV color range configuration.Default: false (limited/TV range 16-235)

false - Limited range (16-235), standard for video
true - Full range (0-255), PC RGB range

Keep at false for best compatibility with video players and browsers.

HDR Tone Mapping

When capturing HDR content for SDR displays, tone mapping converts the HDR signal.

boolean

default:"false"

Enable HDR to SDR tone mapping.Default: falseEnable this when capturing HDR content that will be viewed on SDR displays.

string

default:"reinhard"

Tone mapping algorithm.Options: reinhard, hable, linearDefault: reinhard

reinhard - Classic Reinhard operator, preserves bright details
hable - Filmic tone mapping (Uncharted 2)
linear - Simple linear scaling

float

default:"0.0"

Exposure compensation value.Default: 0.0Adjust brightness: negative values darken, positive values brighten.Range: typically -2.0 to 2.0

float

default:"2.2"

Gamma correction value.Default: 2.2 (standard sRGB gamma)Adjusts mid-tone brightness. Standard value is 2.2 for sRGB displays.

float

default:"1.0"

Color saturation multiplier.Default: 1.0

< 1.0 - Desaturate (grayscale at 0.0)
1.0 - Original saturation
> 1.0 - Increase saturation

Picture Loss Indication (PLI)

PLI requests trigger full keyframes when the client detects corruption.

boolean

default:"false"

Ignore PLI (Picture Loss Indication) requests from client.Default: false

Only set to true if experiencing excessive keyframe requests. This may cause visual artifacts.

integer

default:"3000"

Minimum interval in milliseconds between processing PLI requests.Default: 3000 ms (3 seconds)Prevents excessive keyframe generation from repeated PLI requests.

float

default:"0.15"

Minimum packet loss ratio (0.0-1.0) required to honor a PLI request.Default: 0.15 (15% loss)Filters out spurious PLI requests when packet loss is low.

Advanced Settings

integer

default:"3"

Hardware frame pool size for GPU memory management.Default: 3Number of hardware frames pre-allocated for encoding pipeline.

Example Configurations

Low Latency Gaming

{
  "video": {
    "fps": 120,
    "pacingFixedUs": 8333,
    "bitrateStart": 15000000,
    "bitrateMin": 10000000,
    "bitrateMax": 25000000,
    "preset": "p1",
    "rc": "cbr",
    "bf": 0,
    "rcLookahead": 0,
    "fullRange": false,
    "gpuTiming": true
  }
}

High Quality Streaming

{
  "video": {
    "fps": 60,
    "pacingFixedUs": 16666,
    "bitrateStart": 20000000,
    "bitrateMin": 15000000,
    "bitrateMax": 40000000,
    "preset": "p5",
    "rc": "vbr",
    "bf": 0,
    "fullRange": false
  }
}

HDR to SDR Tone Mapping

{
  "video": {
    "fps": 60,
    "preset": "p4",
    "hdrToneMapping": {
      "enabled": true,
      "method": "reinhard",
      "exposure": 0.5,
      "gamma": 2.2,
      "saturation": 1.1
    }
  }
}

Getting Started

Deployment

Components

Configuration

Operations

Video Encoding Configuration

Overview

Frame Rate and Timing

Bitrate Configuration

Bitrate Controller

Hardware Encoder Settings (NVENC)

Color and Range

HDR Tone Mapping

Picture Loss Indication (PLI)

Advanced Settings

Example Configurations

Low Latency Gaming

High Quality Streaming

HDR to SDR Tone Mapping

​Overview

​Frame Rate and Timing

​Bitrate Configuration

​Bitrate Controller

​Hardware Encoder Settings (NVENC)

​Color and Range

​HDR Tone Mapping

​Picture Loss Indication (PLI)

​Advanced Settings

​Example Configurations

​Low Latency Gaming

​High Quality Streaming

​HDR to SDR Tone Mapping

Overview

Frame Rate and Timing

Bitrate Configuration

Bitrate Controller

Hardware Encoder Settings (NVENC)

Color and Range

HDR Tone Mapping

Picture Loss Indication (PLI)

Advanced Settings

Example Configurations

Low Latency Gaming

High Quality Streaming

HDR to SDR Tone Mapping