rfc7741
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) P. Westin
Request for Comments: 7741 H. Lundin
Category: Standards Track Google
ISSN: 2070-1721 M. Glover
Twitter
J. Uberti
F. Galligan
Google
March 2016
RTP Payload Format for VP8 Video
Abstract
This memo describes an RTP payload format for the VP8 video codec.
The payload format has wide applicability, as it supports
applications from low-bitrate peer-to-peer usage to high-bitrate
video conferences.
Status of This Memo
This is an Internet Standards Track document.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on
Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7741.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2016 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................3
2. Conventions, Definitions, and Abbreviations .....................3
3. Media Format Description ........................................4
4. Payload Format ..................................................5
4.1. RTP Header Usage ...........................................6
4.2. VP8 Payload Descriptor .....................................7
4.3. VP8 Payload Header ........................................11
4.4. Aggregated and Fragmented Payloads ........................12
4.5. Example Algorithms ........................................13
4.5.1. Frame Reconstruction Algorithm .....................13
4.5.2. Partition Reconstruction Algorithm .................13
4.6. Examples of VP8 RTP Stream ................................14
4.6.1. Key Frame in a Single RTP Packet ...................14
4.6.2. Non-discardable VP8 Interframe in a Single
RTP Packet; No PictureID ...........................14
4.6.3. VP8 Partitions in Separate RTP Packets .............15
4.6.4. VP8 Frame Fragmented across RTP Packets ............16
4.6.5. VP8 Frame with Long PictureID ......................18
5. Using VP8 with RPSI and SLI Feedback ...........................18
5.1. RPSI ......................................................18
5.2. SLI .......................................................19
5.3. Example ...................................................19
6. Payload Format Parameters ......................................21
6.1. Media Type Definition .....................................21
6.2. SDP Parameters ............................................23
6.2.1. Mapping of Media Subtype Parameters to SDP .........23
6.2.2. Offer/Answer Considerations ........................23
7. Security Considerations ........................................24
8. Congestion Control .............................................24
9. IANA Considerations ............................................24
10. References ....................................................25
10.1. Normative References .....................................25
10.2. Informative References ...................................26
Authors' Addresses ................................................28
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 2]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
1. Introduction
This memo describes an RTP payload specification applicable to the
transmission of video streams encoded using the VP8 video codec
[RFC6386]. The format described in this document can be used both in
peer-to-peer and video-conferencing applications.
VP8 is based on the decomposition of frames into square sub-blocks of
pixels known as "macroblocks" (see Section 2 of [RFC6386]).
Prediction of such sub-blocks using previously constructed blocks,
and adjustment of such predictions (as well as synthesis of
unpredicted blocks) is done using a discrete cosine transform
(hereafter abbreviated as DCT). In one special case, however, VP8
uses a "Walsh-Hadamard" transform (hereafter abbreviated as WHT)
instead of a DCT. An encoded VP8 frame is divided into two or more
partitions, as described in [RFC6386]. The first partition
(prediction or mode) contains prediction mode parameters and motion
vectors for all macroblocks. The remaining partitions all contain
the quantized DCT/WHT coefficients for the residuals. There can be
1, 2, 4, or 8 DCT/WHT partitions per frame, depending on encoder
settings.
In summary, the payload format described in this document enables a
number of features in VP8, including:
o Taking partition boundaries into consideration, to improve loss
robustness and facilitate efficient packet-loss concealment at the
decoder.
o Temporal scalability.
o Advanced use of reference frames to enable efficient error
recovery.
o Marking of frames that have no impact on the decoding of any other
frame, so that these non-reference frames can be discarded in a
server or media-aware network element if needed.
2. Conventions, Definitions, and Abbreviations
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 3]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
This document uses the definitions of [RFC6386]. In particular, the
following terms are used.
Key frames: Frames that are decoded without reference to any other
frame in a sequence (also called intraframes and I-frames).
Interframes: Frames that are encoded with reference to prior frames,
specifically all prior frames up to and including the most recent
key frame (also called prediction frames and P-frames).
Golden and altref frames: alternate prediction frames. Blocks in an
interframe may be predicted using blocks in the immediately
previous frame as well as the most recent golden frame or altref
frame. Every key frame is automatically golden and altref, and
any interframe may optionally replace the most recent golden or
altref frame.
Macroblock: a square array of pixels whose Y (luminance) dimensions
are 16x16 pixels and whose U and V (chrominance) dimensions are
8x8 pixels.
Two definitions from [RFC4585] are also used in this document.
RPSI: Reference picture selection indication. A feedback message to
let the encoder know that the decoder has correctly decoded a
certain frame.
SLI: Slice loss indication. A feedback message to let a decoder
inform an encoder that it has detected the loss or corruption of
one or several macroblocks.
3. Media Format Description
The VP8 codec uses three different reference frames for interframe
prediction: the previous frame, the golden frame, and the altref
frame. Blocks in an interframe may be predicted using blocks in the
immediately previous frame as well as the most recent golden frame or
altref frame. Every key frame is automatically golden and altref,
and any interframe may optionally replace the most recent golden or
altref frame. Golden frames and altref frames may also be used to
increase the tolerance to dropped frames. The payload specification
in this memo has elements that enable advanced use of the reference
frames, e.g., for improved loss robustness.
One specific use case of the three reference frame types is temporal
scalability. By setting up the reference hierarchy in the
appropriate way, up to five temporal layers can be encoded. (How to
set up the reference hierarchy for temporal scalability is not within
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 4]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
the scope of this memo.) Support for temporal scalability is
provided by the optional TL0PICIDX and TID/Y/KEYIDX fields described
in Section 4.2. For a general description of temporal scalability
for video coding, see [Sch07].
Another property of the VP8 codec is that it applies data
partitioning to the encoded data. Thus, an encoded VP8 frame can be
divided into two or more partitions, as described in "VP8 Data Format
and Decoding Guide" [RFC6386]. The first partition (prediction or
mode) contains prediction mode parameters and motion vectors for all
macroblocks. The remaining partitions all contain the transform
coefficients for the residuals. The first partition is decodable
without the remaining residual partitions. The subsequent partitions
may be useful even if some part of the frame is lost. Accordingly,
this document RECOMMENDS that the frame be packetized by the sender
with each data partition in a separate packet or packets. This may
be beneficial for decoder-side error concealment, and the payload
format described in Section 4 provides fields that allow the
partitions to be identified even if the first partition is not
available. The sender can, alternatively, aggregate the data
partitions into a single data stream and, optionally, split it into
several packets without consideration of the partition boundaries.
The receiver can use the length information in the first partition to
identify the partitions during decoding.
The format specification is described in Section 4. In Section 5, a
method to acknowledge receipt of reference frames using RTCP
techniques is described.
The payload partitioning and the acknowledging method both serve as
motivation for three of the fields included in the payload format:
the "PID", "1st partition size", and "PictureID" fields. The ability
to encode a temporally scalable stream motivates the "TL0PICIDX" and
"TID" fields.
4. Payload Format
This section describes how the encoded VP8 bitstream is encapsulated
in RTP. To handle network losses, usage of RTP/AVPF [RFC4585] is
RECOMMENDED. All integer fields in the specifications are encoded as
unsigned integers in network octet order.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 5]
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4.1. RTP Header Usage
The general RTP payload format for VP8 is depicted below.
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|V=2|P|X| CC |M| PT | sequence number |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| timestamp |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| synchronization source (SSRC) identifier |
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
| contributing source (CSRC) identifiers |
| .... |
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
| VP8 payload descriptor (integer #octets) |
: :
| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| : VP8 payload header (3 octets) |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VP8 pyld hdr : |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |
: Octets 4..N of VP8 payload :
| |
| +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| : OPTIONAL RTP padding |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
The VP8 payload descriptor and VP8 payload header will be described
in Sections 4.2 and 4.3. OPTIONAL RTP padding MUST NOT be included
unless the P bit is set. The figure specifically shows the format
for the first packet in a frame. Subsequent packets will not contain
the VP8 payload header and will have later octets in the frame
payload.
Figure 1
Marker bit (M): MUST be set for the very last packet of each encoded
frame in line with the normal use of the M bit in video formats.
This enables a decoder to finish decoding the picture, where it
otherwise may need to wait for the next packet to explicitly know
that the frame is complete.
Payload type (PT): The assignment of an RTP payload type for this
packet format is outside the scope of this document and will not
be specified here.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 6]
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Timestamp: The RTP timestamp indicates the time when the frame was
sampled. The granularity of the clock is 90 kHz, so a delta of 1
represents 1/90,000 of a second.
The remaining RTP Fixed Header Fields (V, P, X, CC, sequence
number, SSRC, and CSRC identifiers) are used as specified in
Section 5.1 of [RFC3550].
4.2. VP8 Payload Descriptor
The first octets after the RTP header are the VP8 payload descriptor,
with the following structure. The single-octet version of the
PictureID is illustrated to the left (M bit set to 0), while the
dual-octet version (M bit set to 1) is shown to the right.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|X|R|N|S|R| PID | (REQUIRED) |X|R|N|S|R| PID | (REQUIRED)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
X: |I|L|T|K| RSV | (OPTIONAL) X: |I|L|T|K| RSV | (OPTIONAL)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
I: |M| PictureID | (OPTIONAL) I: |M| PictureID | (OPTIONAL)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
L: | TL0PICIDX | (OPTIONAL) | PictureID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
T/K: |TID|Y| KEYIDX | (OPTIONAL) L: | TL0PICIDX | (OPTIONAL)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
T/K: |TID|Y| KEYIDX | (OPTIONAL)
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 2
X: Extended control bits present. When set to 1, the extension octet
MUST be provided immediately after the mandatory first octet. If
the bit is zero, all optional fields MUST be omitted. Note: this
X bit is not to be confused with the X bit in the RTP header.
R: Bit reserved for future use. MUST be set to 0 and MUST be ignored
by the receiver.
N: Non-reference frame. When set to 1, the frame can be discarded
without affecting any other future or past frames. If the
reference status of the frame is unknown, this bit SHOULD be set
to 0 to avoid discarding frames needed for reference.
Informative note: This document does not describe how to
determine if an encoded frame is non-reference. The reference
status of an encoded frame is preferably provided from the
encoder implementation.
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S: Start of VP8 partition. SHOULD be set to 1 when the first payload
octet of the RTP packet is the beginning of a new VP8 partition,
and MUST NOT be 1 otherwise. The S bit MUST be set to 1 for the
first packet of each encoded frame.
PID: Partition index. Denotes to which VP8 partition the first
payload octet of the packet belongs. The first VP8 partition
(containing modes and motion vectors) MUST be labeled with PID =
0. PID SHOULD be incremented by 1 for each subsequent partition,
but it MAY be kept at 0 for all packets. PID cannot be larger
than 7. If more than one packet in an encoded frame contains the
same PID, the S bit MUST NOT be set for any packet other than the
first packet with that PID.
When the X bit is set to 1 in the first octet, the Extended Control
Bits field octet MUST be provided as the second octet. If the X bit
is 0, the Extended Control Bits field octet MUST NOT be present, and
no extensions (I, L, T, or K) are permitted.
I: PictureID present. When set to 1, the PictureID MUST be present
after the extension bit field and specified as below. Otherwise,
PictureID MUST NOT be present.
L: TL0PICIDX present. When set to 1, the TL0PICIDX MUST be present
and specified as below, and the T bit MUST be set to 1.
Otherwise, TL0PICIDX MUST NOT be present.
T: TID present. When set to 1, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet MUST be
present. The TID|Y part of the octet MUST be specified as below.
If K (below) is set to 1 but T is set to 0, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet
MUST be present, but the TID field MUST be ignored. If neither T
nor K is set to 1, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet MUST NOT be present.
K: KEYIDX present. When set to 1, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet MUST be
present. The KEYIDX part of the octet MUST be specified as below.
If T (above) is set to 1 but K is set to 0, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet
MUST be present, but the KEYIDX field MUST be ignored. If neither
T nor K is set to 1, the TID/Y/KEYIDX octet MUST NOT be present.
RSV: Bits reserved for future use. MUST be set to 0 and MUST be
ignored by the receiver.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 8]
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After the extension bit field follow the extension data fields that
are enabled.
The PictureID extension: If the I bit is set to 1, the PictureID
extension field MUST be present, and it MUST NOT be present
otherwise. The field consists of two parts:
M: The most significant bit of the first octet is an extension
flag. If M is set, the remainder of the PictureID field MUST
contain 15 bits, else it MUST contain 7 bits. Note: this M bit
is not to be confused with the M bit in the RTP header.
PictureID: 7 or 15 bits (shown left and right, respectively, in
Figure 2) not including the M bit. This is a running index of
the frames, which MAY start at a random value, MUST increase by
1 for each subsequent frame, and MUST wrap to 0 after reaching
the maximum ID (all bits set). The 7 or 15 bits of the
PictureID go from most significant to least significant,
beginning with the first bit after the M bit. The sender
chooses a 7- or 15-bit index and sets the M bit accordingly.
The receiver MUST NOT assume that the number of bits in
PictureID stays the same through the session. Having sent a
7-bit PictureID with all bits set to 1, the sender may either
wrap the PictureID to 0 or extend to 15 bits and continue
incrementing.
The TL0PICIDX extension: If the L bit is set to 1, the TL0PICIDX
extension field MUST be present, and it MUST NOT be present
otherwise. The field consists of one part:
TL0PICIDX: 8 bits temporal level zero index. TL0PICIDX is a
running index for the temporal base layer frames, i.e., the
frames with TID set to 0. If TID is larger than 0, TL0PICIDX
indicates on which base-layer frame the current image depends.
TL0PICIDX MUST be incremented when TID is 0. The index MAY
start at a random value, and it MUST wrap to 0 after reaching
the maximum number 255. Use of TL0PICIDX depends on the
presence of TID. Therefore, it is RECOMMENDED that the TID be
used whenever TL0PICIDX is.
The TID/Y/KEYIDX extension: If either of the T or K bits are set to
1, the TID/Y/KEYIDX extension field MUST be present. It MUST NOT
be present if both T and K are zero. The field consists of three
parts:
TID: 2 bits temporal-layer index. The TID field MUST be ignored
by the receiver when the T bit is set equal to 0. The TID
field indicates which temporal layer the packet represents.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 9]
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The lowest layer, i.e., the base layer, MUST have the TID set
to 0. Higher layers SHOULD increment the TID according to
their position in the layer hierarchy.
Y: 1 layer sync bit. The Y bit SHOULD be set to 1 if the current
frame depends only on the base layer (TID = 0) frame with
TL0PICIDX equal to that of the current frame. The Y bit MUST
be set to 0 if the current frame depends on any other frame
than the base layer (TID = 0) frame with TL0PICIDX equal to
that of the current frame. Additionally, the Y bit MUST be set
to 0 if any frame following the current frame depends on a non-
base-layer frame older than the base-layer frame with TL0PICIDX
equal to that of the current frame. If the Y bit is set when
the T bit is equal to 0, the current frame MUST only depend on
a past base-layer (TID=0) key frame as signaled by a change in
the KEYIDX field. Additionally, this frame MUST NOT depend on
any of the three codec buffers (as defined by [RFC6386]) that
have been updated since the last time the KEYIDX field was
changed.
Informative note: This document does not describe how to
determine the dependency status for a frame; this information
is preferably provided from the encoder implementation. In the
case of unknown status, the Y bit can safely be set to 0.
KEYIDX: 5 bits temporal key frame index. The KEYIDX field MUST
be ignored by the receiver when the K bit is set equal to 0.
The KEYIDX field is a running index for key frames. KEYIDX MAY
start at a random value, and it MUST wrap to 0 after reaching
the maximum number 31. When in use, the KEYIDX SHOULD be
present for both key frames and interframes. The sender MUST
increment KEYIDX for key frames that convey parameter updates
critical to the interpretation of subsequent frames, and it
SHOULD leave the KEYIDX unchanged for key frames that do not
contain these critical updates. If the KEYIDX is present, a
receiver SHOULD NOT decode an interframe if it has not received
and decoded a key frame with the same KEYIDX after the last
KEYIDX wraparound.
Informative note: This document does not describe how to
determine if a key frame updates critical parameters; this
information is preferably provided from the encoder
implementation. A sender that does not have this information
may either omit the KEYIDX field (set K equal to 0) or
increment the KEYIDX on every key frame. The benefit with the
latter is that any key-frame loss will be detected by the
receiver, which can signal for re-transmission or request a new
key frame.
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Informative note: Implementations doing splicing of VP8 streams will
have to make sure the rules for incrementing TL0PICIDX and KEYIDX
are obeyed across the splice. This will likely require rewriting
values of TL0PICIDX and KEYIDX after the splice.
4.3. VP8 Payload Header
The beginning of an encoded VP8 frame is referred to as an
"uncompressed data chunk" in Section 9.1 of [RFC6386], and it also
serves as a payload header in this RTP format. The codec bitstream
format specifies two different variants of the uncompressed data
chunk: a 3-octet version for interframes and a 10-octet version for
key frames. The first 3 octets are common to both variants. In the
case of a key frame, the remaining 7 octets are considered to be part
of the remaining payload in this RTP format. Note that the header is
present only in packets that have the S bit equal to one and the PID
equal to zero in the payload descriptor. Subsequent packets for the
same frame do not carry the payload header.
The length of the first partition can always be obtained from the
first partition-size parameter in the VP8 payload header. The VP8
bitstream format [RFC6386] specifies that if multiple DCT/WHT
partitions are produced, the location of each partition start is
found at the end of the first (prediction or mode) partition. In
this RTP payload specification, the location offsets are considered
to be part of the first partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|H| VER |P|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Octets 4..N of|
| VP8 payload |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| OPTIONAL RTP |
| padding |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 3
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A packetizer needs access to the P bit. The other fields are defined
in [RFC6386], Section 9.1, and their meanings do not influence the
packetization process. None of these fields are modified by the
packetization process.
P: Inverse key frame flag. When set to 0, the current frame is a key
frame. When set to 1, the current frame is an interframe.
Defined in [RFC6386]
4.4. Aggregated and Fragmented Payloads
An encoded VP8 frame can be divided into two or more partitions, as
described in Section 1. It is OPTIONAL for a packetizer implementing
this RTP specification to pay attention to the partition boundaries
within an encoded frame. If packetization of a frame is done without
considering the partition boundaries, the PID field MAY be set to 0
for all packets and the S bit MUST NOT be set to 1 for any other
packet than the first.
If the preferred usage suggested in Section 3 is followed, with each
packet carrying data from exactly one partition, the S bit and PID
fields described in Section 4.2 SHOULD be used to indicate what the
packet contains. The PID field should indicate to which partition
the first octet of the payload belongs and the S bit indicates that
the packet starts on a new partition.
If the packetizer does not pay attention to the partition boundaries,
one packet can contain a fragment of a partition, a complete
partition, or an aggregate of fragments and partitions. There is no
explicit signaling of partition boundaries in the payload, and the
partition lengths at the end of the first partition have to be used
to identify the boundaries. Partitions MUST be aggregated in
decoding order. Two fragments from different partitions MAY be
aggregated into the same packet along with one or more complete
partitions.
In all cases, the payload of a packet MUST contain data from only one
video frame. Consequently, the set of packets carrying the data from
a particular frame will contain exactly one VP8 Payload Header (see
Section 4.3) carried in the first packet of the frame. The last, or
only, packet carrying data for the frame MUST have the M bit set in
the RTP header.
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4.5. Example Algorithms
4.5.1. Frame Reconstruction Algorithm
Example of frame reconstruction algorithm.
1: Collect all packets with a given RTP timestamp.
2: Go through packets in order, sorted by sequence numbers, if
packets are missing, send NACK as defined in [RFC4585] or decode
with missing partitions, see Section 4.5.2 below.
3: A frame is complete if the frame has no missing sequence numbers,
the first packet in the frame contains S=1 with partId=0 and the
last packet in the frame has the marker bit set.
4.5.2. Partition Reconstruction Algorithm
Example of partition reconstruction algorithm. The algorithm only
applies for the RECOMMENDED use case with partitions in separate
packets.
1: Scan for the start of a new partition; S=1.
2: Continue scan to detect end of partition; hence, a new S=1
(previous packet was the end of the partition) is found or the
marker bit is set. If a loss is detected before the end of the
partition, abandon all packets in this partition and continue the
scan repeating from step 1.
3: Store the packets in the complete partition, continue the scan
repeating from step 1 until end of frame is reached.
4: Send all complete partitions to the decoder. If no complete
partition is found discard the whole frame.
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4.6. Examples of VP8 RTP Stream
A few examples of how the VP8 RTP payload can be used are included
below.
4.6.1. Key Frame in a Single RTP Packet
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 0| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|1| VER |0| P = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VP8 payload |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
4.6.2. Non-discardable VP8 Interframe in a Single RTP Packet; No
PictureID
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0|0|0|1|0|0 0 0| X = 0; S = 1; PID = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|1| VER |1| P = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| VP8 payload |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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4.6.3. VP8 Partitions in Separate RTP Packets
First RTP packet; complete first partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 0 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 0| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|1| VER |1| P = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Octets 4..L of|
| first VP8 |
| partition |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Second RTP packet; complete second partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 1| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Remaining VP8 |
| partitions |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 15]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
4.6.4. VP8 Frame Fragmented across RTP Packets
First RTP packet; complete first partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 0 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 0| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|1| VER |1| P = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Complete |
| first |
| partition |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Second RTP packet; first fragment of second partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 0 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 1| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| First fragment|
| of second |
| partition |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
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Third RTP packet; second fragment of second partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 0 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0|0 0 1| X = 1; S = 0; PID = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Mid fragment |
| of second |
| partition |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Fourth RTP packet; last fragment of second partition.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0|0 0 1| X = 1; S = 0; PID = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1| PictureID = 17
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Last fragment |
| of second |
| partition |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 17]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
4.6.5. VP8 Frame with Long PictureID
PictureID = 4711 = 001001001100111 binary (first 7 bits: 0010010,
last 8 bits: 01100111).
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| RTP header |
| M = 1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|1|0|0 0 0| X = 1; S = 1; PID = 0
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1|0|0|0|0 0 0 0| I = 1;
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0| Long PictureID flag = 1
|0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1| PictureID = 4711
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
|Size0|1| VER |1|
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size1 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Size2 |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Octets 4..N of|
| VP8 payload |
: :
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
5. Using VP8 with RPSI and SLI Feedback
The VP8 payload descriptor defined in Section 4.2 contains an
optional PictureID parameter. This parameter is included mainly to
enable use of reference picture selection indication (RPSI) and slice
loss indication (SLI), both defined in [RFC4585].
5.1. RPSI
The RPSI is a payload-specific feedback message defined within the
RTCP-based feedback format. The RPSI message is generated by a
receiver and can be used in two ways. Either it can signal a
preferred reference picture when a loss has been detected by the
decoder -- preferably then a reference that the decoder knows is
perfect -- or it can be used as positive feedback information to
acknowledge correct decoding of certain reference pictures. The
positive-feedback method is useful for VP8 used for point-to-point
(unicast) communication. The use of RPSI for VP8 is preferably
combined with a special update pattern of the codec's two special
reference frames -- the golden frame and the altref frame -- in which
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 18]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
they are updated in an alternating leapfrog fashion. When a receiver
has received and correctly decoded a golden or altref frame, and that
frame has a PictureID in the payload descriptor, the receiver can
acknowledge this simply by sending an RPSI message back to the
sender. The message body (i.e., the "native RPSI bit string" in
[RFC4585]) is simply the PictureID of the received frame.
5.2. SLI
The SLI is another payload-specific feedback message defined within
the RTCP-based feedback format. The SLI message is generated by the
receiver when a loss or corruption is detected in a frame. The
format of the SLI message is as follows [RFC4585]:
0 1 2 3
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| First | Number | PictureID |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Figure 4
Here, First is the macroblock address (in scan order) of the first
lost block and Number is the number of lost blocks, as defined in
[RFC4585]. PictureID is the six least significant bits of the codec-
specific picture identifier in which the loss or corruption has
occurred. For VP8, this codec-specific identifier is naturally the
PictureID of the current frame, as read from the payload descriptor.
If the payload descriptor of the current frame does not have a
PictureID, the receiver MAY send the last received PictureID+1 in the
SLI message. The receiver MAY set the First parameter to 0, and the
Number parameter to the total number of macroblocks per frame, even
though only part of the frame is corrupted. When the sender receives
an SLI message, it can make use of the knowledge from the latest
received RPSI message. Knowing that the last golden or altref frame
was successfully received, it can encode the next frame with
reference to that established reference.
5.3. Example
The use of RPSI and SLI is best illustrated in an example. In this
example, the encoder may not update the altref frame until the last
sent golden frame has been acknowledged with an RPSI message. If an
update is not received within some time, a new golden frame update is
sent instead. Once the new golden frame is established and
acknowledged, the same rule applies when updating the altref frame.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 19]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
+-------+-------------------+-------------------------+-------------+
| Event | Sender | Receiver | Established |
| | | | reference |
+-------+-------------------+-------------------------+-------------+
| 1000 | Send golden frame | | |
| | PictureID = 0 | | |
| | | | |
| | | Receive and decode | |
| | | golden frame | |
| | | | |
| 1001 | | Send RPSI(0) | |
| | | | |
| 1002 | Receive RPSI(0) | | golden |
| | | | |
| ... | (sending regular | | |
| | frames) | | |
| | | | |
| 1100 | Send altref frame | | |
| | PictureID = 100 | | |
| | | | |
| | | Altref corrupted or | golden |
| | | lost | |
| | | | |
| 1101 | | Send SLI(100) | golden |
| | | | |
| 1102 | Receive SLI(100) | | |
| | | | |
| 1103 | Send frame with | | |
| | reference to | | |
| | golden | | |
| | | | |
| | | Receive and decode | golden |
| | | frame (decoder state | |
| | | restored) | |
| | | | |
| ... | (sending regular | | |
| | frames) | | |
| | | | |
| 1200 | Send altref frame | | |
| | PictureID = 200 | | |
| | | | |
| | | Receive and decode | golden |
| | | altref frame | |
| | | | |
| 1201 | | Send RPSI(200) | |
| | | | |
| 1202 | Receive RPSI(200) | | altref |
| | | | |
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 20]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
| ... | (sending regular | | |
| | frames) | | |
| | | | |
| 1300 | Send golden frame | | |
| | PictureID = 300 | | |
| | | | |
| | | Receive and decode | altref |
| | | golden frame | |
| | | | |
| 1301 | | Send RPSI(300) | altref |
| | | | |
| 1302 | RPSI lost | | |
| | | | |
| 1400 | Send golden frame | | |
| | PictureID = 400 | | |
| | | | |
| | | Receive and decode | altref |
| | | golden frame | |
| | | | |
| 1401 | | Send RPSI(400) | |
| | | | |
| 1402 | Receive RPSI(400) | | golden |
+-------+-------------------+-------------------------+-------------+
Table 1: Example Signaling between Sender and Receiver
Note that the scheme is robust to loss of the feedback messages. If
the RPSI is lost, the sender will try to update the golden (or
altref) again after a while, without releasing the established
reference. Also, if an SLI is lost, the receiver can keep sending
SLI messages at any interval allowed by the RTCP sending timing
restrictions as specified in [RFC4585], as long as the picture is
corrupted.
6. Payload Format Parameters
This payload format has two optional parameters.
6.1. Media Type Definition
This registration is done using the template defined in [RFC6838] and
following [RFC4855].
Type name: video
Subtype name: VP8
Required parameters: None.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 21]
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Optional parameters:
These parameters are used to signal the capabilities of a receiver
implementation. If the implementation is willing to receive
media, both parameters MUST be provided. These parameters MUST
NOT be used for any other purpose.
max-fr: The value of max-fr is an integer indicating the maximum
frame rate in units of frames per second that the decoder is
capable of decoding.
max-fs: The value of max-fs is an integer indicating the maximum
frame size in units of macroblocks that the decoder is capable
of decoding.
The decoder is capable of decoding this frame size as long as
the width and height of the frame in macroblocks are less than
int(sqrt(max-fs * 8)). For instance, a max-fs of 1200 (capable
of supporting 640x480 resolution) will support widths and
heights up to 1552 pixels (97 macroblocks).
Encoding considerations:
This media type is framed in RTP and contains binary data; see
Section 4.8 of [RFC6838].
Security considerations: See Section 7 of RFC 7741.
Interoperability considerations: None.
Published specification: VP8 bitstream format [RFC6386] and RFC
7741.
Applications that use this media type:
For example: Video over IP, video conferencing.
Fragment identifier considerations: N/A.
Additional information: None.
Person & email address to contact for further information:
Patrik Westin, patrik.westin@gmail.com
Intended usage: COMMON
Restrictions on usage:
This media type depends on RTP framing, and hence it is only
defined for transfer via RTP [RFC3550].
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 22]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
Author: Patrik Westin, patrik.westin@gmail.com
Change controller:
IETF Payload Working Group delegated from the IESG.
6.2. SDP Parameters
The receiver MUST ignore any fmtp parameter unspecified in this memo.
6.2.1. Mapping of Media Subtype Parameters to SDP
The media type video/VP8 string is mapped to fields in the Session
Description Protocol (SDP) [RFC4566] as follows:
o The media name in the "m=" line of SDP MUST be video.
o The encoding name in the "a=rtpmap" line of SDP MUST be VP8 (the
media subtype).
o The clock rate in the "a=rtpmap" line MUST be 90000.
o The parameters "max-fs" and "max-fr" MUST be included in the
"a=fmtp" line if the SDP is used to declare receiver capabilities.
These parameters are expressed as a media subtype string, in the
form of a semicolon-separated list of parameter=value pairs.
6.2.1.1. Example
An example of media representation in SDP is as follows:
m=video 49170 RTP/AVPF 98
a=rtpmap:98 VP8/90000
a=fmtp:98 max-fr=30; max-fs=3600;
6.2.2. Offer/Answer Considerations
The VP8 codec offers a decode complexity that is roughly linear with
the number of pixels encoded. The parameters "max-fr" and "max-fs"
are defined in Section 6.1, where the macroblock size is 16x16 pixels
as defined in [RFC6386], the max-fs and max-fr parameters MUST be
used to establish these limits.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 23]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
7. Security Considerations
RTP packets using the payload format defined in this specification
are subject to the security considerations discussed in the RTP
specification [RFC3550], and in any applicable RTP profile such as
RTP/AVP [RFC3551], RTP/AVPF [RFC4585], RTP/SAVP [RFC3711], or RTP/
SAVPF [RFC5124]. However, as "Securing the RTP Protocol Framework:
Why RTP Does Not Mandate a Single Media Security Solution" [RFC7202]
discusses, it is not an RTP payload format's responsibility to
discuss or mandate what solutions are used to meet the basic security
goals like confidentiality, integrity, and source authenticity for
RTP in general. This responsibility lays on anyone using RTP in an
application. They can find guidance on available security mechanisms
and important considerations in "Options for Securing RTP Sessions"
[RFC7201]. Applications SHOULD use one or more appropriate strong
security mechanisms. The rest of this security consideration section
discusses the security impacting properties of the payload format
itself.
This RTP payload format and its media decoder do not exhibit any
significant difference in the receiver-side computational complexity
for packet processing and, thus, are unlikely to pose a denial-of-
service threat due to the receipt of pathological data. Nor does the
RTP payload format contain any active content.
8. Congestion Control
Congestion control for RTP SHALL be used in accordance with RFC 3550
[RFC3550] and with any applicable RTP profile; e.g., RFC 3551
[RFC3551]. The congestion control mechanism can, in a real-time
encoding scenario, adapt the transmission rate by instructing the
encoder to encode at a certain target rate. Media-aware network
elements MAY use the information in the VP8 payload descriptor in
Section 4.2 to identify non-reference frames and discard them in
order to reduce network congestion. Note that discarding of non-
reference frames cannot be done if the stream is encrypted (because
the non-reference marker is encrypted).
9. IANA Considerations
The IANA has registered a media type as described in Section 6.1.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 24]
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10. References
10.1. Normative References
[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC3550] Schulzrinne, H., Casner, S., Frederick, R., and V.
Jacobson, "RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time
Applications", STD 64, RFC 3550, DOI 10.17487/RFC3550,
July 2003, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3550>.
[RFC3551] Schulzrinne, H. and S. Casner, "RTP Profile for Audio and
Video Conferences with Minimal Control", STD 65, RFC 3551,
DOI 10.17487/RFC3551, July 2003,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3551>.
[RFC4566] Handley, M., Jacobson, V., and C. Perkins, "SDP: Session
Description Protocol", RFC 4566, DOI 10.17487/RFC4566,
July 2006, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4566>.
[RFC4585] Ott, J., Wenger, S., Sato, N., Burmeister, C., and J. Rey,
"Extended RTP Profile for Real-time Transport Control
Protocol (RTCP)-Based Feedback (RTP/AVPF)", RFC 4585,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4585, July 2006,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4585>.
[RFC4855] Casner, S., "Media Type Registration of RTP Payload
Formats", RFC 4855, DOI 10.17487/RFC4855, February 2007,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc4855>.
[RFC6386] Bankoski, J., Koleszar, J., Quillio, L., Salonen, J.,
Wilkins, P., and Y. Xu, "VP8 Data Format and Decoding
Guide", RFC 6386, DOI 10.17487/RFC6386, November 2011,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6386>.
[RFC6838] Freed, N., Klensin, J., and T. Hansen, "Media Type
Specifications and Registration Procedures", BCP 13,
RFC 6838, DOI 10.17487/RFC6838, January 2013,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6838>.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 25]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
10.2. Informative References
[RFC3711] Baugher, M., McGrew, D., Naslund, M., Carrara, E., and K.
Norrman, "The Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP)",
RFC 3711, DOI 10.17487/RFC3711, March 2004,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3711>.
[RFC5124] Ott, J. and E. Carrara, "Extended Secure RTP Profile for
Real-time Transport Control Protocol (RTCP)-Based Feedback
(RTP/SAVPF)", RFC 5124, DOI 10.17487/RFC5124, February
2008, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5124>.
[RFC7201] Westerlund, M. and C. Perkins, "Options for Securing RTP
Sessions", RFC 7201, DOI 10.17487/RFC7201, April 2014,
<http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7201>.
[RFC7202] Perkins, C. and M. Westerlund, "Securing the RTP
Framework: Why RTP Does Not Mandate a Single Media
Security Solution", RFC 7202, DOI 10.17487/RFC7202, April
2014, <http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7202>.
[Sch07] Schwarz, H., Marpe, D., and T. Wiegand, "Overview of the
Scalable Video Coding Extension of the H.264/AVC
Standard", IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for
Video Technology, Volume 17: Issue 9,
DOI 10.1109/TCSVT.2007.905532, September 2007,
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TCSVT.2007.905532>.
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 26]
RFC 7741 RTP Payload Format for VP8 March 2016
Authors' Addresses
Patrik Westin
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
United States
Email: patrik.westin@gmail.com
Henrik F Lundin
Google, Inc.
Kungsbron 2
Stockholm 11122
Sweden
Email: hlundin@google.com
Michael Glover
Twitter Boston
10 Hemlock Way
Durham, NH 03824
United States
Email: michaelglover262@gmail.com
Justin Uberti
Google, Inc.
747 6th Street South
Kirkland, WA 98033
United States
Email: justin@uberti.name
Frank Galligan
Google, Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043
United States
Email: fgalligan@google.com
Westin, et al. Standards Track [Page 27]
ERRATA
