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      1 page.title=Output streams and cropping
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     19 <div id="qv-wrapper">
     20   <div id="qv">
     21     <h2>In this document</h2>
     22     <ol id="auto-toc">
     23     </ol>
     24   </div>
     25 </div>
     26 
     27 <h2 id="output-stream">Output streams</h2>
     28 <p> Unlike the old camera subsystem, which has 3-4 different ways of producing data 
     29   from the camera (ANativeWindow-based preview operations, preview callbacks, 
     30   video callbacks, and takePicture callbacks), the new subsystem operates solely 
     31   on the ANativeWindow-based pipeline for all resolutions and output formats. 
     32   Multiple such streams can be configured at once, to send a single frame to many 
     33   targets such as the GPU, the video encoder, RenderScript, or app-visible buffers 
     34   (RAW Bayer, processed YUV buffers, or JPEG-encoded buffers).</p>
     35 <p>As an optimization, these output streams must be configured ahead of time, and 
     36   only a limited number may exist at once. This allows for pre-allocation of 
     37   memory buffers and configuration of the camera hardware, so that when requests 
     38   are submitted with multiple or varying output pipelines listed, there won't be 
     39   delays or latency in fulfilling the request.</p>
     40 <p>To support backwards compatibility with the current camera API, at least 3 
     41   simultaneous YUV output streams must be supported, plus one JPEG stream. This is 
     42   required for video snapshot support with the application also receiving YUV 
     43   buffers:</p>
     44 <ul>
     45   <li>One stream to the GPU/SurfaceView (opaque YUV format) for preview</li>
     46   <li>One stream to the video encoder (opaque YUV format) for recording</li>
     47   <li>One stream to the application (known YUV format) for preview frame callbacks</li>
     48   <li>One stream to the application (JPEG) for video snapshots.</li>
     49 </ul>
     50 <p>The exact requirements are still being defined since the corresponding API
     51 isn't yet finalized.</p>
     52 <h2>Cropping</h2>
     53 <p>Cropping of the full pixel array (for digital zoom and other use cases where a 
     54   smaller FOV is desirable) is communicated through the ANDROID_SCALER_CROP_REGION 
     55   setting. This is a per-request setting, and can change on a per-request basis, 
     56   which is critical for implementing smooth digital zoom.</p>
     57 <p>The region is defined as a rectangle (x, y, width, height), with (x, y) 
     58   describing the top-left corner of the rectangle. The rectangle is defined on the 
     59   coordinate system of the sensor active pixel array, with (0,0) being the 
     60   top-left pixel of the active pixel array. Therefore, the width and height cannot 
     61   be larger than the dimensions reported in the ANDROID_SENSOR_ACTIVE_PIXEL_ARRAY 
     62   static info field. The minimum allowed width and height are reported by the HAL 
     63   through the ANDROID_SCALER_MAX_DIGITAL_ZOOM static info field, which describes 
     64   the maximum supported zoom factor. Therefore, the minimum crop region width and 
     65   height are:</p>
     66 <pre>
     67   {width, height} =
     68    { floor(ANDROID_SENSOR_ACTIVE_PIXEL_ARRAY[0] /
     69        ANDROID_SCALER_MAX_DIGITAL_ZOOM),
     70      floor(ANDROID_SENSOR_ACTIVE_PIXEL_ARRAY[1] /
     71        ANDROID_SCALER_MAX_DIGITAL_ZOOM) }
     72   </pre>
     73 <p>If the crop region needs to fulfill specific requirements (for example, it needs 
     74   to start on even coordinates, and its width/height needs to be even), the HAL 
     75   must do the necessary rounding and write out the final crop region used in the 
     76   output result metadata. Similarly, if the HAL implements video stabilization, it 
     77   must adjust the result crop region to describe the region actually included in 
     78   the output after video stabilization is applied. In general, a camera-using 
     79   application must be able to determine the field of view it is receiving based on 
     80   the crop region, the dimensions of the image sensor, and the lens focal length.</p>
     81 <p>Since the crop region applies to all streams, which may have different aspect 
     82   ratios than the crop region, the exact sensor region used for each stream may be 
     83   smaller than the crop region. Specifically, each stream should maintain square 
     84   pixels and its aspect ratio by minimally further cropping the defined crop 
     85   region. If the stream's aspect ratio is wider than the crop region, the stream 
     86   should be further cropped vertically, and if the stream's aspect ratio is 
     87   narrower than the crop region, the stream should be further cropped 
     88   horizontally.</p>
     89 <p>In all cases, the stream crop must be centered within the full crop region, and 
     90   each stream is only either cropped horizontally or vertical relative to the full 
     91   crop region, never both.</p>
     92 <p>For example, if two streams are defined, a 640x480 stream (4:3 aspect), and a 
     93   1280x720 stream (16:9 aspect), below demonstrates the expected output regions 
     94   for each stream for a few sample crop regions, on a hypothetical 3 MP (2000 x 
     95   1500 pixel array) sensor.</p>
     96 </p>
     97   Crop region: (500, 375, 1000, 750) (4:3 aspect ratio)<br/>
     98   640x480 stream crop: (500, 375, 1000, 750) (equal to crop region)<br/>
     99   1280x720 stream crop: (500, 469, 1000, 562)<br/>
    100   <img src="images/crop-region-43-ratio.png" alt="crop-region-43-ratio"/>
    101 </p>
    102 <p>Crop region: (500, 375, 1333, 750) (16:9 aspect ratio)<br/>
    103   640x480 stream crop: (666, 375, 1000, 750)<br/>
    104   1280x720 stream crop: (500, 375, 1333, 750) (equal to crop region)<br/>
    105   <img src="images/crop-region-169-ratio.png" alt="crop-region-169-ratio"/>
    106   <!-- TODO: Fix alt text and URL -->
    107 </p>
    108 <p>Crop region: (500, 375, 750, 750) (1:1 aspect ratio)<br/>
    109   640x480 stream crop: (500, 469, 750, 562)<br/>
    110   1280x720 stream crop: (500, 543, 750, 414)<br/>
    111   <img src="images/crop-region-11-ratio.png" alt="crop-region-11-ratio"/>
    112   <br/>
    113   And a final example, a 1024x1024 square aspect ratio stream instead of the 480p 
    114   stream:<br/>
    115   Crop region: (500, 375, 1000, 750) (4:3 aspect ratio)<br/>
    116   1024x1024 stream crop: (625, 375, 750, 750)<br/>
    117   1280x720 stream crop: (500, 469, 1000, 562)<br/>
    118   <img src="images/crop-region-43-square-ratio.png"
    119 alt="crop-region-43-square-ratio"/>
    120 </p>
    121 <h2 id="reprocessing">Reprocessing</h2>
    122 <p> Additional support for raw image files is provided by reprocessing support for RAW Bayer 
    123   data. This support allows the camera pipeline to process a previously captured 
    124   RAW buffer and metadata (an entire frame that was recorded previously), to 
    125   produce a new rendered YUV or JPEG output.</p>
    126