Add ffmpeg config to increase HEVC compatibility with Apple devices (#15795)

* Add config option for handling HEVC playback on Apple devices

* Update docs

* Remove unused

docs/docs/configuration/camera_specific.md

@@ -67,14 +67,15 @@ ffmpeg:
 
 ### Annke C800
 
-This camera is H.265 only. To be able to play clips on some devices (like MacOs or iPhone) the H.265 stream has to be repackaged and the audio stream has to be converted to aac. Unfortunately direct playback of in the browser is not working (yet), but the downloaded clip can be played locally.
+This camera is H.265 only. To be able to play clips on some devices (like MacOs or iPhone) the H.265 stream has to be adjusted using the `apple_compatibility` config.
 
 ```yaml
 cameras:
   annkec800: # <------ Name the camera
     ffmpeg:
+      apple_compatibility: true  # <- Adds compatibility with MacOS and iPhone
       output_args:
-        record: -f segment -segment_time 10 -segment_format mp4 -reset_timestamps 1 -strftime 1 -c:v copy -tag:v hvc1 -bsf:v hevc_mp4toannexb -c:a aac
+        record: preset-record-generic-audio-aac
 
       inputs:
         - path: rtsp://user:password@camera-ip:554/H264/ch1/main/av_stream # <----- Update for your camera

docs/docs/configuration/reference.md

@@ -244,6 +244,8 @@ ffmpeg:
   # If set too high, then if a ffmpeg crash or camera stream timeout occurs, you could potentially lose up to a maximum of retry_interval second(s) of footage
   # NOTE: this can be a useful setting for Wireless / Battery cameras to reduce how much footage is potentially lost during a connection timeout.
   retry_interval: 10
+  # Optional: Set tag on HEVC (H.265) recording stream to improve compatibility with Apple players. (default: shown below)
+  apple_compatibility: false
 
 # Optional: Detect configuration
 # NOTE: Can be overridden at the camera level

frigate/config/camera/camera.py

@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ class CameraConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
             record_args = get_ffmpeg_arg_list(
                 parse_preset_output_record(
                     self.ffmpeg.output_args.record,
-                    self.ffmpeg.output_args._force_record_hvc1,
+                    self.ffmpeg.apple_compatibility,
                 )
                 or self.ffmpeg.output_args.record
             )

frigate/config/camera/ffmpeg.py

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import shutil
 from enum import Enum
 from typing import Union
 
-from pydantic import Field, PrivateAttr, field_validator
+from pydantic import Field, field_validator
 
 from frigate.const import DEFAULT_FFMPEG_VERSION, INCLUDED_FFMPEG_VERSIONS
 
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ class FfmpegOutputArgsConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
         default=RECORD_FFMPEG_OUTPUT_ARGS_DEFAULT,
         title="Record role FFmpeg output arguments.",
     )
-    _force_record_hvc1: bool = PrivateAttr(default=False)
 
 
 class FfmpegConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
@@ -64,6 +63,10 @@ class FfmpegConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
         default=10.0,
         title="Time in seconds to wait before FFmpeg retries connecting to the camera.",
     )
+    apple_compatibility: bool = Field(
+        default=False,
+        title="Set tag on HEVC (H.265) recording stream to improve compatibility with Apple players.",
+    )
 
     @property
     def ffmpeg_path(self) -> str:

frigate/config/config.py

@@ -458,13 +458,12 @@ class FrigateConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
                 camera_config.ffmpeg.hwaccel_args = self.ffmpeg.hwaccel_args
 
             for input in camera_config.ffmpeg.inputs:
-                need_record_fourcc = False and "record" in input.roles
                 need_detect_dimensions = "detect" in input.roles and (
                     camera_config.detect.height is None
                     or camera_config.detect.width is None
                 )
 
-                if need_detect_dimensions or need_record_fourcc:
+                if need_detect_dimensions:
                     stream_info = {"width": 0, "height": 0, "fourcc": None}
                     try:
                         stream_info = stream_info_retriever.get_stream_info(
@@ -488,14 +487,6 @@ class FrigateConfig(FrigateBaseModel):
                         else DEFAULT_DETECT_DIMENSIONS["height"]
                     )
 
-                if need_record_fourcc:
-                    # Apple only supports HEVC if it is hvc1 (vs. hev1)
-                    camera_config.ffmpeg.output_args._force_record_hvc1 = (
-                        stream_info["fourcc"] == "hevc"
-                        if stream_info.get("hevc")
-                        else False
-                    )
-
             # Warn if detect fps > 10
             if camera_config.detect.fps > 10:
                 logger.warning(

frigate/const.py

@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ INCLUDED_FFMPEG_VERSIONS = ["7.0", "5.0"]
 FFMPEG_HWACCEL_NVIDIA = "preset-nvidia"
 FFMPEG_HWACCEL_VAAPI = "preset-vaapi"
 FFMPEG_HWACCEL_VULKAN = "preset-vulkan"
+FFMPEG_HVC1_ARGS = ["-tag:v", "hvc1"]
 
 # Regex constants
 

frigate/ffmpeg_presets.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ from enum import Enum
 from typing import Any
 
 from frigate.const import (
+    FFMPEG_HVC1_ARGS,
     FFMPEG_HWACCEL_NVIDIA,
     FFMPEG_HWACCEL_VAAPI,
     FFMPEG_HWACCEL_VULKAN,
@@ -490,6 +491,6 @@ def parse_preset_output_record(arg: Any, force_record_hvc1: bool) -> list[str]:
 
     if force_record_hvc1:
         # Apple only supports HEVC if it is hvc1 (vs. hev1)
-        preset += ["-tag:v", "hvc1"]
+        preset += FFMPEG_HVC1_ARGS
 
     return preset

frigate/record/export.py

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from frigate.const import (
     CACHE_DIR,
     CLIPS_DIR,
     EXPORT_DIR,
+    FFMPEG_HVC1_ARGS,
     MAX_PLAYLIST_SECONDS,
     PREVIEW_FRAME_TYPE,
 )
@@ -219,7 +220,7 @@ class RecordingExporter(threading.Thread):
 
         if self.playback_factor == PlaybackFactorEnum.realtime:
             ffmpeg_cmd = (
-                f"{self.config.ffmpeg.ffmpeg_path} -hide_banner {ffmpeg_input} -c copy -movflags +faststart {video_path}"
+                f"{self.config.ffmpeg.ffmpeg_path} -hide_banner {ffmpeg_input} -c copy -movflags +faststart"
             ).split(" ")
         elif self.playback_factor == PlaybackFactorEnum.timelapse_25x:
             ffmpeg_cmd = (
@@ -227,11 +228,16 @@ class RecordingExporter(threading.Thread):
                     self.config.ffmpeg.ffmpeg_path,
                     self.config.ffmpeg.hwaccel_args,
                     f"-an {ffmpeg_input}",
-                    f"{self.config.cameras[self.camera].record.export.timelapse_args} -movflags +faststart {video_path}",
+                    f"{self.config.cameras[self.camera].record.export.timelapse_args} -movflags +faststart",
                     EncodeTypeEnum.timelapse,
                 )
             ).split(" ")
 
+        if self.config.ffmpeg.apple_compatibility:
+            ffmpeg_cmd += FFMPEG_HVC1_ARGS
+
+        ffmpeg_cmd.append(video_path)
+
         return ffmpeg_cmd, playlist_lines
 
     def get_preview_export_command(self, video_path: str) -> list[str]: