lerobot/docs/source/video_encoding_parameters.mdx

# Video encoding parameters

When video storage is enabled, LeRobot stores each camera stream as an **MP4** file instead of saving one image file per timestep. Video encoding compresses across time, which usually cuts dataset size and I/O compared to a pile of PNG, while keeping MP4 — a format every player and loader understands.

Encoding frames into an MP4 is a full FFmpeg pipeline: choice of encoder, pixel format, GOP/keyframes, quality vs. speed, and optional extra encoder flags. Most of these knobs are user-tunable through `camera_encoder`, a nested `VideoEncoderConfig` (`lerobot.configs.video.VideoEncoderConfig`) passed through PyAV.

You can set these parameters from the CLI with `--dataset.camera_encoder.<field>` (e.g. with `lerobot-record` or `lerobot-rollout`). The same block applies to every camera video stream in that run.

<Tip>
  Video storage must be on for `camera_encoder` to have any effect —
  `use_videos=True` in Python APIs, or `--dataset.video=true` on the CLI (the
  recording default). With video off, inputs stay as images and `camera_encoder`
  is ignored.
</Tip>

For details on **when** frames are written vs. encoded (streaming vs. post-episode), queues, and other top-level `--dataset.*` switches, see [Streaming Video Encoding](./streaming_video_encoding). For an encoding-parameter comparison and experiments, see the [video-benchmark Space](https://huggingface.co/spaces/lerobot/video-benchmark).

---

## Example

```bash
lerobot-record \
    --robot.type=so100_follower \
    --robot.port=/dev/tty.usbmodem58760431541 \
    --robot.cameras="{laptop: {type: opencv, index_or_path: 0, width: 640, height: 480, fps: 30}}" \
    --robot.id=black \
    --teleop.type=so100_leader \
    --teleop.port=/dev/tty.usbmodem58760431551 \
    --teleop.id=blue \
    --dataset.repo_id=<my_username>/<my_dataset_name> \
    --dataset.num_episodes=2 \
    --dataset.single_task="Grab the cube" \
    --dataset.streaming_encoding=true \
    --dataset.encoder_threads=2 \
    --dataset.camera_encoder.vcodec=h264 \
    --dataset.camera_encoder.preset=fast \
    --dataset.camera_encoder.extra_options={"tune": "film", "profile:v": "high", "bf": 2} \
    --display_data=true
```

---

## Tuning parameters

<Tip warning={true}>
The defaults are tuned to balance **compression ratio**, **visual quality**, and **decoding/seek speed** for typical robotics datasets. Changing them can affect both recording (CPU load, frame drops) and training (decoding throughput, image quality).

Only override these parameters if you have a specific reason to, and measure the impact on your pipeline before relying on the new settings.

</Tip>

All flags below are prefixed with `--dataset.camera_encoder.` on the CLI.

| Parameter       | Type             | Default       | Description                                                                                                                                                                            |
| --------------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `vcodec`        | `str`            | `"libsvtav1"` | Video codec name. `"auto"` picks the first available hardware encoder from a fixed preference list, falling back to `libsvtav1`.                                                       |
| `pix_fmt`       | `str`            | `"yuv420p"`   | Output pixel format. Must be supported by the chosen codec in your FFmpeg build.                                                                                                       |
| `g`             | `int`            | `2`           | GOP size — a keyframe every `g` frames. Emitted as FFmpeg option `g`.                                                                                                                  |
| `crf`           | `int` or `float` | `30`          | Abstract quality value, mapped per codec (see the [mapping](#mapping-videoencoderconfig--ffmpeg-options) below). Lower → higher quality / larger output where the mapping is monotone. |
| `preset`        | `int` or `str`   | `12` \*       | Encoder speed preset; meaning depends on the codec. <br/>\* When unset and `vcodec=libsvtav1`, LeRobot defaults to `12`.                                                               |
| `fast_decode`   | `int`            | `0`           | `libsvtav1`: `0–2`, passed via `svtav1-params`. <br/>`h264` / `hevc` (software): if `>0`, sets `tune=fastdecode`. <br/>Other codecs: usually unused.                                   |
| `video_backend` | `str`            | `"pyav"`      | Only `"pyav"` is currently implemented for video encoding.                                                                                                                             |
| `extra_options` | `dict`           | `{}`          | Extra FFmpeg or codec specific options merged after the structured fields above. Cannot override keys already set by those fields.                                                     |

---

## Persistence in dataset metadata

After the first episode of a video stream is encoded, the encoder configuration is **persisted into the dataset metadata** (`meta/info.json`) under each video feature, alongside the values probed from the file itself. For a video feature `observation.images.<camera>`, the layout in `info.json` is:

```json
{
  "features": {
    "observation.images.laptop": {
      "dtype": "video",
      "shape": [480, 640, 3],
      "info": {
        "video.height": 480,
        "video.width": 640,
        "video.codec": "h264",
        "video.pix_fmt": "yuv420p",
        "video.fps": 30,
        "video.channels": 3,
        "video.is_depth_map": false,
        "video.g": 2,
        "video.crf": 30,
        "video.preset": "fast",
        "video.fast_decode": 0,
        "video.video_backend": "pyav",
        "video.extra_options": { "tune": "film", "profile:v": "high", "bf": 2 }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Two sources contribute to the `info` block:

- **Stream-derived** (read back from the encoded MP4 with PyAV): `video.height`, `video.width`, `video.codec`, `video.pix_fmt`, `video.fps`, `video.channels`, `video.is_depth_map`, plus `audio.*` if an audio stream is present.
- **Encoder-derived** (taken from `VideoEncoderConfig`): `video.g`, `video.crf`, `video.preset`, `video.fast_decode`, `video.video_backend`, `video.extra_options`.

<Tip>
  This block is populated **once**, from the **first** episode. It assumes every
  episode in the dataset was encoded with the same `camera_encoder`. Changing
  encoder settings partway through a recording is not supported — the
  `info.json` will only reflect the parameters used for the first episode.
</Tip>

---

## Merging datasets

When aggregating datasets with `merge_datasets`, video files are concatenated as-is (no re-encoding), and encoder fields in `info.json` are merged per-key:

- **Stream-derived fields must match** across sources: `video.codec`, `video.pix_fmt`, `video.height`, `video.width`, `video.fps`. Otherwise FFmpeg's concat demuxer fails.
- **Encoder-tuning fields are merged loosely**: `video.g`, `video.crf`, `video.preset`, `video.fast_decode`, `video.extra_options`. If every source agrees, the value is kept; if not, it's set to `null` (or `{}` for `video.extra_options`) and a warning is logged.