Bitstreams Edge Release Notes

Release v2.3.0

Requirements

• Quadra Firmware v4.8.6

New Features and Improvements

1. Support offline sessions from file-based inputs to HLS outputs

• Implement upload of VTT files to support WebVTT subtitles
• Introduce an option to configure rendition structure in templates for offline HLS outputs

2. Support to pass the source input path and filename for offline sessions. Available with the API only
3. Allow restarting failed offline sessions
4. Improve stop API handling for offline sessions to prevent stop/start race conditions
5. Add support for forwarding teletext as WebVTT format (HLS output mode only)
6. Introduce a stream mapping feature that supports PID filtering and remapping
7. Enhance the stream-trans configuration file by adding options:

• "probe_size" and "probe_timeout" to provide more flexibility and control over stream probing parameters
• "probe_frame_fallback" which can be set to "pict_type" to automatically whitelist pict_type of I frames as valid keyframes when the source stream lacks a keyframe indicator

8. Implement restrictions on minimum audio bitrates based on the number of channels to ensure optimal audio quality
9. Merge multiple "Alert Resolution Dropped" messages into a single entry to be displayed under "Live Encoding Issues" in Dashboard
10. Add "Alerts" to notify users when FFmpeg encounters issues opening an encoder or decoder due to unavailable resources
11. GUI improvements:

• Automatic refresh every 5 seconds for updated encoding details, alerts, and dashboard information
• Change access token date format to 24-hour format
• Enhance template selection based on live session output types; Add warnings for incompatible codec and output types
• Adjust "Status" column width in Encoding list views
• Improve filtering and sorting options for offline sessions
• Fix input file uploading validation and support additional input video types for offline sessions

12. Bind Bitstreams Edge's private ports to $NODE_PRIVATE_IP to comply with security checks
13. Update Docker images: MySQL to version 8.0, Redis to version 7.2.5, and Nginx to version 1.26.3

Resolved Issues

1. Correct the configuration of the external SRT port set by "edge_quick_install.py"
2. Fix search function in Alert, Access Tokens, Signing Key sections
3. Resolve conflicting stream aspect ratio values in the Adaptation Set
4. Implement clear messages to alert users when the system time differs from the server time at login
5. Update the latest alert in "Live Encoding Issues" when a stream fails to start

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Release v2.2.0

Requirements

• Quadra Firmware v4.8.6

New Features and Improvements

1. Integrate new front-end GUI into Bitstreams Edge
2. Merge the pull streams API into the live streams API as live session

• Implement new start/stop API; streams can be updated or deleted in 'Stopped' state
• Supported inputs: RTMP Push, SRT Push, RTSP(s) Pull, DASH, HLS, Multicast
• Supported outputs: HTTP (DASH/HLS, VOD recording), RTMP Push, SRT Push, Multicast UDP, File (one resolution template only)
• Update V3 API documentation

3. Support file-to-file transcoding as offline session

• Configurable limit to concurrent job per Quadra, with a default set to 10
• Support multiple file uploads and display uploading progress bars

4. Templates improvements:

• Add read-only templates: Example_High_Quality-H.265 and Example_High_Quality-H.264
• Enable mixed codec streams
• Improve Format page for HLS segment duration/window/count in template creation
• Support template resolution option "Use Source Resolution" to pass through resolution from input to output

5. Dashboard improvements

• Support total live stream in dashboard widget
• Support live encoding issues widget

6. Implement a license system
7. Include options for specifying the service name and service provider for MPEG-TS

Resolved Issues

1. Add 'mpegts_max_video_bitrate' and 'mpegts_max_audio_bitrate' to allow Bistreams Edge UDP MPEG-TS output to work with 3rd party packagers
2. Fix 'Edge_quick_install.py' IP address re-assignment issue
3. Reject update/delete requests on running streams
4. Improve error reporting when a stream fails to start
5. Report the load as '1' if a nonzero instance count is present and other actual load values are still zero on the GUI

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Release v2.1.2

Requirements

• Quadra Firmware v4.8.6

New Features and Improvements

1. Set mpegts_mux_max enabled at 2x average bitrate; enables MPEG-TS metadata for multicast streams output; Maximum bitrate is configurable with mpegts_mux_max
2. Enable mixed codec streams. There is a known side effect if low-resolution outputs is as the last in a ladder, the lookahead settings are dropped for all outputs

Resolved Issues

1. Use localhost for internal ports to resolve installation issues with a public IP

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Release v2.1.1

Requirements

• Quadra Firmware v4.8.6

New Features and Improvements

1. Support Custom VPU xcoder-params option in Advanced Encoding Parameters session
2. Pull-stream support for RTMP(S) outputs, then push to another device/service
3. Automatically disable lookahead encoding parameters for streams smaller than 640x480
4. Allow RTSP audio tracks, implement audio compatibility basic check
5. Skip task retry on decoder errors caused by UDP errors to prevent playback delays
6. Remove SEI passthrough option form template
7. Disable autoplay function for video preview
8. Block template deletion of disabled pull stream tasks
9. Block template renaming and deletion when the template is in use
10. Added additional controls for logging to assist in debugging issues
11. Use thread_queue_size instead of UDP fifo_size for multicast inputs packet buffering
12. Raise the duplication threshold and log excessive frame duplications, while dropping frames that lead to excessive duplication for CFR
13. Restart ffmpeg processes that don't produce any output frames, increase the restart threshold for numFrames=0 reports
14. Add an audio output watchdog
15. Fail and retry task creation if audio is declared but not detected in MPEG-TS input
16. Add -fflags discardcorrupt; Enable SEI recovery processing for H.264 software decoding
17. Drop MPEG-TS packets with Transport Error Indication bit set

Resolved Issues

1. Implement a clear error message for address binding conflict failures to improve user understanding and troubleshooting
2. Add overlay after downscaling the output0 resolution to maintain overlay in original size
3. Reorder output resolutions by size to ensure valid overlay calculations
4. Resolve the issue where whisper session is closed due to the waiServer failing to check the PID of the FFmpeg
5. Ensure deleted overlay images are removed
6. Use only one Whisper worker (0) for the log file rotation
7. Send a dummy whisper pkt at beginning to initialize muxer
8. Fix taskID lock leakage
9. Set correct language value for var_stream_map and set only one default values for one group of audio tracks
10. Exit FFmpeg program when enc_open error
11. Disable input autorotate and ignore frame display matrix side data when autorotate is disabled to prevent rotation caused by corrupted data

Known Issues and Limitations

warning

The following known issues and limitations maybe addressed in future releases

1. Closed captions do not work with HLS only and fMP4 segments on the webplayer
2. SCTE-35 support with fmp4 segments may not be synced correctly if SCTE-35 stream not detected during probe
3. Lip-sync discrepancies may occur when Whisper is enabled with fmp4 HLS output
4. Video preview player does not work when audio codec is not AC-3 - Browser limitation

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Release v2.1.0

Requirements

• Quadra Firmware v4.8.6

New Features and Improvements

1. Pull-stream support for RTSP(S) inputs, includes support for user authentication
2. Pull-stream recording to filesystem (mp4 and mkv formats)
3. Deinterlace parameters support in template
4. Pull-stream support for SRT output caller mode
5. Improved system load reporting on Dashboard
6. More informative error reporting
7. AV1 codec support in template
8. GOP Preset settings in template
9. Optimized deinterlacing performance for single stream in and out
10. Notification support for live streams [Edge only, Cloud already has it]
11. Improved template error checking
12. Adapt/Restrict minimum resolution based on lookahead settings
13. Added tooltip to disable live stream before editing or deleting

Resolved Issues

1. Use highest available resolution/bitrate when transcoding from HLS input to resolve incorrect overlay offset issue
2. Improved image upload experience and prevents uploading redundant images
3. Various improvements to pull-streaming output URL validation
4. Safeguards for editing templates while in use
5. Pull-stream robustness under adverse conditions
6. Preview web player now also works when DASH only output is used in live and pull-streaming
7. Hide option for AI Transcription in Templates when service is not installed
8. Drop JSON editor form when creating livestream
9. Fixed detection of MPTS multicast inputs
10. Previously running pull streams not restarting after reboot.
11. Delete DASH/HLS files when pull stream has been stopped

Known Issues and Limitations

warning

The following known issues and limitations maybe addressed in future releases

1. RTSP(S) input mode does not support audio stream in output, authentication required in input URL if applicable
2. Closed captions do not work with HLS only and fMP4 segments on the webplayer
3. SCTE-35 support with fmp4 segments may not be synced correctly if SCTE-35 stream not detected during probe
4. Dashboard load reporting may be understating scaling load under conditions where lots of downscaling to small resolutions apply
5. Preview web player does not work when audio codec is not AAC