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videoCodec

info

Added in Scrcpy 2.0

  • Type:
    • "h264" | "h265" | "av1"(until 4.1)
    • "h264" | "h265" | "av1" | "vp8" | "vp9"(since 4.1)
  • Default value: "h264"

Specifies the video codec to use by the server.

The specified videoCodec must be supported by the device (has an encoder for it), otherwise an error will be thrown in the startup process.

It's also recommended to use a hardware-based encoder for best experience. From Scrcpy 3.0, the output of --list-encoders (or AdbScrcpyClient.getEncoders method) will include the hardware type of each encoder.

H.264​

H.264 is the default value, and the only supported video codec in earlier versions of Scrcpy.

Most devices since Android 5 has hardware-based H.264 encoders.

H.265 (HEVC)​

H.265 can provide better video quality at the same bitrate compared to H.264.

H.265 encoder is not required by Google, but many devices since Android 7 have hardware-based H.265 encoders.

AV1​

AV1 can provide even better video quality at the same bitrate compared to H.265.

AV1 encoder is mandatory since Android 14, however, the built-in, software-based encoder by Google is too slow to be used in production.

Support for hardware-based AV1 encoders can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AV1#Hardware.

VP8​

VP8 provides a good balance between compatibility and performance, and can be used alongside other codecs.

VP8 encoder is available on many Android devices.

VP9​

VP9 provides better video quality at the same bitrate compared to VP8.

VP9 encoder is available on a subset of Android devices.

(since 4.1)
  • videoBitRate: Sets the video bitrate for the stream in bits per second
  • videoCodecOptions: Configures video encoding parameters for the selected video codec
  • videoEncoder: Specifies the name of the encoder to use for video encoding

Changelog​

v4.1​

Extended type to include "vp8" and "vp9".

Examples​

Using v2.0:

import { ScrcpyOptions2_0 } from "@yume-chan/scrcpy";

const options = new ScrcpyOptions2_0({
    videoCodec: "h265", // Use H.265 codec
});

Using v4.1:

import { ScrcpyOptions4_1 } from "@yume-chan/scrcpy";

const options = new ScrcpyOptions4_1({
    videoCodec: "vp8", // Use VP8 codec (available in v4.1+)
});