[Libav-user] avcodec_decode_video2 freeing buffer quickly

[Matthew Einhorn]

Hi,

I seem to have a bit of trouble where avcodec_decode_video2 frees the
frame it decoded too quickly. I'm wondering how long I can expect the
frame to be valid.

My code does as follows:
In one function I call call av_read_frame, avcodec_decode_video2, and
av_free_packet in series until I get a complete frame in which case
the function returns. Then, I call again from another function (same
thread etc) to copy the decoded frame into my buffer. It seems that
between these function call (in which I do nothing else with the
decoder) the frame gets freed so I get an exception. This means that I
have to buffer the decoded frame, which takes extra copying.

It also only seems to happen when the video decoded is bgr24 (vs
yuv420p). Obviously I can overwrite the default get/release_buffer()
but I'd rather not (since it has to be supported by codec). So I'm
wondering if this is normal behavior? But it's no big deal.

Thanks,
Matt