Configuring Video Transcoding

First Published: December 11, 2012

This chapter describes the video transcoding support that is available in Cisco Unified Communications
Manager Express (Cisco Unified CME).

Finding Feature Information

Your Cisco Unified CME version may not support all of the features documented in this module. For a
list of the versions in which each feature is supported, see the“Feature Information for Video
Transcoding” section on page 495.

Contents
This chapter contains information on the following topics:
• Prerequisites for Configuring Video Transcoding, page 481
• Information About Video Transcoding, page 483
• How to Configure Video Transcoding on Cisco ISR G2, page 486
• Configuration Example for Video Transcoding, page 491
• Additional References, page 493
• Feature Information for Video Transcoding, page 495

Prerequisites for Configuring Video Transcoding

The following section contains information on the supported platforms and the requirements for
configuring video transcoding.

Americas Headquarters:
Cisco Systems, Inc., 170 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA
 Configuring Video Transcoding
Prerequisites for Configuring Video Transcoding

Platforms
This feature is supported on the following Cisco Integrated Services Routers:
• Cisco 2900 Series
• Cisco 3900 Series
The router with the DSP farm must have a PVDM3 module installed. See Table 42 for a list of the
supported video service for the different PVDM3 modules.

Table 42 Support for Video Transcoding

PVDM3 Type Video Transcoder

PVDM3-16 Not Supported
PVDM3-32 Not Supported
PVDM3-64 Not Supported
PVDM3-128 Supported
PVDM3-192 Supported
PVDM3-256 Supported

Software
• Cisco IOS 15.1(4)M
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express 8.6 and later

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Information About Video Transcoding

This section covers the following topics:
• Supported Protocols, page 483
• Supported Video, page 483
• Video Terminology, page 484
• Overview of Point-to-Point Video Transcoding, page 485
• DSP Farm Profiles, page 485

Supported Protocols
This feature supports the following standards and protocol:
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T) standards and protocols:
– H.320
– H.323
– H.324
• Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and Cisco-proprietary signaling protocol:
– SCCP
– SIP
• Video codecs:
– H.263
– H.264/AVC
• Audio codecs:
– G.711alaw
– G.711ulaw
– G.722-64
– G.729 abr8
– G.729ar8
– G.729br8
– G.729r8
– iLBC
– iSAC

Supported Video
This feature supports the following:
• Frame rate of 15 and 30 frames per second (f/s).
• Video stream bit rate of 64 kb/s to 2 Mb/s.

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• Video resolution listed in Table 43.

Q
Table 43 Supported Video Resolution

Resolution Dimension
1
CIF 352 x 288 pixels
2
SIF 352 x 240 pixels
Note If your phone supports SIF, configure
your DSP farm profile with the CIF codec.
W360P 640 x 360 pixels
W448P 768 x 448 pixels
4CIF 704 x 576 pixels
4SIF 704 x 480 pixels
3
QCIF 176 x 144 pixels
4
QSIF 176 x 120 pixels
VGA5 640 x 480 pixels
1. CIF = Common Intermediate Format.
2. SIF = Source Interchange Format.
3. QCIF = One-Quarter Common Intermediate Format.
4. QSIF = One-Quarter Source Interchange Format.
5. VGA = Video Graphic Array.

Video Terminology
You should be familiar with the terminology in Table 44 before you configure video transcoding.

Table 44 Video Transcoding Terminology

Terminology Description
Transcode The process of converting one data stream using one codec format
to another data stream with a different codec format, for example,
converting H.263 to H.264.
Transrate The process of converting one data stream using one bit rate to
another data stream with a different bit rate, for example, converting
from a high-speed data rate of 2 Mbps to a lower-speed data rate of
1 Mbps.
Transsize The process of converting the resolution of a video transmission to
another resolution, for example converting 4CIF to CIF.
Video Conversion The process of transcoding, transrating, or transsizing a video
stream.
Video Format The attributes of the video stream (video codec, resolution, frame
rate, bitrate, RTP payload protocol, and annex).

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Overview of Point-to-Point Video Transcoding

If the video phones on a call support the same video format attributes, the router can pass the video data
stream from one phone to another phone without altering the data stream. Video phones have many
different video formats and phones that support different video formats cannot communicate directly
with one another.
To enable the two phones that are using different video formats to communicate with one another, you
can configure the router to dynamically convert (encode and decode) the video data stream between the
two phones.

DSP Farm Profiles

To allocate DSP resources to support video transcoding, transrating, and transsizing on a video call, you
must create DSP farm profiles and specify the video format that is supported. This ensures that the
system has sufficient resources available for video stream conversion.
Table 45 and Table 46 list the supported video resolution, frame rate, and bit rate support for H.263 and
H.264, respectively, for video transcoding on a video call.

Table 45 Support for H.263

Resolution Frame Rate (frames per second) Bit Rate (kilobits per second)
QCIF (QSIF) 15 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
30 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
CIF (SIF) 15 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
30 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s

Table 46 Support for H.264

Resolution Frame Rate (frames per second) Bit Rate (kilobits per second)
QCIF (QSIF) 15 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
30 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
CIF (SIF) 15 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
30 f/s 64 kb/s to 704 kb/s
4CIF (4SIF) 30 f/s 1 Mb/s to 2 Mb/s
VGA 30 f/s 1 Mb/s to 2 Mb/s
w360P 30 f/s 1 Mb/s to 2 Mb/s
w448P 30 f/s 1 Mb/s to 2 Mb/s

Calculating DSP Requirements

To determine whether you have sufficient PVDM modules, you can use the DSP Calculator at
http://www.cisco.com/web/applicat/dsprecal/dsp_calc.html.

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How to Configure Video Transcoding on Cisco ISR G2

This section contains the following procedure:
• Configuring DSP Farm Resources on the Router, page 486
• Configuring a Cisco Unified CME Router to Use Registered DSP Resources, page 489
• Configuring Video Transcoding on the PVDM3 DSPs, page 490
• Configuring Video Transcoding on Cisco Unified CME: Example, page 492

Configuring DSP Farm Resources on the Router

Perform the following steps to define a DSP farm on the PVDM3 card for video transcoding on
Cisco ISR G2.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. sccp local interface-type interface-number
4. sccp ccm ip-address identifier identifier-number
5. sccp
6. sccp ccm group group-number
7. associate ccm identifier-number priority priority-number
8. associate profile profile-identifier register device-name
9. exit
10. dspfarm profile profile-identifier transcode video
11. codec {codec-type [resolution]}
12. associate application sccp
13. no shutdown
14. end

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Router> enable
Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Router# configure terminal

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 sccp local interface-type interface-number Selects the local interface that the SCCP transcoding
applications should use to register with
Cisco Unified CME.
Example:
Router(config)# sccp local GigabitEthernet0/1 • interface-type—Interface type that the SCCP
application uses to register with Cisco Unified CME.
The type can be an interface address or a
virtual-interface address such as Ethernet.
• interface-number—Interface number that the SCCP
application uses to register with Cisco Unified CME.
Step 4 sccp ccm ip-address identifier Specifies the Cisco Unified CME address.
identifier-number
• ip-address—IP address of the Cisco Unified CME
router.
Example:
Router(config)# sccp ccm 1.4.211.35 identifier
• identifier identifier-number—Number that identifies
2 the Cisco Unified CME router.
Note The value of the IP address should match the IP
address in the ip source-address command that is
configured in the Cisco Unified CME router that is
used registered DSP resources.
Step 5 sccp Enables SCCP and its associated transcoding applications.

Example:
Router(config)# sccp
Step 6 sccp ccm group group-number Creates a Cisco Unified CME group and enters SCCP
configuration mode for Cisco Unified CME.
Example: • group-number—Number that identifies the
Router(config)# sccp ccm group 2 Cisco Unified CME group.
Note A Cisco Unified CME group is a naming device
under which data for the DSP farms is declared.
Only one group is required.
Step 7 associate ccm identifier-number priority Associates a Cisco Unified CME router with a group and
priority-number establishes its priority within the group.
• identifier-number—Number that identifies the
Example: Cisco Unified CME router.
Router(config-sccp-ccm)# associate ccm 2
priority 1 • priority—The priority of the Cisco Unified CME
router in the Cisco Unified CME group. Only one
Cisco Unified CME group is possible. Default is 1.
Note The identifier number should match the identifier
number in the sccp ccm command in Step 4.

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 8 associate profile profile-identifier register Associates a DSP farm profile with a Cisco Unified CME
device-name group.
• profile-identifier—Number that identifies the DSP farm
Example: profile.
Router(config-sccp-ccm)# associate profile 345
register 2851VXCODE Note The profile identifier value should match the profile
identifier value for the associated DSP farm profile.

Note The device-name in this step must be the same as

the device-name in the sdspfarm tag command in
the Cisco Unified CME router.
Step 9 exit Exits SCCP configuration mode.

Example:
Router(config-sccp-ccm)# exit
Step 10 dspfarm profile profile-identifier transcode Enters DSP farm profile configuration mode.
video

Example:
Router(config)# dspfarm profile 345 transcode
video
Step 11 codec {codec-type [resolution]} Specifies the codecs supported by a DSP farm profile.
Audio codecs are not automatically added to video
Example: transcoding DSP farm profiles. If audio transcoding is
Router(config)# codec h263 qcif needed along with video transcoding, transrating, and
transsizing, you must also specify the audio codecs.
Step 12 associate application sccp Associates SCCP with the DSP farm profile.

Example:
Router(config-dspfarm-profile)# associate
application sccp
Step 13 no shutdown Allocates the DSP farm resources and enables the DSP farm
profile.
Example:
Router(config-dspfarm-profile)# no shutdown
Step 14 end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Router(config-dspfarm-profile)# end

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Configuring a Cisco Unified CME Router to Use Registered DSP Resources

Perform the following steps to use registered DSP resources on Cisco ISR G2.

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. telephony-service
4. sdspfarm units number
5. sdspfarm transcode sessions number
6. sdspfarm tag number device-name
7. ip source-address [ip-address [port [port-number]]]
8. end

DETAILED STEPS

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Example:
Router> enable
Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Router# configure terminal
Step 3 telephony-service Enters telephony-service configuration mode.

Example:
Router(config)# telephony-service
Step 4 sdspfarm units number Specifies the maximum number of DSP farms that are
allowed to be registered to the Cisco Unified CME router.
Example: • number—Range is 0 to 10. Default is 0.
Router(config-telephony)# sdspfarm units 5
Step 5 sdspfarm transcode sessions number Specifies the maximum number of transcoder sessions
allowed by the router.
Example: • One transcoder session consists of two transcoding
Router(config-telephony)# sdspfarm transcode streams between callers using transcode. Use the
sessions 10 maximum number of transcoding sessions and
conference calls that you want your router to support at
one time.
• number—Declares the number of DSP farm sessions.
Valid values are numbers from 1 to 128.

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Command or Action Purpose

Step 6 sdspfarm tag number device-name Permits a DSP farm unit to be registered to the router and
associates it with an SCCP client interface’s MAC address.
Example: Note The device-name in this step must be the same as
Router(config-telephony)# sdspfarm tag 1 the device-name in the associate profile command
2581VXCODE when you are configuring the DSP farm resources.
Step 7 ip source-address [ip-address [port Identifies the router that is sending SCCP messages.
[port-number]]]
ip-address—Typically one of the addresses of the Ethernet
port of the router.
Example:
Router(config-credentials)# ip source-address
port port-number—TCP port for credentials service
1.4.211.35 port 2000 communication. Default is 2444. We recommend that you
use the default value.
Note The value of the IP address should match the IP
address that is specified in the sccp ccm command
when you are configuring the DSP farm.
Step 8 end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Router(config-dspfarm-profile)# end

Configuring Video Transcoding on the PVDM3 DSPs

Perform the following steps when using the PVDM3 DSPs for video transcoding:

SUMMARY STEPS

1. enable
2. configure terminal
3. voice service voip
4. sip
5. video screening
6. end

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DETAILED STEPS

Step 1 enable Enables privileged EXEC mode.

Example:
Router> enable
Step 2 configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.

Example:
Router# configure terminal
Step 3 voice service voip Enters voice service configuration mode and
specifies Voice over IP (VoIP) encapsulation.
Example:
Router(config)# voice service voip
Step 4 sip Enters SIP configuration mode.

Example:
Router(config-voi-srv)# sip
Step 5 video screening Detects codec mismatch and also detects and
triggers video transcoding based on FMTP
configuration under different codec profiles.
Example:
Router(config-voi-sip)# video screening
Step 6 end Exits configuration mode and enters privileged
EXEC mode.
Example:
Router(config-voi-sip)# end

Configuration Example for Video Transcoding

This section contains the following examples:
• Configuring Video Transcoding on Cisco Unified CME: Example, page 492
• Configuring Video Transcoding when the DSP Farm and Cisco Unified CME are on Different
Routers: Example, page 492

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Configuring Video Transcoding on Cisco Unified CME: Example

The following example shows a configuration for H.263 CIF to H.264 CIF transcoding.
voice service voip
media transcoder sync-streams
allow-connections sip to sip
sip
video screening
...
codec profile 1 h263
fmtp "fmtp:34 CIF=1;MAXBR=7040"

codec profile 7 h264

fmtp "fmtp:119 profile-level-id=42800D"

dial-peer voice 310 voip

video codec h263 profile 1
session protocol sipv2
incoming called-number 310..
dtmf-relay sip-notify
codec g711ulaw

dial-peer voice 3100 voip

video codec h264 profile 7
destination-pattern 310..
session protocol sipv2
session target ipv4:1.5.49.31
voice-class sip bandwidth video tias-modifier 1000000
dtmf-relay sip-notify
codec g711ulaw
...
telephony-service
sdspfarm units 10
sdspfarm transcode sessions 10
sdspfarm tag 3 XCODE002
max-ephones 5
max-dn 10
ip source-address 1.5.49.32 port 2000
...

Configuring Video Transcoding when the DSP Farm and Cisco Unified CME are
on Different Routers: Example

The following example shows the configurations for a DSP farm module and a Cisco Unified CME when
the DSP Farm module is on a different router from the Cisco Unified CME router.

Router with the DSP farm module

sccp local GigabitEthernet0/1
sccp ccm 1.4.211.35 identifier 2 version 7.0
sccp
!
sccp ccm group 2
associate ccm 2 priority 1
associate profile 345 register 2851VXCODE
associate profile 346 register 2851VCONF
!
dspfarm profile 345 transcode video

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Additional References

codec g729br8
codec g729r8
codec g729abr8
codec g729ar8
codec g711alaw
codec g711ulaw
codec h264 cif
codec h264 w360p
codec h264 vga
codec h264 w448p
codec h264 4cif
codec h264 720p
maximum sessions 1
associate application SCCP
!

Cisco Unified CME Router

telephony-service
sdspfarm conference lecture-mode on 123 release 321
sdspfarm units 5
sdspfarm transcode sessions 10
sdspfarm tag 1 2851VXCODE
ip source-address 1.4.211.35 port 2000
max-conferences 12 gain -6

Additional References
The following sections provide references related to video transcoding.

Related Documents

Related Topic Document Title

Cisco Unified CME configuration • Cisco Unified CME Command Reference
• Cisco Unified CME Documentation Roadmap
Cisco Unified Communications Manager • Cisco Unified Communications Manager Administration Guide
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager System Guide
Cisco IOS voice configuration • Cisco IOS Voice Configuration Library
• Cisco IOS Voice Command Reference

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Additional References

Standards

Standard Title
No new or modified standards are supported by this —
feature, and support for existing standards has not been
modified by this feature.

MIBs

MIB MIBs Link

CISCO-VIDEO-SESSION-MIB To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS
releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at:
CISCO-VOICE-DIAL-CONTROL-MIB
http://www.cisco.com/go/mibs

RFCs

RFC Title
RFC-2190 for H.263 RTP Payload Format for H.263 Video Streams
RFC-2429 for H.263 RTP Payload Format for the 1998 Version of ITU-T Rec. H.263
Video (H.263+)
RFC-3984 RTP Payload Format for H.264 Video

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Technical Assistance
Description Link
The Cisco Support website provides extensive online http://www.cisco.com/techsupport
resources, including documentation and tools for
troubleshooting and resolving technical issues with
Cisco products and technologies.
To receive security and technical information about
your products, you can subscribe to various services,
such as the Product Alert Tool (accessed from Field
Notices), the Cisco Technical Services Newsletter, and
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds.
Access to most tools on the Cisco Support website
requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.

Feature Information for Video Transcoding

To determine the correct Cisco IOS release to support a specific Cisco Unified CME version, see the
Cisco Unified CME and Cisco IOS Software Version Compatibility Matrix at
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cucme/requirements/guide/33matrix.htm
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support.
Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which Cisco IOS software images support a specific
software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to
http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
For information about all Cisco IOS commands, use the Command Lookup Tool at
http://tools.cisco.com/Support/CLILookup or the Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases, at
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/mcl/allreleasemcl/all_book.htm
Table 47 lists the features in this module and enhancements to the features by version.
Table 47 Feature Information for Video Conferencing and Video Transcoding

Cisco Unified CME

Feature Name Version Feature Information
Video Transcoding 8.6 Introduced point-to-point video transcoding, transrating,
and transsizing.

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