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FFmpeg presets

Frigate ships with a set of FFmpeg presets to keep your configuration short and readable. Each preset expands to a longer list of FFmpeg arguments at runtime. You can see exactly what every preset expands to in this file.

In the config file you reference a preset by its name (for example, preset-vaapi). In the UI, the same preset is shown with a friendly label (for example, VAAPI (Intel/AMD GPU)). Both refer to the same thing — the tables below list the config name alongside the label you'll see in the UI.

Hwaccel (Hardware Acceleration) Presets​

Hardware acceleration arguments tell FFmpeg to decode your camera's video stream on a GPU or integrated graphics chip instead of the CPU, which dramatically lowers CPU usage. Using a preset is highly recommended. Beyond replacing a long list of arguments, each preset also tells Frigate what hardware is available so it can offload additional work to the GPU — for example, encoding the Birdseye restream or scaling a stream whose resolution differs from the camera's native size.

See the hardware acceleration docs for details on setting up hardware acceleration for your GPU / iGPU, then select the preset that matches your hardware.

Preset (YAML config)UI LabelUsageNotes
preset-rpi-64-h264Raspberry Pi (H.264)64-bit Raspberry Pi, H.264 stream
preset-rpi-64-h265Raspberry Pi (H.265)64-bit Raspberry Pi, H.265 stream
preset-vaapiVAAPI (Intel/AMD GPU)Intel or AMD GPU via VAAPICheck the hwaccel docs to ensure the correct driver is selected
preset-intel-qsv-h264Intel QuickSync (H.264)Intel QuickSync, H.264 streamIf you have issues, use the VAAPI preset instead
preset-intel-qsv-h265Intel QuickSync (H.265)Intel QuickSync, H.265 streamIf you have issues, use the VAAPI preset instead
preset-nvidiaNVIDIA GPUNVIDIA GPU
preset-jetson-h264NVIDIA Jetson (H.264)NVIDIA Jetson, H.264 stream
preset-jetson-h265NVIDIA Jetson (H.265)NVIDIA Jetson, H.265 stream
preset-rkmppRockchip RKMPPRockchip MPPUse an image with the -rk suffix and run in privileged mode
  1. Navigate to Settings→Global configuration→FFmpeg and set Hardware acceleration arguments to the appropriate preset for your hardware.
  2. To override for a specific camera, navigate to Settings→Camera configuration→Streams (FFmpeg) and set Hardware acceleration arguments for that camera.

Input Args Presets​

Input arguments are passed to FFmpeg before your camera source and control how Frigate connects to and reads the stream — the transport protocol, timeouts, reconnection behavior, and how the stream is probed. The right input args ensure a reliable connection and maximum compatibility for each type of stream.

See the camera-specific docs for more on non-standard cameras and recommendations for using them in Frigate.

Preset (config)UI LabelUsageNotes
preset-http-jpeg-genericHTTP JPEG (Generic)HTTP live JPEGRestreaming the live JPEG is recommended instead
preset-http-mjpeg-genericHTTP MJPEG (Generic)HTTP MJPEG streamRestreaming the MJPEG stream is recommended instead
preset-http-reolinkHTTP - Reolink CamerasReolink HTTP-FLV streamOnly for Reolink HTTP, not when restreaming as RTSP
preset-rtmp-genericRTMP (Generic)RTMP stream
preset-rtsp-genericRTSP (Generic)RTSP streamThe default when no input args are specified
preset-rtsp-restreamRTSP - Restream from go2rtcRTSP stream from a restreamUse when a go2rtc restream is the source for Frigate
preset-rtsp-restream-low-latencyRTSP - Restream from go2rtc (Low Latency)RTSP stream from a restreamLowers latency for a go2rtc restream source; may cause issues with some cameras
preset-rtsp-udpRTSP - UDPRTSP stream over UDPUse when the camera only supports UDP
preset-rtsp-blue-irisRTSP - Blue IrisBlue Iris RTSP streamUse when consuming a stream from Blue Iris
warning

Be mindful of input arguments when restreaming, because you can end up with a mix of protocols. The http and rtmp presets cannot be used with rtsp streams. For example, using a Reolink camera with an RTSP restream as the recording source while preset-http-reolink is applied will cause a crash. In cases like this, set the preset at the stream level instead. See the example below.

go2rtc:
  streams:
    reolink_cam: http://192.168.0.139/flv?port=1935&app=bcs&stream=channel0_main.bcs&user=admin&password=password

cameras:
  reolink_cam:
    ffmpeg:
      inputs:
        - path: http://192.168.0.139/flv?port=1935&app=bcs&stream=channel0_ext.bcs&user=admin&password=password
          input_args: preset-http-reolink
          roles:
            - detect
        - path: rtsp://127.0.0.1:8554/reolink_cam
          input_args: preset-rtsp-generic
          roles:
            - record

Output Args Presets​

Output arguments are passed to FFmpeg after your camera source and control how recordings are written — which codecs are used and whether audio and video are copied as-is or re-encoded. The right output args ensure consistent, playable recordings for each type of stream.

Preset (config)UI LabelUsageNotes
preset-record-genericRecord (Generic, no audio)Record without audioUse this if your camera has no audio, or if you don't want to record audio
preset-record-generic-audio-copyRecord (Generic + Copy Audio)Record with the original audioUse this to keep the camera's audio in recordings without re-encoding
preset-record-generic-audio-aacRecord (Generic + Audio to AAC)Record with audio transcoded to AACThe default when no output args are specified. Transcodes audio to AAC. If the source is already AAC, use preset-record-generic-audio-copy to avoid re-encoding
preset-record-mjpegRecord - MJPEG CamerasRecord an MJPEG streamRestreaming the MJPEG stream is recommended instead
preset-record-jpegRecord - JPEG CamerasRecord a live JPEGRestreaming the live JPEG is recommended instead
preset-record-ubiquitiRecord - Ubiquiti CamerasRecord a Ubiquiti stream with audioHandles Ubiquiti's non-standard audio format