Gstreamer In-Band Metadata Support

GStreamer In-Band Metadata for MPEG-TS – Sync Binary Metadata with Video Frames in Real-Time

RidgeRun’s GStreamer In-Band Metadata plugin gives you the power to embed and extract binary metadatawithin MPEG Transport Streams (TS)—enabling precise, frame-aligned delivery of custom data alongside your video content. This solution is purpose-built for applications requiring tight metadata-video synchronization, such as autonomous systems, surveillance, AI analytics, and real-time sensor fusion.

The plugin uses RidgeRun’s metasrc and metasink elements to inject and extract metadata at runtime. The metadata itself is treated as a binary blob—its structure is defined entirely by you, making the plugin flexible enough to support everything from GPS tags and timestamps to neural network outputs or custom diagnostics.

Key Features:

• Binary Metadata Transport via MPEG-TS
  Send custom binary data (e.g., GPS, AI metadata, sensor readings) within each video stream—aligned to individual frames.

• Modular GStreamer Integration

  • metasrc: Inserts binary metadata into MPEG-TS streams

  • metasink: Extracts metadata and passes it for downstream interpretation

• Format-Agnostic Metadata
  RidgeRun’s system is payload-agnostic—you define the content and encoding of the metadata blob.

• Event or Periodic Injection
  Configure metadata injection frequency to match your pipeline’s logic or sensor cadence.

• Embedded, No External Channel Required
  Works entirely in-band—no sidecar file or parallel socket needed.

Example Use Case:

An AI camera system can encode real-time bounding boxes or GPS data into every video frame using metasrc. A remote server receiving the stream decodes both the video and metadata using metasink, preserving frame-to-data accuracy for deep analytics or forensic playback.

What’s Included:

• RidgeRun’s GStreamer plugin with metasrc and metasink

• Full developer documentation and usage examples

• C code samples for integration

• Optional 11-hour Embedded Software Support package

 Supported Platforms:

• NVIDIA Jetson (Nano, TX2, Xavier NX, Orin)

• Qualcomm RB5, RB6, C8550

• x86-64 Linux

• TI Sitara (AM57x, AM62x, AM64x)

• NXP i.MX6 / i.MX8

• Any embedded Linux platform with GStreamer and MPEG-TS support

Backed by Embedded Software Experts

With 19 years of consulting experience, RidgeRun builds high-performance software tools for embedded multimedia systems. Our in-band metadata plugin gives you a reliable, efficient way to transport time-sensitive binary data over standard video streaming protocols—without changing your architecture.

📚 Visit our developer wiki
📖 See the user guide