GStreamer Serial Plugin

GStreamer Serial Plugin – Stream Serial Data into GStreamer Pipelines

The GStreamer Serial Plugin by RidgeRun allows seamless integration of serial port communication into GStreamer pipelines. Designed for embedded and real-time systems, this plugin enables developers to ingest serial data as part of a multimedia or metadata pipeline, opening new possibilities in video tagging, sensor integration, command handling, and KLV metadata injection.

Through the plugin’s serialsrc element, serial input is packaged into GStreamer buffers and passed downstream for further processing. With full control over serial port configuration—including baud rate, parity, stop bits, flow control, and more—this tool is ideal for building flexible, robust embedded applications.

Key Features:

• Full Serial Port Configuration Support
  Easily configure:

  • Baud rate

  • Stop bits

  • Parity

  • Data bits

  • Hardware flow control

  • Canonical mode

  • Block size and buffer limits

• Simple Integration via GStreamer
  Connect serial input directly into a GStreamer pipeline for synchronized processing or metadata tagging.

• Flexible Data Handling
  Serial data is wrapped into GStreamer buffers, compatible with downstream elements like parsers, analyzers, or sinks.

• Minimal Overhead for Embedded Use
  Lightweight, portable, and designed for resource-constrained environments.

Example Use Case:

An autonomous vehicle receives GPS and telemetry data from an onboard sensor over a serial connection. With RidgeRun’s GStreamer Serial Plugin, the system ingests this data in real time and synchronizes it with video frames in a GStreamer pipeline—allowing it to embed KLV metadata into the video stream or trigger visual overlays based on real-time sensor events.

What’s Included:

• GStreamer plugin with serialsrc element

• Full control via pipeline properties

• Sample pipelines and integration examples

• Optional 11-hour Embedded Software Support package

Supported Platforms:

• x86-64 Linux

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

• NXP i.MX6 / i.MX8

• Qualcomm RB5, RB6, C8550

• Any Linux platform with serial interface and GStreamer support

Why RidgeRun?

With over 19 years of embedded multimedia development, RidgeRun builds robust, efficient GStreamer plugins for complex, real-world use cases. The GStreamer Serial Plugin bridges traditional serial communication with modern multimedia pipelines—making it a key component for systems where video and serial data must converge.

Learn more in the developer wiki