Export video stream from Orin Nano to a remote display

Issue Overview

Users are experiencing difficulties exporting a camera stream from the CSI port of the Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano to a remote display using GStreamer. The primary symptoms include:

• The GStreamer pipeline executes successfully on the local display but fails when attempting to display the video on a remote machine.
• Users report errors such as "Could not initialise Xv output" and "Pipeline doesn’t want to pause," indicating issues with the video sink when using VNC or X11 forwarding.
• Specific error messages include "XVideo extension is not available" and "Failed to create FrameConsumer," suggesting potential problems with display configurations or missing dependencies.

The problems typically arise during attempts to run GStreamer commands remotely, particularly when using VNC or SSH with X11 forwarding. The users’ setups include various configurations, such as using Windows with X11 and different types of VNC servers. The frequency of these issues appears consistent among multiple users, significantly impacting their ability to utilize the Orin Nano for remote video streaming.

Possible Causes

• Hardware Incompatibilities: Issues may arise if the remote machine lacks necessary hardware support for video output.

• Software Bugs or Conflicts: There may be bugs in the GStreamer version being used or conflicts with other installed libraries.

• Configuration Errors: Incorrect settings in the DISPLAY environment variable or VNC server configurations may lead to failures in initializing video sinks.

• Driver Issues: Missing or outdated graphics drivers on either the Orin Nano or the remote machine could prevent proper video output.

• Environmental Factors: Power supply issues or overheating may affect performance, particularly during high-load operations like video streaming.

• User Errors or Misconfigurations: Incorrect command syntax or misconfigured pipelines can lead to errors in execution.

Troubleshooting Steps, Solutions & Fixes

1. Verify Display Configuration:

   • Ensure that the DISPLAY environment variable is set correctly. For VNC, it should be set to your VNC server display (e.g., DISPLAY=:2).

2. Use SSH with X11 Forwarding:

   • If using SSH, log in with X11 forwarding enabled:

     ssh -X user@Orin_Nano_IP
     

   • Then try running the GStreamer command with xvimagesink.

3. Testing with Different Sources:

   • Test if the issue is specific to the CSI camera by trying a USB webcam:

     gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video2 ! videoconvert ! ximagesink
     

   • If this works, it indicates that the problem lies specifically with the CSI camera configuration.

4. Check for Required Extensions:

   • Ensure that necessary extensions like XVideo are installed and available on the remote machine. This can be checked by running:

     xdpyinfo | grep -i xvideo
     

5. Install VirtualGL for OpenGL Applications:

   • If using OpenGL applications in a headless setup, consider installing VirtualGL to manage rendering:

     sudo apt-get install virtualgl
     

6. Using RTSP or UDP Streaming:

   • As an alternative approach, consider setting up an RTSP server on the Orin Nano and streaming via UDP. This can bypass some of the limitations faced with direct display output.
   • Example command for RTSP setup can be found in Jetson AGX Orin documentation.

7. Restarting Services:

   • If encountering issues related to the Argus camera service, restart it using:

     sudo service nvargus-daemon restart
     

8. Check System Logs for Errors:

   • Monitor system logs for additional error messages that may provide insight into underlying issues:

     tail -f /var/log/syslog
     

9. Implementing Queues in GStreamer Pipeline:

   • If you receive warnings about insufficient buffering, ensure that your pipeline includes adequate queues to handle data flow smoothly.

10. Consult Documentation and Community Resources:

    • For further assistance, consult Nvidia’s official documentation and community forums for updates on similar issues and potential patches.

By following these steps, users can diagnose and potentially resolve issues related to exporting video streams from their Nvidia Jetson Orin Nano Dev board to remote displays effectively.