VideoDecoder: configure() method

Limited availability

This feature is not Baseline because it does not work in some of the most widely-used browsers.

Secure context: This feature is available only in secure contexts (HTTPS), in some or all supporting browsers.

Note: This feature is available in Dedicated Web Workers.

The configure() method of the VideoDecoder interface enqueues a control message to configure the video decoder for decoding chunks.

Syntax

js
configure(config)

Parameters

config

An object containing the following members:

codec

A string containing a valid codec string. See "codecs" parameter for details on codec string construction.

description Optional

An ArrayBuffer, a TypedArray, or a DataView containing a sequence of codec specific bytes, commonly known as extradata.

codedWidth Optional

An integer representing the width of the VideoFrame in pixels, including any non-visible padding, before any ratio adjustments.

codedHeight Optional

An integer representing the height of the VideoFrame in pixels, including any non-visible padding, before any ratio adjustments.

displayAspectWidth Optional

An integer representing the horizontal dimension of the VideoFrame in pixels when displayed.

displayAspectHeight Optional

An integer representing the vertical dimension of the VideoFrame in pixels when displayed.

colorSpace Optional

An object representing a VideoColorSpace, containing the following members:

primaries

A string representing the color gamut of the video sample. One of:

  • "bt709"
  • "bt470bg"
  • "smpte170m"
transfer

A string representing transfer characteristics. One of:

  • "bt709"
  • "smpte170m"
  • "iec61966-2-1"
matrix

A string representing a matrix coefficient. One of:

  • "rgb"
  • "bt709"
  • "bt470bg"
  • "smpte170m"
hardwareAcceleration Optional

A hint as to the hardware acceleration method to use. One of:

  • "no-preference"
  • "prefer-hardware"
  • "prefer-software"
optimizeForLatency Optional

A boolean. If true this is a hint that the selected decoder should be optimized to minimize the number of EncodedVideoChunk objects that have to be decoded before a VideoFrame is output.

flip Optional

A boolean. If true, horizontal mirroring is applied. Defaults to false.

rotation Optional

An integer representing the rotation (0, 90, 180, or 270) in degrees clockwise. Defaults to 0. Arbitrary numbers (including negatives) are rounded to the next quarter turn.

Note: The registrations in the WebCodecs Codec Registry link to a specification detailing whether and how to populate the optional description member.

Return value

None (undefined).

Exceptions

TypeError

Thrown if the provided config is invalid.

InvalidStateError DOMException

Thrown if the state is "closed".

NotSupportedError DOMException

Thrown if the provided config is valid but the user agent cannot provide a codec that can decode this profile.

Examples

The following example creates a new VideoDecoder and configures it with the "vp8" codec, a codedWidth of 640 pixels and a codedHeight of 480 pixels.

js
const init = {
  output: handleFrame,
  error(e) {
    console.log(e.message);
  },
};

const config = {
  codec: "vp8",
  codedWidth: 640,
  codedHeight: 480,
};

let decoder = new VideoDecoder(init);
decoder.configure(config);

Specifications

Specification
WebCodecs
# dom-videodecoder-configure

Browser compatibility

desktop mobile
Chrome
Edge
Firefox
Opera
Safari
Chrome Android
Firefox for Android
Opera Android
Safari on iOS
Samsung Internet
WebView Android
WebView on iOS
configure
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 94 (Release date: 2021-09-21)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 94 (Release date: 2021-09-24)
footnote Full support
Firefox – Full support
Firefox 130 (Release date: 2024-09-03)
footnote Full support
Opera – Full support
Opera 80 (Release date: 2021-10-05)
footnote Full support
Safari – Full support
Safari 16.4 (Release date: 2023-03-27)
footnote Full support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 94 (Release date: 2021-09-21)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – No support
Firefox for Android
footnote No support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 66 (Release date: 2021-12-15)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – Full support
Safari on iOS 16.4 (Release date: 2023-03-27)
footnote Full support
Samsung Internet – Full support
Samsung Internet 17 (Release date: 2022-05-04)
footnote Full support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 94 (Release date: 2021-09-21)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – Full support
WebView on iOS 16.4 (Release date: 2023-03-27)
footnote Full support
flip configuration option
Experimental
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 138 (Release date: 2025-06-26)
footnote Full support
Firefox – No support
Firefox
footnote No support
Opera – Full support
Opera 122 (Release date: 2025-09-11)
footnote Full support
Safari – No support
Safari
footnote No support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – No support
Firefox for Android
footnote No support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 91 (Release date: 2025-08-19)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – No support
Safari on iOS
footnote No support
Samsung Internet – No support
Samsung Internet
footnote No support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – No support
WebView on iOS
footnote No support
rotation configuration option
Experimental
Chrome – Full support
Chrome 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
Edge – Full support
Edge 138 (Release date: 2025-06-26)
footnote Full support
Firefox – No support
Firefox
footnote No support
Opera – Full support
Opera 122 (Release date: 2025-09-11)
footnote Full support
Safari – No support
Safari
footnote No support
Chrome Android – Full support
Chrome Android 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
Firefox for Android – No support
Firefox for Android
footnote No support
Opera Android – Full support
Opera Android 91 (Release date: 2025-08-19)
footnote Full support
Safari on iOS – No support
Safari on iOS
footnote No support
Samsung Internet – No support
Samsung Internet
footnote No support
WebView Android – Full support
WebView Android 138 (Release date: 2025-06-24)
footnote Full support
WebView on iOS – No support
WebView on iOS
footnote No support

Legend

Tip: you can click/tap on a cell for more information.

Full support
Full support
No support
No support
Experimental. Expect behavior to change in the future.

See also