Installing venc on the camera

This guide describes how to install waybeam venc on a camera with a SigmaStar chip (Infinity6E / Infinity6C) and configure it to work with WFB-ng instead of Majestic.

What is venc?

waybeam venc is a standalone video encoder that fully replaces Majestic. It provides lower latency, a full HTTP API for real-time configuration, and native WFB-ng integration via a Unix socket.

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Requirements

Component	Details
Camera (VTX)	SSC338Q (Infinity6E) or Infinity6C with OpenIPC firmware
Sensor	IMX335, IMX415, GC4653 or another supported one
Firmware	OpenIPC (Lite or FPV)
Access	SSH to the camera (root / 12345)
Network	Ethernet or WiFi for file transfer

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Step 1: Connecting to the camera via SSH

Connect to the camera via SSH. The camera's IP address is usually 192.168.1.10 or can be found via the router.

Windows

1. Download and install PuTTY
2. Enter the camera's IP address in the "Host Name" field
3. Port: 22, type: SSH
4. Click "Open"
5. Login: root, password: 12345

Mac / Linux

ssh [email protected]

Password: 12345

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Step 2: Stopping Majestic

Before installing venc you must stop and disable Majestic:

# Stop Majestic
killall majestic 2>/dev/null

# Disable Majestic autostart
# (if it starts via an init script)
if [ -f /etc/init.d/S95majestic ]; then
    chmod -x /etc/init.d/S95majestic
fi

Important

Majestic and venc cannot run at the same time — both use the chip's ISP and video encoder.

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Step 3: Downloading venc

Download the venc binary onto the camera. Choose the version matching your chip:

For Star6E (SSC338Q / Infinity6E):

# Download the venc binary
curl -L -o /usr/bin/venc \
  https://github.com/OpenIPC/waybeam_venc/releases/latest/download/venc-star6e

chmod +x /usr/bin/venc

For Maruko (Infinity6C):

curl -L -o /usr/bin/venc \
  https://github.com/OpenIPC/waybeam_venc/releases/latest/download/venc-maruko

chmod +x /usr/bin/venc

Alternative method — SCP

If you have a built binary on your computer:

scp out/star6e/venc [email protected]:/usr/bin/venc

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Step 4: Creating the configuration

Create the configuration file /etc/venc.json:

cat > /etc/venc.json << 'EOF'
{
  "system": { "webPort": 80, "overclockLevel": 1, "verbose": false },
  "sensor": {
    "index": -1,
    "mode": -1,
    "unlockEnabled": true,
    "unlockCmd": 35,
    "unlockReg": 12298,
    "unlockValue": 128,
    "unlockDir": 0
  },
  "isp": {
    "sensorBin": "", "exposure": 0,
    "legacyAe": true, "aeFps": 15, "gainMax": 0,
    "awbMode": "auto", "awbCt": 5500
  },
  "image": { "mirror": false, "flip": false, "rotate": 0 },
  "video0": {
    "codec": "h265",
    "rcMode": "cbr",
    "fps": 60,
    "size": "1920x1080",
    "bitrate": 8192,
    "gopSize": 1.0,
    "qpDelta": -4,
    "frameLost": true,
    "sceneThreshold": 0,
    "sceneHoldoff": 2
  },
  "outgoing": {
    "enabled": true,
    "server": "unix://wfb_tx",
    "streamMode": "rtp",
    "maxPayloadSize": 1400,
    "connectedUdp": true,
    "audioPort": 0,
    "sidecarPort": 0
  },
  "fpv": { "roiEnabled": true, "roiQp": 0, "roiSteps": 2, "roiCenter": 0.4, "noiseLevel": 0 },
  "audio": {
    "enabled": false,
    "sampleRate": 48000,
    "channels": 1,
    "codec": "opus",
    "volume": 80,
    "mute": false
  },
  "imu": {
    "enabled": false,
    "i2cDevice": "/dev/i2c-1",
    "i2cAddr": "0x68",
    "sampleRateHz": 200,
    "gyroRangeDps": 1000,
    "calFile": "/etc/imu.cal",
    "calSamples": 400
  },
  "eis": {
    "enabled": false,
    "mode": "gyroglide",
    "marginPercent": 30,
    "testMode": false,
    "swapXY": false,
    "invertX": false,
    "invertY": false,
    "gain": 1.0,
    "deadbandRad": 0.0,
    "recenterRate": 0.5,
    "maxSlewPx": 0,
    "biasAlpha": 0.001
  },
  "record": {
    "enabled": false,
    "mode": "mirror",
    "dir": "/mnt/mmcblk0p1",
    "format": "ts",
    "maxSeconds": 300,
    "maxMB": 500,
    "bitrate": 0,
    "fps": 0,
    "gopSize": 0,
    "server": ""
  },
  "debug": {
    "showOsd": false
  }
}
EOF

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Step 5: Key configuration parameters

Video (video0)

Parameter	Description	Typical values
codec	Video codec	"h265" or "h264"
rcMode	Bitrate control mode	"cbr", "vbr", "avbr", "fixqp"
fps	Frame rate	30, 60, 90, 120
size	Resolution	"1920x1080", "1280x720"
bitrate	Bitrate (kbit/s)	4096 — 16384
gopSize	GOP size in seconds	0.5 — 2.0

Streaming (outgoing)

Parameter	Description	Examples
enabled	Enable streaming	true / false
server	Receiver address	"unix://wfb_tx", "udp://192.168.1.1:5600"
streamMode	Stream mode	"rtp" or "compact"
maxPayloadSize	Max RTP packet size	1400 (default)

FPV ROI encoding (fpv)

Parameter	Description	Value
roiEnabled	Frame-center priority	true — center in higher quality
roiQp	QP offset for ROI	-18 — maximum center quality
roiSteps	Number of zones	2 — 4
roiCenter	Size of the central zone	0.25 — 0.5

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Step 6: Running venc

Manual start (for testing)

# Start with logs printed to the console
venc

The web panel will be available at http://<camera-ip>/

Checking that it works

# Check the version
curl http://localhost/api/v1/version

# Check the configuration
curl http://localhost/api/v1/config

# Check which parameters can be changed in real time
curl http://localhost/api/v1/capabilities

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Step 7: Autostart venc

Create an init script to start venc automatically when the camera boots:

cat > /etc/init.d/S96venc << 'INITEOF'
#!/bin/sh

case "$1" in
  start)
    echo "Starting venc..."
    # Make sure Majestic is not running
    killall majestic 2>/dev/null
    # Start venc in the background
    start-stop-daemon -S -b -x /usr/bin/venc -- 2>&1 | tee /tmp/venc.log &
    ;;
  stop)
    echo "Stopping venc..."
    killall venc 2>/dev/null
    ;;
  restart)
    $0 stop
    sleep 1
    $0 start
    ;;
  *)
    echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
    exit 1
    ;;
esac

exit 0
INITEOF

chmod +x /etc/init.d/S96venc

Startup order

The script is numbered S96, which means it starts after most system services, but you need to make sure the WiFi drivers and WFB-ng are already loaded by that point.

audioPort and sidecarPort

In the config above, audioPort: 0 and sidecarPort: 0 are set to 0. This means:

- `audioPort: 0` — audio is transmitted together with the video over the same Unix socket (optimal for WFB-ng)
- `sidecarPort: 0` — the sidecar diagnostics channel is disabled (no overhead)

The default config has `audioPort: 5601` and `sidecarPort: 5602` — if you need separate audio transmission over UDP, set the appropriate values.

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Step 8: Changing parameters in real time

After starting venc you can change parameters without restarting:

# Change the bitrate
curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?video0.bitrate=4096"

# Change the resolution (requires reinit)
curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?video0.size=1280x720"

# Change the FPS
curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?video0.fps=90"

# Enable ROI for FPV
curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?fpv.roiEnabled=true"
curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?fpv.roiQp=-18"

# Request an IDR keyframe (useful after connecting)
curl http://localhost/request/idr

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Common issues

??? question "venc won't start — library error" Make sure all SigmaStar libraries are available in /usr/lib. If you use a staged build, set the variable: bash export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/path/to/lib

??? question "No video after starting" 1. Check that outgoing.enabled is set to true 2. Check that the outgoing.server address is correct 3. Check that Majestic is fully stopped: ps | grep majestic 4. Check the logs: cat /tmp/venc.log

??? question "Black screen or artifacts" Check sensor compatibility: bash curl http://localhost/api/v1/version Make sure sensor.index and sensor.mode are set to -1 (auto-detect).

??? question "Star6E: error with h264 over RTP" On Star6E the RTP mode supports only H.265. Change the codec: bash curl "http://localhost/api/v1/set?video0.codec=h265"

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Next steps

• WFB-ng integration — configuring venc + WFB-ng on the camera and ground station
• Web panel and HTTP API — a detailed description of all API endpoints
• waybeam venc overview — the full list of features