{"record":{"id":"7a1131d354a712e0","repo":"stride3d/stride","slug":"could-not-fill-codec-parameters-error-code-ret-tostring-x8","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Could not fill codec parameters. Error code={ret.ToString(\"X8\")}","messagePattern":"Could not fill codec parameters\\. Error code=(.+?)","errorType":"exception","errorClass":"ApplicationException","httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"sources/engine/Stride.Video/FFmpeg/FFmpegCodec.cs","lineNumber":48,"sourceCode":"\n        /// <summary>\n        /// Initializes a new instance of the <see cref=\"FFmpegCodec\"/> class.\n        /// </summary>\n        public FFmpegCodec(AVCodecParameters* originalCodecpar)\n        {\n            var codecId = originalCodecpar->codec_id;\n            var pCodec = ffmpeg.avcodec_find_decoder(codecId);\n            if (pCodec == null)\n                // TODO: log?\n                throw new ApplicationException(\"Unsupported codec.\");\n\n            int ret;\n            var pCodecContext = ffmpeg.avcodec_alloc_context3(pCodec);\n\n            ret = ffmpeg.avcodec_parameters_to_context(pCodecContext, originalCodecpar);\n            if (ret < 0)\n                // TODO: log?\n                throw new ApplicationException($\"Could not fill codec parameters. Error code={ret.ToString(\"X8\")}\");\n\n            SetupHardwareAcceleration(pCodecContext);\n\n            if (ffmpeg.avcodec_is_open(pCodecContext) == 0)\n            {\n                ret = ffmpeg.avcodec_open2(pCodecContext, pCodec, null);\n                if (ret < 0)\n                    // TODO: log?\n                    throw new ApplicationException($\"Could not open codec. Error code={ret.ToString(\"X8\")}\");\n            }\n\n            pAVCodecContext = pCodecContext;\n        }\n\n        /// <summary>Initializes the platform-specific hardware decode context, when supported.</summary>\n        partial void SetupHardwareAcceleration(AVCodecContext* pCodecContext);\n\n        /// <summary>Restores the platform-specific get_format callback after <see cref=\"ffmpeg.avcodec_flush_buffers\"/>.</summary>","sourceCodeStart":30,"sourceCodeEnd":66,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/stride3d/stride/blob/96fad776d210c221682aac1ccdf4c79dc046fc38/sources/engine/Stride.Video/FFmpeg/FFmpegCodec.cs#L30-L66","documentation":"Thrown by the FFmpegCodec constructor when avcodec_parameters_to_context returns a negative error code, meaning FFmpeg failed to copy the stream's codec parameters (extradata, dimensions, sample rate, etc.) into the freshly allocated codec context. The hex code identifies the underlying AVERROR.","triggerScenarios":"avcodec_parameters_to_context failing on a stream whose AVCodecParameters are malformed or incompatible with the chosen decoder — typically corrupt extradata, a codec_id that changed meaning between FFmpeg versions, or an out-of-memory AVERROR(ENOMEM).","commonSituations":"Corrupted or unusual media files with broken extradata; mismatched FFmpeg version where the container's parameters can't be applied to the decoder; running out of memory while allocating codec context fields on constrained devices.","solutions":["Inspect the hex error code (e.g. AVERROR(ENOMEM)=0x80070000 style) to identify the FFmpeg failure and act on it","Validate/re-mux the media file (ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -c copy out.mp4) to repair malformed stream parameters","Check the FFmpeg version: update or pin to one known to handle the media's codec parameters","Catch ApplicationException at stream-open time and skip/fall back to another track"],"exampleFix":"// before\nret = ffmpeg.avcodec_parameters_to_context(pCodecContext, originalCodecpar);\nif (ret < 0)\n    throw new ApplicationException($\"Could not fill codec parameters. Error code={ret.ToString(\"X8\")}\");\n// after\nret = ffmpeg.avcodec_parameters_to_context(pCodecContext, originalCodecpar);\nif (ret < 0)\n{\n    Logger.Error($\"avcodec_parameters_to_context failed: {ffmpeg.av_strerror(ret)} (0x{ret:X8})\");\n    ffmpeg.avcodec_free_context(&pCodecContext); // avoid leak before throwing\n    throw new ApplicationException($\"Could not fill codec parameters. Error code={ret.ToString(\"X8\")}\");\n}","handlingStrategy":"try-catch","validationCode":"if (codecpar == null || codecpar->extradata == null && codecpar->extradata_size > 0)\n{\n    Logger.Error(\"Stream codec parameters are malformed\");\n    return PlaybackResult.BadStreamParameters;\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"try\n{\n    var codec = new FFmpegCodec(codecpar);\n}\ncatch (ApplicationException ex) when (ex.Message.StartsWith(\"Could not fill codec parameters.\"))\n{\n    Logger.Error($\"Stream open failed: {ex.Message}\");\n    SkipStreamOrRetryWithTranscodedAsset(ex);\n}","preventionTips":["Re-mux/validate media files during ingestion to repair corrupt extradata","Pin and test a known-good FFmpeg version for your content set","Ensure the decoder context is freed on failure to avoid leaks when catching","Decode a short sample of each asset at import time to catch bad parameters early"],"tags":["ffmpeg","codec","video","parameter-copy"],"backgroundTag":"api-error-response","analyzedSha":"96fad776d210c221682aac1ccdf4c79dc046fc38","analyzedAt":"2026-09-14T02:59:31.279Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-14T02:59:31.279Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-16T04:17:20.429Z"}