- Qt 6.12
- Qt Multimedia
- C++ Classes
- QtMultimedia
- QMediaRecorder
- Qt 6.12.0 Reference Documentation

# QMediaRecorder Class

The QMediaRecorder class is used for encoding and recording a capture session. More...

Header: | `#include <QMediaRecorder>`
CMake: | `find_package(Qt6 REQUIRED COMPONENTS Multimedia)` `target_link_libraries(mytarget PRIVATE Qt6::Multimedia)`
qmake: | `QT += multimedia`
In QML: | MediaRecorder
Inherits: | QObject

- List of all members, including inherited members
- Deprecated members

## Public Types

enum | EncodingMode { ConstantQualityEncoding, ConstantBitRateEncoding, AverageBitRateEncoding, TwoPassEncoding }
enum | Error { NoError, ResourceError, FormatError, OutOfSpaceError, LocationNotWritable }
enum | Quality { VeryLowQuality, LowQuality, NormalQuality, HighQuality, VeryHighQuality }
enum | RecorderState { StoppedState, RecordingState, PausedState }

## Properties

actualLocation : QUrl audioBitRate : int audioChannelCount : int audioSampleRate : int autoStop : bool duration : qint64 encodingMode : QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode error : QMediaRecorder::Error errorString : QString | mediaFormat : QMediaFormat metaData : QMediaMetaData outputLocation : QUrl quality : Quality recorderState : QMediaRecorder::RecorderState `(since 6.6)` videoBitRate : int `(since 6.6)` videoFrameRate : qreal `(since 6.6)` videoResolution : QSize

## Public Functions

| QMediaRecorder(QObject *parent = nullptr)
virtual | ~QMediaRecorder() override
QUrl | actualLocation() const
void | addMetaData(const QMediaMetaData &metaData)
int | audioBitRate() const
int | audioChannelCount() const
int | audioSampleRate() const
bool | autoStop() const
QMediaCaptureSession * | captureSession() const
qint64 | duration() const
QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode | encodingMode() const
QMediaRecorder::Error | error() const
QString | errorString() const
bool | isAvailable() const
QMediaFormat | mediaFormat() const
QMediaMetaData | metaData() const
QIODevice * | outputDevice() const
QUrl | outputLocation() const
QMediaRecorder::Quality | quality() const
QMediaRecorder::RecorderState | recorderState() const
void | setAudioBitRate(int bitRate)
void | setAudioChannelCount(int channels)
void | setAudioSampleRate(int sampleRate)
void | setAutoStop(bool autoStop)
void | setEncodingMode(QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode mode)
void | setMediaFormat(const QMediaFormat &format)
void | setMetaData(const QMediaMetaData &metaData)
void | setOutputDevice(QIODevice *device)
void | setOutputLocation(const QUrl &location)
void | setQuality(QMediaRecorder::Quality quality)
void | setVideoBitRate(int bitRate)
void | setVideoFrameRate(qreal frameRate)
void | setVideoResolution(const QSize &size)
void | setVideoResolution(int width, int height)
int | videoBitRate() const
qreal | videoFrameRate() const
QSize | videoResolution() const

## Public Slots

void | pause()
void | record()
void | stop()

## Signals

void | actualLocationChanged(const QUrl &location)
void | audioBitRateChanged()
void | audioChannelCountChanged()
void | audioSampleRateChanged()
void | autoStopChanged()
void | durationChanged(qint64 duration)
void | encodingModeChanged()
void | errorChanged()
void | errorOccurred(QMediaRecorder::Error error, const QString &errorString)
void | mediaFormatChanged()
void | metaDataChanged()
void | qualityChanged()
void | recorderStateChanged(QMediaRecorder::RecorderState state)
void | videoBitRateChanged()
void | videoFrameRateChanged()
void | videoResolutionChanged()

## Detailed Description

Use the QMediaRecorder class to encode and record media generated in QMediaCaptureSession. You can generate:

- Audio. Use QAudioInput or QAudioBufferInput.
- Video. Use QCamera, QScreenCapture, QWindowCapture, QVideoFrameInput, or QGStreamerVideoSource (on embedded Linux with the `gstreamer` media backend).

To record media, connect a generator to a corresponding media capture session.

Performance of video encoding and recording is limited by the hardware, the operating system, the installed graphic drivers, and the input video format. If `QCamera`, `QScreenCapture`, or `QWindowCapture` produces video frames faster than `QMediaRecorder` can encode and record them, the recorder may drop some frames. This is likely to occur if the input frame resolution is high, 4K for example, and hardware-accelerated encoding is unavailable. If you generate input video via `QVideoFrameInput`, the method `QVideoFrameInput::sendVideoFrame` will do nothing and return `false` whenever this limitation is reached and the internal frame queue is full. Rely on the signal `QVideoFrameInput::readyToSendVideoFrame` to know when the recorder is ready to receive new frames again. If you cannot change the rate of video frame generation and dropping frames is undesirable, we recommend implementing your own frame queue on top of `QVideoFrameInput`, considering the memory limitations of the hardware.

     QMediaCaptureSession session;
     QAudioInput audioInput;
     session.setAudioInput(&audioInput);
     QMediaRecorder recorder;
     session.setRecorder(&recorder);
     recorder.setQuality(QMediaRecorder::HighQuality);
     recorder.setOutputLocation(QUrl::fromLocalFile("test.mp3"));
     recorder.record();

## Member Type Documentation

### enum QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode

Enumerates encoding modes.

Constant | Value | Description
--- | --- | ---
`QMediaRecorder::ConstantQualityEncoding` | `0` | Encoding will aim to have a constant quality, adjusting bitrate to fit.
`QMediaRecorder::ConstantBitRateEncoding` | `1` | Encoding will use a constant bit rate, adjust quality to fit.
`QMediaRecorder::AverageBitRateEncoding` | `2` | Encoding will try to keep an average bitrate setting, but will use more or less as needed.
`QMediaRecorder::TwoPassEncoding` | `3` | The media will first be processed to determine the characteristics, and then processed a second time allocating more bits to the areas that need it.

### enum QMediaRecorder::Error

Constant | Value | Description
--- | --- | ---
`QMediaRecorder::NoError` | `0` | No Errors.
`QMediaRecorder::ResourceError` | `1` | Device is not ready or not available.
`QMediaRecorder::FormatError` | `2` | Current format is not supported.
`QMediaRecorder::OutOfSpaceError` | `3` | No space left on device.
`QMediaRecorder::LocationNotWritable` | `4` | The output location is not writable.

### enum QMediaRecorder::Quality

Enumerates quality encoding levels.

Constant | Value
--- | ---
`QMediaRecorder::VeryLowQuality` | `0`
`QMediaRecorder::LowQuality` | `1`
`QMediaRecorder::NormalQuality` | `2`
`QMediaRecorder::HighQuality` | `3`
`QMediaRecorder::VeryHighQuality` | `4`

### enum QMediaRecorder::RecorderState

Constant | Value | Description
--- | --- | ---
`QMediaRecorder::StoppedState` | `0` | The recorder is not active.
`QMediaRecorder::RecordingState` | `1` | The recording is requested.
`QMediaRecorder::PausedState` | `2` | The recorder is paused.

## Property Documentation

### `[read-only]` actualLocation : QUrl

This property holds the actual location of the last media content.

The actual location is reset when a new outputLocation or a non-null outputDevice is assigned. When record() is invoked and `outputDevice` is `null` or not writable, the recorder generates the actual location basing on the following rules.

- If `outputLocation` is empty, a directory, or a file without an extension, the recorder generates the appropriate extension based on the selected media format and system MIME types.
- If `outputLocation` is a directory, the recorder generates a new file name within it.
- If `outputLocation` is empty, the recorder generates a new file name in the system-specific directory for audio or video.
- The recorder generates the actual location before emitting `recorderStateChanged(RecordingState)`.

Access functions:

QUrl | actualLocation() const

Notifier signal:

void | actualLocationChanged(const QUrl &location)

### audioBitRate : int

This property holds the bit rate of the compressed audio stream in bits per second.

Access functions:

int | audioBitRate() const
void | setAudioBitRate(int bitRate)

Notifier signal:

void | audioBitRateChanged()

### audioChannelCount : int

This property holds the number of audio channels.

Access functions:

int | audioChannelCount() const
void | setAudioChannelCount(int channels)

Notifier signal:

void | audioChannelCountChanged()

### audioSampleRate : int

This property holds the audio sample rate in Hz.

Access functions:

int | audioSampleRate() const
void | setAudioSampleRate(int sampleRate)

Notifier signal:

void | audioSampleRateChanged()

### autoStop : bool

This property controls whether the media recorder stops automatically when all media inputs have reported the end of the stream or have been deactivated.

The end of the stream is reported by sending an empty media frame, which you can send explicitly via QVideoFrameInput or QAudioBufferInput.

Video inputs, specificly, QCamera, QScreenCapture and QWindowCapture, can be deactivated via the function `setActive`.

Defaults to `false`.

QMediaRecorder::autoStop is only supported with the FFmpeg backend.

Access functions:

bool | autoStop() const
void | setAutoStop(bool autoStop)

Notifier signal:

void | autoStopChanged()

See also QCamera, QScreenCapture, and QWindowCapture.

### `[read-only]` duration : qint64

This property holds the recorded media duration in milliseconds.

Access functions:

qint64 | duration() const

Notifier signal:

void | durationChanged(qint64 duration)

### encodingMode : QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode

This property holds the encoding mode.

Access functions:

QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode | encodingMode() const
void | setEncodingMode(QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode mode)

Notifier signal:

void | encodingModeChanged()

See also EncodingMode.

### `[read-only]` error : QMediaRecorder::Error

Returns the current error state.

Access functions:

QMediaRecorder::Error | error() const

Notifier signal:

void | errorChanged()

See also errorString().

### `[read-only]` errorString : QString

Returns a string describing the current error state.

Access functions:

QString | errorString() const

Notifier signal:

void | errorChanged()

See also error().

### mediaFormat : QMediaFormat

This property holds the current QMediaFormat of the recorder.

The value of this property may change when invoking record(). If this happens, the mediaFormatChanged() signal will be emitted. This will always happen if the QMediaFormat::audioCodec or QMediaFormat::fileFormat properties are set to unspecified. If a video source (QCamera, QScreenCapture, or QVideoFrameInput) is connected to the QMediaCaptureSession, QMediaFormat::videoCodec must also be specified. The QMediaFormat::audioCodec and QMediaFormat::videoCodec property values may also change if the media backend does not support the selected file format or codec.

The QMediaFormat::fileFormat property value may also change to an `audio` only format if a video format was requested, but QMediaCaptureSession does not have a video source connected. For example, if QMediaFormat::fileFormat is set to QMediaFormat::MPEG4, it may be changed to QMediaFormat::Mpeg4Audio.

Applications can determine if `mediaFormat` will change before recording starts by calling the QMediaFormat::isSupported() function. When recording without any video inputs, record() will not be changed the QMediaFormat if the following is true:

- QMediaFormat::fileFormat is specified
- QMediaFormat::audioCodec is specified
- QMediaFormat::videoCodec is unspecified
- QMediaFormat::isSupported() returns `true`

When recording with video input, `mediaFormat` will not be changed if the following is true:

- QMediaFormat::fileFormat is specified
- QMediaFormat::audioCodec is specified
- QMediaFormat::videoCodec is specified
- QMediaFormat::isSupported() returns `true`

Note: The QMediaRecorder does not take the file name extension from the outputLocation property into account when determining the QMediaFormat::fileFormat, and will not adjust the extension of the outputLocation QUrl to match the selected file format if an extension is specified. Applications should therefore make sure to set the QMediaRecorder::mediaFormat::fileFormat to match the file extension, or not specify a file extension. If no file extension is specified, the actualLocation file extension will be updated to match the file format used for recording.

Access functions:

QMediaFormat | mediaFormat() const
void | setMediaFormat(const QMediaFormat &format)

Notifier signal:

void | mediaFormatChanged()

See also QMediaFormat::isSupported() and actualLocation.

### metaData : QMediaMetaData

Returns the metaData associated with the recording.

Access functions:

QMediaMetaData | metaData() const
void | setMetaData(const QMediaMetaData &metaData)

Notifier signal:

void | metaDataChanged()

### outputLocation : QUrl

This property holds the destination location of media content.

Setting the location can fail, for example when the service supports only local file system locations but a network URL was passed. If the operation fails, the errorOccurred() signal is emitted.

The output location is ignored if a writable outputDevice has been assigned to the recorder. This behavior may change in the future, so we recommend setting only one output, either `outputLocation` or `outputDevice`.

The output location can be empty, a directory, or a file. The path to a directory or file can be relative or absolute. The record() method generates the actual location according to the specified output location and system-specific settings. Refer to the actualLocation property description for details.

Access functions:

QUrl | outputLocation() const
void | setOutputLocation(const QUrl &location)

See also actualLocation and outputDevice().

### quality : Quality

Returns the recording quality.

Access functions:

QMediaRecorder::Quality | quality() const
void | setQuality(QMediaRecorder::Quality quality)

Notifier signal:

void | qualityChanged()

### `[read-only]` recorderState : QMediaRecorder::RecorderState

This property holds the current state of the media recorder.

The state property represents the user request and is changed synchronously during record(), pause() or stop() calls. Recorder state may also change asynchronously when recording fails.

Access functions:

QMediaRecorder::RecorderState | recorderState() const

Notifier signal:

void | recorderStateChanged(QMediaRecorder::RecorderState state)

### `[since 6.6]` videoBitRate : int

This property holds the bit rate of the compressed video stream in bits per second.

This enumeration was introduced in Qt 6.6.

Access functions:

int | videoBitRate() const
void | setVideoBitRate(int bitRate)

Notifier signal:

void | videoBitRateChanged()

### `[since 6.6]` videoFrameRate : qreal

This property holds the video frame rate.

A value of 0 indicates the recorder should make an optimal choice based on what is available from the video source and the limitations of the codec.

This enumeration was introduced in Qt 6.6.

Access functions:

qreal | videoFrameRate() const
void | setVideoFrameRate(qreal frameRate)

Notifier signal:

void | videoFrameRateChanged()

### `[since 6.6]` videoResolution : QSize

This property holds the resolution of the encoded video.

An empty QSize indicates the recorder will choose an optimal resolution based on what is available from the video source and the limitations of the codec.

This enumeration was introduced in Qt 6.6.

Access functions:

QSize | videoResolution() const
void | setVideoResolution(const QSize &size)
void | setVideoResolution(int width, int height)

Notifier signal:

void | videoResolutionChanged()

## Member Function Documentation

### QMediaRecorder::QMediaRecorder(QObject *parent = nullptr)

Constructs a media recorder. The media recorder is a child of parent.

### `[override virtual noexcept]` QMediaRecorder::~QMediaRecorder()

Destroys a media recorder object.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::actualLocationChanged(const QUrl &location)

Signals that the actual location of the recorded media has changed. This signal is usually emitted when recording starts.

Note: Notifier signal for property actualLocation.

### void QMediaRecorder::addMetaData(const QMediaMetaData &metaData)

Adds metaData to the recorded media.

### int QMediaRecorder::audioBitRate() const

Returns the bit rate of the compressed audio stream in bits per second.

Note: Getter function for property audioBitRate.

See also setAudioBitRate().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::audioBitRateChanged()

Signals when the recording audio bit rate changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property audioBitRate.

### int QMediaRecorder::audioChannelCount() const

Returns the number of audio channels.

Note: Getter function for property audioChannelCount.

See also setAudioChannelCount().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::audioChannelCountChanged()

Signals when the recording audio channel count changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property audioChannelCount.

### int QMediaRecorder::audioSampleRate() const

Returns the audio sample rate in Hz.

Note: Getter function for property audioSampleRate.

See also setAudioSampleRate().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::audioSampleRateChanged()

Signals when the recording audio sample rate changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property audioSampleRate.

### QMediaCaptureSession *QMediaRecorder::captureSession() const

Returns the media capture session.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::durationChanged(qint64 duration)

Signals that the duration of the recorded media has changed.

Note: Notifier signal for property duration.

### QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode QMediaRecorder::encodingMode() const

Returns the encoding mode.

Note: Getter function for property encodingMode.

See also setEncodingMode() and EncodingMode.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::encodingModeChanged()

Signals when the encoding mode changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property encodingMode.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::errorOccurred(QMediaRecorder::Error error, const QString &errorString)

Signals that an error has occurred, with errorString containing a description of the error.

### bool QMediaRecorder::isAvailable() const

Returns `true` if media recorder service ready to use.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::metaDataChanged()

Signals that a media object's meta-data has changed.

If multiple meta-data elements are changed metaDataChanged() is emitted once.

Note: Notifier signal for property metaData.

### QIODevice *QMediaRecorder::outputDevice() const

Returns the output IO device for media content.

See also setOutputDevice().

### `[slot]` void QMediaRecorder::pause()

Pauses recording.

The recorder state is changed to QMediaRecorder::PausedState.

Depending on the platform, pausing recording may be not supported. In this case the recorder state is unchanged.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::qualityChanged()

Signals when the recording quality changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property quality.

### `[slot]` void QMediaRecorder::record()

Starts recording.

While the recorder state is changed immediately to c{QMediaRecorder::RecordingState}, recording may start asynchronously.

If recording fails error() signal is emitted with recorder state being reset back to `QMediaRecorder::StoppedState`.

This method updates actualLocation according to its generation rules.

Note: On mobile devices, recording will happen in the orientation the device had when calling record and is locked for the duration of the recording. To avoid artifacts on the user interface, we recommend to keep the user interface locked to the same orientation as long as the recording is ongoing using the contentOrientation property of QWindow and unlock it again once the recording is finished.

### QMediaRecorder::RecorderState QMediaRecorder::recorderState() const

Returns the current media recorder state.

Note: Getter function for property recorderState.

See also QMediaRecorder::RecorderState.

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::recorderStateChanged(QMediaRecorder::RecorderState state)

Signals that a media recorder's state has changed.

Note: Notifier signal for property recorderState.

### void QMediaRecorder::setAudioBitRate(int bitRate)

Sets the audio bitRate in bits per second.

Note: Setter function for property audioBitRate.

See also audioBitRate().

### void QMediaRecorder::setAudioChannelCount(int channels)

Sets the number of audio channels.

A value of -1 indicates the recorder should make an optimal choice based on what is available from the audio source and the limitations of the codec.

Note: Setter function for property audioChannelCount.

See also audioChannelCount().

### void QMediaRecorder::setAudioSampleRate(int sampleRate)

Sets the audio sampleRate in Hz.

A value of `-1` indicates the recorder should make an optimal choice based on what is available from the audio source, and the limitations of the codec.

Note: Setter function for property audioSampleRate.

See also audioSampleRate().

### void QMediaRecorder::setEncodingMode(QMediaRecorder::EncodingMode mode)

Sets the encoding mode setting.

If ConstantQualityEncoding is set, the quality encoding parameter is used and bit rates are ignored, otherwise the bitrates are used.

Note: Setter function for property encodingMode.

See also encodingMode() and EncodingMode.

### void QMediaRecorder::setMetaData(const QMediaMetaData &metaData)

Sets the meta data to metaData.

Note: To ensure that meta-data is set correctly, it should be set before starting the recording. Once the recording is started, any meta-data set will be attached to the next recording.

Note: Setter function for property metaData.

See also metaData().

### void QMediaRecorder::setOutputDevice(QIODevice *device)

Set the output IO device for media content.

The device must have been opened in the WriteOnly or ReadWrite modes before the recording starts.

The media recorder doesn't take ownership of the specified device. If the recording has been started, the device must be kept alive and open until the signal `recorderStateChanged(StoppedState)` is emitted.

This method resets actualLocation immediately unless the specified device is `null`.

If a writable output device is assigned to the recorder, outputLocation is ignored, and actualLocation is not generated when recording starts. This behavior may change in the future, so we recommend setting only one output, either `outputLocation` or `outputDevice`.

`QMediaRecorder::setOutputDevice` is only supported with the FFmpeg backend.

See also outputDevice() and outputLocation.

### void QMediaRecorder::setVideoBitRate(int bitRate)

Sets the video bitRate in bits per second.

Note: Setter function for property videoBitRate.

See also videoBitRate().

### void QMediaRecorder::setVideoFrameRate(qreal frameRate)

Sets the video frameRate.

A value of 0 indicates the recorder should make an optimal choice based on what is available from the video source and the limitations of the codec.

Note: Setter function for property videoFrameRate.

See also videoFrameRate().

### void QMediaRecorder::setVideoResolution(const QSize &size)

Sets the resolution of the encoded video to size.

Pass an empty QSize to make the recorder choose an optimal resolution based on what is available from the video source and the limitations of the codec.

Note: Setter function for property videoResolution.

See also videoResolution().

### void QMediaRecorder::setVideoResolution(int width, int height)

Sets the width and height of the resolution of the encoded video.

Note: Setter function for property videoResolution.

This is an overloaded function.

### `[slot]` void QMediaRecorder::stop()

The recorder will stop the recording. Processing pending video and audio data might however still take some time. The recording is finished, once the state of the media recorder changes to QMediaRecorder::StoppedState.

### int QMediaRecorder::videoBitRate() const

Returns the bit rate of the compressed video stream in bits per second.

Note: Getter function for property videoBitRate.

See also setVideoBitRate().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::videoBitRateChanged()

Signals when the recording video bit rate changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property videoBitRate.

### qreal QMediaRecorder::videoFrameRate() const

Returns the video frame rate.

Note: Getter function for property videoFrameRate.

See also setVideoFrameRate().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::videoFrameRateChanged()

Signals when the recording video frame rate changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property videoFrameRate.

### QSize QMediaRecorder::videoResolution() const

Returns the resolution of the encoded video.

Note: Getter function for property videoResolution.

See also setVideoResolution().

### `[signal]` void QMediaRecorder::videoResolutionChanged()

Signals when the video recording resolution changes.

Note: Notifier signal for property videoResolution.