Adding GStreamer plugins to MediaTek Genio IoT Yocto

The default MediaTek Genio IoT Yocto image includes a minimal GStreamer installation — enough to demonstrate hardware decode and waylandsink but not necessarily everything your application needs. Adding plugins is straightforward once you know which Yocto package owns the element you need, and how to add it to your image cleanly without modifying BSP-owned files.

Key Insights

• Each GStreamer plugin collection maps to a separate Yocto package — know which package owns the element you need
• Add plugins via IMAGE_INSTALL:append in your image recipe or local.conf — never modify the BSP image recipe directly
• MTK hardware plugins (mtkvdec, waylandsink, mtkh265enc) require NDA_BUILD=1 and come from the private BSP layer
• Use gst-inspect-1.0 on the running board to verify what is installed and what each element accepts
• For custom or third-party plugins, write a BitBake recipe in your own meta-layer

What GStreamer packages are available?

The IoT Yocto BSP pulls in GStreamer through meta-openembedded. The plugin packages and which elements they contain:

Yocto package	Key elements included
gstreamer1.0	gst-launch-1.0, gst-inspect-1.0, core pipeline
gstreamer1.0-plugins-base	videotestsrc, audiotestsrc, videoconvert, audioconvert, alsasrc, alsasink
gstreamer1.0-plugins-good	v4l2src, rtspsrc, rtph264pay, flvdemux, matroska, udpsrc, wavparse, pulsesrc
gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad	waylandsink (upstream), nvh264enc (not MTK), codecparsers, dtlssrtpdemux
gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly	x264enc, mpeg2dec, asfdemux — codecs with license restrictions
gstreamer1.0-libav	avdec_h264, avdec_hevc, avenc_* — FFmpeg-based software codecs
gstreamer1.0-rtsp-server	GstRTSPServer library for streaming server pipelines
MTK private: gst-plugin-mtk	mtkvdec, mtkh265enc, waylandsink (MTK zero-copy version)

The MTK private plugins replace or extend the upstream equivalents. The MTK waylandsink is not the same as the upstream waylandsink in gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad — the MTK version has zero-copy buffer handling with mtkvdec. For setup and pipeline usage, see GStreamer + waylandsink on MediaTek Genio. For what the NDA build unlocks beyond GStreamer, see the dedicated guide.

How do you add plugins to your image?

Option 1: local.conf (fastest for development)

Add to build/conf/local.conf:

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly gstreamer1.0-libav"

Note the leading space inside the quotes. Without it, the append runs into the previous value without a separator and BitBake treats them as a single invalid package name.

This approach works but is not portable — local.conf is not committed to your layer. Use it for development and iteration.

Option 2: bbappend in your meta-layer (production)

See the Yocto build guide for Genio if you need to set up the build environment first.

Create a bbappend in your custom meta-layer to extend the image recipe:

meta-your-product/
  recipes-extended/
    images/
      genio-iot-image.bbappend

Content of genio-iot-image.bbappend:

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly \
    gstreamer1.0-libav \
    gstreamer1.0-rtsp-server \
"

This approach is committed to your layer and reproducible across build machines.

Option 3: Add individual elements (smallest image size)

Instead of adding the entire plugin collection, add only the specific element packages you need. GStreamer plugin packages split by element:

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good-flv \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good-rtp \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good-rtsp \
    gstreamer1.0-plugins-good-v4l2 \
"

This keeps the image smaller, which matters for boards with limited storage.

How do you verify plugins at runtime?

After flashing:

# List all installed plugins
gst-inspect-1.0

# Check a specific element
gst-inspect-1.0 mtkvdec
gst-inspect-1.0 waylandsink
gst-inspect-1.0 flvdemux

# Find elements that handle H.264
gst-inspect-1.0 | grep h264

# Confirm MTK hardware decode is the NDA version (not upstream)
gst-inspect-1.0 mtkvdec | grep "Factory Details"

If an element is missing, the output is:

No such element or plugin 'mtkvdec'

Go back to IMAGE_INSTALL, add the correct package, rebuild, and reflash.

How do you add a custom GStreamer plugin?

If your application requires a GStreamer plugin that has no Yocto recipe:

1. Create a recipe in your meta-layer:

meta-your-product/
  recipes-multimedia/
    gst-plugin-custom/
      gst-plugin-custom_1.0.bb

2. Content of the recipe:

SUMMARY = "Custom GStreamer plugin for sensor pre-processing"
LICENSE = "MIT"
LIC_FILES_CHKSUM = "file://LICENSE;md5=..."

SRC_URI = "git://github.com/your-org/gst-plugin-custom.git;branch=main;protocol=https"
SRCREV = "abc123"

S = "${WORKDIR}/git"

inherit cmake

DEPENDS = "gstreamer1.0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base"

FILES:${PN} += "${libdir}/gstreamer-1.0/*.so"

3. Add to IMAGE_INSTALL:

IMAGE_INSTALL:append = " gst-plugin-custom"

What is the GStreamer debugging workflow on Genio?

When a pipeline fails or produces unexpected output:

# Enable full debug logging
GST_DEBUG=5 gst-launch-1.0 videotestsrc ! videoconvert ! waylandsink 2>&1 | head -100

# Debug a specific plugin
GST_DEBUG=mtkvdec:5 gst-launch-1.0 ...

# Log pipeline graph to dot file (visualize in Graphviz)
GST_DEBUG_DUMP_DOT_DIR=/tmp gst-launch-1.0 ...
# Then: dot -Tpng /tmp/*.dot -o pipeline.png

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Building a custom IoT Yocto image on MediaTek Genio and need help with GStreamer pipeline design, plugin integration, or BSP customization? ProventusNova specializes in embedded Linux on Genio. See our GStreamer pipeline service or get in touch.