pixop-nvencc

Run NVEncC inside the digest-pinned Pixop LIVE container image with arbitrary NVEncC arguments. This is an advanced diagnostic wrapper for encoder capabilities, help text, and low-level GPU checks—not a supported file transcoding interface.

For file and directory jobs on the appliance, use pixop-process. For live pipeline control, use pixopctl, pixop-stack, and systemd units—not pixop-nvencc.

Usage

pixop-nvencc [NVEncC arguments ...]

There are no subcommands or Pixop-specific flags. Everything after the script name is passed to the container entrypoint (NVEncC).

Examples:

pixop-nvencc --version
pixop-nvencc --help
pixop-nvencc --check-hw

Option pass-through is literal: quoting and order follow NVEncC rules inside the container.

Command reference

Aspect	Behavior
Image	`LIVE_IMAGE` from `/etc/pixop-live/live.env` (must be `repo@sha256:…`)
Docker	`docker run --rm --pull=never --log-driver=none --gpus all`
GPU env	`NVIDIA_DRIVER_CAPABILITIES=compute,utility,video`
TTY	`-t` added only when stdout is a terminal (avoids control characters in pipes)
Stdin	Not attached (`-i` is not used)

What changes / what never changes

Changes	Never changes
Nothing persistent (ephemeral container)	`live.env`, local Docker images, live pipeline state

Each invocation starts a new container that exits when NVEncC exits. It does not start pixop-live or TSDuck.

Preconditions and scope

Requirement	Detail
Platform	Appliance guest (AL2023) with NVIDIA driver and container toolkit
Config	Readable `/etc/pixop-live/live.env` with digest-pinned `LIVE_IMAGE`
Image present	Image must exist locally; no pull at runtime
GPU	Host must expose GPUs to Docker (`--gpus all`)
Privilege	No sudo wrapper; user must be able to run Docker and read `live.env`

KVM guests behave the same inside the VM. The Ubuntu host does not use this script.

Version note: Availability depends on the appliance image; verify command -v pixop-nvencc and pixop-nvencc --help. NVEncC functionality follows the build inside digest-pinned LIVE_IMAGE, not the host package list.

Typical workflows

Confirm GPU visibility matches live service expectations:

pixop-nvencc --check-hw

Compare encoder version with pixop-test-live (Pixop binary --version, not NVEncC):

pixop-test-live
pixop-nvencc --version

Inspect an encoder flag before changing a pixop-process preset (read-only):

pixop-nvencc --help 2>&1 | less

Output interpretation

stdout/stderr are NVEncC’s own. Exit code is the container exit code.
pixop-nvencc: … on stderr with exit 2 means wrapper validation failed before docker run.

Test-only environment variables

Not operator flags; used in development overlays:

Variable	Purpose
`PIXOP_NVENCC_LIVE_ENV`	Alternate `live.env` path
`PIXOP_NVENCC_DOCKER`	Alternate `docker` binary path

Common errors

Message	Cause
`Pixop LIVE configuration not found`	Missing `live.env`
`cannot read … LIVE_IMAGE must be readable`	Permissions
`LIVE_IMAGE must be an immutable digest`	Tag-only reference in `live.env`
`docker not found`	Docker not installed or wrong `PIXOP_NVENCC_DOCKER`
Docker GPU errors	Driver/toolkit mismatch; see GPU requirements (FAQ)

Security

Does not mount operator media paths unless NVEncC arguments request inputs inside the container filesystem.
Do not pass secrets on the command line in shared screen sessions; they appear in process listings.

pixop-process — supported file transcoding
pixop-test-live — smoke-test Pixop image --version with GPU
pixop-stack — live stack status
GPU requirements (FAQ)