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Requirements

Before installing Flex Video, ensure your system meets these requirements.

64-bit Only

Flex Video requires a 64-bit operating system. 32-bit systems are not supported. This includes Raspberry Pi — you must use Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit, not the 32-bit version.

Hardware Requirements

Minimum

Component Specification
CPU 64-bit (ARM64 or x86_64), 4 cores
RAM 4 GB
Storage 20 GB available
Network 100 Mbps Ethernet
Component Specification
CPU 64-bit (ARM64 or x86_64), 8+ cores
RAM 8+ GB
Storage 50+ GB SSD
Network 1 Gbps Ethernet

Hardware Acceleration (Optional)

For improved decoding and encoding performance:

Platform Acceleration Status
Raspberry Pi 5 V4L2 hardware decoder Supported
NXP i.MX8M Plus Hantro G1/G2 VPU Supported
Intel 10th gen+ / AMD (VAAPI) Hardware decode and encode via /dev/dri Experimental
NVIDIA Jetson (Orin/Xavier) V4L2 hardware codecs Supported

x86_64 Experimental Support

VAAPI hardware acceleration on x86_64 Intel (10th gen+) and AMD platforms is experimental. Contact support@blackwire-ts.com for assistance.

Software Requirements

Docker Engine

Flex Video runs in Docker containers. You must install Docker Engine (not Docker Desktop) on your Linux host.

Component Minimum Recommended
Docker Engine 23.0 27.x or newer
Docker Compose V2 (2.20+) 2.30+

Install Docker Engine from the official Docker website:

Do Not Use Docker Desktop

Always install Docker Engine (docker-ce) directly. Docker Desktop is not supported and adds unnecessary overhead.

Install the required packages:

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

After installing, add your user to the docker group and log out and back in:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Verify Docker is working:

docker --version
docker compose version

Minimum Version: Docker 23.0

The installer uses the OCI image format, which requires Docker 23.0 or newer. Docker Compose V2 (the docker compose command) is also required and is included automatically with the docker-compose-plugin package. If you have an older version, follow the links above to upgrade.

Network Requirements

Ports

Ensure these ports are available:

Port Service Protocol Notes
8443 Web UI HTTPS Includes reverse proxy to API
8080 Web UI (redirects to HTTPS) HTTP
3539 REST API HTTPS Direct access for third-party integrations
38082 Documentation HTTP
8554 RTSP (MediaMTX) RTSP
1935 RTMP (MediaMTX) RTMP
8731 RTSP (GStreamer) RTSP

Firewall

If using a firewall, allow the required ports:

# UFW (Ubuntu)
sudo ufw allow 8443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
sudo ufw allow 3539/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8554/tcp

# firewalld (RHEL/CentOS)
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8443/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8080/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=3539/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8554/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Multicast (Optional)

For CoT announcements, ensure multicast is enabled:

# Check multicast routing
ip route | grep multicast

# Add if missing
sudo ip route add 239.0.0.0/8 dev eth0

Operating System

Supported Platforms

OS Architecture Status
Debian 12 (Bookworm) ARM64, x86_64 Fully supported
Ubuntu 22.04+ ARM64, x86_64 Fully supported
Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit) ARM64 Fully supported
OpenWrt ARM64 Custom image required

Kernel Requirements

  • Linux kernel 4.15 or later
  • V4L2 support (for cameras)
  • cgroups v2 (recommended)

Camera Support (Optional)

For V4L2 camera support:

# Install v4l-utils for testing
sudo apt install v4l-utils

# List cameras
v4l2-ctl --list-devices

# Check permissions
ls -la /dev/video*

Ensure your user is in the video group:

sudo usermod -aG video $USER
# Log out and back in

License Requirements

A valid Flex Video license is required for:

  • H.265/HEVC encoding
  • AV1 encoding
  • Multiple concurrent streams (above free tier)

H.264 encoding is available without a license.

Next Steps