opus

Encoding data

To encode data, you have to know the sampling rate and number of channels and create an Encoder:

import opus
sampling_rate = 8000
stereo = False
encoder = opus.Encoder(sampling_rate, stereo)

Then you can use the encoder to encode audio frames. Those may have lengths of 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, or 60 milliseconds. Input data should be of type bytes or bytearray and contain 16-bit signed integers:

# One frame of data containing 480 null samples
input = bytearray(960)
# Encode the data, using at most 128 bytes for the frame. This would be around 2 kByte/s. At 8 kHz sampling rates, opus will use around 1 kByte/s for mono audio.
output = encoder.encode(input, 128)

Each encoded frame has some metadata at the beginning containing the channel, frequency, and the encoded size of the frame. This allows combining frames into one packet.

Decoding data

Decoders do not take any arguments with their constructor, because they take the necessary information from their input frames:

import opus
decoder = opus.Decoder()

The created decoder can handle any data created by opus.Encoder, even if the number of channels or the sampling rate differs - it will get reinitialized to match the new settings.

encoder = opus.Encoder(8000, 0)
decoder = opus.Decoder()

input = bytearray(960)
encoded = encoder.encode(input, 128)
decoded = decoder.decode(encoded)
Last modified December 13, 2024: Remove WHY2025 badge (8f6c078)