Video Reading Implementation in MATLAB

As a powerful numerical computing and engineering analysis tool, MATLAB provides comprehensive multimedia processing capabilities, with video reading being one of its key application scenarios. In MATLAB, video reading primarily relies on the VideoReader object, a specialized class designed for video processing that supports various common video formats such as AVI, MP4, and MOV.

The fundamental workflow for video reading begins with creating a VideoReader object instance initialized by specifying the video file path. MATLAB automatically parses the video file header information to extract key metadata parameters including frame rate, total frame count, and video dimensions. Subsequently, you can read video content frame-by-frame using the readFrame method or retrieve all frames within a specified range at once using the read method. Each frame is typically returned as a three-dimensional matrix corresponding to image height, width, and color channels (RGB).

For scenarios requiring interaction with C language, MATLAB's MEX function capability can be employed. The MEX interface allows compiling C/C++ code into functions directly callable by MATLAB, enabling the combination of MATLAB's convenience with C language's efficiency for video data processing. A typical implementation involves using libraries like OpenCV in C for video decoding, then transferring frame data to the MATLAB environment through the MEX interface.

In practical applications, MATLAB's video reading functionality is often integrated with other image processing toolboxes for advanced operations such as motion detection, object tracking, or video analysis. Compared to pure C implementations, the MATLAB approach emphasizes development efficiency and algorithm verification convenience, while C-based solutions are more suitable for performance-critical production environments. Understanding the differences and applicable scenarios of these two implementation approaches helps developers select appropriate technical solutions.