H.264 elementary bitstream format : Annex B 和 AVCC

NALU types

There are 19 different NALU types defined separated into two categories, VCL and non-VCL:

VCL, or Video Coding Layer packets contain the actual visual information.
Non-VCLs contain metadata that may or may not be required to decode the video.

0      Unspecified                                                    non-VCL
1      Coded slice of a non-IDR picture                               VCL
2      Coded slice data partition A                                   VCL
3      Coded slice data partition B                                   VCL
4      Coded slice data partition C                                   VCL
5      Coded slice of an IDR picture                                  VCL
6      Supplemental enhancement information (SEI)                     non-VCL
7      Sequence parameter set                                         non-VCL
8      Picture parameter set                                          non-VCL
9      Access unit delimiter                                          non-VCL
10     End of sequence                                                non-VCL
11     End of stream                                                  non-VCL
12     Filler data                                                    non-VCL
13     Sequence parameter set extension                               non-VCL
14     Prefix NAL unit                                                non-VCL
15     Subset sequence parameter set                                  non-VCL
16     Depth parameter set                                            non-VCL
17..18 Reserved                                                       non-VCL
19     Coded slice of an auxiliary coded picture without partitioning non-VCL
20     Coded slice extension                                          non-VCL
21     Coded slice extension for depth view components                non-VCL
22..23 Reserved                                                       non-VCL
24..31 Unspecified                                                    non-VCL

A single NALU is NOT the same thing as a frame

A single NALU, or even a VCL NALU is NOT the same thing as a frame. A frame can be ‘sliced’ into several NALUs. Just like you can slice a pizza. One or more slices are then virtually grouped into a Access Units (AU) that contain one frame. Slicing does come at a slight quality cost, so it is not often used.

单个的NALU甚至VCL NALU和一帧不同。
一帧可能会切割为多个NALUs. 就像切披萨一样。
一个或多个slices可组成一个AU(包含一个整帧)。
Slicing操作会带来轻微的质量损失，所以不经常用。

‘extradata’ or ‘sequence header’

bits    
8   version ( always 0x01 )
8   avc profile ( sps[0][1] )
8   avc compatibility ( sps[0][2] )
8   avc level ( sps[0][3] )
6   reserved ( all bits on )
2   NALULengthSizeMinusOne
3   reserved ( all bits on )
5   number of SPS NALUs (usually 1)
repeated once per SPS:
  16     SPS size
  variable   SPS NALU data
8   number of PPS NALUs (usually 1)
repeated once per PPS
  16    PPS size
  variable PPS NALU data

References:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24884827/possible-locations-for-sequence-picture-parameter-sets-for-h-264-stream