Re: [PATCH v2 09/27] drm: Add VRR target frame rate properties

[Vidith Madhu]

On Thu, 5 Nov 2026, Nicolas Frattaroli wrote:

> Userspace may wish to set a target frame rate for the Variable Refresh
> Rate mechanism. There are multiple possible ways such a target could be
> communicated.
> 
> It's desirable for userspace to not only set a fixed target, but a
> target range within which VRR may operate. This is because even if a
> sink advertises a certain range as supported, said range may not be the
> ideal range to use, as numbers on the extreme end of the range may
> induce flickering or other glitches.
> 
> There's four choices to how one bracketing value for the target range
> could be communicated:
> 1. Target frame rate in something like millihertz
> 2. Target frame period in something like usecs
> 3. Target vtotal value
> 4. Target frame rate as a fraction expressed by two integers
> 
> Choice 1 is unpleasant as it would introduce some amount of rounding to
> common broadcast framerates like 24/1.001, which seems minor except that
> exact matches to standard framerates would rely on making all userspace
> and kernel agree on a specific method of rounding. This is sure to go
> wrong, so is disqualified.
> 
> Choice 2 has the same problem as 1, with the added complication that
> the EDID's VRR range is expressed in frames per second, and other HDMI
> features express things in frames per second as well, which would
> require possibly imprecise computations.
> 
> Choice 3 is disqualified as mechanisms other than VRR, such as FVA, may
> also modify the vtotal value. Additionally, it has the same drawbacks of
> choice 2 and 1.
> 
> Choice 4 is therefore what's implemented. The frame rate 24/1.001Hz, for
> example, is expressed as nominator=24000 and denominator=1001. As there
> is both a minimum and a maximum, there are 4 properties in total: two
> numerators, and two denominators. A fixed rate with no variability is
> expressed by setting the minimum fractional and the maximum fractional
> properties to the same value.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Nicolas Frattaroli <nicolas.frattaroli@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> ---
>  drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c      | 14 ++++++++++++
>  drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c | 24 ++++++++++++++++++++
>  drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c   | 48 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c        | 34 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c | 20 ++++++++++++++++
>  include/drm/drm_crtc.h            |  6 +++++
>  include/drm/drm_mode_config.h     | 45 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  7 files changed, 191 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c
> index 9bb761eda59f..da5c6925c349 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c
> @@ -489,6 +489,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(drm_atomic_get_crtc_state);
>  static int drm_atomic_crtc_check(const struct drm_crtc_state *old_crtc_state,
>  				 const struct drm_crtc_state *new_crtc_state)
>  {
> +	const struct drm_crtc_vrr_state *vrr = &new_crtc_state->vrr_state;
>  	struct drm_crtc *crtc = new_crtc_state->crtc;
>  
>  	/* NOTE: we explicitly don't enforce constraints such as primary
> @@ -544,6 +545,19 @@ static int drm_atomic_crtc_check(const struct drm_crtc_state *old_crtc_state,
>  		return -EINVAL;
>  	}
>  
> +	/*
> +	 * Reject VRR limiter ranges that only specify one end of the limit, or
I think specifying just one end of the limit should still be a valid case, 
the client may want to use the default bound on one side implied by the 
base timings/min. refresh rate and constrain the other.

> +	 * specify a numerator > 0 with a denominator that is 0.
> +	 */
> +	if ((!vrr->vrr_min_n || !vrr->vrr_min_d ||
> +	     !vrr->vrr_max_n || !vrr->vrr_max_d) &&
> +	    (vrr->vrr_min_n > 0 || vrr->vrr_max_n > 0)) {
> +		drm_dbg_atomic(crtc->dev,
> +			       "[CRTC:%d:%s] incomplete VRR limiter range\n",
> +			       crtc->base.id, crtc->name);
> +		return -EINVAL;
> +	}
> +
>  	return 0;
>  }
>  
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
> index 127bdd77802b..c95eaa9697c4 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
> @@ -420,6 +420,22 @@ static int drm_atomic_crtc_set_property(struct drm_crtc *crtc,
>  		return ret;
>  	} else if (property == config->prop_vrr_enabled) {
>  		state->vrr_enabled = val;
> +	} else if (property == config->prop_vrr_min_numerator) {
> +		if (val > U32_MAX)
> +			return -EINVAL;
> +		state->vrr_state.vrr_min_n = val;
> +	} else if (property == config->prop_vrr_min_denominator) {
> +		if (val > U32_MAX)
> +			return -EINVAL;
> +		state->vrr_state.vrr_min_d = val;
> +	} else if (property == config->prop_vrr_max_numerator) {
> +		if (val > U32_MAX)
> +			return -EINVAL;
> +		state->vrr_state.vrr_max_n = val;
> +	} else if (property == config->prop_vrr_max_denominator) {
> +		if (val > U32_MAX)
> +			return -EINVAL;
> +		state->vrr_state.vrr_max_d = val;
>  	} else if (property == config->degamma_lut_property) {
>  		const size_t elem_size = sizeof(struct drm_color_lut);
>  		u64 lut_size;
> @@ -505,6 +521,14 @@ drm_atomic_crtc_get_property(struct drm_crtc *crtc,
>  		*val = (state->mode_blob) ? state->mode_blob->base.id : 0;
>  	else if (property == config->prop_vrr_enabled)
>  		*val = state->vrr_enabled;
> +	else if (property == config->prop_vrr_min_numerator)
> +		*val = state->vrr_state.vrr_min_n;
> +	else if (property == config->prop_vrr_min_denominator)
> +		*val = state->vrr_state.vrr_min_d;
> +	else if (property == config->prop_vrr_max_numerator)
> +		*val = state->vrr_state.vrr_max_n;
> +	else if (property == config->prop_vrr_max_denominator)
> +		*val = state->vrr_state.vrr_max_d;
>  	else if (property == config->degamma_lut_property)
>  		*val = (state->degamma_lut) ? state->degamma_lut->base.id : 0;
>  	else if (property == config->ctm_property)
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
> index a44afba8c5ff..33c4195db58b 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
> @@ -2593,6 +2593,54 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(drm_mode_create_scaling_mode_property);
>   *	    - Game - set display to game mode if display supports it,
>   *	      regardless of CRTC state
>   *	    - Off - set display to VRR disabled mode, regardless of CRTC state
> + *
> + * VRR Limiter/Target Properties
> + * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> + *
> + * The ``VRR_{MIN,MAX}_{NUMERATOR,DENOMINATOR}`` properties expose a mechanism
> + * through which userspace can control the desired range of refresh rates in
> + * which VRR is allowed to operate. Each rate is expressed as a
> + * numerator/denominator fraction of refresh rates in Hz, allowing for rational
> + * target rates like 24/1.001 Hz with no loss of precision or ambiguity.
> + *
> + * If the minimum and maximum rate are set to the same value (and not 0), they
> + * are understood as a fixed target rate. This is especially useful for media
> + * playback, where the content's frame rate is both constant and known in
> + * advance. In such cases, a refresh rate that is not an integer multiple of the
> + * content's frame rate will introduce judder, since not every frame is
> + * displayed for the same amount of time. A modeset of the display with a
> + * compatible rate may in those cases be either undesirable or impossible, but
> + * the rate can still effectively be reached through VRR.
> + *
> + * If one end of the limit is set (e.g. minimum), the other end (e.g. maximum)
> + * must also be set. Any rational with a numerator of 0 is treated as 0/0
> + * regardless of denominator.
> + *
> + * .. _VRR-MIN-NUMERATOR:
> + *
> + * "VRR_MIN_NUMERATOR":
> + *	Default &drm_crtc integer property forming the numerator of a
> + *	numerator/denominator pair of a frame rate to set as the minimum VRR
> + *	target rate. Set to 0 to disable.
> + *
> + * "VRR_MIN_DENOMINATOR":
> + *	Default &drm_crtc integer property forming the denominator of a
> + *	numerator/denominator pair of a frame rate to set as the minimum VRR
> + *	target rate. If :ref:`VRR_MIN_NUMERATOR <VRR-MIN-NUMERATOR>` is not
> + *	zero, it must be non-zero.
> + *
> + * .. _VRR-MAX-NUMERATOR:
> + *
> + * "VRR_MAX_NUMERATOR":
> + *	Default &drm_crtc integer property forming the numerator of a
> + *	numerator/denominator pair of a frame rate to set as the maximum VRR
> + *	target rate. Set to 0 to disable.
> + *
> + * "VRR_MAX_DENOMINATOR":
> + *	Default &drm_crtc integer property forming the denominator of a
> + *	numerator/denominator pair of a frame rate to set as the maximum VRR
> + *	target rate. If :ref:`VRR_MAX_NUMERATOR <VRR-MAX-NUMERATOR>` is not
> + *	zero, it must be non-zero.
>   */
>  
>  /**
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
> index 5295ec122e0d..4c29c6e15df9 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
> @@ -324,6 +324,40 @@ static int __drm_crtc_init_with_planes(struct drm_device *dev, struct drm_crtc *
>  	return 0;
>  }
>  
> +/**
> + * drm_crtc_attach_vrr_limiter_properties - Attach VRR limiter props to CRTC
> + * @crtc: The CRTC to attach the properties to
> + *
> + * Attach the VRR limiter target minimum and maximum frame rate properties to
> + * @crtc. The driver implementing @crtc must use atomic mode setting.
> + *
> + * This convenience function is to be used by drivers which implement all the
> + * logic required for the VRR limiter uAPI to function.
> + *
> + * Returns:
> + * Zero on success, negative error on failure.
> + */
> +int drm_crtc_attach_vrr_limiter_properties(struct drm_crtc *crtc)
> +{
> +	struct drm_mode_config *config = &crtc->dev->mode_config;
> +
> +	if (!drm_drv_uses_atomic_modeset(crtc->dev))
> +		return -EINVAL;
> +
> +	drm_object_attach_property(&crtc->base,
> +				   config->prop_vrr_min_numerator, 0);
> +	drm_object_attach_property(&crtc->base,
> +				   config->prop_vrr_min_denominator, 0);
> +	drm_object_attach_property(&crtc->base,
> +				   config->prop_vrr_max_numerator, 0);
> +	drm_object_attach_property(&crtc->base,
> +				   config->prop_vrr_max_denominator, 0);
> +
> +
> +	return 0;
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL(drm_crtc_attach_vrr_limiter_properties);
> +
>  /**
>   * drm_crtc_init_with_planes - Initialise a new CRTC object with
>   *    specified primary and cursor planes.
> diff --git a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c
> index 48a56f23dadb..da967d60f832 100644
> --- a/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c
> +++ b/drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c
> @@ -535,6 +535,26 @@ static int drm_mode_create_standard_properties(struct drm_device *dev)
>  		return -ENOMEM;
>  	dev->mode_config.prop_vrr_enabled = prop;
>  
> +	prop = drm_property_create_range(dev, 0, "VRR_MIN_NUMERATOR", 0, U32_MAX);
> +	if (!prop)
> +		return -ENOMEM;
> +	dev->mode_config.prop_vrr_min_numerator = prop;
> +
> +	prop = drm_property_create_range(dev, 0, "VRR_MIN_DENOMINATOR", 0, U32_MAX);
> +	if (!prop)
> +		return -ENOMEM;
> +	dev->mode_config.prop_vrr_min_denominator = prop;
> +
> +	prop = drm_property_create_range(dev, 0, "VRR_MAX_NUMERATOR", 0, U32_MAX);
> +	if (!prop)
> +		return -ENOMEM;
> +	dev->mode_config.prop_vrr_max_numerator = prop;
> +
> +	prop = drm_property_create_range(dev, 0, "VRR_MAX_DENOMINATOR", 0, U32_MAX);
> +	if (!prop)
> +		return -ENOMEM;
> +	dev->mode_config.prop_vrr_max_denominator = prop;
> +
>  	prop = drm_property_create(dev,
>  			DRM_MODE_PROP_BLOB,
>  			"DEGAMMA_LUT", 0);
> diff --git a/include/drm/drm_crtc.h b/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
> index bfb2b0741625..9004f7c2f21e 100644
> --- a/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
> +++ b/include/drm/drm_crtc.h
> @@ -66,6 +66,10 @@ struct drm_plane_helper_funcs;
>  struct drm_crtc_vrr_state {
>  	u16 cur_vtotal;
>  	u16 max_vtotal;
> +	u32 vrr_min_n;
> +	u32 vrr_min_d;
> +	u32 vrr_max_n;
> +	u32 vrr_max_d;
>  	u16 base_vtotal;
>  	bool dynamic;
>  };
> @@ -1247,6 +1251,8 @@ struct drm_mode_set {
>  
>  #define obj_to_crtc(x) container_of(x, struct drm_crtc, base)
>  
> +int drm_crtc_attach_vrr_limiter_properties(struct drm_crtc *crtc);
> +
>  __printf(6, 7)
>  int drm_crtc_init_with_planes(struct drm_device *dev,
>  			      struct drm_crtc *crtc,
> diff --git a/include/drm/drm_mode_config.h b/include/drm/drm_mode_config.h
> index 084517beb924..c8d5286f9267 100644
> --- a/include/drm/drm_mode_config.h
> +++ b/include/drm/drm_mode_config.h
> @@ -702,6 +702,51 @@ struct drm_mode_config {
>  	 */
>  	struct drm_property *prop_vrr_enabled;
>  
> +	/**
> +	 * @prop_vrr_min_numerator: Default atomic CRTC property to indicate the
> +	 * numerator of a numerator/denominator variable refresh rate minimum
> +	 * target frame rate.
> +	 *
> +	 * If not zero, @prop_vrr_min_numerator divided by
> +	 * @prop_vrr_min_denominator must result in a frame rate above the
> +	 * sink's minimum VRR rate.
> +	 */
> +	struct drm_property *prop_vrr_min_numerator;
> +
> +	/**
> +	 * @prop_vrr_min_denominator: Default atomic CRTC property to indicate
> +	 * the denominator of a numerator/denominator variable refresh rate
> +	 * minimum target frame rate.
> +	 *
> +	 * If @prop_vrr_min_numerator is set, @prop_vrr_min_denominator must not
> +	 * be 0, and @prop_vrr_min_numerator divided by @prop_vrr_min_denominator
> +	 * must result in a frame rate above the minimum VRR rate.
> +	 */
> +	struct drm_property *prop_vrr_min_denominator;
> +
> +	/**
> +	 * @prop_vrr_max_numerator: Default atomic CRTC property to indicate the
> +	 * numerator of a numerator/denominator variable refresh rate maximum
> +	 * target frame rate range.
> +	 *
> +	 * The fraction expressed by this property divided by its corresponding
> +	 * denominator must be equal to or greater than the value of
> +	 * @prop_vrr_min_numerator.
> +	 */
> +	struct drm_property *prop_vrr_max_numerator;
> +
> +	/**
> +	 * @prop_vrr_max_denominator: Default atomic CRTC property to indicate
> +	 * the denominator of a numerator/denominator variable refresh rate
> +	 * maximum target frame rate range.
> +	 *
> +	 * If @prop_vrr_max_numerator is set, @prop_vrr_max_denominator must not
> +	 * be 0, and @prop_vrr_max_numerator divided by @prop_vrr_max_denominator
> +	 * must result in a frame rate equal to or above @prop_vrr_min_numerator
> +	 * divided by @prop_vrr_min_denominator.
> +	 */
> +	struct drm_property *prop_vrr_max_denominator;
> +
>  	/**
>  	 * @dvi_i_subconnector_property: Optional DVI-I property to
>  	 * differentiate between analog or digital mode.
> 
> -- 
> 2.56.0
> 
>