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Netflix VMAF

Netflix VMAF is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. Perceptual video quality scoring with Netflix VMAF, run over SSH on your own VM. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.

What It Does​

Netflix VMAF (Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion) is the open-source, full-reference perceptual video quality metric used across the streaming industry to measure how good an encode looks to the human eye. Score a distorted or transcoded clip against its pristine reference and get a VMAF score that correlates with real viewer perception, so you can tune encoders, compare codecs, and set quality gates with confidence.

This is a headless command-line appliance, operated over SSH, with no web console. It ships the vmaf CLI, the libvmaf library, and a lean FFmpeg 7.0.2 built with the libvmaf filter, all compiled from upstream source, plus a tiny bundled reference and distorted sample so you can run a demo score the moment the instance boots.

Key features

  • The vmaf CLI plus libvmaf, with the standard VMAF models bundled (vmaf_v0.6.1, the no-enhancement-gain vmaf_v0.6.1neg, and the 4K model)
  • An FFmpeg build with the libvmaf filter, so you can score directly from any input FFmpeg can decode (H.264, HEVC, VP9, AV1, and more)
  • A bundled reference and distorted sample clip for an instant demo score
  • A first-boot self-check (vmaf version plus a real sample score) that fails closed on a broken install
  • A co-located landing page that documents the exact commands to run

Use cases

  • Measure and compare encode quality across codecs, bitrates, and presets
  • Add an automated VMAF quality gate to a transcode or packaging pipeline
  • Validate a new encoder or CDN transform against a golden reference

Why run it on the NetActuate edge Scoring is CPU-bound and works on the raw video you already move through your pipeline. Running VMAF on a NetActuate VM close to where your media is produced or stored keeps large mezzanine files off the public internet and gives you dedicated compute for batch scoring on infrastructure you control.

Getting started Deploy the appliance, then SSH in and run vmaf against the bundled sample clips (or your own reference and distorted files). The landing page served on the instance IP shows the installed version, a demo score, and copy-paste commands for both the vmaf CLI and the ffmpeg libvmaf filter.

Vendor and Project​

Netflix VMAF is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.

NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).

Sizing​

vCPURAMDisk
Minimum11 GB20 GB
Recommended44 GB40 GB

No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.

Configuration Fields​

When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.

FieldRequiredDefaultNotes
Landing page portNo80Port the co-located landing/instructions and health page is served on (default 80). This is the management/health port only; VMAF itself is run on the command line over SSH.

Using the Appliance​

Score your first video in minutes

  1. Confirm the appliance is up. Browse to http://YOUR_VM_IP:80/ . The landing page returns HTTP 200 and shows the installed vmaf version plus a demo score, which confirms the first-boot self-check passed. There is no web console; VMAF runs on the command line.
  2. SSH in and run the bundled demo. vmaf --reference /usr/local/share/vmaf-appliance/samples/reference.y4m --distorted /usr/local/share/vmaf-appliance/samples/distorted.y4m --model path=/usr/local/share/vmaf/model/vmaf_v0.6.1.json --output /tmp/score.json --json
  3. Score your own encodes with FFmpeg. ffmpeg -i distorted.mp4 -i reference.mp4 -lavfi "[0:v][1:v]libvmaf=model=path=/usr/local/share/vmaf/model/vmaf_v0.6.1.json:log_fmt=json:log_path=/tmp/vmaf.json" -f null -

Reference and distorted inputs must have matching resolution and frame count; use the bundled FFmpeg to scale or convert first if they do not. Exposure posture: the only listening service is the landing page; keep the instance reachable over SSH only.

FAQ​

Is there a software license fee? No. Netflix VMAF is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.

Which port does the appliance serve on? The primary service is published on port 80 by default; see the configuration fields for any adjustable ports.

Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).

Version and Changelog​

VersionStatusReleased
3.2.0Current (default)2026-07-14

Deploy​

Need Help?​

Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.