Padding bytes can separate stored image rows. The address step need not equal the number of visible pixel bytes in a row.
Define the row address step
Image stride describes the byte step between corresponding row positions in memory. A buffer can include padding after its visible pixel bytes, so equal image dimensions do not imply equal stride. The actual stored layout must accompany the width and component format before row addresses are calculated. Primary reference: Microsoft image stride and row padding.
For an original decoding worksheet, retain the base address, row step and visible bytes per pixel. Keep padding out of pixel interpretation. This record concerns the selected buffer layout, not a general rule that every image format or transfer uses the same row alignment.
Locate a fictional second row
Define a two-row, three-column, one-byte image buffer as [10,20,30,99,40,50,60,88], with four bytes per stored row. The visible first row is [10,20,30], and its next row starts at byte offset 4. Offsets 3 and 7 are padding in this construction.
Assuming a row step of three would start the second row at the padding value 99 instead of the pixel value 40. The displayed width stays three columns. These invented bytes define their own positive stride and do not assert an actual camera payload, interface padding or format default.
Review the receiver's indexing
Prepare an original address table showing row starts, visible samples and unused bytes. Compare the receiver's documented row step with that map. If a buffer is cropped or shared as a view, preserve the resulting base offset and stride rather than recomputing them from displayed dimensions alone.
This guide claims no HM transport format or bandwidth requirement. Its reader decision is whether image addresses follow the actual row layout. Keep that decoding evidence separate from a calculation of nominal sample payload so padding cannot silently become another acquired pixel.
Customer Questions
Where does the fictional second row start?
At byte offset four.
Is byte offset three a visible pixel here?
No. It is explicitly defined padding.
Does width alone establish row stride?
No. The stored layout is required.
Primary References
These references support the technical principles discussed in this guide. The worked examples and review questions are educational.
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