diff --git a/pinos/client/meson.build b/pinos/client/meson.build
index 58bfae82a..6865bb19e 100644
--- a/pinos/client/meson.build
+++ b/pinos/client/meson.build
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ pinos_sources = [
   'properties.c',
   'protocol-native.c',
   'proxy.c',
-  'serialize.c',
   'stream.c',
   'pinos.c',
   'rtkit.c',
diff --git a/pinos/client/protocol-native.c b/pinos/client/protocol-native.c
index 917f7de2b..3eff0e770 100644
--- a/pinos/client/protocol-native.c
+++ b/pinos/client/protocol-native.c
@@ -798,10 +798,8 @@ client_node_demarshal_use_buffers (void   *object,
 
       if (!spa_pod_iter_get (&it,
             SPA_POD_TYPE_INT, &m->type,
-            SPA_POD_TYPE_INT, &size, 0))
+            SPA_POD_TYPE_INT, &m->size, 0))
         return false;
-
-      m->size = size;
     }
     if (!spa_pod_iter_get (&it, SPA_POD_TYPE_INT, &buf->n_datas, 0))
       return false;
diff --git a/pinos/client/serialize.c b/pinos/client/serialize.c
deleted file mode 100644
index 063d2e249..000000000
--- a/pinos/client/serialize.c
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,164 +0,0 @@
-/* Simple Plugin API
- * Copyright (C) 2016 Wim Taymans <wim.taymans@gmail.com>
- *
- * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- * modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
- * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
- *
- * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
- * Library General Public License for more details.
- *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
- * License along with this library; if not, write to the
- * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor,
- * Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
- */
-
-#include "serialize.h"
-
-size_t
-pinos_serialize_buffer_get_size (const SpaBuffer *buffer)
-{
-  size_t size;
-  unsigned int i;
-
-  if (buffer == NULL)
-    return 0;
-
-  size = sizeof (SpaBuffer);
-  for (i = 0; i < buffer->n_metas; i++)
-    size += sizeof (SpaMeta);
-  for (i = 0; i < buffer->n_datas; i++)
-    size += sizeof (SpaData);
-  return size;
-}
-
-size_t
-pinos_serialize_buffer_serialize (void *dest, const SpaBuffer *buffer)
-{
-  SpaBuffer *tb;
-  SpaMeta *mp;
-  SpaData *dp;
-  void *p;
-  unsigned int i;
-
-  if (buffer == NULL)
-    return 0;
-
-  tb = dest;
-  memcpy (tb, buffer, sizeof (SpaBuffer));
-  mp = SPA_MEMBER (tb, sizeof(SpaBuffer), SpaMeta);
-  dp = SPA_MEMBER (mp, sizeof(SpaMeta) * tb->n_metas, SpaData);
-  p = SPA_MEMBER (dp, sizeof(SpaData) * tb->n_datas, void);
-
-  tb->metas = SPA_INT_TO_PTR (SPA_PTRDIFF (mp, tb));
-  tb->datas = SPA_INT_TO_PTR (SPA_PTRDIFF (dp, tb));
-
-  for (i = 0; i < tb->n_metas; i++)
-    memcpy (&mp[i], &buffer->metas[i], sizeof (SpaMeta));
-  for (i = 0; i < tb->n_datas; i++)
-    memcpy (&dp[i], &buffer->datas[i], sizeof (SpaData));
-
-  return SPA_PTRDIFF (p, tb);
-}
-
-SpaBuffer *
-pinos_serialize_buffer_deserialize (void *src, off_t offset)
-{
-  SpaBuffer *b;
-
-  b = SPA_MEMBER (src, offset, SpaBuffer);
-  if (b->metas)
-    b->metas = SPA_MEMBER (b, SPA_PTR_TO_INT (b->metas), SpaMeta);
-  if (b->datas)
-    b->datas = SPA_MEMBER (b, SPA_PTR_TO_INT (b->datas), SpaData);
-
-  return b;
-}
-
-SpaBuffer *
-pinos_serialize_buffer_copy_into (void *dest, const SpaBuffer *buffer)
-{
-  if (buffer == NULL)
-    return NULL;
-
-  pinos_serialize_buffer_serialize (dest, buffer);
-  return pinos_serialize_buffer_deserialize (dest, 0);
-}
-
-size_t
-pinos_serialize_port_info_get_size (const SpaPortInfo *info)
-{
-  size_t len;
-  unsigned int i;
-
-  if (info == NULL)
-    return 0;
-
-  len = sizeof (SpaPortInfo);
-  len += info->n_params * sizeof (SpaAllocParam *);
-  for (i = 0; i < info->n_params; i++)
-    len += SPA_POD_SIZE (info->params[i]);
-
-  return len;
-}
-
-size_t
-pinos_serialize_port_info_serialize (void *p, const SpaPortInfo *info)
-{
-  SpaPortInfo *pi;
-  SpaAllocParam **ap;
-  int i;
-  size_t len;
-
-  if (info == NULL)
-    return 0;
-
-  pi = p;
-  memcpy (pi, info, sizeof (SpaPortInfo));
-
-  ap = SPA_MEMBER (pi, sizeof (SpaPortInfo), SpaAllocParam *);
-  if (info->n_params)
-    pi->params = SPA_INT_TO_PTR (SPA_PTRDIFF (ap, pi));
-  else
-    pi->params = 0;
-  pi->extra = 0;
-
-  p = SPA_MEMBER (ap, sizeof (SpaAllocParam*) * info->n_params, void);
-
-  for (i = 0; i < info->n_params; i++) {
-    len = SPA_POD_SIZE (info->params[i]);
-    memcpy (p, info->params[i], len);
-    ap[i] = SPA_INT_TO_PTR (SPA_PTRDIFF (p, pi));
-    p = SPA_MEMBER (p, len, void);
-  }
-  return SPA_PTRDIFF (p, pi);
-}
-
-SpaPortInfo *
-pinos_serialize_port_info_deserialize (void *p, off_t offset)
-{
-  SpaPortInfo *pi;
-  unsigned int i;
-
-  pi = SPA_MEMBER (p, offset, SpaPortInfo);
-  if (pi->params)
-    pi->params = SPA_MEMBER (pi, SPA_PTR_TO_INT (pi->params), SpaAllocParam *);
-  for (i = 0; i < pi->n_params; i++) {
-    pi->params[i] = SPA_MEMBER (pi, SPA_PTR_TO_INT (pi->params[i]), SpaAllocParam);
-  }
-  return pi;
-}
-
-SpaPortInfo *
-pinos_serialize_port_info_copy_into (void *dest, const SpaPortInfo *info)
-{
-  if (info == NULL)
-    return NULL;
-
-  pinos_serialize_port_info_serialize (dest, info);
-  return pinos_serialize_port_info_deserialize (dest, 0);
-}
diff --git a/pinos/client/serialize.h b/pinos/client/serialize.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 405d960ed..000000000
--- a/pinos/client/serialize.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,46 +0,0 @@
-/* Simple Plugin API
- * Copyright (C) 2016 Wim Taymans <wim.taymans@gmail.com>
- *
- * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- * modify it under the terms of the GNU Library General Public
- * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
- *
- * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
- * Library General Public License for more details.
- *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU Library General Public
- * License along with this library; if not, write to the
- * Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor,
- * Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
- */
-
-#ifndef __PINOS_SERIALIZE_H__
-#define __PINOS_SERIALIZE_H__
-
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-extern "C" {
-#endif
-
-#include <spa/include/spa/buffer.h>
-#include <spa/include/spa/format.h>
-#include <spa/include/spa/props.h>
-#include <spa/include/spa/port.h>
-
-size_t          pinos_serialize_buffer_get_size       (const SpaBuffer *buffer);
-size_t          pinos_serialize_buffer_serialize      (void *dest, const SpaBuffer *buffer);
-SpaBuffer *     pinos_serialize_buffer_deserialize    (void *src, off_t offset);
-SpaBuffer *     pinos_serialize_buffer_copy_into      (void *dest, const SpaBuffer *buffer);
-
-size_t          pinos_serialize_port_info_get_size    (const SpaPortInfo *info);
-size_t          pinos_serialize_port_info_serialize   (void *dest, const SpaPortInfo *info);
-SpaPortInfo *   pinos_serialize_port_info_deserialize (void *src, off_t offset);
-SpaPortInfo *   pinos_serialize_port_info_copy_into   (void *dest, const SpaPortInfo *info);
-
-#ifdef __cplusplus
-}
-#endif
-
-#endif /* __PINOS_SERIALIZE_H__ */
diff --git a/pinos/client/stream.c b/pinos/client/stream.c
index aa816ecdd..963cf5210 100644
--- a/pinos/client/stream.c
+++ b/pinos/client/stream.c
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@
 #include "pinos/client/connection.h"
 #include "pinos/client/context.h"
 #include "pinos/client/stream.h"
-#include "pinos/client/serialize.h"
 #include "pinos/client/transport.h"
 #include "pinos/client/utils.h"
 
@@ -769,7 +768,7 @@ client_node_use_buffers (void                  *object,
   clear_buffers (stream);
 
   for (i = 0; i < n_buffers; i++) {
-    off_t offset = 0;
+    off_t offset;
 
     MemId *mid = find_mem (stream, buffers[i].mem_id);
     if (mid == NULL) {
@@ -796,9 +795,17 @@ client_node_use_buffers (void                  *object,
     {
       size_t size;
 
-      size = pinos_serialize_buffer_get_size (buffers[i].buffer);
+      size = sizeof (SpaBuffer);
+      for (j = 0; j < buffers[i].buffer->n_metas; j++)
+        size += sizeof (SpaMeta);
+      for (j = 0; j < buffers[i].buffer->n_datas; j++)
+        size += sizeof (SpaData);
+
       b = bid->buf = malloc (size);
-      pinos_serialize_buffer_copy_into (b, buffers[i].buffer);
+      memcpy (b, buffers[i].buffer, sizeof (SpaBuffer));
+
+      b->metas = SPA_MEMBER (b, sizeof (SpaBuffer), SpaMeta);
+      b->datas = SPA_MEMBER (b->metas, sizeof(SpaMeta) * b->n_metas, SpaData);
     }
     bid->id = b->id;
 
@@ -808,8 +815,10 @@ client_node_use_buffers (void                  *object,
     }
     pinos_log_debug ("add buffer %d %d %u", mid->id, bid->id, buffers[i].offset);
 
+    offset = 0;
     for (j = 0; j < b->n_metas; j++) {
       SpaMeta *m = &b->metas[j];
+      memcpy (m, &buffers[i].buffer->metas[j], sizeof (SpaMeta));
       m->data = SPA_MEMBER (bid->buf_ptr, offset, void);
       offset += m->size;
     }
@@ -817,6 +826,7 @@ client_node_use_buffers (void                  *object,
     for (j = 0; j < b->n_datas; j++) {
       SpaData *d = &b->datas[j];
 
+      memcpy (d, &buffers[i].buffer->datas[j], sizeof (SpaData));
       d->chunk = SPA_MEMBER (bid->buf_ptr, offset + sizeof (SpaChunk) * j, SpaChunk);
 
       switch (d->type) {
diff --git a/pinos/client/utils.h b/pinos/client/utils.h
index 7cf394d30..369169841 100644
--- a/pinos/client/utils.h
+++ b/pinos/client/utils.h
@@ -46,8 +46,9 @@ pinos_spa_pod_copy (const SpaPOD *pod)
   return pod ? memcpy (malloc (SPA_POD_SIZE (pod)), pod, SPA_POD_SIZE (pod)) : NULL;
 }
 
-#define spa_format_copy(f) ((SpaFormat*)pinos_spa_pod_copy(&(f)->pod))
-#define spa_props_copy(p) ((SpaProps*)pinos_spa_pod_copy(&(p)->pod))
+#define spa_format_copy(f)      ((SpaFormat*)pinos_spa_pod_copy(&(f)->pod))
+#define spa_props_copy(p)       ((SpaProps*)pinos_spa_pod_copy(&(p)->pod))
+#define spa_alloc_param_copy(p) ((SpaAllocParam*)pinos_spa_pod_copy(&(p)->pod))
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }  /* extern "C" */
diff --git a/pinos/server/client-node.c b/pinos/server/client-node.c
index 62c83f3de..d5082a541 100644
--- a/pinos/server/client-node.c
+++ b/pinos/server/client-node.c
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@
 
 #include "pinos/client/pinos.h"
 #include "pinos/client/interfaces.h"
-#include "pinos/client/serialize.h"
 #include "pinos/client/transport.h"
 
 #include "pinos/server/core.h"
@@ -70,7 +69,7 @@ struct _ProxyBuffer {
 
 typedef struct {
   bool           valid;
-  SpaPortInfo   *info;
+  SpaPortInfo    info;
   SpaFormat     *format;
   uint32_t       n_formats;
   SpaFormat    **formats;
@@ -312,7 +311,6 @@ do_update_port (SpaProxy          *this,
 {
   SpaProxyPort *port;
   uint32_t i;
-  size_t size;
 
   if (direction == SPA_DIRECTION_INPUT) {
     port = &this->in_ports[port_id];
@@ -324,15 +322,9 @@ do_update_port (SpaProxy          *this,
     for (i = 0; i < port->n_formats; i++)
       free (port->formats[i]);
     port->n_formats = n_possible_formats;
-    if (port->n_formats)
-      port->formats = realloc (port->formats, port->n_formats * sizeof (SpaFormat *));
-    else {
-      free (port->formats);
-      port->formats = NULL;
-    }
-    for (i = 0; i < port->n_formats; i++) {
+    port->formats = realloc (port->formats, port->n_formats * sizeof (SpaFormat *));
+    for (i = 0; i < port->n_formats; i++)
       port->formats[i] = spa_format_copy (possible_formats[i]);
-    }
   }
   if (change_mask & PINOS_MESSAGE_PORT_UPDATE_FORMAT) {
     if (port->format)
@@ -344,10 +336,15 @@ do_update_port (SpaProxy          *this,
   }
 
   if (change_mask & PINOS_MESSAGE_PORT_UPDATE_INFO && info) {
-    if (port->info)
-      free (port->info);
-    size = pinos_serialize_port_info_get_size (info);
-    port->info = size ? pinos_serialize_port_info_copy_into (malloc (size), info) : NULL;
+    void *old;
+    for (i = 0; i < port->info.n_params; i++)
+      free (port->info.params[i]);
+    old = port->info.params;
+    port->info = *info;
+    port->info.params = realloc (old, port->info.n_params * sizeof (SpaAllocParam *));
+    for (i = 0; i < port->info.n_params; i++)
+      port->info.params[i] = spa_alloc_param_copy (info->params[i]);
+    port->info.extra = NULL;
   }
 
   if (!port->valid) {
@@ -549,7 +546,7 @@ spa_proxy_node_port_get_info (SpaNode            *node,
 
   port = direction == SPA_DIRECTION_INPUT ? &this->in_ports[port_id] : &this->out_ports[port_id];
 
-  *info = port->info;
+  *info = &port->info;
 
   return SPA_RESULT_OK;
 }
diff --git a/spa/include/spa/format.h b/spa/include/spa/format.h
index a4e9da9a4..8c7b60312 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/format.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/format.h
@@ -107,6 +107,12 @@ struct _SpaFormat {
   SpaFormatBody body;
 };
 
+#define SPA_FORMAT_INIT(size,type,media_type,media_subtype,...)         \
+  { { size, SPA_POD_TYPE_OBJECT },                                      \
+    { { 0, type },                                                      \
+        SPA_POD_INT_INIT (media_type),                                  \
+        SPA_POD_INT_INIT (media_subtype) } }
+
 #define SPA_FORMAT_BODY_FOREACH(body, size, iter) \
   for ((iter) = SPA_MEMBER ((body), sizeof (SpaFormatBody), SpaPODProp); \
        (iter) < SPA_MEMBER ((body), (size), SpaPODProp); \
diff --git a/spa/include/spa/node.h b/spa/include/spa/node.h
index 1675ac843..85a421fa0 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/node.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/node.h
@@ -72,19 +72,9 @@ typedef enum {
   SPA_PORT_FORMAT_FLAG_NEAREST          = (1 << 2),
 } SpaPortFormatFlags;
 
-typedef enum {
-  SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_NONE                  = 0,
-  SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_HAVE_FORMAT           = 1 << 0,
-  SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_HAVE_BUFFERS          = 1 << 1,
-} SpaPortStateFlags;
-
-/**
- * SpaPortInputFlags:
- * @SPA_INPUT_FLAG_NONE: no flag
- */
-typedef enum {
-  SPA_PORT_INPUT_FLAG_NONE                  = 0,
-} SpaPortInputFlags;
+#define SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_NONE                  0
+#define SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_HAVE_FORMAT           (1 << 0)
+#define SPA_PORT_STATE_FLAG_HAVE_BUFFERS          (1 << 1)
 
 /**
  * SpaPortInput:
@@ -96,39 +86,34 @@ typedef enum {
  * Input information for a node.
  */
 typedef struct {
-  SpaPortStateFlags state;
-  SpaPortInputFlags flags;
+  uint32_t          state;
+#define SPA_PORT_INPUT_FLAG_NONE        0
+  uint32_t          flags;
   uint32_t          buffer_id;
-  SpaResult         status;
+  uint32_t          status;
 } SpaPortInput;
 
-/**
- * SpaPortOutputFlags:
- * @SPA_PORT_OUTPUT_FLAG_NONE: no flag
- */
-typedef enum {
-  SPA_PORT_OUTPUT_FLAG_NONE                  =  0,
-} SpaPortOutputFlags;
-
 /**
  * SpaPortOutput:
  * @state: the port state
  * @flags: extra flags
  * @buffer_id: a buffer id will be set
- * @event: output event
  * @status: the status
+ * @latency: current port latency
+ * @event: output event
  *
  * Output information for a port on a node. This is allocated
  * by the host and configured on all output ports for which output is
  * requested.
  */
 typedef struct {
-  SpaPortStateFlags  state;
-  uint64_t           latency;
-  SpaPortOutputFlags flags;
+  uint32_t           state;
+#define SPA_PORT_OUTPUT_FLAG_NONE        0
+  uint32_t           flags;
   uint32_t           buffer_id;
+  uint32_t           status;
+  uint64_t           latency;
   SpaNodeEvent      *event;
-  SpaResult          status;
 } SpaPortOutput;
 
 /**
@@ -472,7 +457,7 @@ struct _SpaNode {
    *
    * Tell the port to allocate memory for @buffers.
    *
-   * @params should contain an array of pointers to buffers. The data
+   * @buffers should contain an array of pointers to buffers. The data
    * in the buffers should point to an array of at least 1 SPA_DATA_TYPE_INVALID
    * data pointers that will be filled by this function.
    *
diff --git a/spa/include/spa/pod-builder.h b/spa/include/spa/pod-builder.h
index f8205123e..59c4c79f8 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/pod-builder.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/pod-builder.h
@@ -351,6 +351,13 @@ spa_pod_builder_addv (SpaPODBuilder *builder,
         spa_pod_builder_string_len (builder, str, len);
         break;
       }
+      case SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES:
+      {
+        void *value = va_arg (args, void *);
+        uint32_t size = va_arg (args, uint32_t);
+        spa_pod_builder_bytes (builder, value, size);
+        break;
+      }
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_RECTANGLE:
       {
         uint32_t width = va_arg (args, uint32_t), height = va_arg (args, uint32_t);
@@ -418,13 +425,6 @@ spa_pod_builder_addv (SpaPODBuilder *builder,
         spa_pod_builder_pop (builder, f);
         break;
       }
-      case SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES:
-      {
-        void *value = va_arg (args, void *);
-        uint32_t size = va_arg (args, uint32_t);
-        spa_pod_builder_bytes (builder, value, size);
-        break;
-      }
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_POD:
       {
         const SpaPOD *value = va_arg (args, SpaPOD *);
diff --git a/spa/include/spa/pod-utils.h b/spa/include/spa/pod-utils.h
index c4053f536..4bdfa9cc1 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/pod-utils.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/pod-utils.h
@@ -116,6 +116,10 @@ spa_pod_object_find_prop (const SpaPODObject *obj, uint32_t key)
         strncpy (dest, SPA_POD_CONTENTS (SpaPODString, pod), maxlen-1);                 \
         break;                                                                          \
       }                                                                                 \
+      case SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES:                                                          \
+        *(va_arg (args, void **)) = SPA_POD_CONTENTS (SpaPODBytes, pod);                \
+        *(va_arg (args, uint32_t *)) = SPA_POD_BODY_SIZE (pod);                         \
+        break;                                                                          \
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_RECTANGLE:                                                      \
         *(va_arg (args, SpaRectangle *)) = SPA_POD_VALUE (SpaPODRectangle, pod);        \
         break;                                                                          \
@@ -132,10 +136,6 @@ spa_pod_object_find_prop (const SpaPODObject *obj, uint32_t key)
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_POD:                                                            \
         *(va_arg (args, SpaPOD **)) = pod;                                              \
         break;                                                                          \
-      case SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES:                                                          \
-        *(va_arg (args, void **)) = SPA_POD_CONTENTS (SpaPODBytes, pod);                \
-        *(va_arg (args, uint32_t *)) = SPA_POD_BODY_SIZE (pod);                         \
-        break;                                                                          \
       default:                                                                          \
         break;                                                                          \
     }                                                                                   \
@@ -144,6 +144,7 @@ spa_pod_object_find_prop (const SpaPODObject *obj, uint32_t key)
     switch (type) {                                                                     \
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES:                                                          \
         va_arg (args, void*);                                                           \
+        /* fallthrough */                                                               \
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_BOOL:                                                           \
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_URI:                                                            \
       case SPA_POD_TYPE_INT:                                                            \
diff --git a/spa/include/spa/pod.h b/spa/include/spa/pod.h
index 823a3a1ca..e3a00b6b2 100644
--- a/spa/include/spa/pod.h
+++ b/spa/include/spa/pod.h
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ typedef enum {
   SPA_POD_TYPE_FLOAT,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_DOUBLE,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_STRING,
+  SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_RECTANGLE,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_FRACTION,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_BITMASK,
@@ -50,8 +51,7 @@ typedef enum {
   SPA_POD_TYPE_STRUCT,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_OBJECT,
   SPA_POD_TYPE_PROP,
-  SPA_POD_TYPE_BYTES,
-  SPA_POD_TYPE_POD
+  SPA_POD_TYPE_POD,
 } SpaPODType;
 
 typedef struct {