Intel(R) Media Driver for VAAPI

Introduction

The Intel(R) Media Driver for VAAPI is a new VA-API (Video Acceleration API) user mode driver supporting hardware accelerated decoding, encoding, and video post processing for GEN based graphics hardware.

License

The Intel(R) Media Driver for VAAPI is distributed under the MIT license with portions covered under the BSD 3-clause “New” or “Revised” License. You may obtain a copy of the License at:

https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

&

https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause

Prerequisites

For Ubuntu 16.04 and above

# apt install autoconf libtool libdrm-dev xorg xorg-dev openbox libx11-dev libgl1-mesa-glx libgl1-mesa-dev

Equivalents for other distributions should work.

Dependencies

Libva - https://github.com/intel/libva

GmmLib - https://github.com/intel/gmmlib (please check https://github.com/intel/media-driver/wiki/Comparability-with-GmmLib)

Building

  1. Build and install libva master
  2. Build and install gmmlib master
  3. Get media repo and format the workspace folder as below (suggest the workspace to be a dedicated one for media driver build):
<workspace>
    |- media-driver
$ mkdir <workspace>/build_media
$ cd <workspace>/build_media
$ cmake ../media-driver
$ make -j8

Install

$ sudo make install

This will install the following files (e.g. on Ubuntu):

-- Installing: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
-- Installing: /etc/profile.d/intel-media.sh
-- Installing: /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/igfxcmrt64.so

For iHD_drv_video.so please export related LIBVA environment variables.

export LIBVA_DRIVERS_PATH=<path-contains-iHD_drv_video.so>
export LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=iHD

Build Modes

This section summarizes key driver build modes which can be used in the different environment requirements:

Build optionDefault valueDependenciesComments
ENABLE_KERNELSONN/AEnable/Disable shaders during driver build
ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELSONENABLE_KERNELS=ONEnable/disable close source shaders (kernels) during the build
BUILD_KERNELSOFFENABLE_KERNELS=ON, ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELS=OFFIf enabled, rebuild open source shaders (kernels) from sources. Requires ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELS=OFF

With the above options it is possible to build (table assumes that non-listed options have default values):

No.Build option(s)HW FeaturesShaders (Kernels)Comments
1ENABLE_KERNELS=ONYesClose source (pre-built)Default Build, full feature driver
2ENABLE_KERNELS=OFFYesNoneHW features only, include HW decoder, HW VDEnc Encoder (CQP mode)
3ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELS=OFFYesOpen source (pre-built)Open Source Build, HW features available in prev. mode (ENABLE_KERNELS=ON) and features supported by open source shaders
4ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELS=OFF BUILD_KERNELS=ONYesOpen sourceOpen Source Build, Same as ENABLE_NONFREE_KERNELS=OFF driver, but shaders are rebuilt from sources

Supported Platforms

BDW (Broadwell)

SKL (Skylake)

BXT (Broxton) / APL (Apollo Lake)

KBL (Kaby Lake)

CFL (Coffee Lake)

WHL (Whiskey Lake)

CML (Comet Lake)

ICL (Ice Lake)

Driver Features

Features in Default Driver Build

CODECBDWSKLBXT/APLKBLCFLWHLCMLICL*
AVCD/EsD/E/EsD/E/EsD/E/EsD/E/EsD/E/EsD/E/EsD/E/Es
MPEG-2D/EsD/EsDD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/Es
VC-1DDDDDDDD
JPEGDD/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/E
VP8DDDD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/Es
HEVC 8bitD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/E/Es
HEVC 8bit 422D/Es
HEVC 8bit 444D/E
HEVC 10bitDD/EsD/EsD/EsD/EsD/E/Es
HEVC 10bit 422D/Es
HEVC 10bit 444D/E
VP9 8bitDDDDDD/E
VP9 8bit 444D/E
VP9 10bitDDDDD/E
VP9 10bit 444D/E

D - HW Decoding

E - HW Encoding, Low Power Encoding

Es - HW + Shader Encoding

* ICL encoding is pending on i915 support on upstream, for more information, please check Known Issues and Limitations #5.

Video ProcessingBDWSKLBXT/APLKBLCFLWHLCMLICL
BlendingYYYYYYYY
CSC (Color Space Conversion)YYYYYYYY
De-interlaceYYYYYYYY
De-noiseYYYYYYYY
Luma KeyYYYYYYYY
MirroringYYYYYYYY
ProcAmp (brightness,contrast,hue,saturation)YYYYYYYY
RotationYYYYYYYY
ScalingYYYYYYYY
SharpeningYYYYYYYY
STD/E (Skin Tone Detect & Enhancement)YYYYYYYY
TCC (Total Color Control)YYYYYYYY
Color fillYYYYYYYY
Chroma SitingYYYYYYY
HDR10 Tone MappingY

For detail feature information, you can access Media Features.

Features in Open Source Build

CODECBDWSKLBXT/APLKBLCFLWHLCMLICL*
AVCDD/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/E
MPEG-2DDDDDDDD
VC-1
JPEGDD/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/ED/E
VP8DDDDDDDD
HEVC 8bitDDDDDDD/E
HEVC 8bit 422D
HEVC 8bit 444D/E
HEVC 10bitDDDDDD/E
HEVC 10bit 422D
HEVC 10bit 444D/E
VP9 8bitDDDDDD/E
VP9 8bit 444D/E
VP9 10bitDDDDD/E
VP9 10bit 444D/E

D - HW Decoding

E - HW Encoding, Low Power Encoding

* ICL encoding is pending on i915 support on upstream, for more information, please check Known Issues and Limitations #5.

Video ProcessingBDWSKLBXT/APLKBLCFLWHLCMLICL
BlendingY
CSC (Color Space Conversion)Y
De-interlaceY
Luma KeyY
MirroringY
ProcAmp (brightness,contrast,hue,saturation)Y
RotationY
ScalingY
SharpeningY
Color fillY
Chroma SitingY

Known Issues and Limitations

  1. Intel(R) Media Driver for VAAPI is recommended to be built against gcc compiler v6.1 or later, which officially supported C++11.

  2. SKL: Green or other incorrect color will be observed in output frames when using YV12/I420 as input format for csc/scaling/blending/rotation, etc. on Ubuntu 16.04 stock (with kernel 4.10). The issue can be addressed with the kernel patch: WaEnableYV12BugFixInHalfSliceChicken7 commit 0b71cea29fc29bbd8e9dd9c641fee6bd75f6827

  3. HuC firmware is needed for AVC low power encoding bitrate control, including CBR, VBR, etc. As of now, HuC firmware support is disabled in Linux kernels by default. Please, refer to i915 kernel mode driver documentation to learn how to enable it. Mind that HuC firmware support presents in the following kernels for the specified platforms:

    • APL/KBL: starting from kernel 4.11
    • CFL: starting from kernel 4.15
  4. ICL: preliminary support and may not be fully functional. It requires Linux kernel 4.17+ loaded with i915.alpha_support=1 parameter to be tried.

  5. ICL encoding has two known issues:

(*) Other names and brands may be claimed as property of others.