Vulkan Video extensions enable accelerated H.264/265 encoding, AV1 support planned

[harlan4096]

H.264/265 video decoding and encoding acceleration now available with Vulkan Video extensions

Khronos, the group behind Vulkan specs, has formally declared Video Extensions for H.264 and H.265 coding formats as finalized. This means that the latest Vulkan 1.3.274 now supports both decoding and encoding for these video streams. 



The Vulkan Video extensions enable software developers to utilize a standardized, seamless and low-overhead method to handle video acceleration. The H.264 and H.265 are among the most popular video codes around, so this support is significant, even for game development. This is due to the fact that developers can now eliminate the dependence on third-party video coding libraries. The Vulkan API not only provides developers with real-time, low-latency streaming capabilities but also extends access to offline server-scale transcoding platforms.

Moreover, Khronos is already working on enabling AV1 video decoding and later encoding. The release of the AV1 decoding extension is imminent, confirmed the group, with AV1 encoding under development.



Developers who wish to try new Vulkan Video extensions can download one of the first beta drivers with support. At the time of writing, only NVIDIA had such drivers already for Windows and Linux systems. Intel and AMD drivers are reportedly coming soon:

• NVIDIA: Windows and Linux BETA drivers available now
  
• Intel: Coming soon
  
• AMD: Coming soon
  

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