With the launch of its next-generation mobile processor family, Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3, Intel expands its impressive hardware-accelerated codec offerings. These professional codecs are widely used in modern production workflows. Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 adds support for:
- Decode
- H.264 (AVC) 4:2:0 10-bit
- H.264 (AVC) 4:2:2 10-bit
- AV1 4:4:4 8-bit
- AV1 4:4:4 10-bit
- Encode
- AV1 4:4:4 8-bit
- AV1 4:4:4 10-bit
Since 2008, Intel processors have included hardware acceleration for decoding H.264 4:2:0 8‑bit video, the ubiquitous format used across content creation, delivery, and playback. H.264 4:2:0 is a standard in streaming media and the OTT platform industry as it offers small file sizes and is a widely supported codec in most consumer devices. However, creators such as television studios and professional camera users demand higher fidelity for editing, color grading, and broadcasting. H.264 4:2:2 10-bit is a professional video recording codec that meets these needs by offering more colors, preserving color, maintaining quality between renders, and avoiding banding. Hardware-accelerated decoding on Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 enables seamless viewing of camera footage and on-the-go editing and creation with a light, power-efficient laptop.
AV1 is a royalty-free codec from the Alliance of Open Media that provides 30-50% compression efficiency improvement over H.264. AV1 4:2:0 8-bit and 10-bit decode have been supported since the 11th Generation Intel® Core™ processor family and encode since Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 1. Now AV1 4:4:4 8-bit and 10-bit decode and encode have been added to Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3. AV1 4:4:4 encoded video preserves sharp edges in screen content, such as text, graphics, or UIs, which would otherwise become blurry and color bleed with 4:2:0 chroma subsampling. That is why it is useful for screen capture and recording, such as Remote Desktop and Game Streaming. Professional content creators also use AV1 4:4:4 as a high-quality video editing Mezzanine (Intermediate) codec or for archiving because it preserves high color fidelity with no chroma loss.
Below are visuals that compare AV1 4:2:0 and AV1 4:4:4 encoded content, where 4:4:4 clearly preserves the original source colors. Even if additional bits are allocated to the 4:2:0 frame, the subsampling artifacts will remain.
It should also be noted that H.265 (HEVC) 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 4:4:4 8-bit and 10-bit hardware decode and encode support are available from 10th Generation Intel® Core™ processors with Intel® Iris® Plus graphics, including Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3.
Enabling Professional Codec Support with Intel® VPL
Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 enables advanced professional codecs in hardware, but applications must explicitly support and enable these formats to take full advantage of them. The power of these professional codecs can be unlocked with the Intel® Video Processing Library (Intel® VPL). The Intel® VPL Dispatcher library compiled with the application can be found at https://github.com/intel/libvpl; the specification is available at https://intel.github.io/libvpl.
Support for these codecs can be queried using MFXEnumImplementations with MFX_IMPLCAPS_IMPLDESCSTRUCTURE as the mfxImplCapsDeliveryFormat as below.
mfxLoader loader = MFXLoad();
int i = 0;
mfxImplDescription *idesc;
mfxStatus sts = MFX_ERR_NONE;
sts = MFXEnumImplementations(loader, i, MFX_IMPLCAPS_IMPLDESCSTRUCTURE,
reinterpret_cast<mfxHDL *>(&idesc));H.264 decode support will be returned in mfxDecoderDescription with CodecId of MFX_CODEC_AVC and CodecProfiles MFX_PROFILE_AVC_HIGH10 (for 4:2:0 10-bit) and MFX_PROFILE_AVC_HIGH_422 (for 4:2:2 10-bit).
AV1 decode/encode support will be returned in mfxDecoderDescription/mfxEncoderDescription with CodecId of MFX_CODEC_AV1 and CodecProfile MFX_PROFILE_AV1_HIGH which indicates 4:4:4 8-bit and 10-bit support.
When initializing an MFXVideoDECODE or MFXVideoENCODE session, set mfxVideoParam to the desired CodecId and CodecProfile. An example for H.264 4:2:2 10-bit decoding is shown below.
// For decoding, applications will normally use
// MFXVideoDECODE_DecodeHeader() to fill in the decodeParams.
// Below is an explicit setting for illustration purposes.
mfxVideoParam decodeParams = {};
decodeParams.mfx.CodecId = MFX_CODEC_AVC;
decodeParams.mfx.CodecProfile = MFX_PROFILE_AVC_HIGH_422;
decodeParams.mfx.FrameInfo.BitDepthLuma = 10;
decodeParams.mfx.FrameInfo.BitDepthChroma = 10;
decodeParams.mfx.FrameInfo.Shift = 1;
decodeParams.mfx.FrameInfo.FourCC = MFX_FOURCC_Y210;
decodeParams.mfx.FrameInfo.ChromaFormat = MFX_CHROMAFORMAT_YUV422;
// Other mfxVideoParam settings...
sts = MFXVideoDECODE_Init(session, &decodeParams);
VERIFY(MFX_ERR_NONE == sts, "Error initializing decode\n");The rest of the Intel® VPL decoding and encoding flow follows as normal.
What This Means for Creators and Developers
Intel® Core™ Ultra Series 3 marks a major leap forward for modern content creation and media workflows. With expanded hardware‑accelerated support for professional H.264 and AV1 codecs—including high‑fidelity 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 formats—creators and developers can unlock smoother playback, faster editing, higher color accuracy, and more efficient encoding on thin‑and‑light, power‑efficient platforms. Whether you’re editing camera originals, color grading, screen‑capturing, or building next‑generation creative applications, these new capabilities help you do more—faster and with uncompromising quality.
Ready to put these new codecs to work?
Explore the Intel® Video Processing Library (Intel® VPL) to get hands‑on with hardware‑accelerated decode and encode on the Intel® Core™ Ultra processor family. Dive into the documentation, sample code, and open‑source tools to start enabling advanced media workflows in your applications today.
Get started with Intel® VPL:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/tools/vpl/overview.html
And if you’re building or optimizing a media pipeline and want personalized guidance, connect with Intel to learn how Intel® Core™ Ultra processors can help you deliver exceptional creative experiences across devices.
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