oneVPL - huge functionality reduction

[Frantisek_K_]

Hello,

I have been using Intel Media SDK for several years in video application on Windows.
I used it for encoding/decoding of MPEG2, H.264 AVC, H.264 MVC-3D (particularly this one is important for me), VC1 (decoding only), and HEVC latest. I.e. all formats which are used to encode Bluray disks. And it worked well till release 2019.

OneVPL is declared as next generation of Media SDK - so I tried the hello-examples in standard implementation. Standard implementation has clear advantage: it runs (even slower) on any Intel-CPU, not limited to particular GPU family.

And I got scared!  It has enormous reduction of functionality!

oneVPL in software implementation (which is supposed to run on any Intel-based PC) does NOT support:

MPEG2 - neither decoding, neither encoding(!)
H.264 AVC - only decoding but no encoding(!)
H.264 MVC-3D - neither decoding, neither encoding(!)
VC1 - no decoding

Frankly, this means dead-end for upgrade from Intel Media SDK.
Without these standard codecs I cannot use oneVPL.
(And I guess other users will share the same opinion)

Could you please clarify the situation and future evolution/plans to assure that all these standard codecs will be supported?

Thanks

Frank

[JyothisV_Intel]

Hi,

Good day to you.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused. We are working on this internally and will get back to you with an update.

Thanks and Regards,

Jyothis V James

[Kevin_O_Intel1]

We appreciate the your feedback. As with oneVPL for GPU, as we move forward from >10 years of Media SDK some features must be removed to enable future growth. Earlier we provided an upgrade guide for oneVPL focusing on GPU changes. 

 Upgrade from Intel Media SDK to oneVPL.

In general, oneVPL-CPU is not intended to be a drop-in replacement for Media SDK's software implementation.  However, we are eager to get feedback like this to tell us which features to prioritize so that disruption when transitioning to oneVPL-CPU can be minimized.

[Frantisek_K_]

Keeping backward compatibility is very important (not only software) product feature.
Vendor who does not keep it usually looses customers.
Because backward compatibility helps existing customers to use what they have, and continuously adopt new features.
Nobody wants to have revolution every year with new release.

Back to the GPU-orientation.
One of the things which I liked on MediaSDK was that it worked in SW mode (CPU) on every Intel-based computer.
i.e. on every Windows. And I appreciated when coincidently running on good GPU, I got far better performance.
Relying only on certain GPU is not good idea. It is called vendor-locking, and you will shrink potential customer base.
Not everybody buys the newest member of i7-family every year.

When saying that you had to drop some "older" codes to enable to move forward?
Do you really consider h.264 and its MVC-3D extension as old? Still it is the most utilized codec in the world, already stable and mature.
Every Blu-Ray disk is encoded in h.264. HEVC and UHD adoption is growing but still behind.
(and with all respect, AV1 or VP9 are only attempts to penetrate to HEVC domain on the internet
- and would not be surprised if they die soon, regardless on their technical aspect or quality).

Anyway, these are just my opinions and thoughts. You need to make your own decision how you want to move forward with oneVPL.
For me it is clear: without compatibility with existing and used standards, I cannot switch to oneVPL and use it as replacement of MediaSDK.
Sorry.