Confused about CPU support.

[RobinsonUK]

Our products currently use Intel QuickSync, via the Media SDK on Windows 10.  We have customers with a range of processors, a few have Haswells, we've got a couple of Skylake out there and lots of Coffee Lakes. The documentation isn't very clear at all on what's supported where.

So my question is quite simple.  If I want processor support of encode/decode (including DirectX actually, i.e. our current impl uses DX11 surface pools), should I switch out from Media SDK to oneAPI?  Will I have to drop support on older hardware.

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

Thank you for posting in Intel Communities. We've provided the below links which states the supported processors for Intel Media SDK & Intel oneVPL.

Media SDK: https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/tools/media-sdk.html

oneVPL: https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/tools/oneapi/components/onevpl.html#gs.b7ufgn

And regarding switching out from Media SDK to oneAPI, we'll get back to you with an update soon.

Meanwhile, we've provided a documentation which has more information about Intel oneVPL & other media platforms that are alternative to oneVPl. https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/articles/how-to-choose-video-processing-software.html

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Alekhya

[RobinsonUK]

Thanks but I'm afraid this isn't at all useful.  All I can see is "Media SDK will drop out of support sometime" (no date), and "use oneAPI", and someplace else "upcoming hardware" (mfx-gen).  These documents are like a typical Intel roadmap, i.e. incomprehensible.

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

We apologize that the documents we provided are not comprehensible for you.

Intel® Media SDK API is nearing its final update. Implementation updates, such as security patches and critical bug fixes, will continue as needed. And OneVPL, from oneAPI, is like a continuation to Intel Media SDK. For currently available hardware, Intel® Media SDK and oneVPL provide the same access. But in the mere future, new features, API updates and improvements will be added only to oneVPL API. This also includes updates to enable future hardware features.

For more information regarding this, we've provided the below documentation which explains the upgradation from Intel Media SDK to oneVPL:

https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/articles/upgrading-from-msdk-to-onevpl.html

We've also provided the system requirements for oneVPL as you're confused about the supported hardware platforms by oneVPL: https://software.intel.com/content/www/us/en/develop/articles/oneapi-video-processing-library-system-requirements.html

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Alekhya

[RobinsonUK]

Thanks. 

So in the first document you linked, to what does "GPU driver-specific controls" with "ENC/PAK for AVC/HEVC" refer, as it's supported with Media SDK but not with oneAPI.

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

The function of "ENC/PAK for AVC/HEVC" is called FEI, this is a feature in Media SDK to control the hardware in a very detailed manner. It is less used by users so we remove it from oneVPL. You can refer the below documentation for more information regarding ENC followed by PAK:

https://github.com/Intel-Media-SDK/MediaSDK/blob/master/doc/mediasdkfei-man.md#ENC_followed_by_PAK

Hope this helps!

Regards,

Alekhya

[RobinsonUK]

OK, we don't use that.  I think I'm starting to understand... And the best thing for me to do here is a oneVPL impl in my test project.

Thanks for your assistance.

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

Glad to know that you're using oneVPL in your test project. If you've any issues/queries related to oneVPL, you can always reach out to us.

Is there anything else you need assistance with?

Regards,

Alekhya

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

Could you please give us an update regarding this issue? Is there anything you need assistance with?

Regards,

Alekhya

[AlekhyaV_Intel]

Hi,

Glad to know that we were able to help you understand oneVPL. If you need any further assistance, Please post a new question as this thread will no longer be monitored by Intel.

Regards,

Alekhya