H264 SW encoder issue on a 16 cores computer

kyviquel · ‎04-23-2014

Hi,

We seem to have encountered some performance issues concerning the H.264 software encoder using the latest Intel Media SDK 2014 version on Windows.
We have noticed that it is unstable on a 16 cores system, having CPU usage spikes to up to 40% during an NTSC capture at a low bitrate.
When performing the same capture with 2013 R2 version on the same system, it is much more stable.
In our workflow, we use host memory only and perform a YUY2 to NV12 conversion before using the encoder.

We also tried the sample applications - simple_encode_d3d_preproc - and were able to reproduce the CPU unstableness.

This problem seem to affect 16 cores systems. We tried 8 cores and 24 cores system and both were more stable in the 2014 version.
We have tried on a real 16 cores system and on a 24 core system with only 16 cores activated (using msconfig)
Below is the system configuration of both systems mentioned previously. A log obtained with the tracer is also attached.

We were wondering if this was a known issue on your part, or maybe we have configured something wrongly compared to the 2013 R2 version.

Thank you for your time.

-16 cores config:
Intel Media SDK System Analyzer (64 bit)
The following versions of Media SDK API are supported by platform/driver:

Version Target Supported Dec Enc
1.0  HW  No
1.0  SW  Yes   X X
1.1  HW  No
1.1  SW  Yes   X X
1.3  HW  No
1.3  SW  Yes   X X
1.4  HW  No
1.4  SW  Yes   X X
1.5  HW  No
1.5  SW  Yes   X X
1.6  HW  No
1.6  SW  Yes   X X
1.7  HW  No
1.7  SW  Yes   X X
1.8  HW  No
1.8  SW  Yes   X X

Graphics Devices:
Name Version State
NVIDIA Quadro 2000 8.17.12.6570 Active

System info:
CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5620 @ 2.40GHz
CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5620 @ 2.40GHz
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Arch: 64-bit

Installed Media SDK packages (be patient...processing takes some time):

Installed Media SDK DirectShow filters:

Installed Intel Media Foundation Transforms:
Tips:
- HW target does not work: If you expect it should, then make sure to install
latest Intel gfx driver, and that Intel gfx is selected as primary driver
- If Intel driver is associated with secondary adapter, make sure to
initialize DirectX device used with Media SDK with corresponding adapter
Analysis complete... [press ENTER]

-24 cores config
Intel Media SDK System Analyzer (64 bit)
The following versions of Media SDK API are supported by platform/driver:

Version Target Supported Dec Enc
1.0  HW  No
1.0  SW  Yes   X X
1.1  HW  No
1.1  SW  Yes   X X
1.3  HW  No
1.3  SW  Yes   X X
1.4  HW  No
1.4  SW  Yes   X X
1.5  HW  No
1.5  SW  Yes   X X
1.6  HW  No
1.6  SW  Yes   X X
1.7  HW  No
1.7  SW  Yes   X X
1.8  HW  No
1.8  SW  Yes   X X

Graphics Devices:
Name Version State
ATI FirePro V3800 (FireGL V) 13.350.1012.0 Active

System info:
CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5645 @ 2.40GHz
CPU: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5645 @ 2.40GHz
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Arch: 64-bit

Installed Media SDK packages (be patient...processing takes some time):

Installed Media SDK DirectShow filters:

Installed Intel Media Foundation Transforms:
Tips:
- HW target does not work: If you expect it should, then make sure to install
latest Intel gfx driver, and that Intel gfx is selected as primary driver
- If Intel driver is associated with secondary adapter, make sure to
initialize DirectX device used with Media SDK with corresponding adapter

Analysis complete... [press ENTER]

Anthony_P_Intel · ‎04-25-2014

There was an issue with 16+ core compatibility discovered with this version of the SW library, though I am not sure if fix would affect this usage (simple_encode_d3d_preproc). I will send private msg with 'test' library. Can you try it and report your findings?

Thank you

kyviquel · ‎04-28-2014

Hi Tony

We will definitely try this test library and let you know how it turns out.

Thank you