Vulkan SDK Update Brings Support For Vulkan Video Extensions Across Graphics Vendors

Khronos Group Finalizes Vulkan Video API 1.0, Intros H.264 & H.265 Decode 1

The newly updated SDK for Vulkan was released today (version 1.3.239.0) in collaboration with The Khronos Group, which is supported by both Windows & Linux environments. This complete support will be optimized for four Vulkan Video extensions that were recently stabilized at the end of 2022. The new Vulkan Video extensions will include Validation Layer integration and header upgrades. Several graphics card vendors, including giants AMD and NVIDIA, will now be able to utilize Vulkan Video acceleration in H2.64 and H.265 decoding seen in frameworks and software.

Several Vulkan drivers that support the new Vulkan Video extensions are being delivered from multiple GPU vendors, including NVIDIA and AMD, for implementation in Windows and Linux environments, depending on the vendor. The group does report that Intel will soon support Vulkan Video in an upcoming Intel Graphics Driver focused on the Intel Arc A-Series and Iris Xe Graphics.

The open-source community is also moving forward with Vulkan Video support into the Vulkan RADV drivers for AMD and the ANV drivers for Intel GPUs. GStreamer and FFmpeg, among others, are introducing Vulkan Video acceleration across multiple platforms.

Many companies have worked hard on Vulkan Video to deliver specifications, conformance tests, drivers, tools, samples, and now an SDK to enable developers to efficiently utilize this groundbreaking API, and we are thrilled by the early engagement and adoption by the open source community.

We are also keenly aware of the strong industry interest in encode extensions, including for VP9 and AV1 codecs, together with additional features to optimize a growing range of use cases. Delivering on our roadmap will be the subgroup’s focus in 2023, and we appreciate the community's ongoing support!

— Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Vulkan Video technical subgroup chair

Vulkan's software development kit adds the necessary headers, validation layers, and more so that developers can fully utilize Vulkan Video extensions.

The new Vulkan validation layers, API header files, and API registry are listed below:

VK_KHR_video_queue: common APIs for all video coding operations.

VK_KHR_video_decode_queue: common APIs for all video decode operations.

VK_KHR_video_decode_h264: H.264 decode-specific capabilities and parameters.

VK_KHR_video_decode_h265: H.265 decode-specific capabilities and parameters.

Vulkan Video codec-specific headers in the new software development kit provide the following header files for developers:

vulkan_video_codec_h264std.h: defines structures and types shared by H.264 decode and encode operations.

vulkan_video_codec_h264std_decode.h: defines structures used only by H.264 decode operations.

vulkan_video_codec_h265std.h: defines structures and types shared by H.265 decode and encode operations.

vulkan_video_codec_h265std_decode.h: defines structures used only by H.265 decode operations.

vulkan_video_codecs_common.h: defines a versioning macro used by other standard headers for version maintenance.

The Khronos Group, along with members of the Vulkan Video subgroup, are constantly working on additional Vulkan Video resources, such as:

The blog from December 2022 on the Khronos Group's website has a complete description of the current Vulkan Video extensions.

The new version 2022.7 is anticipated to be a February 2023 release that will include the NVIDIA Nsight Graphics frame debugger and the NVIDIA Nsight Systems system profiler that will specifically support Vulkan Video.

NVIDIA has provided an open-source vk_video_decode sample that showcases and explains how to parse a video stream from an input file, use hardware-accelerated decoding, and transmit the decoded stream frame-by-frame into graphics processing and presentation. The sample code can be used as a customizable library to increase the development process.

The Khronos Vulkan Video subgroup welcomes developers' feedback while simultaneously monitoring the Vulkan GitHub issue tracker.

News Source: The Khronos Group