Best way to get h264 accelerated again?

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I’m searching about the best way to get vaapi accel again. I mean, I can’t have a distro that each time it gets update I must recompile mesa to get something useful( because not having h264 it nos useful) in the vaapi meaning.
AMD pls, do something we can not stay that way around!
A distro for users that can not encode is not a distro for users, sorry.
but… after my opinion, pls, be away of opinions, only speak about how to get it working in a " useful" way
May be a repo with the correct packages maintained by “unknown” user? only instructions to install every package to get it to works and updated every update from the official repos?
idk, speak about it pls.

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Install the official proprietary driver AMDGPU-PRO from AUR

  1. Install amf-amdgpu-pro 
$ pamac build amf-amdgpu-pro
  1. Edit /etc/environment/ to add a line:
VK_ICD_FILENAMES=/usr/share/vulkan/icd.d/amd_pro_icd64.json

  1. Reboot

  2. Check ffmpeg to decode and encode any video without loss of quality.

$ ffmpeg -i {INPUT}.mp4 -vcodec hevc_amf -rc 0 {OUTPUT}.mkv

I noticed that AMD AMF HEVC/H265 codec is faster than VAAPI (mesa).

Download test-video size: 75,5 MB, its video codec is AVC/H264.

AMD AMF HEVC/H265 encoding result:

Size: 52,5 MB
Speed: 4 sec
Quality: Good

VAAP (mesa) HEVC/H265 encoding result:

Size: 60,7 MB
Speed: 5 sec
Quality: Good

Edit:

This last command is only for utilizing the AMF encoder using ffmpeg.

I read a bit that ffmpeg refused to support AMF video decoder.

My guide is not a solution for watching video streams with AMF video decoder.

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If you think it is just an opinon - you have missed the whole point.

The only legal way is to do it yourself.

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You (the team) have to address this in a more “smart” way, otherwise you will have to answer this a thousand times.

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How?

A pinned topic no one reads? A blog post no one reads? No matter how this is done - users will keep asking the same question again and again - it is almost inevitable.

All I keep hearing (seeing/reading) is demands that Manjaro make mesa hardware accelelration possible - and that is impossible for the time being.

Perhaps you can pursuade a @Manjaro-Team member with blog posting permissions to post an official statement explaining the situation.

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amf hasn’t got any type of support either on OBS or firefox I think. Either MPV has… it’s really not a solution.

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I notice there’s an AUR package for obs-studio-amf, yet I’m sure most users would prefer to avoid AUR alternatives when software already exists in the official repositories. :slightly_frowning_face:

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/obs-studio-amf

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I think a systemd that has no gpu acceleration is usefull. Only that. Not for mine desktop but yeah for my laptop. So… or AMD implements something in the free open soucre intel-like area or manjaro for me is a nope. I have tested to install chaotic aur mesa among another packages needed but it almost broke my system, a newbie could be yet searching how to fix it… so for me is not an option continue here.

OHOHOH wait, may be an “unnoficial” repo it’s ok, right? i think i’m gonna add your repo to my system so I have this mesa version with support… if it can be added to pacman that may be not. I’ll give a try in some moment

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may be @linux-aarhus has answered in a very correct way so we can make some “unnoficial” mannual in some site.

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obs amf can be the fix to obs side, but… mpv and firefox are a no-no for a laptop…
I mean, for what red hat has increased the vaapi support in firefox if after is disabling from mesa the support…

Okey, it’s true, it’s only for mesa side…
AMD pls, make something like intel XD

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I have been testing, so far for now it’s working, but I can’t add like a “repo” or something. I’m searching how to automate the proccess or something

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Make “official-unofficial… definitely UNofficial” drop-in mesa replacement binary with relevant flags and codecs present and post it into AUR? By a … fan, that is not officially on Manjaro Corporation payroll.
Have been using AUR mesa-git for a while now, but it can be complicated for newer Manjaro users, Because often times llvm conflicts, needs long compilation time on weaker computers and other stuff that might happen with complete 3rd party AUR packagers.

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Don’t forget that it can’t be into aur because it will be the same that the package on arch so it would mean that it’s not forbidden

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Ensure build tools is synced

sudo pacman -Syu base-devel git bison byacc flex --needed

Clone

git clone https://github.com/mesa-freeworld/mesa-nonfree.git

Sync dependencies, build and install to system

cd mesa-nonfree
makepkg --syncdeps --install
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OBS, firefox, any chromium based browsers and any media players, all use the dependence ffmpeg by default, not mesa.
ffmpeg is only a solution for record, stream audio and video and offers any different video codec API (e.g. VAAPI, AMF etc…) as its option-parameter.

I knew ffmpeg should work well with AMD AMF in my testing.
However, it lacks a “custom fixed global configuration” feature of ffmpeg for all media applications or I’m missing something.

But all media applications automatically define the “wrong” video codec API for ffmpeg by themselves.

Edit://

I read a bit that ffmpeg refuses to support hardware video decoder for AMF.

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(wishful thinking out loud) now the next step would be formatting the nix site there as pacman repo, that someone willing could add manually to pacman conf :stuck_out_tongue:

While on the subject of patents – is the patents Manjaro is officially afraid of only for hardware accelerated codecs? I mean… Manjaro still ships software with software codecs and still plays them… are they not affected by those patents? Also how exactly are the hardware accelerated codecs from mesa for intel GPUs and such still OK to ship? How exactly is this any different?

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You can directly download only the prebuilt package libva-mesa-driver from this nix site , then install it. Done.

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i dont mean that

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firefox y chromium supports vaapi, not amf, I have been researching a bit. No matters if ffmpeg or whatever you want, firefox uses vaapi, anything more. Nor nvdec nor vdpau, nor nothing, only vaapi, so pls, stop telling me amf option until it get an actually option

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I think this mesa package depends on mesa, so youll have to install too the mesa packages for that support. And not only that, you have to do it manually always. An unnoficial repo is the only way to go in the short future at least, my opinion.