VDPAU

Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix ( VDPAU ) is an open programming interface for graphics cards, which was originally written by Nvidia. It is used (more precisely, the graphics processor ), so as to relieve the CPU to decode video streams and post-processing of the decoded material on Unix-like operating systems using the hardware acceleration of the graphics card. There are both free and proprietary graphics card drivers that support VDPAU.

With VDPAU to calculate the motion compensation, the inverse discrete cosine transform and the Variable Length Coding can with the video formats MPEG -1, -2, -4 ASP, -4 AVC, VC-1 are taken and WMV 3 of the graphics card, in the case of AVC and VC-1/WMV3 also the deblocking filter. The video processor on the graphics card then takes over the main computational load when decoding. This causes the liquid play HDTV and other things, high-resolution video material is made possible on older computers with relatively slow CPU, for example. Does the graphics card is not all calculation steps, they may be supported by the driver, the CPU is then relieved less accordingly.

Supported products

Nvidia

The proprietary Nvidia driver, which is available for Linux, Solaris and FreeBSD, VDPAU supported on all graphics cards that support at least PureVideo HD of the second generation, that is from the Geforce 8 series, except the GeForce 8800 GTS, GeForce 8800 GTX and Geforce 8800 Ultra.

The free nouveau driver provides no such support.

AMD

In April 2013, the free radeon driver VDPAU support for graphics cards since the HD 4000 series received; the proprietary fglrx driver support so far only XvBA.

S3 Graphics

All graphics cards from the Chrome 400 series ( it is only Linux supported).

Support in media players

MPlayer, MythTV, XBMC and xine have a working VDPAU implementation, other implementations are in the works.

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