Joe
2022-May-29 22:58 UTC
[Nouveau] Hardware decoding in video playback with Nvidia GT 218 (NVA8)
Hi all, I'm trying to make running hardware acceleration decoding on
my old GeForce 210 (AKA GT-218, or NVA8 / NV-50 Tesla family).
----------------------------------
02:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GT218
[GeForce 210] [10de:0a65] (rev a2)
----------------------------------
I usually used proprietary nvidia-legacy340.108 driver and it works
quite well even if I noticed some A-V sync (or a bit of frame
dropping) issues during video playback of some videos having 1080p and
60 FPS (h264 encoded). Those issues seem solved by turn off hardware
decoding.
With MPV player and closed nvidia driver I used options:
"-vo=gpu -hwdec=auto"
And it automatically chooses "vdpau" decoding. CPU rests on 5% of load
and so on...
But I read about good if not better performances of some nvidia cards
by using Nouveau open drivers, especially for old GPUs which could
have poorly updated/maintained proprietary driver. So I decided to
switch to open ones.
I'm using Slackware64-15.0 with multilib support.
It runs kernel 5.15.38.
I read on nouveau page about the need of some files extracted from
proprietary driver, a closed firmware for video hardware decoding. On
slackware it is provided by SlackBuilds community:
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/15.0/system/nvidia-firmware/
It populated /lib/firmware/nouveau with variuos files I think related to my GPU:
----------------------------------------------
$ file /lib/firmware/nouveau/nva{3_{b,p,v},8}*
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva3_bsp: data
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva3_ppp: data
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva3_vp: data
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva8_fuc084: symbolic link to nva3_bsp
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva8_fuc085: symbolic link to nva3_vp
/lib/firmware/nouveau/nva8_fuc086: symbolic link to nva3_ppp
------------------------------------------------------------
I also enable "nouveau" in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-nouveau
------------------------------------------
$ cat /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-nouveau.conf
Section "Device"
Identifier "Nvidia card"
Driver "nouveau"
EndSection
----------
Here is env-var VDPAU_DRIVER defined to "nouveau"
------------------------------------------
$ grep -v "^#\|^$" /etc/profile.d/vdpau.sh
export VDPAU_LOG=0
export VDPAU_DRIVER="nouveau"
-----------------------------
On my system are installed:
---------------------
libvdpau-1.4-x86_64-3
libvdpau-compat32-1.4-x86_64-3compat32
--------------------------------------
The second one is related to multilib environment.
Now some infos about vdpau:
---------------------------
$ vdpauinfo
display: :0 screen: 0
API version: 1
Information string: G3DVL VDPAU Driver Shared Library version 1.0
Video surface:
name width height types
-------------------------------------------
420 8192 8192 NV12 YV12
422 8192 8192 UYVY YUYV
444 8192 8192 Y8U8V8A8 V8U8Y8A8
420_16 8192 8192
422_16 8192 8192
444_16 8192 8192
Decoder capabilities:
name level macbs width height
----------------------------------------------------
MPEG1 0 8192 2048 2048
MPEG2_SIMPLE 3 8192 2048 2048
MPEG2_MAIN 3 8192 2048 2048
H264_BASELINE 41 8192 2048 2048
H264_MAIN 41 8192 2048 2048
H264_HIGH 41 8192 2048 2048
VC1_SIMPLE 1 8190 2048 2048
VC1_MAIN 2 8190 2048 2048
VC1_ADVANCED 4 8190 2048 2048
MPEG4_PART2_SP 3 8192 2048 2048
MPEG4_PART2_ASP 5 8192 2048 2048
DIVX4_QMOBILE --- not supported ---
DIVX4_MOBILE --- not supported ---
DIVX4_HOME_THEATER --- not supported ---
DIVX4_HD_1080P --- not supported ---
DIVX5_QMOBILE --- not supported ---
DIVX5_MOBILE --- not supported ---
DIVX5_HOME_THEATER --- not supported ---
DIVX5_HD_1080P --- not supported ---
H264_CONSTRAINED_BASELINE 41 8192 2048 2048
H264_EXTENDED --- not supported ---
H264_PROGRESSIVE_HIGH --- not supported ---
H264_CONSTRAINED_HIGH --- not supported ---
H264_HIGH_444_PREDICTIVE --- not supported ---
VP9_PROFILE_0 --- not supported ---
VP9_PROFILE_1 --- not supported ---
VP9_PROFILE_2 --- not supported ---
VP9_PROFILE_3 --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_10 --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_STILL --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_12 --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_444 --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_444_10 --- not supported ---
HEVC_MAIN_444_12 --- not supported ---
Output surface:
name width height nat types
----------------------------------------------------
B8G8R8A8 8192 8192 y NV12 YV12 UYVY YUYV Y8U8V8A8
V8U8Y8A8 P010 P016 A4I4 I4A4 A8I8 I8A8
R8G8B8A8 8192 8192 y NV12 YV12 UYVY YUYV Y8U8V8A8
V8U8Y8A8 P010 P016 A4I4 I4A4 A8I8 I8A8
R10G10B10A2 8192 8192 y NV12 YV12 UYVY YUYV Y8U8V8A8
V8U8Y8A8 P010 P016 A4I4 I4A4 A8I8 I8A8
B10G10R10A2 8192 8192 y NV12 YV12 UYVY YUYV Y8U8V8A8
V8U8Y8A8 P010 P016 A4I4 I4A4 A8I8 I8A8
Bitmap surface:
name width height
------------------------------
B8G8R8A8 8192 8192
R8G8B8A8 8192 8192
R10G10B10A2 8192 8192
B10G10R10A2 8192 8192
A8 8192 8192
Video mixer:
feature name sup
------------------------------------
DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL y
DEINTERLACE_TEMPORAL_SPATIAL -
INVERSE_TELECINE -
NOISE_REDUCTION y
SHARPNESS y
LUMA_KEY y
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L1 y
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L2 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L3 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L4 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L5 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L6 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L7 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L8 -
HIGH QUALITY SCALING - L9 -
parameter name sup min max
-----------------------------------------------------
VIDEO_SURFACE_WIDTH y 48 2048
VIDEO_SURFACE_HEIGHT y 48 2048
CHROMA_TYPE y
LAYERS y 0 4
attribute name sup min max
-----------------------------------------------------
BACKGROUND_COLOR y
CSC_MATRIX y
NOISE_REDUCTION_LEVEL y 0.00 1.00
SHARPNESS_LEVEL y -1.00 1.00
LUMA_KEY_MIN_LUMA y
LUMA_KEY_MAX_LUMA y
-----------------------------------------------------
I also read about VAAPI, that should be supported for my card. Here some info:
--------
$ vainfo
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.13 (libva 2.13.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Mesa Gallium driver 21.3.5 for NVA8
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Advanced : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileNone : VAEntrypointVideoProc
-------------------------------------------------------------
I rebuilt ffmpeg package for adding support to libdav1d for AV1 encoded videos,
here are the ffmpeg build script for slackware:
https://slackware.uk/slackware/slackware64-15.0/source/l/ffmpeg/ffmpeg.SlackBuild
It is a bit compliacted, but if a library/codec support is needed for hwdec, it
will not too hard to find there.
---------------
# mpv --version
mpv 0.34.1 Copyright ? 2000-2021 mpv/MPlayer/mplayer2 projects
FFmpeg library versions:
libavutil 56.70.100
libavcodec 58.134.100
libavformat 58.76.100
libswscale 5.9.100
libavfilter 7.110.100
libswresample 3.9.100
FFmpeg version: 4.4.1
---------------------
$ mpv -vo=help
Available video outputs:
libmpv render API for libmpv
gpu Shader-based GPU Renderer
vdpau VDPAU with X11
wlshm Wayland SHM video output (software scaling)
xv X11/Xv
vaapi VA API with X11
x11 X11 (software scaling)
null Null video output
image Write video frames to image files
tct true-color terminals
caca libcaca
drm Direct Rendering Manager (software scaling)
--------------------------------------------------------------
$ mpv -hwdec=help
Valid values (with alternative full names):
vaapi (h263-vaapi)
vaapi (h263p-vaapi)
vaapi (h264-vaapi)
vaapi (hevc-vaapi)
vaapi (mjpeg-vaapi)
vaapi (mpeg2video-vaapi)
vaapi (mpeg4-vaapi)
vaapi (vc1-vaapi)
vaapi (vp8-vaapi)
vaapi (vp9-vaapi)
vaapi (wmv3-vaapi)
vaapi (av1-vaapi)
vdpau (h263-vdpau)
vdpau (h263p-vdpau)
vdpau (h264-vdpau)
vdpau (hevc-vdpau)
vdpau (mpeg1video-vdpau)
vdpau (mpeg2video-vdpau)
vdpau (mpeg4-vdpau)
vdpau (vc1-vdpau)
vdpau (vp9-vdpau)
vdpau (wmv3-vdpau)
vaapi-copy (h263-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (h263p-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (h264-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (hevc-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (mjpeg-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (mpeg2video-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (mpeg4-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (vc1-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (vp8-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (vp9-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (wmv3-vaapi-copy)
vaapi-copy (av1-vaapi-copy)
vdpau-copy (h263-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (h263p-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (h264-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (hevc-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (mpeg1video-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (mpeg2video-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (mpeg4-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (vc1-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (vp9-vdpau-copy)
vdpau-copy (wmv3-vdpau-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (h263_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (h264_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (hevc_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (mpeg4_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (mpeg1_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (mpeg2_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (vc1_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (vp8_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
v4l2m2m-copy (vp9_v4l2m2m-v4l2m2m-copy)
auto (yes '')
no
auto-safe
auto-copy
auto-copy-safe
----------------
$ glxinfo
name of display: :0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
----- cut -----------
After trying with some video payback using MPV I noticed following behaviour:
1.
mpv --noconfig -hwdec=vdpau -vo=gpu
works
2.
mpv --noconfig -hwdec=vdpau -vo=vdpau
works
3.
mpv --noconfig -hwdec=vaapi -vo=gpu
doesn't work, colours of the video are corrupted
4.
mpv --noconfig -hwdec=vdpau -vo=vdpau
works
The CPU load seems really low, so good.
But...
But when I touch something, for instance "f" to enlarge to fullscreen,
or "q" to quit MPV...
Surprise!
My system freeze, nothing work again, just the mouse cursor can still
be moved around.
No key combination works: ctrl+alt+F2, ctrl+alt+canc or so on...
And it remains only to switch off by holding power button on the case.
So no, it seems something goes wrong every time I try to use "hwdec".
I also tried with different "pstate" modes, but it doesn't affect
the
stability: in any
case hwdec lead to an unstable, and in fact completely locked screen.
I'd like to use open drivers, but I'd like to take advantage of
hardware decoding too, so that my CPU rests as quiet and fresh as
possible. Is there some other suggest to configure some other aspect
and try to achieve my scope?
Or my tests are all I can do?
So for hwdec is better to switch back to closed source nvidia driver
legacy 340.108 ?
Thanks in advance!
Ilia Mirkin
2022-May-29 23:26 UTC
[Nouveau] Hardware decoding in video playback with Nvidia GT 218 (NVA8)
Hi Joe, On Sun, May 29, 2022 at 6:58 PM Joe <joe.on.list at gmail.com> wrote:> > Hi all, I'm trying to make running hardware acceleration decoding on > my old GeForce 210 (AKA GT-218, or NVA8 / NV-50 Tesla family). > ---------------------------------- > 02:00.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: NVIDIA Corporation GT218 > [GeForce 210] [10de:0a65] (rev a2) > ---------------------------------- > [ ... ] > > But when I touch something, for instance "f" to enlarge to fullscreen, > or "q" to quit MPV... > Surprise! > > My system freeze, nothing work again, just the mouse cursor can still > be moved around. > > [ ... ] > > I'd like to use open drivers, but I'd like to take advantage of > hardware decoding too, so that my CPU rests as quiet and fresh as > possible. Is there some other suggest to configure some other aspect > and try to achieve my scope? > Or my tests are all I can do? > So for hwdec is better to switch back to closed source nvidia driver > legacy 340.108 ?Proprietary driver will definitely work better for hwdec than nouveau. Forgetting about any stability/performance issues, there are some reference frame ordering issues in H.264 decoding that were never addressed. This leads to occasional corruption in some videos. FWIW I've mostly tested with mplayer, and I didn't run into problems there. There should be instructions on using mplayer at https://nouveau.freedesktop.org/VideoAcceleration.html. The thing you esp want to avoid is using VDPAU + GL in the same process -- so things like "-vo vdpau" are much more likely to work than "-vo gpu" or "-vo gl". You can try enabling DRI3 -- perhaps something broke in the DRI2 paths. You can add Option "DRI" "3" into the Driver section of the xorg.conf to expose it. It's not on by default because there are some annoying corner cases that some window managers run into with it (KDE as I recall). I'm also not sure why VA-API is corrupted for you, it has worked in the past. But it gets a lot of changes only reviewed by AMD developers, so it can get broken pretty easily with AMD-specific assumptions which don't hold on NVIDIA. I suspect it should be easy to fix by someone who is interested in investigating -- probably a bisect to sort out what broke it, and then revert or get the person who wrote it to fix it. Cheers, -ilia