FFmpeg on Clear Linux including H.264 and VP9 acceleration

General Discussion
60

Yes. Having to install large bundles simply to get a few dev files was the deciding factor.

The FFmpeg binaries can be found at Clear Fraction. The bundle names are codecs or codecs-cuda. The latter includes the VA-API backend drivers for NVIDIA graphics plus FFmpeg built supporting CUDA.

The other bits, for running various browsers, can be found in the HWAccel folder.

In a Nutshell:

  • Using NVIDIA graphics? The nvidia-driver-on-clear-linux repo is completed.
  • Want FFmpeg? Choose codecs or codecs-cuda from Clear Fraction.
  • Want Chromium or derivative? The HWAccel folder provides the bin and desktop files. Quite simply, it involves copying the launch script(s) and associated desktop file(s) to your home directory. This has evolved over time and now includes the complimentary updater script which also serves as the installer.

Video decode acceleration:

  • Firefox is good to go using NVIDIA graphics. FFmpeg is not required.
  • Using AMD or Intel graphics? From testing some time ago, FFmpeg was needed using Firefox. The Firefox configuration file or launch script sets the LD_LIBRARY_PATH accordingly.

Chromium or derivative:

  • Using NVIDIA graphics? Chromium has made changes recently to use DMA-BUF. This is causing the VDPAU backend driver to fail. I updated the launch scripts to use Vulkan. Unfortunately, video playback is choppy. So, I added an Opt-in if block for Wayland to use --ozone-platform=x11. Simply uncomment the if statement for better playback.
  • I’m not sure about other graphics.
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