How to use Intel hardware decoding in Linux (SteamOS)

[Gmarv09]

One of the notes in the latest Steam beta client says the following:

In-Home Streaming:
Added Intel hardware decoding support using VAAPI on Linux and SteamOS. This requires the i386 intel-vaapi-driver package version 1.3.2 or newer to be installed on the client computer.

Does anyone have steps to follow to make this happen?

EDIT:

Steps are below:

1). wget http://ftp.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/i/intel-vaapi-driver/i965-va-driver_1.3.2-1_i386.deb
2). wget http://ftp.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/libv/libva/libva1_1.3.1-3_i386.deb
3). sudo dpkg -i libva1_1.3.1-3_i386.deb
4). sudo dpkg -i i965-va-driver_1.3.2-1_i386.deb

[SXX]

İlk olarak Magbed@Linux! tarafından gönderildi:

Ive installed libva-intel-driver and libva, but it keeps using software decoding.

I'm not Arch user, but did you installed 32-bit libraries too?

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

Thnx, tried installing the 32 bit versions from the AUR now, but i think they are out of date since steam requires driver to be at least 1.3.2.

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

Updated manually the 32 bit version to 1.3.2 and it still doesnt works, if someone running Arch manages to solve it plis do tell.

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

Just fixed it, after i installed the 32 bit versions just had to make a symbolic link to where
steam wants the driver.

sudo ln -s /usr/lib32/dri/i965_drv_video.so /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so

[m0ngr31]

@gmarv09... I have a chromebox running with only 2GB of ram. I installed these drivers and it made the hardware decode much better, but its still just a titch slow even though it says I'm getting 60fps.

I'm streaming over gigabit and my host computer is a haswell i7, 16gb ram, and 2x 755m gpus. So I don't think the host machine is the problem. Could you maybe post a video of how your chromebox preforms so I can see how it looks compared to mine?

[Gmarv09]

İlk olarak _m0ngr31 tarafından gönderildi:

@gmarv09... I have a chromebox running with only 2GB of ram. I installed these drivers and it made the hardware decode much better, but its still just a titch slow even though it says I'm getting 60fps.

I'm streaming over gigabit and my host computer is a haswell i7, 16gb ram, and 2x 755m gpus. So I don't think the host machine is the problem. Could you maybe post a video of how your chromebox preforms so I can see how it looks compared to mine?

Sure, give me a day or 2 and I should be able to post something. I will say there is no stutter no matter the game when set to 30Mb/sec but certain games will have additional latency using unlimited. The streaming appears to put roughly 15-20% load on the host PC's CPU using software encode.

[Gmarv09]

As requested video has been uploaded and added to the main post.

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

Thnx for the update, VAAPI is working much better on Linux than their windows counterpart DXVA, about 10ms better! Performance is great streaming from a windows machine

[slouken]

You're welcome! :)

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

Looks like it broke somehow for me after i updated my libva to 1.4.0 on Arch Linux.

This is what steam says:

libva info: VA-API version 0.35.1
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so
libva error: /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so has no function __vaDriverInit_0_32
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1

Edit:

Its also not working on Ubuntu 14.04 witha slightly different error.

libva info: VA-API version 0.35.1
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/dri/nvidia_drv_video.so
libva info: va_openDriver() returns -1
INFO: CVAAPIAccel: vaInitialize() failed: unknown libva error

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

This is what my vainfo says on Ubuntu 14.04 and on Arch Linux as well

libva info: VA-API version 0.36.0
libva info: va_getDriverName() returns 0
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/nvidia_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_0_32
libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
vainfo: VA-API version: 0.36 (libva 1.4.0.pre1)
vainfo: Driver version: Splitted-Desktop Systems VDPAU backend for VA-API - 0.7.3
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
      VAProfileMPEG2Simple            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG2Main              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG4Simple            :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileMPEG4AdvancedSimple    :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264Main               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileH264High               :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Simple              :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Main                :	VAEntrypointVLD
      VAProfileVC1Advanced            :	VAEntrypointVLD

Dont know how to get vainfo on the 32 bit library, but from steam output it looks like a bug in the 32 bit packet? SInce it says VA-API version 0.35.1 instead of 0.36?

[Magbed@Linux! 🐧]

bump, anyone else streaming to a ubuntu or linux machine can confirm this issue?

[[masni] CYKA CLEANER]

well yes... but with clean debian sid it works... i have had same problems as you and forcing op packages install worked... that probably cause of nvidia drivers not been fully removed or libva 1.4 instead 1.3 or something....

Package: libva1
New: yes
State: unpacked
Automatically installed: yes
Multi-Arch: same
Version: 1.3.1-3

Package: i965-va-driver
New: yes
State: unpacked
Automatically installed: yes
Multi-Arch: same
Version: 1.3.2-1


with that both i386 it works... i dont think it works with 1.4

[DeadWalkingDeath]

I've got the same issue under Arch Linux 64-bit.

libva error: /usr/lib/i386-linux-gnu/dri/i965_drv_video.so has no function __vaDriverInit_0_32

Downgrading the packages to 1.3.1 (lib32-livba) / 1.3.2 (lib32-libva-intel-driver) didn't solve this for me.

[Gordon Freeman]

Same here I can no longer use hardware decoding while streaming to my chromebook? I do not know how to downgrade. Can someone please post instructions if they know how to fix this.