AMD HW Transcoding support on Linux

Plex Media Server
1

I’m looking at options for upgrading my home server in the near future, and I noticed that Plex’s documentation mentions AMD hardware transcoding is “technically” supported.

*Note: Our hardware-transcoding system has technical support for many dedicated AMD graphics cards, but we haven’t done official, full testing on those. Support for AMD GPUs is provided “as is” and your mileage may vary. It is recommended that you use Intel Quick Sync Video or a dedicated NVIDIA GPU.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/115002178853-using-hardware-accelerated-streaming/

Is this something that’s exclusive to Windows, or could I use, for example, an AMD ryzen APU on a Debian/Ubuntu system?

2

This is largely Windows-specific.

There exists trial SDR-only AMD discrete GPU card support on Linux.

We had a staffing change earlier this year. The AMD support effort was put on hold at that time until the dust settles.

3

Long time Plex user and someone who has more AMD gear than Intel these days due to better open source support (GPU). This has been a “we’ll get to it eventually” item for years. In the meantime, the AMD support within the Linux ecosystem has improved greatly, especially with hardware like the Steamdeck coming to market.

I would ask that this be given a bit more consideration - I suspect it’s possibly less work than perhaps anticipated.