Not using hardware acceleration for transcode

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Server Version#: 1.18.6.2368
Player Version#: N/A

I just upgraded to the latest server version, and when I installed it, I saw a new message that I don’t remember ever seeing before:

PlexMediaServer install:   HW transcoding:     Not found

I haven’t looked into HW transcoding in a very long time because I was previously convinced that it was working just fine, and I haven’t since noticed any evidence to the contrary… until today. Any ideas why this might not be working?

Contents of /proc/cpuinfo:

processor	: 0
vendor_id	: GenuineIntel
cpu family	: 6
model		: 60
model name	: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E3-1276 v3 @ 3.60GHz
stepping	: 3
microcode	: 0x27
cpu MHz		: 980.770
cache size	: 8192 KB
physical id	: 0
siblings	: 8
core id		: 0
cpu cores	: 4
apicid		: 0
initial apicid	: 0
fpu		: yes
fpu_exception	: yes
cpuid level	: 13
wp		: yes
flags		: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm cpuid_fault epb invpcid_single pti ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts md_clear flush_l1d
bugs		: cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2 spec_store_bypass l1tf mds swapgs itlb_multihit
bogomips	: 7184.46
clflush size	: 64
cache_alignment	: 64
address sizes	: 39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

It’s an older processor, but according to the spec sheet, it supports Quick Sync.

PMS is installed in an LXD container:

# lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 16.04.6 LTS
Release:	16.04
Codename:	xenial

Running on this host:

$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS
Release:	18.04
Codename:	bionic

I’m not super concerned about it. The system’s plenty beefy enough for my current needs without HW acceleration. But the geek in me wants to get it working optimally if possible… :laughing:

– danBhentschel

2

You must pass the hardware through to the container.

In this case, the CPU does not have QSV (Quick Sync Video) capability

3

Thank you for your response.

I’m not sure exactly how to interpret what you said. Are you saying that my cpuinfo should list qsv under the flags field? If so, then you are correct that it is not listed there.

However, the CPU does support QSV. The page that you link to specifically says, “Intel® Quick Sync Video: Yes”

So it should be supported. You say to pass the hardware to the container, but I just looked at cpuinfo in the main OS, and it doesn’t list qsv in the flags either. Is it possible that it’s disabled in the BIOS? Or are there some kernel flags I need to pass in the boot loader to enable it? Any ideas?

Thanks.

– danBhentschel

4

sure its possible.

cpu support alone won’t do it, you need cpu, bios, drivers, and motherboard support (hdmi out on a server board is pretty rare).

Edit: add drivers to above

if the server has some kind of ipmi/idrac/etc remote management, the remote manager video out is not the same.

5

Okay. Thanks. I’ll investigate more. I was hoping that there would be some simple, known troubleshooting steps. I guess it’s more complicated than that.

I still haven’t gotten confirmation… Assuming that everything is setup properly, should the cpuinfo list qsv under flags? Is that a good indicator to look for? I can’t find any reference to a qsv flag anywhere in either kernel documentation or code.

– danBhentschel

6

sorry I have no idea, but I am sure that Chuck has enough experience with it, that what he says is pretty accurate.

if you have another computer with an intel igpu, you could see if the qsv flag shows up there.

7

I referenced the Intel datasheet (published at Ark.Intel.com)

I do need amend my remarks above.

It does need to say:

Intel® Quick Sync Video:     Yes

I somehow looked at the wrong cpu, apologies.

There are a number of motherboards which disable it as well as those which require UEFI / BIOS setting enabled.

Also, in a Container, you must pass through /dev/dri to the container. It’s like passing HW through into a VM.

I would first verify the /dev/dri is passed through.
If still no success, then start looking deeper at the UEFI/BIOS.

8

Thanks. I can see that /dev/dri is not passed to the container. I will look at that first.

– danBhentschel

9

also be aware, you will most likely require a monitor, or fake monitor dummy plug, plugged into the motherboard/igpu hdmi (if it has one).

10

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