I just installed 1.21.0.3608-f7262c352 on linux and was surprised to see a warning that said
PlexMediaServer install: WARNING: Package 'Beignet', required for hardware transcoding of HDR content, is missing.
PlexMediaServer install: Please install package: 'beignet-opencl-icd'
Do you think this mean HDR->SDR tone mapping is now supported? Looking up beignet-opencl-icd package says its an OpenCL library for Intel CPUs. Unfortunately i’ve disabled QuickSync because i’m using and NVidia 1660 Super for HW transcoding. Time for some experimentation.
OK, this is all well and good, but HDR to SDR conspiracy theories aside …
What is “beignet” package to Plex Media Server, and what does it do for us as paying customers?
I’ve run a few tests and so far it looks pretty good. Transcoding 4K HDR->1080p 20mbps results in a picture that is almost the same as when Direct Playing. Strangely, on the native PMP OSX app, you can’t transcode to 4K but you can on the Plex Web App (but that has nothing to do with tonemapping)
Ah, and the technology world wonders why everyone else in the world hates us… Proof.
So… Response to the snarky, condescending replies:
Please re-read my question, as I’m already aware of beignet and its purpose in the AVtech world. To the intrigue at hand, I’ve also recently discovered beignet in the update code of my Linux Plex server, and I’m interested in Plex’s official position on how they plan to use it, going forward. Compatibility and supported SW/HW platforms are listed but reveal undeveloped territory. What’s the future look like with this technology? Broadening support? Narrowing for a more elite hardware market? (think M1 MacPro)
I’m curious to hear real-world ideas, not fan conspiracies. Again, AS I SAID in my OP.
Well, we’re currently using it for HDR to SDR tone mapping. As for future plans, we don’t typically disclose those, but have not implemented this feature without wanting to support it into the future.
C’mon, man. We know why Plex is leveraging beignet today, which was your first question. And you asked what the beignet package is, and what it does. You didn’t say that you are familiar with it, or OpenCL and video processing, and you didn’t ask what it might mean for the future.
I don’t speak for Plex, but I can point to about 50 examples on the forums where Plex representatives have said “We don’t talk about future features”. Which, IMO, is a sensible position for a small commercial company.
I’m personally thrilled to see general-purpose methods for advanced computation used. It makes me excited that Plex is doing deeper media analysis and computationally-based processing, and that it’s done in a way that can be generalized in both application and environment.
It’s interesting to me, that’s all. I realize the benefits of server to mobile (and other smaller, SD devices) transcodes, but I would like to see tonemapping used to enhance small-quadrant screen reduction on 120 and 144Hz screens for tiling in limited screen production environments as well as fast scaling solutions for Plex to incorporate quick-resize feature sets.
A real-world example, for instance, would perhaps be a laptop user, logging/collecting data from websites, requiring two separate browser windows on a single laptop screen, while watching Plex movies to pass the dead time, but wanting to have a screen reduction system that would allow them to shrink and expand the Plex Media window in between workloads without losing quality or seeing any image quality decay. The uploaded image is obviously a crude picture of said example…
But, thanks for the update, Dave! I appreciate you not treating me like dirt, just because you know more than I do - that’s why I like the people at Plex.
I’m never going to look at cranberry jelly the same way again. Eeeeewww.
Your comment made me think of something. Mobile devices have a shorter consumer cycle, and they’re going to have broader HDR support before TVs do.
Plex works pretty good for me, in a partial window. And scales between sizes effectively, too. That’s something I do frequently too. I don’t understand how screen refresh rates apply, or how OpenCL could improve this scenario - can you explain? Does “small-quadrant” have a technical meaning, or do you mean a small window?
(Keep Plex on top was a life-changer. I have some keybindings for favored window sizes.)
I hate to bump a thread, but I don’t understand something here. OP mentions that Plex says it’s missing a package to do HDR transcoding.in hardware and wonders what it’s for. We get lovely explanation about what the package is for (Thanks, Dave!). But, can we got back to the message for a second.
I’ve just upgraded my Plex and got the same message. Plus one for ocl-icd-libopencli. But, according to apt-get, both packages are installed. So, if they’re installed, why does Plex installer say they’re missing?
My hardware is likely not capable, but I hate seeing error messages saying dependencies are missing.
UPDATE: should have also included:
$ sudo apt-get install beignet-opencl-icd
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
beignet-opencl-icd is already the newest version (1.3.0-4).
beignet-opencl-icd set to manually installed.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
$ sudo apt-get install ocl-icd-libopencl1
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
ocl-icd-libopencl1 is already the newest version (2.2.11-1).
ocl-icd-libopencl1 set to manually installed.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
$
Read the linked page about tonemapping - it is explained.
him.)
Just doing my best to be helpful and friendly 
