Video Coding Engine

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Template:Short description

Video Code Engine (VCE; earlier referred to as Video Coding Engine,[1] Video Compression Engine[2] or Video Codec Engine[3] in official documentation) is AMD's video encoding application-specific integrated circuit implementing the video codec H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. Since 2012 it was integrated into all of their GPUs and APUs except Oland.

VCE was introduced with the Radeon HD 7000 series on 22 December 2011.[4][5][6] VCE occupies a considerable amount of the die surface at the time of its introduction[7] and is not to be confused with AMD's Unified Video Decoder (UVD).

As of AMD Raven Ridge (released January 2018), UVD and VCE were succeeded by Video Core Next (VCN).

Overview

In "full-fixed mode" the entire computation is done by the fixed-function VCE unit. Full-fixed mode can be accessed through the OpenMAX IL API.
The entropy encoding block of the VCE ASIC is also separately accessible, enabling "hybrid mode". In "hybrid mode" most of the computation is done by the 3D engine of the GPU. Using AMD's Accelerated Parallel Programming SDK and OpenCL developers can create hybrid encoders that pair custom motion estimation, inverse discrete cosine transform and motion compensation with the hardware entropy encoding to achieve faster than real-time encoding.

The handling of video data involves computation of data compression algorithms and possibly of video processing algorithms. As the template compression methods shows, lossy video compression algorithms involve the steps: motion estimation (ME), discrete cosine transform (DCT), and entropy encoding (EC).

AMD Video Code Engine (VCE) is a full hardware implementation of the video codec H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. It is capable of delivering 1080p at 60 frames/sec. Because its entropy encoding block is also a separately accessible Video Codec Engine, it can be operated in two modes: full-fixed mode and hybrid mode.[8][9]

By employing AMD APP SDK, available for Linux and Microsoft Windows, developers can create hybrid encoders that pair custom motion estimation, inverse discrete cosine transform and motion compensation with the hardware entropy encoding to achieve faster than real-time encoding. In hybrid mode, only the entropy encoding block of the VCE unit is used, while the remaining computation is offloaded to the 3D engine of the GPU, so the computing scales with the number of available compute units (CUs).

VCE 1.0

VCE[1] Version 1.0 supports H.264 YUV420 (I & P frames), H.264 SVC Temporal Encode VCE, and Display Encode Mode (DEM).

It can be found on:

  • Piledriver-based
    • Trinity APUs (Ax-5xxx, e.g. A10-5800K)
    • Richland APUs (Ax-6xxx, e.g. A10-6800K)
  • GPUs of the Southern Islands generation (GCN1: CAYMAN, ARUBA (Trinity/Richland), CAPE VERDE, PITCAIRN, TAHITI). These are
    • Radeon HD 7700 series (except HD 7790 with VCE 2.0)
    • Radeon HD 7800 series
    • Radeon HD 7900 series
    • Radeon HD 8570 to 8990 (except HD 8770 with VCE 2.0)
    • Radeon R7 250E, 250X, 265 / R9 270, 270X, 280, 280X
    • Radeon R7 360, 370, 455 / R9 370, 370X
    • Mobile Radeon HD 77x0M to HD 7970M
    • Mobile Radeon HD 8000-Series
    • Mobile Radeon Rx M2xx Series (except R9 M280X with VCE 2.0 and R9 M295X with VCE 3.0)
    • Mobile Radeon R5 M330 to R9 M390
    • FirePro cards with 1st Generation GCN (GCN1) (Except W2100, which is Oland XT)

VCE 2.0

Compared to the first version, VCE 2.0 adds H.264 YUV444 (I-Frames), B-frames for H.264 YUV420, and improvements to the DEM (Display Encode Mode), which results in a better encoding quality.

It can be found on:

  • Steamroller-based
    • Kaveri APUs (Ax-7xxx, e.g. A10-7850K)
    • Godavari APUs (Ax-7xxx, e.g. A10-7890K)
  • Jaguar-based
    • Kabini APUs (e.g. Athlon 5350, Sempron 2650)
    • Temash APUs (e.g. A6-1450, A4-1200)
  • Puma-based
    • Beema and Mullins
  • GPUs of the Sea Islands generation as well Bonaire or Hawaii GPUs (2nd Generation Graphics Core Next), such as
    • Radeon HD 7790, 8770
    • Radeon R7 260, 260X / R9 290, 290X, 295X2
    • Radeon R7 360 / R9 390, 390X
    • Mobile Radeon R9 M280X
    • Mobile Radeon R9 M385, M385X
    • Mobile Radeon R9 M470, M470X
    • FirePro W4300, W5100, W8100, W9100, S9100, S9150, S9170
    • Mobile FirePro M6100, W6150M, W6170M

VCE 3.0

Video Code Engine 3.0 (VCE 3.0) technology features a new high-quality video scaling and - since version 3.4 - High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265).[10][11]

It, together with UVD 6.0, can be found on 3rd generation of Graphics Core Next (GCN3) with "Tonga" and "Fiji" (VCE 3.0) based graphics controller hardware, which is now used AMD Radeon Rx 300 series (Pirate Islands GPU family) and VCE 3.4 by actual AMD Radeon Rx 400 series and AMD Radeon 500 series (both Polaris GPU family).

  • Tonga: Radeon R9 285, 380, 380X; Mobile Radeon R9 M390X, M395, M395X, M485X
  • Tonga XT: FirePro W7100, S7100X, S7150, S7150 X2
  • Fiji: Radeon R9 Fury, Fury X, Nano; Radeon Pro Duo (2016); FirePro S9300, W7170M; Instinct MI8
  • Polaris: RX 460, 470, 480; RX 550, 560, 570, 580; Radeon Pro Duo (2017)

AMD's Carrizo platform features VCE 3.1, retaining the same capabilities as the VCE found in "Fiji" and "Tonga".[12]

Stoney Ridge features a cut down version of VCE 3.4 without HEVC/H.265 encoding and is accompanied by a UVD 6.2 engine.[13]

VCE 3.0 removes support for H.264 B-frames.[14]

VCE 4.0

The Video Code Engine 4.0 encoder and UVD 7.0 decoder are included in the Vega-based GPUs.[15][16]

VCE 4.1

AMD's Vega20 GPU, present in the Instinct Mi50, Instinct Mi60 and Radeon VII cards, include VCE 4.1 and two UVD 7.2 instances.[17][18]

Feature overview

APUs

Template:AMD APU features

GPUs

The following table shows features of AMD/ATI's GPUs (see also: List of AMD graphics processing units). Template:Navbar-table

Name of GPU series Wonder Mach 3D Rage Rage Pro Rage 128 R100 R200 R300 R400 R500 R600 RV670 R700 Evergreen Northern
Islands 		Southern
Islands 		Sea
Islands 		Volcanic
Islands 		Arctic
Islands/Polaris 		Vega Navi 1x Navi 2x Navi 3x Navi 4x
Released 1986 1991 Apr
1996 		Mar
1997 		Aug
1998 		Apr
2000 		Aug
2001 		Sep
2002 		May
2004 		Oct
2005 		May
2007 		Nov
2007 		Jun
2008 		Sep
2009 		Oct
2010 		Dec
2010 		Jan
2012 		Sep
2013 		Jun
2015 		Jun 2016, Apr 2017, Aug 2019 Jun 2017, Feb 2019 Jul
2019 		Nov
2020 		Dec
2022 		Feb
2025
Marketing Name Wonder Mach 3D
Rage 		Rage
Pro 		Rage
128 		Radeon
7000 		Radeon
8000 		Radeon
9000 		Radeon
X700/X800 		Radeon
X1000 		Radeon
HD 2000 		Radeon
HD 3000 		Radeon
HD 4000 		Radeon
HD 5000 		Radeon
HD 6000 		Radeon
HD 7000 		Radeon
200 		Radeon
300 		Radeon
400/500/600 		Radeon
RX Vega, Radeon VII 		Radeon
RX 5000 		Radeon
RX 6000 		Radeon
RX 7000 		Radeon
RX 9000
AMD support Ended Current
Kind 2D 3D
Instruction set architecture Not publicly known TeraScale instruction set GCN instruction set RDNA instruction set
Microarchitecture Not publicly known GFX1 GFX2 TeraScale 1
(VLIW5)
(GFX3) 		TeraScale 2
(VLIW5)
(GFX4) 		TeraScale 2
(VLIW5)
up to 68xx
(GFX4) 		TeraScale 3
(VLIW4)
in 69xx [19][20]
(GFX5) 		GCN 1st
gen
(GFX6) 		GCN 2nd
gen
(GFX7) 		GCN 3rd
gen
(GFX8) 		GCN 4th
gen
(GFX8) 		GCN 5th
gen
(GFX9) 		RDNA
(GFX10.1) 		RDNA 2
(GFX10.3) 		RDNA 3
(GFX11) 		RDNA 4
(GFX12)
Type Fixed pipeline[a] Programmable pixel & vertex pipelines Unified shader model
Direct3D Template:Screen reader-only 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.1 9.0
11 (9_2) 		9.0b
11 (9_2) 		9.0c
11 (9_3) 		10.0
11 (10_0) 		10.1
11 (10_1) 		11 (11_0) 11 (11_1)
12 (11_1) 		11 (12_0)
12 (12_0) 		11 (12_1)
12 (12_1) 		11 (12_1)
12 (12_2)
Shader model Template:Screen reader-only 1.4 2.0+ 2.0b 3.0 4.0 4.1 5.0 5.1 5.1
6.5 		6.7 6.8
OpenGL Template:Screen reader-only 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.5[b][21] 3.3 4.5 (Windows), 4.6 (Linux Mesa 25.2+)[22] 4.6[23][c]
Vulkan Template:Screen reader-only 1.1[c][d] 1.3[24][25][e] 1.4[26]
OpenCL Template:Screen reader-only Close to Metal 1.1 (not supported by Mesa) 1.2+ (on Linux: 1.1+ (no Image support on Clover, with Rusticl) with Mesa, 1.2+ on GCN 1.Gen) 2.0+ (Adrenalin driver on Win 7+)
(on Linux ROCm, Mesa 1.2+ (no support in Clover, only Rusticl, Mesa, 2.0+ and 3.0 with AMD drivers or AMD ROCm), 5th gen: 2.2 win 10+ and Linux RocM 5.0+ 		2.2+ and 3.0 Windows 8.1+ and Linux ROCm 5.0+ (Mesa Rusticl 1.2+ and 3.0 (2.1+ and 2.2+))[27][28][29]
HSA / ROCm Template:Screen reader-only Yes ?
Video decoding ASIC Template:Screen reader-only Avivo/UVD UVD+ UVD 2 UVD 2.2 UVD 3 UVD 4 UVD 4.2 UVD 5.0 or 6.0 UVD 6.3 UVD 7 [15][f] VCN 2.0 [15][f] VCN 3.0 [30] VCN 4.0 VCN 5.0
Video encoding ASIC Template:Screen reader-only VCE 1.0 VCE 2.0 VCE 3.0 or 3.1 VCE 3.4 VCE 4.0 [15][f]
Fluid Motion [g] No Yes No ?
Power saving ? PowerPlay PowerTune PowerTune & ZeroCore Power ?
TrueAudio Template:Screen reader-only Via dedicated DSP Via shaders
FreeSync Template:Screen reader-only 1
2
HDCP[h] Template:Screen reader-only ? 1.4 2.2 2.3 [31]
PlayReady[h] Template:Screen reader-only 3.0 No 3.0
Supported displays[i] 1–2 2 2–6 ? 4
Max. resolution ? 2–6 ×
2560×1600 		2–6 ×
4096×2160 @ 30 Hz 		2–6 ×
5120×2880 @ 60 Hz 		3 ×
7680×4320 @ 60 Hz [32]
7680×4320 @ 60 Hz PowerColor 		7680x4320

@165 Hz

7680x4320
/drm/radeon[j] Yes Template:Screen reader-only
/drm/amdgpu[j] Template:Screen reader-only Yes Kernel 6.19+ [33] Yes

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

  1. ^ The Radeon R100 Series has programmable pixel shaders, but do not fully comply with DirectX 8 or Pixel Shader 1.0. See article on R100's pixel shaders.
  2. ^ R300, R400 and R500 based cards do not fully comply with OpenGL 2+ as the hardware does not support all types of non-power of two (NPOT) textures.
  3. ^ a b OpenGL 4+ compliance requires supporting FP64 shaders and these are emulated on some TeraScale chips using 32-bit hardware.
  4. ^ Vulkan support is theoretically possible but has not been implemented in a stable driver.
  5. ^ Vulkan support in Linux relies on the AMDgpu kernel driver, the radeon driver does not support Vulkan.
  6. ^ a b c The UVD and VCE were replaced by the Video Core Next (VCN) ASIC in the Raven Ridge APU implementation of Vega.
  7. ^ Video processing for video frame rate interpolation technique. In Windows it works as a DirectShow filter in your player. In Linux, there is no support on the part of drivers and / or community.
  8. ^ a b To play protected video content, it also requires card, operating system, driver, and application support. A compatible HDCP display is also needed for this. HDCP is mandatory for the output of certain audio formats, placing additional constraints on the multimedia setup.
  9. ^ More displays may be supported with native DisplayPort connections, or splitting the maximum resolution between multiple monitors with active converters.
  10. ^ a b DRM (Direct Rendering Manager) is a component of the Linux kernel. AMDgpu is the Linux kernel module. Support in this table refers to the most current version.

Operating system support

The VCE SIP core needs to be supported by the device driver. The device driver provides one or multiple interfaces, e. g. OpenMAX IL. One of these interfaces is then used by end-user software, like GStreamer or HandBrake (HandBrake rejected VCE support in December 2016,[34] but added it in December 2018[35]), to access the VCE hardware and make use of it.

AMD's proprietary device driver AMD Catalyst is available for multiple operating systems and support for VCE was added to it[citation needed]. Additionally, a free device driver is available. This driver also supports the VCE hardware.

Linux

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

Support for the VCE ASIC is contained in the Linux kernel device driver amdgpu.

Windows

The software "MediaShow Espresso Video Transcoding" seems to utilize VCE and UVD to the fullest extent possible.[40]

XSplit Broadcaster supports VCE from version 1.3.[41]

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS Studio) supports VCE for recording and streaming. The original Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) requires a fork build in order to enable VCE.[42]

AMD Radeon Software supports VCE with built in game capture ("Radeon ReLive") and use AMD AMF/VCE on APU or Radeon Graphics card to reduce FPS drop when capturing game or video content.[43]

HandBrake added Video Coding Engine support in version 1.2.0 in December 2018.[35]

Successor

Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote".

The VCE was succeeded by AMD Video Core Next in the Raven Ridge series of APUs released in October 2017. The VCN combines both encode (VCE) and decode (UVD).[44]

See also

Video hardware technologies

AMD

Others

References

Page Template:Reflist/styles.css has no content.

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