mtdean at thirdcontact
Dec 3, 2010, 8:16 PM
Post #26 of 33
(631 views)
Permalink
|
All the below is TTBOMK--I may well be wrong in my interpretation of
the information I have.
On 12/03/2010 10:27 PM, Eric Sharkey wrote:
> On Fri, Dec 3, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Jarod Wilson wrote:
>> Xv support gets you what? Colorspace conversion?
> I'm certainly no expert, but I believe scaling is done in hardware with xv.
Yes. Really the biggest problem with Flash is software scaling of video.
Decoding low-bitrate video (even H.264) isn't that tough (at least not
for a real CPU :). And, yes, even Hulu "high-definition" video is
low-bitrate (480kbps, 700kbps, and 2.5Mbps On2 Flash VP6 or 1000kbps
H.264 Flash--see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_video#HD_on_the_World_Wide_Web.2FHD_Streaming
).
Scaling low-resolution H.264 to full 1920x1080 in software is /very/ tough.
I'm pretty sure this is why those who tried the CrystalHD decoding in
Flash were somewhat disappointed by the results. (I.e. it solved the 20%
problem (decoding), leaving the 80% problem (software scaling) still
there--or should that be the 5%/95% problems.)
Note, also, that Flash has had hardware acceleration support on
GNU/Linux since 9.0.115.0 (in May 2008) using OpenGL (and I'm pretty
sure that includes the 64-bit Flash versions). This allows the video to
be dumped to OpenGL in RGB (the colorspace that Flash uses***). Then
OpenGL can do the video scaling, and full-size graphic elements can be
composited on top of the video by OpenGL. (Then again, with OpenGL
support, I /think/ they could dump the unscaled video in YUV to the
graphics card, let OpenGL scale it, then dump a full-size graphic
element in RGB, and let the graphic card composite it on top of the
video--doing all required colorspace conversions--but I'm not positive.
And even if they could, I don't know if they actually do it that way
versus just doing the YUV->RGB conversion in software.)
However, hardware acceleration in Flash only works with content authored
to take advantage of this. See:
http://blogs.adobe.com/penguinswf/2008/05/flash_uses_the_gpu.html
and
http://www.kaourantin.net/2008/05/what-does-gpu-acceleration-mean.html
for details.
TTBOMK, this just means that for 2 1/2 years, it's been possible for
sites like Hulu/NBC and Fox and CWTV (which use wmode transparent) and
CBS (which uses wmode opaque) to have provided content that allows
hardware-accelerated playback in Flash, but they chose not to.
Of course, now that Adobe is making a big deal out of it, they're likely
to do things right. However, AFAIU, that means that anyone with OpenGL
support will also benefit.
And, Eric, FWIW, the Adobe blog post has the reason why Adobe doesn't
use Xv:
---
* FAQ regarding hardware acceleration: Why doesn’t the Flash Player
on Linux user[sic] the X video extension (Xv)?
* Answer: Because Xv scales YUV data. Flash Player operates on RGB data.
For the uninitiated, many video codecs operate in a YUV colorspace.
Unix/X11 has an extension called X video that allows hardware scaling of
YUV images. This is a very mature system on Linux which has allowed
seamless, low CPU usage, fullscreen video playback on Linux for many
years. Unfortunately, the Flash Player can not easily make use of this
since Sorenson, On2, or H.264 video data — even though it is decoded as
YUV — has to be converted to RGB and possibly combined with other
graphical elements. This is why RGB scaling via OpenGL is the future of
Flash.
---
Well, now it seems they're saying that VDPAU is the future of Flash...
Either way, TTBOMK, fixing the Flash to work with VDPAU will also fix it
to work with OpenGL.
See, also,
http://blogs.adobe.com/penguinswf/2010/01/solving_different_problems.html
Also, take note of who wrote those 2 Adobe blog posts. He should know
what he's talking about when it comes to FOSS video playback... (Search
on his name and look at Google's, "Searches related to..." list.)
Mike
*** Whereas Xv only works with YUV. Flash actually decodes H.264, which
results in YUV. Then it does a software colorspace conversion to RGB so
that it can do compositing of graphic elements on top of the video. They
also do software scaling of the video. And, they are likely doing
compositing after scaling so that they can render the graphic elements
at full display size rather than have them tied to the video size--play
back a 160x120 video in MythTV on a 1920x1080 screen using the Xv
renderer and display the OSD to see why. If you instead use the OpenGL
renderer on that same 160x120 video on a 1920x1080 screen, you get a
nice OSD because it's not compositing before scaling the video.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
|
