What is hardware acceleration?

Normally your processor (CPU) does all the work when decoding video. When using hardware acceleration, most of
that work is moved to the graphics processor (GPU). This significantly reduces the usage of CPU resources, which
can be particularly useful if you have a relatively slow CPU. Most graphics chips have dedicated circuitry for decoding
video and thus can do it very efficiently.

When should I use hardware acceleration?

Our recommendation is to use it only when really needed. That means use it only if you have a slow computer that
has very high CPU usage when playing videos without acceleration.

Hardware acceleration can also be useful on laptops and tablets, because it can help reduce power consumption and
thus increase battery life.

Hardware acceleration only helps to reduce CPU usage. It has no effect on video quality.

Usage of hardware acceleration increases the chance of playback problems. Usually caused by graphics driver bugs.
So if you decide to use hardware acceleration, it is important to use up-to-date drivers.

Which forms of hardware acceleration are available in this codec pack?

 DXVA2 native
 DXVA2 copy-back
 NVIDIA CUVID
 Intel QuickSync

What is the difference between CUVID, QuickSync, and DXVA?

DXVA is a generic interface for hardware acceleration that was created by Microsoft. It works with all brands of
GPUs.

CUVID is an interface created by NVIDIA and it only works with GPUs from NVIDIA.

QuickSync is an interface created by Intel and is supported only by the integrated GPUs of Intel Core processors
(Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell, Broadwell, Skylake, Kaby lake, and newer).

QuickSync and CUVID work similarly as DXVA2 copy-back. This means that the decoded video is copied back from
GPU memory to CPU memory. This allows the video to undergo additional processing after it has been decoded.
They basically act the same as a normal (software) decoder.

It is strongly recommend to use DXVA instead of QuickSync or CUVID, even if you have an Intel or NVIDIA GPU.
DXVA is more reliable and efficient.

A disadvantage of CUVID is that it forces the GPU into high performance mode, which increases its power
consumption.

In case of QuickSync it is important to download the graphics driver from the Intel website, because the drivers that
are distributed through Windows Update may not include all required QuickSync components.

DXVA "native" versus DXVA "copy-back"

DXVA implementations come in two variants: native and copy-back. The difference is explained below.

The LAV video decoder that is included in the codec pack offers both variants.
The compressed video is send to your graphics processor (GPU) where it gets decoded. In case of the native mode,
the decoded video stays in GPU memory until it has been displayed. In case of the copy-back mode, the video is
copied to your normal memory. This allows additional processing to be done in the playback chain. Once done, the
video is copied back to GPU memory again for displaying.

Copy-back mode is a bit less efficient because of those two copy operations, which means a bit more work must be
done by both the GPU and the CPU. It does however provide the same freedom as normal software decoding.

Native mode has some limitations because the decoded video stays in GPU memory (where the player can't access
it). The most important limitation is that the video decoder must be connected directly to the video renderer in the
playback chain. There can't be any processing filters in between.

Processing filters are only needed in specific situations. For example if you use Windows Media Player, then you
need VSFilter for displaying subtitles. So in case of WMP you should use copyback mode. MPC-HC (which is our
recommended player) has an internal subtitles renderer that is also compatible with DXVA in native mode.

Old AMD/ATI and Intel chips from before 2010 do not have good performance when copying data from GPU to CPU
memory. Copy-back may not give smooth playback on such old systems, so we recommend to use native mode
instead.

Why does the installer show less options than mentioned in this help?

It hides options that are not supported by your hardware.

CUVID requires a NVIDIA graphics card.

QuickSync only works with specific Intel iGPUs. It also requires Windows 7 or newer.
DXVA2 copy-back requires a CPU with SSE 4.1 instruction set.

Which form of hardware acceleration should I choose?

Here are some rules of thumb to help you decide which option to choose. They are listed in order or importance.

1. You use Media Player Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC)

Use LAV DXVA2 native or copy-back.

Copy-back is required if you want to use any kind of processing files.

Copy-back is also recommended is you want to use madVR as video renderer.
Native uses the least amount of resources since it skips the copy operations.

2. You use another advanced player such as KMPlayer, GOM, PotPlayer

These players have internal DXVA decoders. In this case, it is recommended to leave the setting in the
codec pack at the default of "Use software decoding". Enable the internal DXVA decoders in the options of
your player.

3. You use a basic player such as Windows Media Player

Use LAV DXVA2 copy-back when available. If you get any problems with video playback, then try LAV
DXVA2 native instead, or switch to software decoding.

Be aware that subtitles will not work with DXVA2 native.

How to get subtitles with DXVA native?

NVIDIA CUVID, Intel QuickSync, and DXVA copy-back all have no special requirements with regards to subtitles.
They act similar to normal software decoders.
Native implementations of DXVA have the limitation that they need to be connected directly to the video renderer.
This means that it is not possible to use a subtitle filter such as DirectVobSub (a.k.a. VSFilter).

The only proper way to get subtitle functionality in combination with DXVA native is to use an advanced player with
an internal subtitle renderer, that also uses a video renderer that supports combining subtitles with DXVA input.

MPC-HC, which is included in the Standard/Full/mega versions of the K-Lite codec pack, has that capability.
Examples of other players with similar capabilities are: ZoomPlayer, PotPlayer, GOM Player, and KMPlayer.

Windows Media Player and Media Center do NOT support subtitles in combination with DXVA native. You either
need to use a different player, or a different hardware acceleration method, such as DXVA2 copy-back.

Does hardware acceleration reduce electrical power consumption?

If you have a slow and inefficient CPU and a low-end GPU, then it might give a small reduction in power
consumption. Laptops often have a low-end GPU.

If you have a fast CPU or a high-end GPU, then power usage might actually be higher with hardware acceleration
enabled. The difference is usually pretty small.

NVIDIA cards can go in high performance mode when using CUVID hardware acceleration. A tool called NVIDIA
Inspector can be used to tweak this behavior and reduce power consumption.

Which video formats are supported?

LAV DXVA2 supports:

H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, H.265/HEVC, and VP9.

LAV CUVID supports:

H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2, H.265/HEVC, and VP9.

LAV QuickSync supports:

H.264, VC-1, and MPEG-2.

MPEG-2 is a relatively simple format to decode, so hardware acceleration is typically not necessary for this format.

In case of H.264 only 8-bit video can be decoded by hardware. In case of HEVC and VP9 there is also support for
decoding 10-bit video on some GPUs.

Hardware acceleration of HEVC and VP9 is only supported by a limited number of GPUs.

GPUs that support full acceleration of HEVC are:

- NVIDIA GTX 950/960
- NVIDIA GTX 1000 series (and newer)
- AMD Radeon Fury (X)
- AMD Radeon Nano
- AMD RX 400 and 500 series
- AMD RX Vega series (and newer)
- Intel Kaby Lake GPUs (and newer)

GPUs that support partial acceleration of HEVC are:

- Intel HD Graphics 4600/5xxx/6xxx
- Intel Iris Graphics
- Intel Iris Pro Graphics
- NVIDIA GTX 780
- NVIDIA GTX 970/980/980Ti
- NVIDIA Titan
- NVIDIA GTX 965M/970M/980M

GPUs that support full acceleration of VP9 are:

- NVIDIA GTX 950/960/750v2

- NVIDIA GTX 1000 series (and newer)
- AMD RX 400 and 500 series
- AMD RX Vega (and newer)
- Intel Kaby Lake GPUs (and newer)

What should I do in case of problems?

Problems with hardware accelerated video decoding are often driver related. So the first thing you should try is to
update your graphics driver. You should download the driver directly from the website of the manufacturer of the
graphics chip (AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel). Do not get drivers from WindowsUpdate, because those driver are usually
older and often do not contain all components required for hardware acceleration (in case of CUVID and QuickSync).

You should also switch to normal software decoding to confirm if the problem is related to hardware acceleration.