Hardware-Accelerated Video Decoding Arrives in OpenBSD with VA-API

OpenBSD’s latest update brings VA-API support, enabling hardware-accelerated video decoding for improved performance and efficiency in video playback.

In a significant update, the OpenBSD team has announced the inclusion of VA-API (Video Acceleration API) support in the latest version of their operating system.

VA-API is a software interface that enables hardware acceleration of video encoding and decoding. By leveraging the power of dedicated graphics processing units (GPUs), VA-API can significantly reduce the computational load on the system’s CPU, resulting in smoother, more efficient video playback.

The latest update integrates the libva 2.22.0 library into the Xenocara X11 stack, which forms the graphical environment in OpenBSD. This stack is built on top of modified versions of X.Org 7.7, X Server 21.1.11, freetype 2.13.0, and Mesa 23.1.9. The inclusion of libva enables OpenBSD users to tap into the VA-API interface, unlocking the full potential of their system’s graphics capabilities.

In practical terms, VA-API support translates to improved video playback performance, reduced CPU usage, and increased overall system responsiveness. Whether you’re a casual YouTube viewer or a hardcore video enthusiast, this update is sure to bring a noticeable boost to your OpenBSD experience.

The OpenBSD team has already tested the VA-API implementation with drivers for Intel and AMD GPUs, using popular applications like Firefox and mpv. For Intel GPUs, users will need to install the graphics/intel-media-driver and graphics/intel-vaapi-driver ports, while AMD GPUs can utilize the standard components from Mesa.

This update is significant, but not many uses OpenBSD today for desktop, that too, for video playback. That said, It’s great to have this in OpenBSD, although late.

Via OpenBSD journal, commit