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Glossary/Video/Hardware video decoding

Hardware video decoding

Hardware video decoding is playing compressed video on a dedicated decoder block in the graphics chip instead of in software on the processor.

Also known as hardware decode, GPU video decoding, fixed-function decoder

Checked by a SystemCheck tool

The video decode test checks this in your browser, on your own device. The paragraphs below say what it reads and what a browser cannot see.

Most graphics chips carry a fixed-function video decoder, a small block built for a set of codecs and nothing else. Decoding there costs a fraction of the power of decoding on the processor, which is why the same 4K video can play smoothly and quietly on one laptop and stutter with the fans running on another. Each chip generation supports a particular list of codecs, profiles and sizes, and a codec outside that list falls back to software.

A browser can be asked. WebCodecs' VideoDecoder.isConfigSupported() reports whether a decoder configuration is supported, and the video decode test asks it twice per codec and size, once with hardwareAcceleration set to prefer-hardware and once to prefer-software. Because claims are not a speed, the test also decodes a 90-frame clip 3 times and compares the median frame rate with the video's, using 1.5 times the rate as our line for room to spare.

No browser names the chip that did the work, and a native video player may take a different decoder path from the browser. If decoding falls back to software, check that hardware acceleration is on, that the graphics driver is current and not blocked by the browser, and on Windows that the codec's extension is installed.

Covered in full

This page defines the term. The pages below explain it, diagnose it and measure it.

Sources

Related terms

CodecA codec is the method used to compress audio or video for storage or sending, and to decompress it again for playback.Read moreAV1AV1 is an open video codec from the Alliance for Open Media, used for streaming because it needs less data than older codecs for the same quality.Read moreHEVCHEVC, also called H.265, is the ITU-T video coding standard that succeeded H.264, compressing video further at the cost of more decoding work.Read moreHardware accelerationHardware acceleration is a browser using the graphics chip for drawing, compositing and video instead of doing that work on the processor.Read moreSoftware renderingSoftware rendering is graphics drawn by a program running on the processor, used when no graphics chip or trusted driver is available.Read more
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