hardware acceleration when RDP to server

[justinrh 260]

How can I tell if Emby is able to and is using hardware acceleration for when a user is RDP (but session is disconnected) into the Emby server (Windows 10)?  I don't know if this article applies.

I have the option set in Transcoding, but is says 'when available'.

Edited February 26, 2021 by justinrh

[Luke 42077]

Hi, where do you see "when available? ?

[Carlo 4560]

@justinrh

[justinrh 260]

On 2/25/2021 at 9:17 PM, Luke said:

Hi, where do you see "when available? ?

[Happy2Play 9780]

What is shown when you change it to Advanced instead of Yes?  

[justinrh 260]

 

So, where are the 'preferred hardware encoders'??  Something doesn't make sense with that H2.  Oh, indeed, it is empty.  Why is there an empty div?

[Luke 42077]

If you play and something needs transcoding, then take a look at your emby server dashboard during this time and you'll be able to see if it's hardware or software transcoding.

[Luke 42077]

Just now, justinrh said:

Why is there an empty div?

That doesn't matter. The end result that you get is what matters.

[justinrh 260]

21 hours ago, Luke said:

If you play and something needs transcoding, then take a look at your emby server dashboard during this time and you'll be able to see if it's hardware or software transcoding.

I was afraid you were going to say that.  I was hoping there would be a way w/o experimenting, especially since RDP can make a difference.

[Luke 42077]

You can use a mobile device to login to your server web interface.

[justinrh 260]

On 3/1/2021 at 7:41 PM, Luke said:

That doesn't matter. The end result that you get is what matters.

The point is having a 'blank' is not user-friendly, especially in the context of which it sets.  It's confusing and looks like something is broken.  Maybe say "(none)" or something?

Edited April 8, 2021 by justinrh

[Luke 42077]

Having a what exactly is not user friendly? 

[justinrh 260]

9 minutes ago, Luke said:

Having a what exactly is not user friendly? 

An empty area that doesn't explain why it is empty.

There are no encoders - why not?  I'm expecting one - is my expectation wrong, why is Emby not showing anything?
The subsequent options (e.g., transcoding thread count, etc.) don't make sense directly under 'preferred hardware encoders'.  Hmm, is there a bug on this page, is the heading wrong, what's going on?  Is there a heading missing for these 'transcoding/encoder' options?

See, when Advanced is select, this new div is injected on the page, which messes up the UI/content flow that is designed to not have an extra section with its own H2.  And, if this new section is empty, it creates further confusion.

[Luke 42077]

Right that shouldn't be there. It should be updated to indicate that no hardware support was detected, or even just hide the option altogether in that situation.

[justinrh 260]

2 minutes ago, Luke said:

Right that shouldn't be there. It should be updated to indicate that no hardware support was detected, or even just hide the option altogether in that situation.

So, could that be the answer to my original issue?  Or do I still need to experiment?

[Luke 42077]

Yes that appears to be it.

[Happy2Play 9780]

What drivers do you have?  Have you read the AMD section here?

 

[justinrh 260]

I don't know if I have AMD AMF installed.  Is "Microsoft DXVA" obsolete?

Doh!  "Emby currently does not support headless operation with AMD AMF"  That just killed any possibility for me!

[Happy2Play 9780]

Possibly need to look a dummy plug/adapters.

But not sure as you have decoders showing up.  But AMD has a lot more limitations then Intel or Nvidia but @softworkz would have to comment more

[justinrh 260]

OK, this is really bothering me.  Here says AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.3 is the min version.  AMD will give me only 16.2 (beta) for my iGPU.

Plex will use HW encoding, even with the minimal GPU driver installed.  Emby shows I can HW decode, so why won't it pick up the encoder?

 

Is there any hope for me?! 

[softworkz 5066]

@justinrh - I assume you don't have a monitor connected?

30 minutes ago, justinrh said:

Is there any hope for me?! 

Connect a monitor and restart.

[Happy2Play 9780]

If a monitor gives you the option, then you may want to look at  dummy plugs.

[softworkz 5066]

@justinrh - I forgot: Don't start Emby Server from within a Remote Desktop session. Try starting directly from the console (or use something like VNC instead - for testing once).

[softworkz 5066]

OK, I should have read the title...

2 hours ago, justinrh said:

OK, this is really bothering me.  Here says AMD Radeon Software Crimson Edition 16.7.3 is the min version.  AMD will give me only 16.2 (beta) for my iGPU.

Those driver version steps won't change the situation for you.

And that is: No HWA with D3D9, only with D3D11.  The DX11VA decoders you are seeing are part of Windows graphic infrastructure (with support from the manufactorer's drivers at some level). But at the surface, it's wrapped by a Microsoft implementation, that's why there can exist DX11 hardware decoders despite the graphics drivers being age-old.

Your iGPU is just too old. Driver development has stopped in 2015. While Intel provides still driver for iGPUs of similar age, these don't support DX11 either.

And you need DX11 for a headless system and when running it as service.

2 hours ago, justinrh said:

Plex will use HW encoding, even with the minimal GPU driver installed. 

REALLY?

[Carlo 4560]

2 hours ago, justinrh said:

Plex will use HW encoding, even with the minimal GPU driver installed. 

Can you try playing something back in Plex then posting the ffmpeg command line used from their log file?