Innovative Features Improve Visual Quality in Video Apps
Media application developers, gain a competitive edge: new release Intel Media SDK 2017 for Windows* delivers HEVC and AVC visual quality, bitrate and latency control improvements.
The new release improves HEVC encode bitrate control by adding an ability to set maximum frame size. Previously available for AVC only, this feature now allows developers using HEVC in streaming applications to adapt frame size to network conditions. It helps to achieve lower latency, reduce the number of lost packets and as a result, get higher visual quality and a better viewer experience.
Intel Media SDK 2017 also provides AVC encode features improving bitrate control in applications that require low latency (e.g. game streaming), ensuring stream robustness to network connection issues and delivering higher visual quality for OTT broadcasting. Key features are:
- Slice based and dynamic intra refresh
- Low delay and sliding window bitrate controls
- Ability to set maximum size for I- and P-frames
- Explicit weighted prediction for P- and B-frames
- Fade detection
- RGB input control via video signal info
- Forced intra-based region of interest
AVC Encode Adaptive QVBR Low Delay in Media SDK 2017 for Windows*
Significant advantages in bitrate accuracy in packet constrained environments
Comparison of Average bitrate accuracy over 10 test stream, each 3600 frames long, showing dramatic improvement under highly constraining bitrate requirements, similar to online gaming. The left (blue) bar corresponds to average QVBR bitrate control constrained by Max Frame Size; the right (orange) bar corresponds to average bitrate from the new Low Delay BRC mode, likewise constrained by MaxFrameSize. In both sequences, MaxFrameSize for P-frames is equal to the average frame size; while MaxFrameSize for I frames is set to 3X the P-size. Error bars represent the maximum and minimum across all sequences. Tests were performed by Intel, and run using Intel® Media SDK 2017 for Windows*, on Windows* 10 64-bit, Intel graphics driver 15.45, Intel ® 6th Generation Core™ i5-6260U Processor, 8 GB DDR3-1600, on an Intel NUC model NUC6i5SYH. Tests of 10 standard 1080p60 sequences from https://media.xiph.org/video/derf/ Gaming section, at 16, 20, and 24 mbps. See also footnotes below.
New features are enabled for the latest Intel platforms:
- 6th and 7th generation Intel® Core™ processors
- Intel® Atom®, Celeron®, and Pentium® processors formerly known as Apollo Lake
Download the Intel Media SDK for Windows now.
About the Intel Media SDK
Intel Media SDK provides access to Intel® Quick Sync Video (hardware-accelerated video codecs in Intel® processors with integrated graphics), which helps developers achieve outstanding encoding, decoding and processing performance. The SDK supports many widely-adopted codecs such as HEVC, AVC, MPEG-2 and more. Its API deliver rich capabilities to tune the video encoding pipeline for the best visual quality. Intel® Media SDK for Windows* supports the latest Intel Core™, Atom, Pentium® and Celeron® processors as well as Windows 7, 8.1 and 10, which provides a comprehensive development platform to build client and mobile media applications.
Learn More and Get Help
- Learn more about Intel Media SDK
- Get documentation and other support resources
- In case of any questions, visit the Intel Media SDK forum
- To innovate and optimize enterprise-grade media applications and solutions for data center, cloud, and network usages, download Intel® Media Server Studio
Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products. For more complete information visit: http://www.intel.com/performance Source: Intel measured as of June 2017. Optimization Notice: Intel's compilers may or may not optimize to the same degree for non-Intel microprocessors for optimizations that are not unique to Intel microprocessors. These optimizations include SSE2, SSE3, and SSSE3 instruction sets and other optimizations. Intel does not guarantee the availability, functionality, or effectiveness of any optimization on microprocessors not manufactured by Intel. Microprocessor-dependent optimizations in this product are intended for use with Intel microprocessors. Certain optimizations not specific to Intel microarchitecture are reserved for Intel microprocessors. Please refer to the applicable product User and Reference Guides for more information regarding the specific instruction sets covered by this notice.