Adobe Flash Player Hardware Acceleration on Intel Graphics Cards

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><a href="https://github.com/i-rinat/libvdpau-va-gl">libvdpau-va-gl</a> is a VDPAU driver that uses OpenGL under the hood to accelerate drawing and scaling, and VA-API (if available) to accelerate video decoding.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Using it, you can get hardware acceleration on some Intel graphics cards for Mplayer </b>(well, we already have <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/use-mplayer-with-vaapi-support-hardware.html">mplayer-vaapi</a> but it hasn't been merged)<b> and even Adobe Flash Player. That means a lot less CPU usage as you'll see below. </b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/flash-vdpau-intel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="intel flash vdpau ubuntu" border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8i1Yfqveiuryfc_QWHidU6mhKZoQeT_RNhsRnr46QqH1Iivl0KRAltoEEWi5GgODi_x-Lev0TVSWV4mOx81N7V1pYruVUhSyFK-IKz47gb0K_74jL37DIgXy60xRcDgVRF05ZN4dfpfg/s320/flash-vdpau-intel.png" width="320" /></a></div></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">AMD users: in theory, this should also work with AMD cards (Catalyst) however, from what users are <a href="https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=166593&p=2">reporting</a>, it doesn't seem to work properly and the libvdpau-va-gl developer <a href="https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=1303921#p1303921">said</a> that he can only test this on Intel, so it's unlikely that the AMD bugs will be fixed soon. However, the open source AMD drivers should have built-in VDPAU support (you need Linux 3.10 and Mesa 9.2).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my test (Ubuntu 13.10, Intel graphics), a full-screen 1080p flash YouTube video used around 160-170% CPU without libvdpau-va-gl and about 14-17% CPU when using libvdpau-va-gl. There were some occasional spikes when using libvdpau-va-gl, but usually it stayed around those values which is a really great improvement.<br /><br />Note:<b> I've tested this with Firefox and Chromium browsers with Adobe Flash Player 11.2 r202. It doesn't seem to work with Pepper Flash (available by default in Google Chrome)</b>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">libvdpau-va-gl is <b>work-in-progress</b> and while it has worked properly with Adobe Flash Player / Firefox on my system, it may not work properly for you or it may cause problems with other VDPAU-enabled applications and for this reason, it's advisable not to use this system-wide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Below you can watch a quick video demoing the CPU usage for a YouTube flash video, with and without libvdpau-va-gl:</b></div><br /><center><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ZUmwtx_HA8U" width="480"><br />(<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUmwtx_HA8U">direct video link</a>; for more videos, subscribe to our <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/nilarimogard">YouTube channel</a>)</iframe></center><br /><br /><br /><h2>Install and set up libvdpau-va-gl in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1.</b> Firstly, install the VAAPI drivers (for Intel HD Graphics as well as G45 and later)::</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install i965-va-driver</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2.</b> Install libvdpau-va-gl by using the main WebUpd8 PPA (I've used Vincent Bernat's Debian <a href="http://packages.debian.org/sid/libs/libvdpau-va-gl1">packaging</a> - thanks!):</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install libvdpau-va-gl1</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3.</b> Adobe Flash doesn't use hardware acceleration by default on Linux so we'll have to force it:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo mkdir -p /etc/adobe<br />echo "EnableLinuxHWVideoDecode=1" | sudo tee /etc/adobe/mms.cfg<br />echo "OverrideGPUValidation=1" | sudo tee -a /etc/adobe/mms.cfg</code></pre><br /><b>4. </b>Like I was telling you above, it's not a good idea to enable libvdpau-va-gl system-wide yet. Instead, you can simply launch an application with "VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl".<br /><br />Example: to launch Firefox with libvdpau-va-gl enabled, use:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl firefox</code></pre><br />To enable libvdpau-va-gl system-wide (not recommended for now because this may cause problems with some VDPAU-enabled applications), you need to open <i>/etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl</i> as root with a text editor and uncomment (remove the "#" in front of the lines) the last two lines. Or simply copy/paste the commands below:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo sed -i "s/^# \[/\[/g" /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl<br />sudo sed -i "s/^# export/ export/g" /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20vdpau-va-gl</code></pre><br /><b>5.</b> Optional: check if libvdpau-va-gl/VDPAU is working.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">You can check if libvdpau-va-gl is working and Adobe Flash Player uses hardware acceleration by right clicking a Flash video on YouTube and selecting "Stats for nerds". The stats box that shows up should display the following: "accelerated video rendering, accelerated video decoding", like in this <a href="http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1113424/img/flash-vdpau-intel.png">screenshot</a>.</div><br />Another way to check if libvdpau-va-gl/VDPAU is working propely, install vdpauinfo:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install vdpauinfo</code></pre><br />Then, run:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>VDPAU_DRIVER=va_gl vdpauinfo</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And you should get something like <a href="http://pastebin.com/raw.php?i=cwYQzGyk">THIS</a>. If you get an error (for example "Failed to open VDPAU backend"), either your graphics card doesn't support VA-API (since this VDPAU driver requires VA-API) or you've missed a step from the instructions above.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Arch Linux</b> users can install libvdpau-va-gl from <a href="https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/libvdpau-va-gl/">AUR</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For more information, source code or bug reports, see the libvdpau-va-gl <a href="https://github.com/i-rinat/libvdpau-va-gl">GitHub page</a>.</b></div>

Adobe Flash Player Hardware Acceleration on Intel Graphics Cards

libvdpau-va-gl is a VDPAU driver that uses OpenGL under the hood to accelerate drawing and scaling, and VA-API (if available) to accelerate...

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Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Updated With 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Intel Linux Graphics Installer and the Intel repository have been updated with the latest 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack, for Ubuntu 13.04 and Fedora 19.</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXWwABkjZ0cTZxNT3wdb3fXGANrZPZZ9rnAvbFP2_0sVY5I-FbQF7NX4HkHpCGJ-I6FhV3MxlTXel0ioD9sC4kZ0VspDTTtoijeyYhfu2o6-OalHSFooQzvQI0YhrCC4b9T7a-SMR36c/s1600/intel-driver-manager.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Driver Manager" border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVXWwABkjZ0cTZxNT3wdb3fXGANrZPZZ9rnAvbFP2_0sVY5I-FbQF7NX4HkHpCGJ-I6FhV3MxlTXel0ioD9sC4kZ0VspDTTtoijeyYhfu2o6-OalHSFooQzvQI0YhrCC4b9T7a-SMR36c/s320/intel-driver-manager.png" title="Intel Driver Manager" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.2">Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a> is a tool developed by Intel that allows users to easily upgrade to the latest graphics drivers for Intel hardware. The installer automatically adds a repository used for upgrading the packages provided by Intel - that means that besides the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, you can also use the Ubuntu Software Updater, apt-get, etc. to upgrade the packages.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest Intel Linux Graphics Installer 1.0.2 provides the <b>Intel 2013Q2 Graphics Stack</b> which includes numerous enhancements and bug fixes - for a complete list, see <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/2013q2-intel-graphics-stack-release">THIS</a> page.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ubuntu repository included with the Intel Linux Graphics Installer provides the following <b>packages</b>: i965-va-driver 1.2.0 (<a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/install-mplayer-with-va-api-hardware.html">VA-API driver</a> for Intel HD and G45 chipsets), libdrm2 2.4.45, libva 1.2.1 and xserver-xorg-video-intel (xf86-video-intel) 2.21.9. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The repository <b>does not include the latest Xorg 1.14 for Ubuntu 13.04</b> because "<i>upgrading Xorg on Ubuntu 13.04 would have far-reaching implications that go well beyond the graphics stack, including, but not limited to, Xorg input device drivers (e.g. touchpads)</i>", mentions the Installer download page.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 12.10 and 12.04 as well as Fedora 18 and 17 have been deprecated </b>and they won't receive the 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack update.</div><br /><br /><h2>Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before using the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, make sure you read all the notes on its download page</b>! In the past there have been some serious issues with the installer so <b>I suggest you only use it if you know how to downgrade the packages in case something goes wrong</b>. If you have questions about the installer or Intel Linux graphics, visit the <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/forums/general-discussion">Intel Linux Graphics forums</a>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a class="external" href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.2">Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></b> - available for Ubuntu 13.04 and Fedora 19.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that I didn't test the latest 2013Q2 Graphics Stack included with this Intel Graphics Installer release because I'm using Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, which isn't supported by the installer yet (and besides, Ubuntu 13.10 already has the latest drivers).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The installer itself doesn't work in Ubuntu derivatives like Linux Mint however, you can manually add the repository if you're using a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 13.04 - see <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">THIS</a> article for how to add it.</i></div>

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Updated With 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack

The Intel Linux Graphics Installer and the Intel repository have been updated with the latest 2013Q2 Intel Graphics Stack, for Ubuntu 13.04 ...

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Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Available For Ubuntu 13.04

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Intel has <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">released</a> a new version of its Linux Graphics Drivers Installer and with it, the installer is now available for Ubuntu 13.04.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For those who are not familiar with the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, this a relatively new tool created by Intel that lets you easily install the latest video drivers for Intel hardware. The installer consists of a GUI tool and a repository that's automatically added and then used to install / upgrade new driver versions.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JVtgfGyHNrp_MphafKWdHKPKA81_dsllQDreen9za9faGZolJzq70OtucJDZJbQBBRWZ7307cg-pw0xPwqjshCv-VWl-D1BBUkzCHd7I_L1caV1t13JPiS7-PEgc4enJjKyRROm7P1a7/s1600/intel-linux-graphics-installer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5JVtgfGyHNrp_MphafKWdHKPKA81_dsllQDreen9za9faGZolJzq70OtucJDZJbQBBRWZ7307cg-pw0xPwqjshCv-VWl-D1BBUkzCHd7I_L1caV1t13JPiS7-PEgc4enJjKyRROm7P1a7/s320/intel-linux-graphics-installer.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The installer includes the <i><b>2013Q1 Intel Linux Graphics Stack Release</b></i>, which brings full Haswell support, OpenGL ES 3.0 support and many new OpenGL extensions and <b>is available for Ubuntu 13.04 and 12.10 as well as Fedora 18 and 17</b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>For what's new in the latest 2013Q1 Intel Linux Graphics Stack Release, see <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/2013q1-intel-graphics-stack-release">THIS</a> page. </i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oddly, <b>Ubuntu 12.04</b>, a long term support release, <b>is no longer supported by the Intel Linux Graphics Installer</b>. It seems the installer only supports the last two Ubuntu and Fedora releases and doesn't take LTS releases into account.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In case you're wondering <b>why you may need this installer</b>, Joe Konno from Intel has an answer for this in the Intel Open Source Linux Graphics <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/node/105">forums</a>, which I'll quote below:</div><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"[...] The Installer is intended to empower end-users with our latest quarterly releases of the Linux* graphics stack. As the latest Ubuntu and Fedora releases age, they may not keep up with our quarterly graphics stack releases. Quarterly releases may include power, performance, and functionality improvements, things that consumers want. The Installer works with supported distributions' package managers to keep up with our quarterly releases. Our quarterly releases are tested and validated internally here at Intel's Open Source Technology Center.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>The Installer only updates packages that are older than those in the latest quarterly graphics stack release, or installs packages not provided by the supported distribution, e.g. libva-intel-driver that enables hardware video acceleration.</i><br /><i><br /></i> <i>The Installer does not track the "bleeding edge" or "the very latest", and it will not. It tracks our quarterly releases, which have been tested and validated internally."</i></blockquote><br /><br /><br /><h2>Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</h2><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qtrobOPaFhRHs1DkiZuxKcVdqyxfJ09kMR5eHBKHKZjekR1PgYsw-aQdLz2_Di5v2TbTsZglt5qOQfIlpki-L6LIHvWV7fj0B8H17uexu-GDL0Yj4b0TFsgjf4UjgT6-lBtfdrn09JDY/s1600/intel-linux-graphics-installer_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qtrobOPaFhRHs1DkiZuxKcVdqyxfJ09kMR5eHBKHKZjekR1PgYsw-aQdLz2_Di5v2TbTsZglt5qOQfIlpki-L6LIHvWV7fj0B8H17uexu-GDL0Yj4b0TFsgjf4UjgT6-lBtfdrn09JDY/s320/intel-linux-graphics-installer_2.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before using the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, make sure you read all the notes on its download page</b>! If you have questions about the installer or Intel Linux graphics, visit the <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/forums/general-discussion">Intel Linux Graphics forums</a>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></b> - available for Ubuntu (13.04 and 12.10) and Fedora (18 and 17).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The installer only works in Ubuntu or Fedora and doesn't work in derivatives, so if you're using Linux Mint 15, the installer won't work, but there is a way to use it - see <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">THIS</a> article.</i></div>

Official Intel Linux Graphics Installer Available For Ubuntu 13.04

Intel has released a new version of its Linux Graphics Drivers Installer and with it, the installer is now available for Ubuntu 13.04. For ...

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How To Use The Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Repository In Ubuntu-Based Linux Distributions (Linux Mint, Etc.)

<div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/05/intel-linux-graphics-installer.html">Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a> only <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">supports</a> Ubuntu 13.04* and 12.10 (and Fedora), and even though the drivers should work on other Ubuntu-based Linux distributions like Linux Mint, the installer doesn't work and the Intel repository isn't added automatically.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>article updated on May 29, 2013 </i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But <b>you can still upgrade the drivers to the latest version available in the Intel repository that comes with the Intel Linux Graphics Installer, even if you use an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution such as Linux Mint, by manually adding the repository. Read on!</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kSiHXMSf0OhK50veoFm31DDyd9OWgpb5EQL5v6BoRQXndA_5ZYKbj_a-wSbbeFFAgJJgZb1EOHRljYHbUJVPM7KJcSevp9kr8B9kWI5OmjDK7nkyoruCIlUCEw9ok5CTooHJzPG2LlYp/s1600/linux-mint-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Linux Mint Intel Linux Graphics repository" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kSiHXMSf0OhK50veoFm31DDyd9OWgpb5EQL5v6BoRQXndA_5ZYKbj_a-wSbbeFFAgJJgZb1EOHRljYHbUJVPM7KJcSevp9kr8B9kWI5OmjDK7nkyoruCIlUCEw9ok5CTooHJzPG2LlYp/s320/linux-mint-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.png" title="Linux Mint Intel Linux Graphics repository" width="320" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The actual installer checks if you have an Intel graphics card, adds the Intel Linux Graphics repository and performs an upgrade, so you don't really need to use it to upgrade the drivers and you can simply add the repository and upgrade using your Linux distribution update tool (or apt-get, etc.).</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>How to add the Intel Linux Graphics Installer repository in Ubuntu-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Before proceeding, please note that some users have <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/intel-linux-graphics-installer-fixed.html#comment-858568800">reported</a> issues, like the touchpad not working - <b>this depends on your hardware so I can't tell you if everything will work or not, so use this at your own risk!</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, reverting the changes isn't very easy. When upgrading the packages, you must copy the package names to some text file, then disable the repository via Software Sources (or delete the .list file from <i>/etc/apt/soures.list.d/</i>), run "sudo apt-get update" and then downgrade the packages you've saved to the text file using: "sudo apt-get install package1/raring package2/raring" and so on (for each package that was upgraded; replace "raring" with "quantal" if you're using an Ubuntu 12.10 based Linux distribution). Alternatively, you can use <a href="http://theclonker.de/?p=89">THESE</a>  instructions (I didn't test them though). <b>Unless you understand what I've explained above and know how to fix various issues that may arise, I suggest you don't use this repository!</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>That said, you can now proceed with adding the Intel Linux Graphics repository for Linux distributions based on Ubuntu 12.10 or 13.04:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- for Linux distributions based on Ubuntu 12.10 (like Linux Mint 14):</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>echo "deb https://download.01.org/gfx/ubuntu/12.10/main Ubuntu 12.10 #Intel Graphics drivers" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/intellinuxgraphics.list</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- for Linux distributions based on Ubuntu 13.04 (like Linux Mint 15):</b></div><pre class="linux-code"><code>echo "deb https://download.01.org/gfx/ubuntu/13.04/main Ubuntu 13.04 #Intel Graphics drivers" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/intellinuxgraphics.list</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Then, for any of the above</b>, add the repository GPG key and update the software sources using the following commands:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>wget --no-check-certificate https://download.01.org/gfx/RPM-GPG-KEY-ilg -O - | sudo apt-key add -<br />wget --no-check-certificate https://download.01.org/gfx/RPM-GPG-KEY-ilg-2 -O - | sudo apt-key add -<br />sudo apt-get update</code></pre><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And finally, use your distro's update tool to upgrade the packages or alternatively, run "sudo apt-get dist-upgrade" (but make sure this command doesn't try to remove any packages and if for some reason it does, abort and disable the repository).</div>

How To Use The Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Repository In Ubuntu-Based Linux Distributions (Linux Mint, Etc.)

The Intel Linux Graphics Installer only supports Ubuntu 13.04* and 12.10 (and Fedora), and even though the drivers should work on other Ub...

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Intel Linux Graphics Installer Fixed For Ubuntu 64bit

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Quick update: the packages available in the repository used by the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/03/intel-releases-linux-graphics-drivers.html">Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer</a> seem to have been fixed for 64bit.</b></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9qDTy5UwCiVNWvbYryNUCR5qYBmE4dd1_fKlS9U1cH7rqjCX6BkFdyvNSOYzdm_aX0hp3NjmcBGzsd4xNUXGvcIaxg4_jn7o53YkEPsh4uYIOdM8k97KHynFX1qwN5v_t1GJ-EOSdf8p/s1600/intel-driver-update-utility.png" imageanchor="1" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU9qDTy5UwCiVNWvbYryNUCR5qYBmE4dd1_fKlS9U1cH7rqjCX6BkFdyvNSOYzdm_aX0hp3NjmcBGzsd4xNUXGvcIaxg4_jn7o53YkEPsh4uYIOdM8k97KHynFX1qwN5v_t1GJ-EOSdf8p/s320/intel-driver-update-utility.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">About a month ago, Intel released a tool that allows Linux users to easily upgrade to the latest Intel graphics drivers. The tool comes with a repository used for the driver updates and it's <b>available for Ubuntu (12.10 and 12.04) and Fedora (17 and 18)</b>. The repository had some multi-arch issues on Ubuntu 64bit, but they seem to have been fixed, at least according to my test.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I've tested the drivers on my laptop, under Ubuntu 12.10 64bit which previously had some multi-arch issues (which some of you have encountered as well), and the bug seems to have been fixed. I've also tested the repository in VirtualBox, under Ubuntu 12.04 64bit, however since I couldn't reproduce the multi-arch issue in 12.04 before, I'm not sure if it was fixed for Ubuntu 12.04, so use this with care and check to see if it's trying to remove any packages when upgrading. Since I can only test it on one real machine, <b>make sure you know what you're doing when using this tool.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_1.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer" src="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_1_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_2.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer" src="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_2_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_3.png" rel="image_group"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer" src="http://img.netupd8.com/intel-driver-update-utility_3_thumb.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer uses a repository so after installing the package, you can use apt-get, the Ubuntu Software Updater or Synaptic Package Manager to upgrade the drivers, which you might find more reliable for now, instead of the actual Intel Installer,  (e.g.: so you can make sure the multi-arch bug has been fixed and no packages are removed when upgrading the drivers).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ubuntu 13.04 already has the latest drivers so there's no need for this tool / repository for now.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">Download Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></b></div><br />The installer doesn't work on Ubuntu-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint or elementary OS, but you can still use it on such Linux distributions - see: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">How To Use The Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Repository In Ubuntu-Based Linux Distributions (Linux Mint, Etc.)</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Note: Intel Linux Graphics Installer doesn't automatically add the repository key but there are instructions on how to add it under Ubuntu and Fedora on the downloads page.</i></div>

Intel Linux Graphics Installer Fixed For Ubuntu 64bit

Quick update: the packages available in the repository used by the Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Installer seem to have been fixed for 64bit...

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Intel Releases Linux Graphics Drivers Installer

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisugadhCuzuCWqNWzO26sDla5idHkUQ2zL19GRz_s_fSmQgW19raAeA8fSily166Md2tVxJ2EWKiQ-KDTuC9D-MIkxuxKKqFHa3V9HepdwpF8nb1jQVSiO0gerer1f-LrPpigyVY9aosvx/s1600/intel-open-source.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Open Source Technology Center" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisugadhCuzuCWqNWzO26sDla5idHkUQ2zL19GRz_s_fSmQgW19raAeA8fSily166Md2tVxJ2EWKiQ-KDTuC9D-MIkxuxKKqFHa3V9HepdwpF8nb1jQVSiO0gerer1f-LrPpigyVY9aosvx/s1600/intel-open-source.png" title="Intel Open Source Technology Center" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Intel has <a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">released</a> a tool that allows Linux users to easily install the latest graphics drivers to ensure the best user experience with Intel graphics hardware.</b></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">The first public Intel Linux Graphics Installer release has been made available for download a few days ago and it currently supports Ubuntu (12.04 and 12.10 for now) and Fedora (17 and 18). By looking at the package changelog, it seems this has been under internal testing since October, 2012.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><s>In my test, I was unable to use the Intel Linux Graphics Installer tool to upgrade the Intel graphics drivers under Ubuntu 12.10 64bit due to some <b>issues with multiarch dependencies</b> and it seems this affects <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/Ubuntu/comments/19ye57/intel_linux_graphics_installer/">other users</a> too (this shouldn't occur on 32bit, however, I was unable to test in on 32bit since this doesn't work in VirtualBox). Hopefully, this will be fixed soon. Unfortunately, this means <b>I can't fully test the Intel Linux Graphics Installer for now</b> so I can't tell you if everything works properly after the driver upgrade so, <b>especially if you're on 64bit, you should wait and not install this yet.</b> <b>I'll post a new article when this is fixed</b></s> <b>Update:</b> these issues seem fixed now and after an update, everything works as expected on my Ubuntu 12.10 64bit machine. Still, use this with care (quote from the installer download page):</div><br /><blockquote>Attempting to "force" package upgrades may break your OS installation, requiring a re-install or other time-intensive remedies (requiring a high level of expertise). Do not forcibly upgrade packages!</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to use Intel's new <b>Linux Graphics Installer</b>, download and install the deb or rpm package for your Ubuntu or Fedora version and architecture, then launch it from the menu / Dash or via command line ("intel-linux-graphics-installer") and use it to upgrade your Intel graphics drivers:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8-1PXc2ap-Xo8M2IYgnlKR84INLo1H6D4nXYMQbpP2NLduLlJSiBL9w_9blw4tMoj_m9DANyMlBnjtk4A9UTL0-F5owTN3cW91seOD97Z2yTKocsrBMlPcyseSu3g3-LlDNY8YkuYlD7/s1600/intel-driver-update-utility.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8-1PXc2ap-Xo8M2IYgnlKR84INLo1H6D4nXYMQbpP2NLduLlJSiBL9w_9blw4tMoj_m9DANyMlBnjtk4A9UTL0-F5owTN3cW91seOD97Z2yTKocsrBMlPcyseSu3g3-LlDNY8YkuYlD7/s320/intel-driver-update-utility.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQWiv8uFzGMT-EkmKOE3QZEAyoW_QUK8sB7vWmsASjFXLZbiZAkB0o7_cHfHCnWrOv7kM8Xtvt6Qq8OQT0aLpxTRH7xzlWkymRz2_Nw7drGvxLqEjmpetSde_RWdaNW2aVKwQTTr0Lna4/s1600/intel-driver-update-utility_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQWiv8uFzGMT-EkmKOE3QZEAyoW_QUK8sB7vWmsASjFXLZbiZAkB0o7_cHfHCnWrOv7kM8Xtvt6Qq8OQT0aLpxTRH7xzlWkymRz2_Nw7drGvxLqEjmpetSde_RWdaNW2aVKwQTTr0Lna4/s320/intel-driver-update-utility_2.png" title="Intel Linux Graphics Installer" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The tool will automatically add a repository</b> which will be used to install the drivers and will allow you to automatically receive future updates.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Intel Linux Graphics Installer doesn't automatically add the repository key but there are instructions on how to add it under Ubuntu and Fedora on the downloads page.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://01.org/linuxgraphics/downloads/2013/intelr-linux-graphics-installer-version-1.0.1">Intel Linux Graphics Installer</a></div><br />The installer doesn't work on Ubuntu-based Linux distributions such as Linux Mint or elementary OS, but you can still use it on such Linux distributions - see: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-use-intel-linux-graphics-drivers.html">How To Use The Intel Linux Graphics Drivers Repository In Ubuntu-Based Linux Distributions (Linux Mint, Etc.)</a>.<br />

Intel Releases Linux Graphics Drivers Installer

Intel has released a tool that allows Linux users to easily install the latest graphics drivers to ensure the best user experience with Int...

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Install MPlayer With VA-API (Hardware Acceleration For Intel / AMD GPUs) Support In Ubuntu

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>VA-API is an open source library/API which enables hardware accelerated video processing. It uses the GPU to accelerate video processing in order to offload the CPU.</b><br /><br />Supported hardware includes <b>Intel HD Graphics and G45 chipsets and newer</b> as well as <b>AMD Radeon GPUs</b> (there's also a Nvidia VDPAU backend for VA-API). <b>You can find a list of supported hardware, drivers and video codecs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Acceleration_API#Supported_hardware_and_drivers" rel="nofollow">HERE</a></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's an example: on my laptop (Ubuntu), the CPU usage is around 40-50% when watching an 1080p H.264 video using MPlayer without VA-API and around 2-5% when watching the same 1080p video using MPlayer with VA-API. You can see some screenshots below:</div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/mplayer-novaapi.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="CPU usage: MPlayer without VA-API"><img alt="mplayer without vaapi" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/mplayer-novaapi_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CPU usage: MPlayer without VA-API</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/mplayer-vaapi.png" rel="image_group" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="CPU usage: MPlayer with VA-API (on an Intel GPU)"><img alt="mplayer vaapi" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/mplayer-vaapi_thumb.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CPU usage: MPlayer with VA-API</td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><br /><h2>Install Intel / AMD VA-API drivers in Ubuntu</h2><br />Before installing MPlayer with VA-API support, <b>install the VA-API drivers:</b><br /><br /><b>- for Intel GPUs (for Intel HD Graphics as well as G45 and later):</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install i965-va-driver</code></pre><br /><b>- for AMD Radeon GPUs (you also need the proprietary drivers!):</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install xvba-va-driver</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Intel VA-API driver is available in the official Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin (and newer) repositories. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Nvidia users: MPlayer supports VDPAU by default so everything you need for hardware accelerated video decoding is already in the repositories. See <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2010/10/use-mplayer-with-vaapi-support-hardware.html">THIS</a> old post for more info (unless something has changed, but I can't test it since I have Nvidia Optimus and Bumblebee doesn't support VDPAU). You can also use the "vdpau-va-driver" driver which is a VDPAU-based backend for VA-API and follow use the instructions below to install Mplayer with VA-API.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><h2>Install MPlayer with VA-API support in Ubuntu</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">By default, the MPlayer version available in the official Ubuntu repositories doesn't support VA-API, but you can use a PPA which provides custom MPlayer builds with VA-API support.</div><br /><b>To install MPlayer with VA-API support in Ubuntu 13.10, 13.04, 12.10, 12.04 or 11.10, use the following commands:</b><br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sander-vangrieken/vaapi<br />sudo apt-get update<br />sudo apt-get install mplayer-vaapi</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Once installed, open SMPlayer (or whatever MPlayer GUI you're using: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/install-gnome-mplayer-107-in-ubuntu-1210.html">Gnome Mplayer</a>, KMPlayer, etc.) and in its Preferences, on the Video tab (in SMPlayer: <i>General Video > Output driver</i>) <b>set the video output driver to "vaapi"</b>:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/smplayer-vaapi.png" rel="image_group" title="SMPlayer VA API video output settings"><img alt="SMPlayer vaapi" src="http://netupd8.com/w8img2/smplayer-vaapi_thumb.png" /></a></div><br />That's it!<br /><br /><br /><b>Other Linux distributions:</b><br /><ul><li>Arch Linux users can install MPlayer with VA-API support from the <a href="https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/i686/mplayer-vaapi/">community repository</a>.</li><li>The mplayer-vaapi source can be downloaded via <a href="http://gitorious.org/vaapi/mplayer">gitorious.org</a></li></ul><br /><b>Note: I've tested this on an Intel GPU only!</b><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>via <a href="http://help.ubuntu.ru/wiki/%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%BA%D0%B0_hd_%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE">Ubuntu.ru wiki</a></i></div>

Install MPlayer With VA-API (Hardware Acceleration For Intel / AMD GPUs) Support In Ubuntu

VA-API is an open source library/API which enables hardware accelerated video processing. It uses the GPU to accelerate video processing in ...

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How To Enable Intel SNA Acceleration In Ubuntu

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>SNA</b> is a 2D acceleration architecture for the open source Intel Linux graphics driver that provides improved X.Org driver performance, and thus, better desktop user experience. The name stands for "Sandy Bridge New Acceleration" and contrary to its name, it not just for Sandy Bridge but for previous Intel graphics generations as well.<br /><br /><b>Here's how to enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.04 or 12.10.</b></div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the x.org wiki (<a href="http://www.x.org/wiki/IntelGraphicsDriver">link</a>; <a href="http://bit.ly/RgEm7e">cached copy</a> since the page seems down right now), SNA should work with i830-i865G and newer Intel chipsets.</div><br />You can see some old UXA (used by default) vs SNA benchmarks at <a href="http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=intel_glamor_first&num=1">Phoronix</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OrQC2nv7y9lkSRfNlWXP_bWHQbKJ6SsqqW5oqaFdeyksBfpOlz4DdThDEm_N3pqYSmYeYrtoPdxBZmYIqz79UdABfJh0Eojq0-yVxT_VWw2G8NMxGv_Otmt2bunsoMrvFSH6uIv92xx/s1600/intel-sna.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="intel sna ubuntu" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht4OrQC2nv7y9lkSRfNlWXP_bWHQbKJ6SsqqW5oqaFdeyksBfpOlz4DdThDEm_N3pqYSmYeYrtoPdxBZmYIqz79UdABfJh0Eojq0-yVxT_VWw2G8NMxGv_Otmt2bunsoMrvFSH6uIv92xx/s320/intel-sna.png" title="intel sna ubuntu" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.10</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Intel SNA is available in Ubuntu 12.10 without installing any extra packages, but it's not enabled by default. </b></div><br />To enable SNA, you need to create a /etc/X11/xorg.conf file:<br /><pre class="linux-code"><code>gksu gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code></pre><br />And paste the following:<br /><br /><pre class="source-code"><code>Section "Device"<br /> Identifier "intel"<br /> Driver "intel"<br /> Option "AccelMethod" "sna"<br />EndSection</code></pre><br />Then save the file, log out and log back in.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In my test (using an Intel HD 3000 GPU), there were some artefacts when using Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.10, which don't occur after adding the Xorg Edgers PPA so if that's the case for you too, follow the steps under the alternative method below.</div><br />Or, if you just want to revert the changes, remove the xorg.conf file:<br /><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo rm /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code></pre><br />Then log out and log back in.<br /><br /><br /><h2>Enable Intel SNA in Ubuntu 12.04 (alternative method for Ubuntu 12.10)</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>For Ubuntu 12.04</b> (<b>or for Ubuntu 12.10</b>, if the method above doesn't work properly for you), you can use the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa">Xorg Edgers PPA</a> which has packages with <b>SNA enabled by default for Intel.</b></div><b><br /></b> <br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Warning:</b> <i>this PPA uses Xorg packages from GIT and while I didn't encounter any issues (I've used it for Ubuntu 12.04 and I'm using it now in Ubuntu 12.10), things may break. Use it at your own risk!</i></div><br />Add the <a href="https://launchpad.net/~xorg-edgers/+archive/ppa">Xorg Edgers PPA</a> using the following command:<br /><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa</code></pre><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Then launch the Update Manager (now called Software Updater in Ubuntu 12.10) and update your system. Once the update finishes, log out and log back in (though a restart is probably better since this PPA upgrades many system packages).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to revert the changes and go back to the drivers available in the official Ubuntu repositories, firstly <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/11/install-ppa-purge-with-multi-arch.html">install ppa-purge with multi-arch support</a>, then run the following command:</div><pre class="source-code"><code>sudo ppa-purge ppa:xorg-edgers/ppa</code></pre><br />

How To Enable Intel SNA Acceleration In Ubuntu

SNA is a 2D acceleration architecture for the open source Intel Linux graphics driver that provides improved X.Org driver performance, and ...

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