Merge pull request #358 from JordyUSA/vaapi-h264-decode

HW5: Linux VA-API hardware decoding for H.264 and HEVC (Main / Main 10)

ROADMAP.md

@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ before choosing work.
 | **Correctness in depth** | not tracked | **~60–70%** | A first-time contributor found four real bugs in core paths within hours (#5–#8: AIFF import failed, Slide left linked audio behind, transitions didn't follow ripple trims, export ignored start/end times). User reports: Color Matte always grey with no picker (#29); ALSA audio error on Linux (#23). Settings are "most wired", not all. |
 | **Codecs and media** | ~90% | **~75%** | Our decoders are bit-exact on conformance streams. Real camera and phone media (variable frame rate, damaged files, unusual containers) is far less tested. No camera RAW (RED, BRAW, ARRIRAW), no E-AC-3. |
 | **Export** | ~92% | **~70%** | Delivery: H.264 only (ProRes, DNxHR and image sequences cover mastering). No HEVC or AV1 export. AAF and OMF have never been validated in Avid Media Composer or Pro Tools. Export renders and encodes on the CPU only. |
-| **Performance and hardware** | ~62% | **~35–40%** | Premiere runs effects, decoding and encoding on the GPU and the hardware media engines. Here, hardware decode works on macOS (VideoToolbox, #33; active in the desktop app only since #41, so releases up to 0.2.1 decoded in software) and Windows (Media Foundation / Direct3D 11 DXVA, H.264, HEVC Main / Main 10, VP9 and AV1 4:2:0 8/10-bit, #30). The GPU does compositing, blend modes (#32) and 31 common effects (GPU2): colour adjustments, crop/flip/transform, blurs, sharpen. Lumetri, keys, masks, the remaining effects and export rendering are CPU; H.264 encoding can use VideoToolbox on macOS (opt-in per export, no B-frames) and NVENC on Windows with an NVIDIA GPU (opt-in per export), and H.265 (HEVC) export exists there only, through the same hardware encoder. Linux has no hardware path. 8K isn't real-time (AV1 is on Windows with a hardware decoder). The effect list shows Premiere's "GPU accelerated" badge, but only 31 effect ids run on the GPU here; the rest, Lumetri included, run on the CPU. |
+| **Performance and hardware** | ~62% | **~35–40%** | Premiere runs effects, decoding and encoding on the GPU and the hardware media engines. Here, hardware decode works on macOS (VideoToolbox, #33; active in the desktop app only since #41, so releases up to 0.2.1 decoded in software) and Windows (Media Foundation / Direct3D 11 DXVA, H.264, HEVC Main / Main 10, VP9 and AV1 4:2:0 8/10-bit, #30), and for H.264 and HEVC on Linux (VA-API: 4K H.264 at 11 ms of CPU per frame instead of 417 ms, 4K HEVC at 10 ms instead of 203 ms). The GPU does compositing, blend modes (#32) and 31 common effects (GPU2): colour adjustments, crop/flip/transform, blurs, sharpen. Lumetri, keys, masks, the remaining effects and export rendering are CPU; H.264 encoding can use VideoToolbox on macOS (opt-in per export, no B-frames) and NVENC on Windows with an NVIDIA GPU (opt-in per export), and H.265 (HEVC) export exists there only, through the same hardware encoder. Linux decodes H.264 and HEVC in hardware (VP9 and AV1 there are software) and has no hardware encoder. 8K isn't real-time (AV1 is on Windows with a hardware decoder). The effect list shows Premiere's "GPU accelerated" badge, but only 31 effect ids run on the GPU here; the rest, Lumetri included, run on the CPU. |
 | **Stability** | not tracked | **improving, unproven** | The never-crash pass (no panics in product code, last-resort guards) landed on 2026-10-04. There's no field record from real users' projects yet. |
 | **Plugins and pro ecosystem** | not tracked | **~0–10%** | No audio plugin hosting (VST3 / Audio Units) and no third-party video effects (OpenFX). For many professional editors this alone rules FilmCraft out. Team Projects and Productions are out of scope by design. |
 | **AI features** | partial | **~25–35%** | Speech to text exists but is off in default builds (the `whisper` feature). Enhance Speech is a DSP chain, not a model. Auto Reframe is approximate. No Generative Extend, and no media-intelligence search or auto colour. |
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ before choosing work.
 In priority order. Agents should prefer this work over adding more checklist items.
 
 1. **Hardware acceleration** (#30), the most visible gap to users:
-   - hardware decode on Linux (VA-API);
+   - hardware decode on Linux (VA-API): H.264 and HEVC are in; VP9 and AV1 remain;
    - zero-copy decoded frames into wgpu;
    - the remaining effects on the GPU: Lumetri, keys, Vignette, Video Limiter, masks (31 common effects are done);
    - GPU export, then hardware encode: H.264 and H.265 on macOS are in (H.264 opt-in; H.265 has no other encoder), H.264 on NVENC (Windows, opt-in); HEVC on Windows and Linux remain.
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ matched against `filmcraft-cli commands` and the UI command table. Effects: the
 | Graphics and captions | 8% | text engine, shapes, per-character styles, our own graphics templates (.fcgt, 8 built-ins, export/install/edit), rolls/crawls, responsive pins + time, captions SRT/VTT/SCC/MCC/STL/TTML/DFXP, transcripts | ~85% |
 | Export | 8% | own H.264/AAC, ProRes, DNxHR, MXF OP1a/OP-Atom, image sequences, GIF, WAV, 5.1; preset library + user presets, full Export-mode settings, queue, Quick Export; AAF (Edit Protocol) import/export, OMF 2.0 export; no AAF/OMF validation against Avid/Pro Tools yet | ~92% |
 | Preferences and project management | 5% | Settings dialog with 16 categories (most settings wired), project settings, scratch disks, search bins, templates | ~80% |
-| Performance | 5% | 1080p real-time, 3×1080p; 4K H.264 real-time at load ≤140 (−23% decoder cycles, opt-in draft decoding at 1/2–1/4); HEVC 2.5× cheaper, catch-up decoding, `cargo xtask bench` + `perf.stats`; blend modes on the GPU (#32); 8K and AV1 not yet real-time on a loaded machine; no hardware path on Linux, and on Windows only decode and opt-in NVENC H.264 export (see the honest assessment: ~35–40% against Premiere) | ~62% |
+| Performance | 5% | 1080p real-time, 3×1080p; 4K H.264 real-time at load ≤140 (−23% decoder cycles, opt-in draft decoding at 1/2–1/4); HEVC 2.5× cheaper, catch-up decoding, `cargo xtask bench` + `perf.stats`; blend modes on the GPU (#32); 8K and AV1 not yet real-time on a loaded machine; H.264 and HEVC decode in hardware on Linux (VA-API), and on Windows only decode and opt-in NVENC H.264 export (see the honest assessment: ~35–40% against Premiere) | ~62% |
 | **Weighted total** | | | **~87%** |
 
 ## Estimate to parity
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ Status: ✅ done · 🟡 in progress · ⬜ not started. Estimates are remaining
 
 ## Running now
 
-- **Hardware acceleration (#30):** landed: blend modes on the GPU (#32); VideoToolbox hardware decode + the `platform` FFI crate (#33); 31 common effects on the GPU (GPU2). Windows: Media Foundation / Direct3D 11 H.264 + HEVC decode (HW2) and VP9 + AV1 (HW3), NVENC H.264 export (HW4, opt-in). Next: VA-API (Linux) decode, zero-copy upload, Lumetri on the GPU.
+- **Hardware acceleration (#30):** landed: blend modes on the GPU (#32); VideoToolbox hardware decode + the `platform` FFI crate (#33); 31 common effects on the GPU (GPU2). Windows: Media Foundation / Direct3D 11 H.264 + HEVC decode (HW2) and VP9 + AV1 (HW3), NVENC H.264 export (HW4, opt-in). Linux: VA-API H.264 + HEVC decode (HW5). Next: VA-API VP9 / AV1, zero-copy upload, Lumetri on the GPU.
 - **Next:** [Where we are lacking](#where-we-are-lacking) items 1–5. GPU export waits for the export-crate work (#19 and the never-crash follow-up) to land.
 
 ## Log