AMD RDNA2 gets AV1 decoding, Sienna Cichlid IDs listed
AMD has submitted a Linux kernel patch with AV1 codec registers. This should confirm that the upcoming RDNA2 architecture will support AV1 decoding on the desktop Radeon series (RX and Pro). Both Navi 21 (Sienna Cichlid) and Navi 22 (Navy Flounder) will feature Video Core Next 3.0 implementation.
The AV1 decoding support is becoming a standard. Intel’s Tiger Lake series featuring Xe-LP architecture already supports AV1 decoding. The just-announced NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series will also have full AV1 acceleration through a built-in hardware decoder.
Microsoft is adding AV1 Video Extension which should boost AV1 performance in Windows 10 at a higher resolution. Google also updated its Chrome web browser on Windows 10 to support AV1 hardware decoding.
The AV1 is a new, open, royalty-free video encoding format with up to 50% more bitrate efficiency over H264, designed to be a successor to Google’s VP9 and competitor of H265 (HEVC). The AV1 should be 30% more efficient than VP9 and HEVC.
AMD Linux patches adding AV1 registers, Source: Freedesktop
Sienna Cichlid Device IDs listed
The Big Navi aka Navi 21 also sees its first IDs being added to the kernel. The IDs are similar to what @_rogame has posted two weeks ago. It is still unclear if there are any differences between Sienna Cichlid and Navi 21 (aka Raden RX 6000). The former has been seen with variables referring to HBm2 technology but it has been relatively quiet on this topic ever since. The Radeon RX 6000 series are expected to fully utilize GDDR6 memory technology.
AMD is set to announce its Radeon RX 6000 series on October 28th.
Sienna Cichlid Device IDs, Source: Freedesktop
Source: Freedesktop #1, #2 via Reddit, @_rogame
