What is DXVA?
DXVA stands for DirectX Video Acceleration, a standard defined by Microsoft to allow video decoders to access the video acceleration capabilities of the graphics hardware in the system. All display drivers that pass Microsoft’s WHQL testing support this standard. Video Mixing • What is the difference between hardware overlay and video mixing? Hardware overlay uses special, dedicated video hardware to display a video image, such as a DVD. The Video Mixing Renderer (VMR), however, uses the 3D graphics hardware to render the video to the screen. Hardware overlay is a limited resource, typically allowing use on only a single display. If running on multiple displays, then VMR should be used to avoid this limitation.
DXVA (DirectX VA) is the new Microsoft standard API for accelerating video rendering under DirectShow. Some display adapters provide hardware that can accelerate MPEG2 video playback either through Motion Compensation or through advanced iDCT (inverse discrete cosine transforms) for better video playback performance. Prior to DXVA, each display adapter company had their own unique and proprietary interface for accessing these hardware capabilities to the decoder. DXVA now eliminates the need for these proprietary interfaces. DXVA is the new API that connects the video decoder to the display driver and is only available under DirectShow. DVD players and video decoders that do not use DirectShow by default cannot take advantage of DXVA. DXVA debuted with DirectX version 8.0 and is required by WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Labs) on Windows XP. The CineMaster DS video decoder is completely 100% DXVA compliant and is certified by Microsoft’s WHQL. VMR9 Stands for “Video Mixing Renderer 9.”
