Why it issues: A current unannounced improve lets content material creators and videophiles utilizing Nvidia graphics playing cards encode extra simultaneous streams. The function doubtless got here with a video driver replace, affecting most shopper GPUs from the final a number of years. However, skilled playing cards nonetheless have the benefit concerning decoding.
Nvidia quietly softened the bounds on simultaneous video encoding streams for its shopper graphics playing cards. The change ought to give streamers and others working with video extra flexibility with no need a workstation or knowledge middle GPU.
The new parameters, doubtless requiring the newest Nvidia Game Ready or Studio drivers, improve the variety of potential simultaneous NVENC streams from three to 5 in GeForce graphics playing cards. The patch applies to all desktop and laptop computer fashions since Maxwell, together with the GTX 745, 750Ti, and all the 900 collection. However, some fashions within the affected teams have no encoding functionality, just like the GTX 940MX or MX130.
Nvidia did not announce the change, however evaluating the present encoding assist web page with an archived model from March 18 reveals it occurred someday this week. It’s most likely an unlisted addition included in driver model 531.41.
The elevated bandwidth is only one new issue serving to content material creators and videophiles with shopper GPUs work extra effectively. Another is the emergence of the AV1 codec, which checks present encodes quicker than the favored H.264. Last 12 months’s Intel Arc Alchemist, AMD Radeon RX 7000, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 collection have been the primary graphics playing cards to assist hardware-based AV1 encoding.
However, customers making an attempt to encode greater than 5 simultaneous streams on Team Green’s {hardware} will nonetheless want skilled or server-class GPUs just like the Quadro, RTX 6000, or L40. As earlier than, most of these playing cards haven’t any restrictions on the variety of concurrent NVENC streams aside from what their {hardware} can deal with. Unlike the GeForce fashions, the skilled playing cards beforehand restricted to 3 streams stay unchanged
A 3rd-party hack to take away shopper GPUs’ software program restriction has been obtainable since 2021, and the builders proceed to assist the newest drivers. However, unofficial workarounds at all times carry dangers, and it is inconceivable to inform how lengthy modders will be capable of preserve updates.
