Intel Quick Sync Video Technology — Nearly a Decade of Performance and Partnership for Creators
Author: Ryan Shrout, Chief Performance Strategist at Intel
Today Adobe releases Premiere Pro* 14.2 and with it marks nearly a decade of engineering collaboration between Adobe and Intel to ensure Adobe’s video tools run great on Intel technology. Intel® Quick Sync Video (QSV) debuted in January 2011, and in cooperation with Adobe, we were able to optimize Premiere Pro video transcoding operations. Over the years we have seen progress in our hardware capability, providing steady gains in performance on Adobe software along the way.
Unlike other accelerated solutions, Intel QSV offers great performance for both video encode and decode across an array of systems and price points — mobile to desktop.
- Available as a built-in feature for nearly all Intel consumer processors
- Amazing performance at low power envelopes
- An array of formats supported — AVC*, H.265*, 8/10 bit, etc.
Since its introduction in 2011, Intel Quick Sync Video has improved through many generations to enhance media experiences with longer battery life, premium content playback, clearer video chat and video conferencing, smooth wireless display, faster and higher quality transcode, and more.
To find the best performance Intel delivers utilizing QSV today, buyers should look for the latest 10th Gen Core (codenamed ‘Ice Lake’) platforms with Intel Iris Plus Graphics. (Look for the ‘G5’ and ‘G7’ monikers at the end of the CPU model name!) Intel measured approximately 2x encode performance improvement with higher quality on transcoding applications like Handbrake, comparing 9th Gen mobile platforms to 10th Gen ‘Ice Lake’.
Engineering and partnership with Adobe on these software tools isn’t new, but capability and performance in mobile systems where power and thermals are restricted has taken a significant leap, generation to generation.
Source Video -> Destination Video. Configuration details below.
Another key advantage of Intel QSV is the ability to use multiple graphics capabilities in your system. In Premiere Pro, creators can utilize QSV for video decode while still having the option for a discrete graphics card for other video effects.
Intel continues to work with Adobe to support emerging video technologies with innovative new hardware capabilities. The video production workflow is incredibly complex with multiple elements, and it is important to have a broad view of performance when comparing systems. Other key factors are memory and I/O. Intel® Thunderbolt™ technology and Optane™ are good examples of Intel innovation helping creators work with their video assets faster and with less complexity.
At Intel, we place great value on our partnership with Adobe and users can expect a continued cadence of optimization and performance improvements, making creative work faster for professionals and more accessible to consumers.
Notices & Disclaimers
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Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors.
Performance tests, such as SYSmark and MobileMark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. You should consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combined with other products.
For more complete information visit www.intel.com/benchmarks
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Approximately 2x encode performance testing:
1. Based on 4k HEVC to 4k HEVC transcode (8bit). Intel preproduction system, ICL 15W compared to WHL 15W.
2. Measured by Intel as of April 2019.
Gen9 and Gen11 performance testing:
1. Dell XPS 13 2-in-1: Processor: 10th Gen Intel Core i7–1065G7, Intel Gen11 Graphics, 6.20.100.7463 driver, Memory: 16GB LPDDR4X-3733, Storage: Toshiba KBG40ZPZ512G 512GB, OS: Windows 10.0.18363.778, Bios: 1.3.1.
2. ASUS UX450FD: 8th Gen Intel Core i7–8565U, Intel Gen9 Graphics, 26.21.14.4587 driver, Memory: 16GB DDR4–2400, Storage: Intel SSD530 480GB, OS: Windows 10.0.18363.815, Bios: UX450FD.304.
3. Adobe Premiere Beta 14.2.
4. Measured by Intel as of May 2020.
