Server specifications for Intel Quick Sync acceleration with Wowza Streaming Engine transcoding

The Transcoder in Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software supports Intel Quick Sync accelerated video decoding and encoding. This article describes the basic specifications for workstation and server-level computers that support Intel Quick Sync Video.

Notes:
  • Wowza Streaming Engine 4.0.4 or later is required.
  • With Wowza Streaming Engine 4.8.0 or later, hardware-accelerated HEVC/H.265 encoding is supported for Intel Quick Sync.
  • Intel Quick Sync supports B-frame encoding but not configuration.

Windows-based server specifications


The following processor models are supported:
 
  • Second-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel HD Graphics 3000/2000 or later
     
  • Third-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel HD Graphics 2500/4000
     
  • Fourth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel HD Graphics 4400/4600
     
  • Fifth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200
     
  • Sixth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel HD Graphics 510/530 or Intel Iris Pro 580
     
  • Seventh-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel HD Graphics 615/620
     
    Note: VP8/VP9 video encoding is not supported with Wowza Streaming Engine and Intel HD Graphics 615/620. If these codecs are specified for use with Transcoder, the default software encoder will be used.
Important:
  • To get Intel HD 3xxx/4xxx drivers to install properly on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (x64), you may need to install the following features using the Add Features Wizard in Server Manager:
    • .NET Framework 3.5.1
    • Desktop Experience
  • On newer Windows operating systems, Intel Quick Sync acceleration may not be available when running Wowza Streaming Engine as a system service due to a security measure called Session 0 Isolation. To learn how to work around this issue, see Enable hardware-accelerated transcoding when running Wowza Streaming Engine as a Windows service.

Linux-based server specifications


The following processor models are supported:
 
  • Intel Xeon Processor E3-1285 v3 and E3-1285L v3 (Intel C226 Chipset) with Intel HD Graphics P4700
     
  • Fourth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Pro Graphics, Intel Iris Graphics or Intel HD Graphics 4200+ Series
     
  • Fifth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200+ Series
     
  • Sixth-generation Intel Core Processors with Intel Iris Pro Graphics or Intel HD Graphics 510/530
Notes:
 
  • Intel Xeon processors are only supported with the chipsets listed. Intel Xeon configurations with other chipsets are not supported. Previous generations of Intel Core processors are not supported. Intel Celeron and Intel Atom processors are also not supported.
     
  • For instructions on how to configure Transcoder to take advantage of the Intel Quick Sync hardware acceleration on Linux 64-bit operating system distributions, see Configure Quick Sync-accelerated encoding for Wowza Streaming Engine on Linux.