Difference between revisions of "AMD Video Acceleration"

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(update code and docs to version 3)
 
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AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit Graphics Processing Units]) are the preferred high-performance graphics processors for Linux systems, as they offer extremely fast 2D/3D graphics rendering and open-source drivers. [http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/fusion/Pages/fusion.aspx AMD's new Fusion APUs] (Advanced Processing Units) are particularly advantageous for ubermix deployments in schools, as they combine the main processor and graphics processor in one low power chip, reducing power requirements and increasing battery life in low-cost netbooks, like the Hewlett-Packard [http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/series/category/notebooks/dm1z_series/3/computer_store dm1z] and it's business/education sister, the [http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/321957-321957-64295-3740644-3955548-5171136.html 3115m].
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AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit Graphics Processing Units]) are the preferred high-performance graphics processors for Linux systems, as they offer extremely fast 2D/3D graphics rendering and open-source drivers. [http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/fusion/Pages/fusion.aspx AMD's new Fusion APUs] (Advanced Processing Units) are particularly advantageous for ubermix deployments in schools, as they combine the main processor and graphics processor in one low power chip, reducing power requirements and increasing battery life in low-cost netbooks.
  
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While the default driver in ubermix offers excellent performance, to get the most from an ATI/AMD GPU, such as additional configuration options and to enable [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Acceleration_API video acceleration] (including 1080p video playback on low-power Fusion APUs), some additional drivers and software are required. Ordinarily, such configuration can be quite complicated, but with ubermix, it's been made easy. To apply these drivers and updates to ubermix, follow these steps:
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While the default driver in ubermix offers excellent performance, to get the most from an ATI/AMD GPU, such as additional configuration options and to enable [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Acceleration_API video acceleration] (including 1080p video playback on low-power Fusion APUs), some additional drivers and software are required. Follow these steps:
  
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# On your ubermix system, use Firefox to [https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B52M_cKAX2ARYzcyZGQ0YzgtMzE1OC00N2ExLWFiNTMtZjgxYzI0YTQyYjBh download amd-vaapi-ubermix3.tar.gz] from the [http://ubermix.org/files.html ubermix files page]. When Firefox asks you what to do with the file, choose "Open with Archive Manager". The file is fairly large, so it could take a little time to download on a slow link.
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# First, reboot your system in generic mode, as described under "Rebuilding the base image" on the [http://ubermix.org/customization.html ubermix customization page].
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# Use Firefox to download amd-driver-install-12.10X.tgz from the [http://ubermix.org/files.html ubermix download files page]. When Firefox asks you what to do with the file, choose "Open with Archive Manager". The file is fairly large, so it could take a little time to download on a slow link.
 
# When the archive manager loads, click on the "Extract" button, then click on "Extract" again to save the file in your home folder. Close the archive manager when complete.
 
# When the archive manager loads, click on the "Extract" button, then click on "Extract" again to save the file in your home folder. Close the archive manager when complete.
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# Open your home folder using the launcher (press the "Windows" of 'Home" key on your keyboard to return to the launcher), then locate and open the "amd-vaapi" folder.
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# Open your home folder using the launcher (press the "Windows" of 'Home" key on your keyboard to return to the launcher), then locate and open the "amd-driver-install" folder.
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# Double-click on the "setup.sh" file, and click on the "Run in Terminal" button when prompted.
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# Double-click on the "install-amd-driver.sh" file, and click on the "Run in Terminal" button when prompted.
  
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After performing the above steps, you will be led through the installation process. This process will lead you through three steps:
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After performing the above steps, you will be led through the installation process.
  
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# The first step installs the AMD/ATI proprietary video driver. This step is required to proceed to the immediately following (optional) steps.
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After restart some AMD cards will show an "Unsupported Hardware" watermark on the bottom right side of the screen.
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# Next, the installer will prompt you to install the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Acceleration_API Video Acceleration API (VAAPI)]. This will offload video processing to the GPU for most video formats, generally improving performance when playing videos and reducing processor load. This install is optional, just in case you experience problems with video playback or other issues on your system. For example, we have experienced occasional hangs when playing videos after a suspend on some devices with C-series APUs. If you experience a problem with playback, simply apply an [http://ubermix.org/basics.html ubermix quick recovery].
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To remove this
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# Finally, the installer will offer to install the [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashvideoreplacer/ Flash Video Replacer] and [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashblock/ Flashblock] extensions to Firefox. [http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer.html Adobe Flash Player] on Linux does not yet support GPU accelerated playback on AMD GPUs (be sure to let them know they need to work on this!), so Flash Video Replacer will automatically replace flash video on web sites with an accelerate-able format when possible. Flashblock further improves performance on low-power systems by enabling you to choose what flash content loads on what web sites. If you don't want either of these, simply decline the install when prompted.
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#Create a text file with the following information:
  
  
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'''Recent updates:'''
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#!/bin/sh
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DRIVER=/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so
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for x in $(objdump -d $DRIVER|awk '/call/&&/EnableLogo/{print "\\x"$2"\\x"$3"\\x"$4"\\x"$5"\\x"$6}'); do
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sed -i "s/$x/\x90\x90\x90\x90\x90/g" $DRIVER
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done
  
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* amd-vaapi-ubermix2: Disabled ati driver compositing extension to eliminate flicker with overlays and improve scaling compatibility with C-series fusion processors.
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* amd-vaapi-ubermix3: Fixed setup script for machines booted in generic mode
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#Save this file as fixwatermark.sh in your home directory
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#Browse to the file and make it executable (In the file browser-Right click->Properties->Permissions->Check box)
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#Open up a terminal (Ctrl-alt-t)
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#Type sudo ./fixwatermark.sh
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#Wait for several minutes. Once the script is done you will see the next line of the terminal ready for entry.
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#Restart the computer.

Latest revision as of 09:47, 18 January 2013

AMD/ATI Radeon GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are the preferred high-performance graphics processors for Linux systems, as they offer extremely fast 2D/3D graphics rendering and open-source drivers. AMD's new Fusion APUs (Advanced Processing Units) are particularly advantageous for ubermix deployments in schools, as they combine the main processor and graphics processor in one low power chip, reducing power requirements and increasing battery life in low-cost netbooks.

While the default driver in ubermix offers excellent performance, to get the most from an ATI/AMD GPU, such as additional configuration options and to enable video acceleration (including 1080p video playback on low-power Fusion APUs), some additional drivers and software are required. Follow these steps:

  1. First, reboot your system in generic mode, as described under "Rebuilding the base image" on the ubermix customization page.
  2. Use Firefox to download amd-driver-install-12.10X.tgz from the ubermix download files page. When Firefox asks you what to do with the file, choose "Open with Archive Manager". The file is fairly large, so it could take a little time to download on a slow link.
  3. When the archive manager loads, click on the "Extract" button, then click on "Extract" again to save the file in your home folder. Close the archive manager when complete.
  4. Open your home folder using the launcher (press the "Windows" of 'Home" key on your keyboard to return to the launcher), then locate and open the "amd-driver-install" folder.
  5. Double-click on the "install-amd-driver.sh" file, and click on the "Run in Terminal" button when prompted.

After performing the above steps, you will be led through the installation process.

After restart some AMD cards will show an "Unsupported Hardware" watermark on the bottom right side of the screen. To remove this

  1. Create a text file with the following information:


#!/bin/sh
DRIVER=/usr/lib/fglrx/xorg/modules/drivers/fglrx_drv.so
for x in $(objdump -d $DRIVER|awk '/call/&&/EnableLogo/{print "\\x"$2"\\x"$3"\\x"$4"\\x"$5"\\x"$6}'); do
sed -i "s/$x/\x90\x90\x90\x90\x90/g" $DRIVER
done


  1. Save this file as fixwatermark.sh in your home directory
  2. Browse to the file and make it executable (In the file browser-Right click->Properties->Permissions->Check box)
  3. Open up a terminal (Ctrl-alt-t)
  4. Type sudo ./fixwatermark.sh
  5. Wait for several minutes. Once the script is done you will see the next line of the terminal ready for entry.
  6. Restart the computer.
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