FFmpeg GPU-accelerated video compression using VA-API (AMD RX 7700 XT on Ubuntu 25.04)

ffmpeg-vaapi-compression.md

FFmpeg GPU-Accelerated Video Compression (VA-API / AMD)

Compress video using hardware-accelerated H.264 encoding on AMD GPUs via VA-API.

Tested on: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (Navi 32, gfx1101) / Ubuntu 25.04

Basic Compression Command

ffmpeg -vaapi_device /dev/dri/renderD128 \
  -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "format=nv12,hwupload" \
  -c:v h264_vaapi -qp 23 \
  -c:a aac -b:a 128k \
  -movflags +faststart \
  output.mp4

Parameters Explained

Parameter	Description
-vaapi_device /dev/dri/renderD128	Use AMD GPU for hardware encoding
-vf "format=nv12,hwupload"	Convert to NV12 format and upload to GPU
-c:v h264_vaapi	Use VA-API H.264 encoder
-qp 23	Quality level (lower = better quality, larger file; 18-28 typical range)
-c:a aac -b:a 128k	AAC audio at 128 kbps
-movflags +faststart	Move metadata to start for web streaming

With Color Correction

ffmpeg -vaapi_device /dev/dri/renderD128 \
  -i input.mp4 \
  -vf "eq=saturation=1.2,colorbalance=rs=0.05:bs=-0.05,format=nv12,hwupload" \
  -c:v h264_vaapi -qp 20 \
  -c:a copy \
  output.mp4

Color Filter Options

• eq=saturation=1.2 - Boost saturation by 20% (1.0 = normal)
• colorbalance=rs=0.05:bs=-0.05 - Warm up whites (reduce blue, add red)
• eq=brightness=0.05 - Slight brightness boost
• eq=contrast=1.1 - Increase contrast by 10%

Check VA-API Support

vainfo

Look for VAEntrypointEncSlice entries for H264/HEVC to confirm encoding support.

Performance

On AMD RX 7700 XT (Ubuntu 25.04), expect ~400 fps encoding speed (vs ~130 fps with CPU libx264) - approximately 3x faster.

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This gist was generated by Claude Code. Please verify commands and parameters for your specific use case.

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This gist was generated by Claude Code. Please verify any information before relying on it.