** Description changed: -- Description -- This Feature Freeze Exception request proposes enabling and shipping video acceleration support in virglrenderer for Ubuntu Resolute 26.04. This change would improve hardware-accelerated video decode/encode support for virtualized graphics workloads (notably QEMU/KVM guests using virtio-gpu), bringing Ubuntu in line with upstream capabilities and improving performance for desktop and media use cases. The video support was disabled for Ubuntu (Ubuntu delta) because libva is in universe (libva is a dependency of virglrenderer when video acceleration is enabled) But libva is now in main as part of : https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libva/+bug/2097800 -- Rationale / Benefit --- virglrenderer is used to provide accelerated OpenGL rendering for virtual machines via the virtio-gpu stack. Upstream has added support for video acceleration APIs (such as VA-API / Vulkan Video interop, depending on host capabilities), allowing guest workloads to offload video decode/encode to the host GPU. Enabling this support would: - Improve playback smoothness for high-resolution video. - Reduce guest CPU overhead. - Improve user experience for desktop VM users. - Better support developer and CI workflows using graphical guests. -- Builds --- PPA: https://launchpad.net/~hectorcao/+archive/ubuntu/lp2141692 -- Test --- - Run the binary: /usr/bin/virgl_test_server + + Ideally; we need a compatible QEMU to test the video accel feature of virglrenderer and QEMU does not provide this support yet (neither in upstream + nor Ubuntu) + + One simpler way to test if we regress on anything with this addition is + to run the use the binary the simulate a server providing virglrenderer + + /usr/bin/virgl_test_server + -- Seed --- seeded-in-ubuntu virglrenderer libvirglrenderer-dev (from virglrenderer) is seeded in: ubuntu-budgie: supported ubuntu: supported -- Additional information --- Despite the fact that we enable video accel for virglrenderer, to enable this feature for VMs in Ubuntu, we need to enable it in QEMU where virglrenderer init is invoked. We do not consider to do it for QEMU because it is still in discussion upstream and we can get it in Resolute via QEMU HWE in the future. Enabling it for virglrender allows us to anticipate this QEMU HWE upgrade with the video accel capability. --- Original bug report --- # Summary Ubuntu’s virglrenderer package is built with the Meson option for video acceleration disabled (-Dvideo=false). This prevents the VirGL video path (VA-API encode/decode exposure via virtio-gpu/virgl) from being usable on Ubuntu hosts, even when the underlying stack supports it. Please enable the feature in Ubuntu builds for the 26.04 cycle by switching to -Dvideo=enabled (or equivalent). # Background / Motivation VirGL already enables accelerated rendering for virtio-gpu guests. Upstream virglrenderer also has an optional video acceleration path intended to expose video encode/decode to the guest via VA-API (virtio- gpu VA-API driver), which can significantly reduce guest CPU load and improve responsiveness for multimedia and remote desktop streaming workloads (e.g. “VDI-like” interactive desktops, remote developer workstations, training labs). # Current Ubuntu State (evidence) 1) Ubuntu previously carried an explicit delta to disable video acceleration: “Disable video acceleration on Ubuntu until libva gets repromoted.” (See Launchpad bug: #2040435) 2) Ubuntu builds still pass -Dvideo=false. For example, in Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing) virglrenderer 1.1.0-2 build logs show dh_auto_configure invoking Meson with -Dvideo=false and reporting “video : false”. 3) The original stated blocker (libva component) appears to have changed: libva is published in “main” in Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing). This suggests it is worth re-evaluating the continued forced disablement of virglrenderer video. # Request Please modify Ubuntu’s virglrenderer packaging to enable the Meson video feature: - Remove the explicit -Dvideo=false override - Enable the feature (preferably as a Meson “feature” option: -Dvideo=enabled) If there are remaining blockers beyond the original libva component rationale (e.g., dependency policy, stability/regression concerns, security support), please document them in this bug so they can be addressed during the 26.04 cycle. # Notes / Scope - This bug is specifically about enabling the virglrenderer build feature. Runtime enablement may additionally require QEMU to pass VIRGL_RENDERER_USE_VIDEO during virgl init. If Ubuntu QEMU does not currently set this, that would be a separate (but related) issue; enabling the virglrenderer feature is still a necessary prerequisite and should be tracked independently. # Test Plan (for maintainers/testers) Host (Ubuntu): 1) Build/install virglrenderer with Meson video enabled. 2) Run a VM with virtio-gpu + virgl/virtio-gl enabled (virt-manager “3D acceleration” / OpenGL). Guest (Ubuntu): 3) Install libva-utils and run: LIBVA_DRIVER_NAME=virtio_gpu vainfo Expected: - virtio_gpu VA-API driver loads - Additional codec profiles (decode/encode depending on host capabilities) appear compared to stock Ubuntu build # Impact Enabling this feature can: - Reduce CPU use in guests for video encode/decode workloads (where supported) - Improve “desktop-as-video” remote desktop performance when streaming solutions inside the guest can use VA-API encode - Improve Ubuntu’s competitiveness for GPU-accelerated VM desktop/VDI-like scenarios # References - LP: #2040435 (Ubuntu delta mentions disabling video acceleration until libva repromotion) - Questing virglrenderer build logs show -Dvideo=false (“video : false”) - libva is published in “main” in Questing (component change vs Noble)
-- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2141692 Title: [FFe] Enable VirGL video acceleration in Ubuntu virglrenderer builds (Meson -Dvideo=enabled) for 26.04 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/virglrenderer/+bug/2141692/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
