[Bug]: Intel Arc 140V – No hardware HEVC decode (GPU usage = 0%)

[cuspis]

Which component impacted?

Video Processing

Is it regression? Good in old configuration?

No, this issue exist a long time

What happened?

I have an issue with hardware video decoding on Intel Arc A140V integrated graphics.
When playing HEVC (H.265) videos, the CPU usage goes very high (close to 100%) while the GPU video decode graph in Task Manager remains at 0%. It seems the hardware decoder is not being used.

What's the usage scenario when you are seeing the problem?

Playback

What impacted?

System details:

Intel 268V
GPU: Intel Arc 140V (integrated)

Driver version: 32.0.101.6881

OS: Windows 11 Pro build 26100.5074

Players tested: VLC, Windows Media Player

Same issue in all players (software decode only).

Steps to reproduce:

Play any HEVC (H.265) video (e.g. 1080p or 4K).

Open Task Manager → Performance → GPU → Video Decode.

GPU decode stays at 0%, CPU load becomes very high.

Expected result:
Video should be decoded by the GPU (hardware acceleration).

Actual result:
Only CPU decoding is happening.

Please check if hardware HEVC decode is properly supported on Arc A140V or if this is a driver issue.

Debug Information

No response

Do you want to contribute a patch to fix the issue?

Yes, I'm glad to submit a patch to fix it

[troy818]

Hi, is your device a laptop and the oem is Dell?

[cuspis]

Dell Pro 14 Premium PA14250

[cuspis]

Hi, is your device a laptop and the oem is Dell?

Hello!
Can the hardware manufacturer limit h265 decoding?

[troy818]

Hi, is your device a laptop and the oem is Dell?

Hello! Can the hardware manufacturer limit h265 decoding?

Sorry, I'm just an user like you and I also find hevc codec not supported when run some transcode test. Our device is Dell 14 plus with 288v and iGPU Arc 140v. And I don't see this problem on Acer Swift SF14 with 258v and iGPU Arc 140v.

[cuspis]

Yes, thank you for the information!
I'm also trying to find a solution to this issue.
• I checked with a friend who has the same laptop model — the problems are identical.
• I updated the drivers to the latest versions.
• I tried installing different codecs.
It's very strange that all devices like GoPro, Insta360, and DJI widely use the H.265 codec, yet it doesn't work on my brand-new device...

[XinfengZhang]

I believe it support HEVC HW decoding, suppose it is related VLC, I am not familiar with windows VLC, but maybe you need change something to let VLC choose HW acceleration path, please help to check the version. and try to find the setting. google AI told me that: go to Tools > Preferences, select the Input/Codecs tab, find the "Hardware accelerated decoding" option, and set it to "Automatic" or a specific option like "Direct3D11 Video Acceleration". After making the change, click Save, restart VLC, and test playback of high-resolution videos to see if it improves.

[cuspis]

I tried different VLC settings, but regardless of the parameters, the processing is done only through the CPU.
My goal is to edit videos in DaVinci Resolve while working on battery power.
However, since decoding uses only the CPU, it’s not possible to work from the battery, and the fan becomes noisy.

When exporting video in DaVinci Resolve to H.265, the following message appears:
"Render Job 1 Failed. Cannot find appropriate codec for encoding the video frame."

I used both the paid codec from Microsoft and the downloaded one from the internet: Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_2.4.17.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe

HEVC decoding, unfortunately, works only through the CPU!

However, there are absolutely no problems when working with H.264 and AV1 codecs.

[XinfengZhang]

@guowillyy could you help to take a look? if H264 and AV1 works fine, looks not related with VLC config?

[cuspis]

[XinfengZhang]

all HEVC decoding use CPU, no matter it is 8bit or 10bit , not related with bitstream itself, right?

[XinfengZhang]

and I found sth. like:https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/1jxwqj6/hevc_hardware_decoding_unsupported_in_latitude/
looks you need contact Dell to check whether they disabled it on your model for license or other reason.