FAQ: Mercury Playback Engine, CUDA, OpenCL, Metal, and what it all means

Report · Jan 04, 2011

Mercury Playback Engine ExplainedMercury Playback Engine is the given name for a group of improvments that is been built into Premiere Pro. See Adobe documentation on the topic here: Mercury Playback Engine (GPU Accelerated) renderer.

Those improvements includes:

- 64-bit application

- multithreaded application

- processing of some things using CUDA
- processing of some things using OpenCL

- processing of some things using Metal

All versions of Premiere Pro (since CS5) have the first two of these: 64 bit and multi-threaded applicaton.
Since then, GPU Acceleration was added, enhancing Mercury Playback Engine performance.

CUDA support on Nvidia GPUs came first. Then, OpenCL and Metal processing for the Mercury Playback Engine came along.
For current versions of Premiere Pro, you need at least 2 GB VRAM for HD. 4GB for 4K for the Mercury Playback Engine to function as specified.
See System Requirments.

The official and up-to-date list of the cards that provide CUDA, OpenCL, and Metal processing features is here.

Here's a list of things that Premiere Pro can process with CUDA, OpenCL, and Metal:

- some effects

- scaling - (alternate link)

- deinterlacing

- blending modes

- color space conversions

One set of things that Premiere Pro's Mercury Playback Engine doesn't process: encoding and decoding.

That said, two new options for GPU accelerated encoding have been added recently, both of which use different tech than the Mercury Playback Engine:

GPU acceleration is available for decoding and encoding of H.264 and HEVC formats with certain Intel GPUs using Intel Quick Sync. Info here.
GPU acceleration is also available for encoding of H.264 and HEVC formats regardless of CPU type. Info here.
The three technologies do work in concert, with default presets for hardware acceleration set accordingly.

Note that whether a frame can be processed by CUDA, OpenCL, or Metal depends on the size of the frame and the amount of VRAM on the graphics card. This article gives details about that. Error Compiling Movie errors are often at the root this issue.

Processing with CUDA, OpenCL, or Metal doesn't just mean that things are faster. In some cases, it can actually mean that results are better, as with scaling. See this article for details.

If you don't have a supported GPU, you can still use Premiere Pro; you just won't get the advantages of processing with CUDA, OpenCL, or Metal.
- For that, use Mercury Playback Engine Software Only mode. This mode is also useful as a troubleshooting tool to check any anomalies with effects or visuals. The drawback is that it is a lot slower than working with a supported GPU.

An article on the Premiere Pro team blog based on the information and questions in this forum thread has been posted, please check that out.

Notes

The author of this post is no longer working at Adobe, so it needs to be updated by my team. The various Premiere Pro Team Blog links to this article still function as of June 2020, however, their removal is likely imminent. This info needs to be captured before its removal, as it contains critical information for editors. We ask for your patience as this gets fixed.
This article covers information about the Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration. Please do not confuse this information with GPU accelerated exporting technology. More info on GPU accelerated exporting here.
As of June 2020, on macOS, CUDA processing for the Mercury Playback Engine been deprecated for Premiere Pro. Use Metal now.

Report · Apr 02, 2011

Is it possible to use GPU accelerated rendering/transcoding from a Premiere Pro sequence within Adobe Encore?

When I render out from Premiere Pro CS5 using Adobe Media Encoder (MPEG2-DVD), the GPU really helps speed that up, especially when downsampling from HD and/or adding color correction. But this requires that I calculate the bitrate for the DVD titles manually, and lose some the other nice features of Encore as well.

When I dynamically link Premire Pro sequences within Encore and use the automatic bitrate setting, I don't have to worry about bit rates, but the transcode seems to take forever, so I'm assuming that's not GPU accelerated. In addition, I haven't found any settings for Maximum Render Quality or Maximum Bit Depth within Encore, so I'm assuming the quality of the renders will be worse.

This all seems to indicate that Encore doesn't support GPU acceleration, which makes dynamic linking a sequence somewhat useless for me.

Am I missing something?

Report · Apr 02, 2011

I'm guessing here, but Steve Hoeg will undoubtedly correct me if I'm wrong. Encore is still a 32 bit application that does not support hardware MPE. But even a 64 bit application like PR does not use hardware MPE for encoding, that is still a CPU matter. The benefit of hardware MPE comes from the scaling and blending, which is hardware assisted and is very noticeable when going from HD to SD.

What I would suggest is using a bitrate calculator like DVD-HQ Bitrate & GOP calculator to manually determine your best encode settings and export directly to MPEG2-DVD, which also gives you the advantage of being able to use AC3 5.1 sound if you have the Surcode plug-in.

Report · Apr 04, 2011

Note that whether a frame can be processed by CUDA depends on the size of the frame and the amount of RAM on the graphics card (VRAM). This article gives details about that, toward the bottom.

From the article:

For example, one image size from a Canon T2i is 5184×3456. Doing the math, this requires 1,094MB, which just exceeds the 1GB available on the Quadro FX 3800, but is still within the 1.5GB of the Quadro FX 4800.

The GeForce GTX 470 has 1280MB of memory so it would be able to use CUDA in the scenario above.

For larger frame sizes:

Would having dual GTX 470s work together to enable CUDA?
From the list of things that CUDA accelerates, would the performance increase with dual cards be negligible?

Has it been tested how dual cards increases performance of MPE?

Thanks,

Alex

Report · Apr 04, 2011

Would having dual GTX 470s work together to enable CUDA?
From the list of things that CUDA accelerates, would the performance increase with dual cards be negligible?

Has it been tested how dual cards increases performance of MPE?

Premiere Pro does not use dual cards in an SLI configuration.

Report · Apr 15, 2011

Here's a page with details of what's new in Premiere Pro CS5.5 regarding CUDA processing.

Report · Apr 16, 2011

it is great to see the expanded list of nvidia cards.

hp still does NOT ship with any of these. too bad. i think hp desktop

packaging is really superior right now.

but it looks like dell offers the quadro 6000 in a higher end configuration.

maybe by next year, we will be able to buy a good selection of machines off

the shelf that will run premier pro w CUDA support.

r

Report · Apr 16, 2011

whalematch wrote:
hp still does NOT ship with any of these. too bad. i think hp desktop
packaging is really superior right now.

I've had 2 HP laptops that ship with them and I know you can get most Z station desktops configured with current Quadro cards as well. Was there a specific model you were looking at that didn't offer it?

Dennis

Report · Apr 15, 2011

I run a hacked GTX 460 on my PC. The hack works great!

I have burned up one already, but later came to find out why CS5 burned it up:

1: The case wasn't cool enough; CPU is liquid cooled but I forgot to get another case for specifically for the GPU).

2: The GTX 460 doesn't utilize it's auto fan controller very well, which is why Nvidia offers a fan controller software on the driver's CD. This will allow you to set the fan speed with different profiles. If I remember right, my GTX 460 fan speed was very marginal. Oh well. Nvidia replaced mine with no hassles and I have two case fans cooling it (one is blowing cool air on it, the other is blowing cool air out of the back of the case).

It was kinda funny watching smoke pour out of my GPU after hours of editing on it.

Report · Apr 16, 2011

Todd, what are the plans for Adobe to take advantage of 2x, 3x, and 4xSLI GPU configurations? It's a shame for people to have thousands of dollars of hardware potentially going unused by an Adobe application.

Can a person with an SLI configuration use the MPE as is, or do they need to disable the SLI configuration before using Adobe software? Meaning, if I have 3-Way SLI, if I use PPCS5/5.5 will it simply only use the GPU of one card, or will the SLI throw it off, and I am required to disable the SLI before PP will correctly use the GPU for MPE?

Thanks in advance!

Report · Apr 16, 2011

> Todd, what are the plans for Adobe to take advantage of 2x, 3x, and 4xSLI GPU configurations?

I can't comment on future plans, but I will encourage you to make a feature request if this matters to you.

> Can a person with an SLI configuration use the MPE as is, or do they need to disable the SLI configuration before using Adobe software? Meaning, if I have 3-Way SLI, if I use PPCS5/5.5 will it simply only use the GPU of one card, or will the SLI throw it off, and I am required to disable the SLI before PP will correctly use the GPU for MPE?

If you have multiple GPUs in an SLI configuration, Premiere Pro will only use one of them for the CUDA processing features, but the fact that they're set up in this way shouldn't cause a problem. If it does, file a bug report.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

Hi Todd.

I am new to PC machines, have been editing for appr. a decade on a Mac in Final Cut, and am currently in the throes of building a new PC, to use with Classic Collection.

The video card – Palit GTX560TI 2GB – is under consideration for this build, yet it is not on Adobe’s list of GPU acceleration supporting cards (though the Palit representative emailed me that it does support CUDA technology, but has not shown me proof beyond his own claim).

It has been suggested to me that this card can be hackd to enable GPU/CUDA, but because of my (current) ineptness with PCies, and with programming at all, I lack the know-how to do that. I am more than willing to learn, and so, before making my final decision on the card, I would like to verify that I will be able to hack it as such, and was wondering if you or anyone could advise me how to do that.

I have been looking at threads relating to my question, and it seems that there are folks using GPUsniffer.exe which is causing issues rather than helping.

Thanks. And please excuse me if my terminology is wrong, as i am fully new to hardware speak.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

First, the "hack" works perfectly on the right graphics cards. In fact, it's not a hack at all. The main issue is that Adobe can't test hundreds of cards.

Second, go to this site, and read everything:

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm

Third, spend $25 on a 1 month subscription to lynda.com, and then watch the 2 videos that relate to performance here:

http://www.lynda.com/Premiere-Pro-CS5-tutorials/new-features/59975-2.html

Remember that the Mercury Playback Engine stresses the CPU, GPU, hard drive(s), and memory, so make sure the whole system is up to the task.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

thanks a million Dave. am already at the video guys article, and will look at the lynda movies, and hopefully return w/more educated questions:)

Report · Jul 12, 2011

The word "supported" is one that people throw around loosely a lot, but here's where it really matters:

If you attempt to make it so that a card other than one of the "supported" cards uses the CUDA processing features, then you forfeit your access to support from Adobe. That's me. I can't be chasing down issues that turn out to be because you're using hardware that we haven't tested thoroughly and certified to work.

So, you're on your own if you use the "hack".

This isn't to say that we won't provide technical support for you as long as you use the same card without the "hack", of course.

Regarding the recommendation of the Lynda videos on performance: They're brief and somewhat out of date. I recommend these:

http://www.video2brain.com/en/products-115.htm

... and not just because I made them. They're also free.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

Thanks Todd. I will look at the tutorial for sure. As for uisng Adobe recommended hardware, can you

help me determine if the card i am looking to buy is or is NOT certified to work with Adobe?

I am looking at the Palit GTX560TI 2GB, have been corresponding with the very patient Palit support team, who have even mailed me images showing that CUDA technology is supported, see below, however the card is not on the Adobe list - http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html

The card has 384 CUDA cores, lots of them (http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-560ti-us.html), so, does that mean it supports/is supported?

Report · Jul 12, 2011

> As for uisng Adobe recommended hardware, can you
help me determine if the card i am looking to buy is or is NOT certified to work with Adobe?

I am looking at the Palit GTX560TI 2GB, have corresponding with the very patient Palit support team, who have even mailed me images showing that CUDA technology is supported, see below, however the card is not on the Adobe list - http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/tech-specs.html

You said it yourself. The card is not on the list.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

Is that because Adobe simply hasnt tested this card?

If that is the case, that's quite unfair....especially from Palit's perspective. And from mine too, as i have invested a lot of time and energy to find this card which seems economical and powerful at once; plus, i have tried others, here on the forum, in making my decision about that specific card.

And while i do appreciate, am profoundly glad to discover this now, before actually buying the card, there's a great disappointment from Adobe's lack - they ought to be testing all cards for their software. In fact, I have submitted a request for this card to be tested, can you look into that?

And BTW, have looked at your tutorial, find it great for someone like me - fully new to Premier and at once putting together a rig for it.

thanks.

Report · Jul 12, 2011

Thanks for ur information.

Report · Jul 13, 2011

I think you have to consider Adobe's position here.

They have limited resources and limited time to get a new (and very stable) new version out of the door. While it would be nice to have more video cards rated as being supported, that effort would mean that sorely needed resources would be diverted from other development tasks that are just as needed, before release of new versions. In a certain amount of time you can only do so much and then you have to take into consideration as well that we are not talking about just Premiere Pro, but about whole suites that have to be ready for release at the same date, Production or Master Collection Suite or any other suite and you can understand the need for prioritizing.

Personally, I'm very happy with the back door solution of 'hacking' the text file. For one, it means that the limited resources are put to better use in adding functionality and improving performance and solving bugs/issues instead of testing each and every card available. Second, with a pretty active user community here and a number of very knowledgeable people around, including senior Adobe engineers, there are many resources to tell those, that may still lack the expertise, where possible pitfalls are in configuring a system. Lack of expertise is not meant in a derogatory way, that is where we all started. But with the practical experiences around and - not to applaud Bill or myself - a usable database of test results with more than 500 systems and over 83 different video cards used, there is enough information available to help others and free the limited resources to do some very useful work on new versions.

Just my $ 0.02

Report · Jul 13, 2011

Hi Harm. Okay, i hear you; and i do appreciate your & Bill's presence in the forum, Scott's, RjL190365's and others' who have hlped me personally as you all have helped others.

In fact, i shall turn to you momentarily with my new dilemma re video cards, because i dont feel enough confidence to hack video cards, at this young point of my "expertese", and because i doubt i'll be hearing from Adobe about testing the 560TI; and i have no doubt that i will be needing Adobe's help as much as yours, once my system is in place....

And i am very thankful for Todd's help, in case i came out pissy in my previous response.

So thank you all, because i absolutely relish this forum

Report · Jul 13, 2011

I run a GTX 460 and it really is very easy to do the hack it's just a case of putting the model of your card in a text file. There's lots of help on the net I wouldn't be scared.

Report · Jul 13, 2011

i suggest you call these guys at ADK...they know their stuff, and

would probably bid a system that is cheaper that what you will buy

from

most.

Eric

ADK

859-635-5762

Report · Apr 17, 2011

what are the plans for Adobe to take advantage of 2x, 3x, and 4xSLI GPU configurations?

You're assuming that adding more GPU power through SLI would make Premiere CS5 run faster. It would not.

Remember that the video decoding and encoding are still performed by the CPU, and current CPUs are nowhere near as powerful as most GPUs. So what you typically end up with is your CPU pegged around 100% usage, and your GPU only at running at 50% or less. There are also issues with system memory size, system memory speed, GPU memory speed, etc.

In other words, all parts of the system are being stressed, and the weakest link usually determines overall performance. For CS5, GPU processing power is typically not the weakest link. More detailed info here:

http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm

Report · Apr 17, 2011

Dave_Gish wrote:
function(){return A.apply(null,[this].concat($A(arguments)))}

what are the plans for Adobe to take advantage of 2x, 3x, and 4xSLI GPU configurations?

You're assuming that adding more GPU power through SLI would make Premiere CS5 run faster. It would not.
Remember that the video decoding and encoding are still performed by the CPU, and current CPUs are nowhere near as powerful as most GPUs. So what you typically end up with is your CPU pegged around 100% usage, and your GPU only at running at 50% or less. There are also issues with system memory size, system memory speed, GPU memory speed, etc.
In other words, all parts of the system are being stressed, and the weakest link usually determines overall performance. For CS5, GPU processing power is typically not the weakest link. More detailed info here:
http://www.studio1productions.com/Articles/PremiereCS5.htm

I don't think it is me who is making all of the assumptions.

A) I never made the claim that adding more GPUs would make PP run faster. And I won't claim to know precisely what will and won't benefit PP, but it does make sense for one to hypothesize that what is affected by the GPU within MPE, additional GPUs would have additional benefit.

B) I never mentioned anything about encoding and decoding, or how additional GPUs would affect that. In fact, this thread is about MPE, and as most of us know, MPE doesn't do any encoding and decoding, so I'm unsure how you decided to bring that topic into this thread.

Todd_Kopriva wrote:
> Todd, what are the plans for Adobe to take advantage of 2x, 3x, and 4xSLI GPU configurations?
I can't comment on future plans, but I will encourage you to make a feature request if this matters to you.
> Can a person with an SLI configuration use the MPE as is, or do they need to disable the SLI configuration before using Adobe software? Meaning, if I have 3-Way SLI, if I use PPCS5/5.5 will it simply only use the GPU of one card, or will the SLI throw it off, and I am required to disable the SLI before PP will correctly use the GPU for MPE?
If you have multiple GPUs in an SLI configuration, Premiere Pro will only use one of them for the CUDA processing features, but the fact that they're set up in this way shouldn't cause a problem. If it does, file a bug report.

Thanks for the info Todd. I will certainly make use of the feature request link.

Report · Apr 17, 2011

Geronimosan wrote:

MPE doesn't do any encoding and decoding, so I'm unsure how you decided to bring that topic into this thread.

How can the Mercury Playback Engine (MPE) play back video without decoding the video format? That's what I was saying before. The CPU still does the video decoding in MPE. The GPU resizes the video window and processes many video effects in real time. So MPE actually runs on both the CPU and GPU. That's what "GPU Acceleration" means.

Geronimosan wrote:
I won't claim to know precisely what will and won't benefit PP, but it does make sense for one to hypothesize that what is affected by the GPU within MPE...

We don't have to hypothesize. In the link I provided above, they tested many different system hardware configurations with various CPUs, memory, and graphics cards to see what really affects performance. The bottom line is that for most sytems, PP CS5 generally hits the limits for CPU, memory speed, and/or hard drive speed way before the GPU hits max, and that's with a single mainstream type graphics card.

By the way, you can see how much of the CPU and GPU you're using in real time by downloading the NVidia System Monitor tool from their web site.