Rockchip VDPU381 and VDPU383 Video Decoders Added to Upstream Linux Kernel
By
losgehts
An everything bagel for the brain. Substantive, layered, well-seasoned.
Summary
Rockchip's VDPU381 and VDPU383 video decoders have been merged into the upstream Linux kernel, providing mainline support for hardware decoding of H.264 and HEVC video formats on RK3588 and RK3576 SoCs. The article details technical challenges overcome during development, including a subtle IOMMU reset issue and design choices for hardware register programming, along with the introduction of new V4L2 UAPI controls specifically required for this hardware.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledSupport for the VDPU381 and VDPU383 Rockchip video decoders has been merged into the Upstream Linux kernel.
These decoders are found on modern SoCs, respectively the RK3588 and RK3576, and bring improved hardware decoding capabilities for H.264 and HEVC to mainline Linux.
This post highlights what we added, how we fixed a subtle IOMMU reset issue, a deliberate design choice in how we program hardware registers, and the introduction of new V4L2 UAPI controls required specifically for this hardware.
One of the more subtle issues encountered during development was related to IOMMU restore.
You might also wanna read
Restartable Sequences: A Linux Kernel Feature for Lock-Free Thread-Safe Programming
This article explores restartable sequences (rseq), a Linux kernel feature introduced in version 4.18 (circa 2018) that enables creation of
justine.lol·13h ago
MuseLab nanoCH32H417: $17 RISC-V MCU Board with USB 3.0 and Fast Ethernet
MuseLab has released the nanoCH32H417, a third-party development board for the WCH CH32H417 dual-core RISC-V MCU. Priced at $17, the board f
cnx-software.com·4d ago
Linux kernel patch proposes per-function "killswitch" for runtime short-circuit mitigation
A Linux kernel patch proposal by Sasha Levin introduces a "killswitch" mechanism — a per-function short-circuit mitigation primitive designe
lwn.net·22d ago
Four stable Linux kernels released with partial fixes for Dirty Frag and Copy Fail 2 vulnerabilities
Greg Kroah-Hartman has released four stable Linux kernels (7.0.5, 6.18.28, 6.12.87, and 6.6.138) containing partial fixes for the Dirty Frag
lwn.net·23d ago
Copy Fail: Critical Linux Kernel Vulnerability (CVE-2026-31431) Grants Root Access Across Major Distributions
Xint Code disclosed CVE-2026-31431, a critical Linux kernel vulnerability dubbed "Copy Fail." The bug exploits an authencesn scratch-write v
xint.io·1mo ago
Linux Kernel Developers Propose Removing Legacy Code in Response to LLM-Generated Security Reports
The article discusses ongoing efforts to remove legacy kernel code from the Linux kernel, primarily from the networking subsystem, as a resp
lwn.net·1mo ago