Regarding playback performance: Quick Sync or not?

Hey there,

is there any advantage with Intel Quick Sync, despite speed gains while exporting h264?

And if yes, how much can I expect?

Cheers,
Marc

No, it's not implemented in Resolve.

No, it's not implemented in Resolve.

Yes, it is implemented in resolve (studio mac at least). Quick sync gives a very expressive gains in 1080p h264 render in my hackintosh (18 fps with QS off and 60 fps with QS on). You get a more smooth playback in the timeline as well.

Thanks.

Are there any measurements I can have a look?

Since I am planning to invest into new gear in the next weeks/months, I'd love to see a comparison under equal conditions with Quick Sync turned on and off.

Faster export time is nice to have, but for me timeline performance (higher track counts/smoother playback) is more important.

The question is, which CPU is needed to compensate the timeline performance loss without Quick Sync in comparison to the quite new Intel 8700k (6-core, with Quick Sync, high clocked).

I use a 7700k processor in my hackintosh and I see a clear advantage in timeline playback with quick sync. Without quick sync sometimes i can't run realtime playback with h.264 files.

If you are planning of using windows, I guess you can get similar effect of quick sync using a modern nvidia card (with support for H.264 and HEVC acceleration).

When was it added?
Is it supported in the free version?
Any documentation in the manual?
Is it used for timeline H.264/265 decoding? Rendering H.264/265?
Can Resolve use the Intel iGPU and a discrete Nvidia card?
Does it need two screens (one connected to each) to recognize both?

Latest iGPU 630 has some powerful media capabilities for 4K AVC/HEVC
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10959/intel-launches-7th-generation-kaby-lake-i7-7700k-i5-7600k-i3-7350k/6
"The major feature change in the Kaby Lake-U/Y media engine is the availability of full hardware acceleration for encode and decode of 4K HEVC Main10 profile videos.
The QuickSync block also gets a few updates to improve quality further, and AVC encode performance also receives a boost.
Intel claims that Kaby Lake-U/Y can handle up to eight 4Kp30 AVC and HEVC decodes simultaneously.
HEVC decode support is rated at 4Kp60 up to 120 Mbps (especially helpful for premium content playback and Ultra HD Blu-ray).
The Video Quality Engine also receives some tweaks for HDR and Wide Color Gamut (Rec.2020) support.
Real-time HEVC 4Kp30 encode"

When was it added?
It was added in Davinci resolve 14.

Is it supported in the free version?
I don't know, It works with Davinci studio for mac. ( I believe that the windows version doesn't support quick sync, in windows you should have acceleration of h.264 and h.265 through a compatible nvidia card)

Any documentation in the manual?
I didn't read the manual, but you can check.

Is it used for timeline H.264/265 decoding? Rendering H.264/265?
Yes and only for that. Also, you need Mac OS High Sierra for quick sync HEVC decoding/ encoding.

Can Resolve use the Intel iGPU and a discrete Nvidia card?
No, is impossible in a mac since you use the intel GPU as a connector-less device. It is impossible in a hackintosh as well because you need to use the igpu as a connector-less device in order to enable quick sync (with the shiki.kext)

Does it need two screens (one connected to each) to recognize both?
Its impossible to connect a monitor through igpu in a mac and you can't do this in a hackintosh (in order to enable quick sync). In Windows you should have the acceleration through the nvidia card and the use of a igpu could have a negative impact in performance. (Blackmagic recommend the use of similar, or the same, gpu models for better results).

Latest iGPU 630 has some powerful media capabilities for 4K AVC/HEVC
Thats is the igpu that i have in my hackintosh (core i7 7700k, 64gb ddr4 ram, geforce gtx 1080ti, decklinck mini monitor 4k in a Gigabyte GA Z270x Ud5 motherboard with thunderbolt built in)