List FFmpeg Intel QSV Encoders and Decoders

Intel Quick Sync Video (QSV) leverages the dedicated media processing capabilities of Intel Graphics Technology to fast-track video decoding and encoding. This article provides a quick and direct guide on how to use FFmpeg command-line tools to query and list all QSV-compatible encoders and decoders available on your system.

Listing QSV Decoders

To view all the Intel QSV-accelerated decoders supported by your current FFmpeg build, run the following command in your terminal:

ffmpeg -decoders | grep qsv

If you are using Windows Command Prompt (cmd), use findstr instead of grep:

ffmpeg -decoders | findstr qsv

This will filter the output to show only QSV-capable decoders, such as h264_qsv, hevc_qsv, vp9_qsv, and mpeg2_qsv.

Listing QSV Encoders

To list the hardware-accelerated Intel QSV encoders available for rendering and compressing video, execute:

ffmpeg -encoders | grep qsv

For Windows users:

ffmpeg -encoders | findstr qsv

The output will display the available QSV encoders, which may include h264_qsv (AVC), hevc_qsv (HEVC), av1_qsv (for newer Intel hardware supporting AV1), and mjpeg_qsv.

Listing All QSV Codecs

If you want a broad overview of all codecs (both decoders and encoders) that mention QSV in your FFmpeg installation, run:

ffmpeg -codecs | grep qsv

This command helps you quickly verify if your FFmpeg binary was compiled with QSV support enabled (--enable-libmfx or --enable-libvpl).