Mesa 26.0-rc3 delivers critical fixes for Intel Vulkan Video encode on newer hardware, ANV Vulkan Video AV1 support, and multiple driver improvements across Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD platforms as the project approaches its stable 26.0 release.
Mesa 26.0-rc3 has been released, marking another step toward the stable Mesa 26.0 launch scheduled for next week. The release candidate, announced by Eric Engestrom, brings a week's worth of bug fixes and critical improvements across multiple graphics drivers.
The most significant change in this release involves Intel's Vulkan Video encode functionality. The development team has disabled Vulkan Video encode on Intel's newer graphics architectures, specifically Alchemist and Meteor Lake and newer, due to persistent bugs and insufficient testing coverage. This precautionary measure ensures stability for users of recent Intel hardware while the underlying issues are addressed.
Two specific fixes have been implemented for ANV's Vulkan Video AV1 support, addressing compatibility and performance issues that were identified during testing. These improvements are particularly relevant for users working with AV1 video encoding and decoding on Intel platforms.
The release also includes several common Vulkan code fixes that benefit multiple drivers within the Mesa ecosystem. NVIDIA's NVK driver has been updated to report additional host_image_copy layouts, improving compatibility and potentially enhancing performance for certain workloads.
Intel's ANV driver receives additional fixes beyond the Vulkan Video changes, addressing various stability and functionality issues. The RADV driver, which powers AMD's Radeon graphics, includes several ray-tracing fixes along with other general Radeon driver improvements. These updates are crucial for maintaining performance and stability across AMD's GPU lineup, particularly for applications leveraging ray-tracing capabilities.
The complete list of patches included in Mesa 26.0-rc3 is available in today's release announcement, providing detailed information for developers and advanced users interested in the specific changes.
Looking ahead, Mesa 26.0 stable could be released as early as next Wednesday, February 11th, if no critical issues emerge. The development team reports no blocker bugs currently pending, with the only remaining action item being the preparation of the release announcement email. This smooth progression suggests that Mesa 26.0-rc4 may not be necessary, allowing the project to meet its target release date.
This release cycle demonstrates Mesa's continued commitment to stability and performance across the diverse landscape of modern graphics hardware, from Intel's latest integrated solutions to NVIDIA and AMD discrete GPUs.
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