元素服务器提供企业级GPU转码加速

在IBC 2009, I had a demo of a product I'd been waiting to see for several years: an enterprise-class graphics processor unit (GPU) transcoding system.

2008年年中，我参加了波特兰一家公司的面试 商业杂志 关于GPU转码加速的市场潜力的文章, 自2006年底以来一直在缓慢取得进展.

的 reason the GPU technology market landscape caught the eye of Aliza Earnshaw, the 杂志's technology reporter, centered on a small Portland startup, Elemental Technologies.

Elemental刚刚筹集了大约4美元.A轮融资500万美元, was exploring ways to harness the latent power of GPUs to accelerate transcoding of edited content from Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro non-linear editing timelines.

的 商业杂志 记者想知道，这一市场战略的转变是否由Elemental决定, away from its original concept of self-contained GPU-based transcoding solutions and toward software-based solutions, was due to the fact that GPUs could never compete with the central processing units (CPUs) found in most desktops and servers, 当涉及到高端编码和转码盒时.

My answer to her was that it simply a matter of time before the latent power of the GPU was harnessed for video transcoding, 考虑到gpu从设计开始就考虑到视频.

Elemental很有可能利用这一趋势, given their multiple years of delving into the underlying processor technology and nVIDIA's Compute-Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) programming technology. Yet the shift to a software-only solution also made marketing and strategic sense, as it gave the company a short-term go-to-market strategy while also allowing Elemental to further develop its code base. 惠普选择了解决方案, working with nVIDIA to integrate the Elemental solution into its multiple GPU machines such as its recent HP Z-series machines, 比如Z800.

在IBC 2009上进行了演示, 元素回归本源, 为GPU-CPU之争提供了一个潜在的令人信服的答案. 的 IBC prototype was for 基本的服务器, a self-contained GPU-based enterprise transcoding system.

基本的服务器, 现在正在运输, is what CEO Sam Blackman calls the "first-to-market multiple-GPU transcoding engine, 使用大规模并行视频处理，允许多个, 同时比实时更快的转码."

Once Blackman called 基本的服务器 "a first" in a phone interview just prior to today's announcement, I did some research to verify that no other company had actually shipped a system in this market space. 尽管发现了一些原型机的尝试, 这是一个纯软件的开源项目, I have not been able to find another GPU-based system that offers multiple simultaneous transcodes.

“GPU计算是一个相对较新的领域, 所以我们得到了关于视频质量和CPU替代品的问题,布莱克曼说。, when asked about the misunderstandings that Elemental hears in the general marketplace. 为了证明GPU系统的质量满足, 在某些情况下, 超过cpu转码质量, 我们做了大量的测试. 顶级的CPU编解码器. 我们将很快公布我们的测试结果."

的基本的服务器 comes with four GPUs that can be independently addressed, which Blackman says means the server is capable of transcoding one 1080p HD file per GPU, 或每个GPU多达6个标准清晰度视频文件, 总共有4个1080p或24个SD转码同时发生.

"While 基本的服务器 ships in a standard configuration without any direct inputs,布莱克曼说。, "it can handle concurrent processing of multiple resolutions and bitrates on a single system, 简化了创建自适应比特率(ABR)内容的要求. An SDI input card is also available to allow simultaneous live encoding into multiple formats."

的 server also has the ability to use FibreChannel or InfiniBand for connectivity to centralized storage, and a new SDI board is forthcoming that will allow additional encoding options, 用模拟合成, S-video和组件连接可通过断线电缆.

“元素服务器进行转码和单源编码,布莱克曼说。, 但它的设计初衷并不是作为流媒体引擎."

Blackman says another misunderstanding about GPU transcoding is that it only addresses a narrow market niche.

“我们有广播公司, content delivery networks and online video platforms testing our beta systems,布莱克曼说. "but we've also heard from educational and government entities interested in testing our solutions."

Blackman在原始处理能力方面提出了一些重要的主张, 与CPU处理解决方案相比.

"If a potential customer chooses to replace CPU-based systems with our GPU-based solution,布莱克曼说, “他们将看到转码速度至少提高四倍. 用于预处理滤波器，如去隔行滤波器和梳状滤波器, 我们的客户将看到速度提高50-60倍, 因为这些类型的视频过滤器是原生的GPU处理."

流媒体计划对这些说法进行审查, testing the 基本的服务器 within the next few weeks and comparing it to CPU- and DSP-based solutions, as well as software-only GPU solutions such as Elemental's Accelerator for the HP Z800 8-core, dual-GPU工作站.

被问及元素服务器中使用的gpu的细节, 布莱克曼表示反对, 只说它们是标准的gpu.

"We're not using specialized GPUs,布莱克曼说。, "instead we're using off-the-shelf GPUs. 除了gpu, 虽然, we've completely rewritten the acceleration code—moving well beyond the current desktop GPU solution to include clustering software that allows transcoding across multiple cards and even multiple systems."

企业级解决方案的关键之一是远程监控输出, and Elemental includes an HTML interface as well as alarms and monitoring for remote connectivity. GPU直接输出, 通过一个DVI监视器连接到一个图形处理器, 还允许“信心”监控.

“在多服务器解决方案中，没有特定的机器充当主节点,布莱克曼说。, 这意味着任何系统都可以外包工作, 无需购买特殊许可证. 除了, 因为任何系统都可以充当主节点, a fail-over from one system to another is also part of the enterprise-grade solution."

由于基本的服务器支持MPEG-2、VC-1和H.264编解码器, 用各种格式容器(包括F4V)包装, ASF, WMV, 3GP, and MP4—Blackman says Elemental plans to release a white paper showing the details of how Elemental's codecs compare to CPU-only codecs that have been around for quite some time.