# VK_KHR_video_encode_h265(3) Manual Page

## Name

VK_KHR_video_encode_h265 - device extension

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## Registered Extension Number

40

## Revision

14

## Ratification Status

Ratified

## Extension and Version Dependencies

VK_KHR_video_encode_queue

## Contact

- Ahmed Abdelkhalek [GitHub]aabdelkh

## Extension Proposal

VK_KHR_video_encode_h265

## Other Extension Metadata

Last Modified Date

  2023-12-05

IP Status

  No known IP claims.

Contributors

  - Ahmed Abdelkhalek, AMD

  - George Hao, AMD

  - Jake Beju, AMD

  - Chunbo Chen, Intel

  - Ping Liu, Intel

  - Srinath Kumarapuram, NVIDIA

  - Tony Zlatinski, NVIDIA

  - Ravi Chaudhary, NVIDIA

  - Daniel Rakos, RasterGrid

  - Aidan Fabius, Core Avionics & Industrial Inc.

  - Lynne Iribarren, Independent

## Description

This extension builds upon the `VK_KHR_video_encode_queue` extension by adding support for encoding elementary video stream sequences compliant with the H.265/HEVC video compression standard.

Note | This extension was promoted to `KHR` from the provisional extension `VK_EXT_video_encode_h265`.

## New Structures

- VkVideoEncodeH265FrameSizeKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265QpKHR

- Extending VkVideoBeginCodingInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265GopRemainingFrameInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoCapabilitiesKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilitiesKHR

- Extending VkVideoCodingControlInfoKHR, VkVideoBeginCodingInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoEncodeInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265PictureInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoEncodeQualityLevelPropertiesKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265QualityLevelPropertiesKHR

- Extending VkVideoEncodeRateControlLayerInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlLayerInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoEncodeSessionParametersFeedbackInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersFeedbackInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoEncodeSessionParametersGetInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersGetInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoProfileInfoKHR, VkQueryPoolCreateInfo:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265ProfileInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoReferenceSlotInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265DpbSlotInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoSessionCreateInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265SessionCreateInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoSessionParametersCreateInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersCreateInfoKHR

- Extending VkVideoSessionParametersUpdateInfoKHR:

  - VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersAddInfoKHR

## New Enums

- VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilityFlagBitsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265CtbSizeFlagBitsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlFlagBitsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265StdFlagBitsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265TransformBlockSizeFlagBitsKHR

## New Bitmasks

- VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilityFlagsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265CtbSizeFlagsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlFlagsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265StdFlagsKHR

- VkVideoEncodeH265TransformBlockSizeFlagsKHR

## New Enum Constants

- `VK_KHR_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_EXTENSION_NAME`

- `VK_KHR_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SPEC_VERSION`

- Extending VkStructureType:

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITIES_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_DPB_SLOT_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_GOP_REMAINING_FRAME_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_NALU_SLICE_SEGMENT_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_PICTURE_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_PROFILE_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_QUALITY_LEVEL_PROPERTIES_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_RATE_CONTROL_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_RATE_CONTROL_LAYER_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SESSION_CREATE_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SESSION_PARAMETERS_ADD_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SESSION_PARAMETERS_CREATE_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SESSION_PARAMETERS_FEEDBACK_INFO_KHR`

  - `VK_STRUCTURE_TYPE_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_SESSION_PARAMETERS_GET_INFO_KHR`

- Extending VkVideoCodecOperationFlagBitsKHR:

  - `VK_VIDEO_CODEC_OPERATION_ENCODE_H265_BIT_KHR`

## Version History

- Revision 0, 2019-11-14 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Initial draft

- Revision 0.5, 2020-02-13 (Tony Zlatinski)

  - General Spec cleanup

  - Added DPB structures

  - Change the VCL frame encode structure

  - Added a common Non-VCL Picture Paramarameters structure

- Revision 2, Oct 10 2021 (Srinath Kumarapuram)

  - Vulkan Video Encode h.265 update and spec edits

- Revision 3, 2021-12-08 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Rate control updates

- Revision 4, 2022-01-11 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Replace occurrences of “slice” by “slice segment” and rename structures/enums to reflect this.

- Revision 5, 2022-02-10 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Updates to encode capability interface

- Revision 6, 2022-03-16 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Relocate Std header version reporting/requesting from this extension to VK_KHR_video_queue extension.

  - Remove the now empty VkVideoEncodeH265SessionCreateInfoEXT.

- Revision 7, 2022-03-24 (Ahmed Abdelkhalek)

  - Add capability flags to report support to disable transform skip and support to use B frame in L1 reference list.

- Revision 8, 2022-07-18 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Replace `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlStructureFlagBitsEXT` bit enum with `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlStructureEXT` enum

  - Rename `VkVideoEncodeH265ProfileEXT` to `VkVideoEncodeH265ProfileInfoEXT`

  - Rename `VkVideoEncodeH265ReferenceListsEXT` to `VkVideoEncodeH265ReferenceListsInfoEXT`

  - Rename `VkVideoEncodeH265EmitPictureParametersEXT` to `VkVideoEncodeH265EmitPictureParametersInfoEXT`

  - Rename `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentEXT` to `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT`

- Revision 9, 2022-09-18 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Rename `vpsStdCount`, `pVpsStd`, `spsStdCount`, `pSpsStd`, `ppsStdCount`, and `pPpsStd` to `stdVPSCount`, `pStdVPSs`, `stdSPSCount`, `pStdSPSs`, `stdPPSCount`, and `pStdPPSs`, respectively, in `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersAddInfoEXT`

  - Rename `maxVpsStdCount`, `maxSpsStdCount`, and `maxPpsStdCount` to `maxStdVPSCount`, `maxStdSPSCount` and `maxStdPPSCount`, respectively, in `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersCreateInfoEXT`

- Revision 10, 2023-03-06 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Removed `VkVideoEncodeH265EmitPictureParametersInfoEXT`

  - Changed member types in `VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilitiesEXT` and `VkVideoEncodeH265ReferenceListsInfoEXT` from `uint8_t` to `uint32_t`

  - Changed the type of `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlInfoEXT::subLayerCount` and `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlLayerInfoEXT::temporalId` from `uint8_t` to `uint32_t`

  - Removed `VkVideoEncodeH265InputModeFlagsEXT` and `VkVideoEncodeH265OutputModeFlagsEXT` as we only support frame-in-frame-out mode for now

  - Rename `pCurrentPictureInfo` in `VkVideoEncodeH265VclFrameInfoEXT` to `pStdPictureInfo`

  - Rename `pSliceSegmentHeaderStd` in `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT` to `pStdSliceSegmentHeader`

  - Rename `pReferenceFinalLists` in `VkVideoEncodeH265VclFrameInfoEXT` and `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT` to `pStdReferenceFinalLists`

  - Removed the `slotIndex` member of `VkVideoEncodeH265DpbSlotInfoEXT` and changed it to be chained to `VkVideoReferenceSlotInfoKHR`

  - Replaced `VkVideoEncodeH265ReferenceListsInfoEXT` with the new Video Std header structure `StdVideoEncodeH265ReferenceLists`

  - Added new capability flag `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITY_DIFFERENT_REFERENCE_FINAL_LISTS_BIT_EXT`

- Revision 11, 2023-05-26 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Renamed `VkVideoEncodeH265VclFrameInfoEXT` to `VkVideoEncodeH265PictureInfoEXT`

  - Removed `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlLayerInfoEXT::temporalId`

  - Added `expectDyadicTemporalSubLayerPattern` capability

  - Added the `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersGetInfoEXT` structure to identify the H.265 parameter sets to retrieve encoded parameter data for, and the `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersFeedbackInfoEXT` structure to retrieve H.265 parameter set override information when using the new `vkGetEncodedVideoSessionParametersKHR` command

  - Added `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT::constantQp` to specify per-slice segment constant QP when rate control mode is `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_RATE_CONTROL_MODE_DISABLED_BIT_KHR`

  - Added `VkVideoEncodeH265QualityLevelPropertiesEXT` for retrieving H.265 specific quality level recommendations

  - Replaced `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlStructureEXT` enum with the flags type `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlFlagsEXT` and bits defined in `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlFlagBitsEXT` and added HRD compliance flag

  - Removed `useInitialRcQp` and `initialRcQp` members of `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlLayerInfoEXT`

  - Added `prefersGopRemainingFrames` and `requiresGopRemainingFrames`, and the new `VkVideoEncodeH265GopRemainingFrameInfoEXT` structure to allow specifying remaining frames of each type in the rate control GOP

  - Renamed `maxSubLayersCount` capability to `maxSubLayerCount`

  - Added `maxQp`, and `minQp` capabilities

  - Added `maxLevelIdc` capability and new `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionCreateInfoEXT` structure to specify upper bounds on the H.265 level of the produced video bitstream

  - Moved capability flags specific to codec syntax restrictions from `VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilityFlagsEXT` to the new `VkVideoEncodeH265StdFlagsEXT` which is now included as a separate `stdSyntaxFlags` member in `VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilitiesEXT`

  - Added `std` prefix to codec syntax capabilities in `VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilitiesEXT`

  - Removed `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT::ctbCount` and `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITY_SLICE_SEGMENT_CTB_COUNT_BIT_EXT`

  - Replaced `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITY_MULTIPLE_SLICE_SEGMENTS_PER_FRAME_BIT_EXT` with the new `maxSliceSegmentCount` capability

  - Added `maxTiles` capability

  - Removed codec syntax min/max capabilities from `VkVideoEncodeH265CapabilitiesEXT`

  - Removed capability flag `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITY_DIFFERENT_REFERENCE_FINAL_LISTS_BIT_EXT` and removed `pStdReferenceFinalLists` members from the `VkVideoEncodeH265PictureInfoEXT` and `VkVideoEncodeH265NaluSliceSegmentInfoEXT` structures as reference lists info is now included in `pStdPictureInfo`

  - Added capability flag `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_CAPABILITY_B_FRAME_IN_L0_LIST_BIT_EXT`

- Revision 12, 2023-07-19 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Added video std capability flags `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_STD_SLICE_QP_DELTA_BIT_EXT` and `VK_VIDEO_ENCODE_H265_STD_DIFFERENT_SLICE_QP_DELTA_BIT_EXT`

  - Fixed optionality of the array members of `VkVideoEncodeH265SessionParametersAddInfoEXT`

  - Fixed optionality of `VkVideoEncodeH265RateControlInfoEXT::flags`

- Revision 13, 2023-09-04 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Change extension from `EXT` to `KHR`

  - Extension is no longer provisional

- Revision 14, 2023-12-05 (Daniel Rakos)

  - Condition reference picture setup based on the value of `StdVideoEncodeH265PictureInfo::flags.is_reference`

## See Also

No cross-references are available

## Document Notes

For more information, see the Vulkan Specification

This page is a generated document. Fixes and changes should be made to the generator scripts, not directly.

## Copyright

Copyright 2014-2025 The Khronos Group Inc.

SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-4.0