Determine if iOS device can support HEVC encoding

Question

My problem is I want to use AVVideoCodecHEVC. I know that it's only available in iOS 11, but device's without the A10 chip do not support it.

So, using if #available(iOS 11.0, *) { let self.codec = AVVideoCodecHEVC } Will throw Cannot Encode error if using a device like an iPhone 6 that doesn't have the A10 chip. Has anyone been able to figure out if a device running iOS 11, can support HEVC?

What about [`availableVideoCodecTypes `](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/avcapturevideodataoutput/1389227-availablevideocodectypes) ? — Martin R, Jun 20 '18 at 20:00

Ryder Mackay · Accepted Answer · 2018-10-15T18:12:12.543

You can check if an iOS device or Mac has hardware encoding support using VideoToolbox:

/// Whether or not the current device has an HEVC hardware encoder.
public static let hasHEVCHardwareEncoder: Bool = {
    let spec: [CFString: Any]
    #if os(macOS)
        spec = [ kVTVideoEncoderSpecification_RequireHardwareAcceleratedVideoEncoder: true ]
    #else
        spec = [:]
    #endif
    var outID: CFString?
    var properties: CFDictionary?
    let result = VTCopySupportedPropertyDictionaryForEncoder(width: 1920, height: 1080, codecType: kCMVideoCodecType_HEVC, encoderSpecification: spec as CFDictionary, encoderIDOut: &outID, supportedPropertiesOut: &properties)
    if result == kVTCouldNotFindVideoEncoderErr {
        return false // no hardware HEVC encoder
    }
    return result == noErr
}()

A much higher level way to check is to see if AVAssetExportSession supports one of the HEVC presets:

AVAssetExportSession.allExportPresets().contains(AVAssetExportPresetHEVCHighestQuality)

See “Working with HEIF and HEVC” from WWDC 2017 for more info.

`AVAssetExportSession.allExportPresets()` worked perfectly! than you! — Clayton J., Jun 20 '18 at 20:37
I appreciate the depth of this answer, and the way it was written. — xaphod, Sep 24 '18 at 16:26

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 29 '18 at 07:26

3

HEVC media on Apple devices

When using iOS 11 or later, these devices can capture media in HEIF or HEVC format:

iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus or later
iPad (6th generation)
iPad Pro (10.5 inch)
iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd generation)

answered Oct 29 '18 at 07:26

Giang

3,553
30
28

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Dec 25 '19 at 00:04

0

Use AVFoundation:

let isHEVC = AVOutputSettingsAssistant.availableOutputSettingsPresets().contains(.hevc3840x2160)

...or other presets from the AVOutputSettingsPreset enum

answered Dec 25 '19 at 00:04

Niko

161
6

Determine if iOS device can support HEVC encoding

3 Answers3