[Beta Support]: QSV failing on Battlemage (Intel Arc Pro B50) in Frigate 0.18.0 while VAAPI works

[sergeantc03]

Describe the problem you are having

I cloned the Frigate dev branch, built the Dockerfile locally, and ran the resulting frigate-dev image on my UNRAID machine. I expected Intel QSV to work with my Intel Arc Pro B50 (Battlemage), but QSV fails while VAAPI works successfully on the same system and same /dev/dri/renderD128 device.

To isolate the issue, I ran direct FFmpeg and vainfo tests inside the frigate-dev container. Results were:

• vainfo succeeds
• VAAPI FFmpeg test succeeds
• QSV FFmpeg test fails on /dev/dri/renderD128

This does not appear to be a host driver issue, because I also have a separate working Frigate container on the same host and GPU where QSV works successfully. That suggests the issue is specific to the Frigate beta/dev container or its bundled FFmpeg/QSV runtime path rather than the UNRAID host or Battlemage support in general.

To add, I tested the same container with jellyfin-ffmpeg and installed the additional dependencies it needed. QSV test succeeded with jellyfin-ffmpeg. The output is added in additional-info.

Beta Version

0.18.0

Issue Category

Hardware Acceleration

Frigate config file

mqtt:
  enabled: false
  host: 192.168.x.x
  port: 1883
  topic_prefix: frigate
  user: <redacted>
  password: "<redacted>"

audio:
  enabled: false

detectors:
  onnx:
    type: onnx
    device: GPU

model:
  path: plus://<redacted>

ffmpeg:
  hwaccel_args: preset-intel-qsv-h264
  output_args:
    record: preset-record-generic

detect:
  enabled: true
  fps: 5
  min_initialized: 2
  max_disappeared: 25
  stationary:
    interval: 50
    threshold: 50
    max_frames:
      default: 3000
      objects:
        person: 1000
        package: 1000

objects:
  track:
    - person
    - package
  filters:
    person:
      min_area: 5000
      max_area: 100000
      min_ratio: 0.5
      max_ratio: 2.0
      min_score: 0.6
      threshold: 0.8
    package:
      min_area: 800
      max_area: 50000
      min_ratio: 0.3
      max_ratio: 3.0
      min_score: 0.5
      threshold: 0.7

review:
  alerts:
    labels: [person, package]
  detections:
    labels: [person, package]

logger:
  logs:
    frigate.record.maintainer: debug

record:
  enabled: true
  expire_interval: 60
  continuous:
    days: 7
  alerts:
    retain:
      days: 3
  detections:
    retain:
      days: 3
  motion:
    days: 0

snapshots:
  enabled: false

cameras:
  driveway:
    ffmpeg:
      hwaccel_args: preset-intel-qsv-h265
      inputs:
        - path: rtsp://<user>:<password>@192.168.x.x:554/Preview_01_main
          input_args: -rtsp_transport tcp -fflags +genpts+discardcorrupt -avoid_negative_ts make_zero -flags low_delay
          roles:
            - record
            - detect
    detect:
      enabled: true
      fps: 5
      width: 3840
      height: 2160
    objects:
      track:
        - person
      filters:
        person:
          min_area: 5000
          max_area: 100000
          min_ratio: 0.5
          max_ratio: 2.0
          min_score: 0.6
          threshold: 0.8
    review:
      alerts:
        labels: [person]
      detections:
        labels: [person]

version: 0.18-0

Relevant Frigate log output

[2026-04-13 11:32:52] watchdog.driveway              ERROR   : Ffmpeg process crashed unexpectedly for driveway.
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] watchdog.driveway              ERROR   : The following ffmpeg logs include the last 100 lines prior to exit.
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : libva info: User environment variable requested driver 'iHD'
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : [AVHWDeviceContext @ 0x55ff8c883180] Error setting child device handle: -17
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : Device creation failed: -1313558101.
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : Failed to set value '/dev/dri/renderD128' for option 'qsv_device': Unknown error occurred
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] ffmpeg.driveway.detect         ERROR   : Error parsing global options: Unknown error occurred
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] watchdog.driveway              INFO    : Restarting ffmpeg...
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] frigate.video.ffmpeg           ERROR   : driveway: Unable to read frames from ffmpeg process.
[2026-04-13 11:32:53] frigate.video.ffmpeg           ERROR   : driveway: ffmpeg process is not running. exiting capture thread...

Relevant go2rtc log output (if applicable)

No response

Install method

Docker Compose

docker-compose file or Docker CLI command

services:
  frigate-dev:
    image: frigate-dev
    container_name: frigate-dev
    privileged: true
    shm_size: "2gb"
    devices:
      - /dev/dri:/dev/dri
    volumes:
      - /path/to/config:/config
      - /path/to/storage:/media/frigate
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
      - "8554:8554"
      - "8555:8555/tcp"
      - "8555:8555/udp"
    restart: unless-stopped

Operating system

UNRAID

CPU / GPU / Hardware

AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, Intel Arc Pro B50

Screenshots

No response

Steps to reproduce

1. Clone the Frigate dev branch.
2. Build the Dockerfile locally into a frigate-dev image.
3. Run the container on UNRAID with /dev/dri/renderD128 passed through.
4. Configure Frigate to use Intel QSV.
5. Start Frigate.
6. Observe ffmpeg process failures for the camera stream.
7. Run direct tests inside the container:

• vainfo succeeds
• VAAPI FFmpeg test succeeds
• QSV FFmpeg test fails on /dev/dri/renderD128

Any other information that may be helpful

FFmpeg version:
ffmpeg version n7.1.3-43-g5a1f107b4c-20260319
built with gcc 15.2.0 (crosstool-NG 1.28.0.23_185f348)

QSV test command:
docker exec -it frigate-dev /usr/lib/ffmpeg/7.0/bin/ffmpeg -hide_banner -hwaccel qsv -qsv_device /dev/dri/renderD128 -f lavfi -i testsrc2=size=128x128:rate=1 -frames:v 1 -f null -

QSV output:
libva info: VA-API version 1.22.0
libva info: User environment variable requested driver 'iHD'
libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so
libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22
libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0
[AVHWDeviceContext @ 0x56525d2a1600] Error setting child device handle: -17
Device creation failed: -1313558101.
Failed to set value '/dev/dri/renderD128' for option 'qsv_device': Unknown error occurred
Error parsing global options: Unknown error occurred

VAAPI test command:
docker exec -it frigate-dev /usr/lib/ffmpeg/7.0/bin/ffmpeg -hide_banner -init_hw_device vaapi=va:/dev/dri/renderD128 -hwaccel vaapi -hwaccel_device va -f lavfi -i testsrc2=size=128x128:rate=1 -frames:v 1 -f null -

VAAPI result:
Successful. Frame completed and exited cleanly.

vainfo command:
docker exec -it frigate-dev vainfo --display drm --device /dev/dri/renderD128

vainfo result:
Successful. Intel iHD driver loads and reports codec/profile support normally.

I narrowed this down to the FFmpeg/runtime path bundled with frigate-dev.

First, I tested the extracted Jellyfin FFmpeg package as a custom FFmpeg under /config/custom-ffmpeg. The binary would not run initially because the stock frigate-dev container was missing several shared libraries required by the Jellyfin FFmpeg build.

I verified that with ldd against the custom FFmpeg binary. Missing libraries included:

• libopenmpt.so.0
• libbluray.so.2
• libvpx.so.7
• libwebpmux.so.3
• libwebp.so.7
• libzvbi.so.0
• libmp3lame.so.0
• libopus.so.0
• libtheoraenc.so.1
• libtheoradec.so.1
• libvorbis.so.0
• libvorbisenc.so.2
• libx264.so.164
• libx265.so.199

After installing those missing runtime dependencies inside the frigate-dev container, the custom Jellyfin FFmpeg binary ran successfully.

At that point:

• custom Jellyfin FFmpeg -version worked
• custom Jellyfin FFmpeg QSV test succeeded on /dev/dri/renderD128
• custom Jellyfin FFmpeg VAAPI test also succeeded

This strongly suggests the issue is not the host, GPU, or Battlemage support in general. It appears specific to the FFmpeg/runtime environment bundled with frigate-dev. Replacing that FFmpeg stack changes the result.

LDD showing missing libs before installing dependencies:
=== LDD === libopenmpt.so.0 => not found libbluray.so.2 => not found libvpx.so.7 => not found libwebpmux.so.3 => not found libwebp.so.7 => not found libzvbi.so.0 => not found libmp3lame.so.0 => not found libopus.so.0 => not found libtheoraenc.so.1 => not found libtheoradec.so.1 => not found libvorbis.so.0 => not found libvorbisenc.so.2 => not found libx264.so.164 => not found libx265.so.199 => not found

Packages installed to satisfy the custom Jellyfin FFmpeg runtime:
apt-get install -y \ libopenmpt0 \ libbluray2 \ libvpx7 \ libwebpmux3 \ libwebp7 \ libzvbi0 \ libmp3lame0 \ libopus0 \ libtheora0 \ libvorbis0a \ libvorbisenc2 \ libx264-164 \ libx265-199

Custom Jellyfin FFmpeg version succeeding afterward:
ffmpeg version 7.1.3-Jellyfin Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers built with gcc 12 (Debian 12.2.0-14+deb12u1) configuration: --prefix=/usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg --target-os=linux --extra-version=Jellyfin --disable-doc --disable-ffplay --disable-static --disable-libxcb --disable-sdl2 --disable-xlib --enable-lto=auto --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-shared --enable-gmp --enable-gnutls --enable-chromaprint --enable-opencl --enable-libdrm --enable-libxml2 --enable-libass --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libfontconfig --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libbluray --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopus --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libdav1d --enable-libsvtav1 --enable-libwebp --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libzvbi --enable-libzimg --enable-libfdk-aac --arch=amd64 --enable-libshaderc --enable-libplacebo --enable-vulkan --enable-vaapi --enable-amf --enable-libvpl --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-cuda --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-cuvid --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc

Custom Jellyfin FFmpeg QSV test succeeding:
libva info: VA-API version 1.23.0 libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22 libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0 libva info: VA-API version 1.23.0 libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22 libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0 libva info: VA-API version 1.23.0 libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/jellyfin-ffmpeg/lib/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Trying to open /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri/iHD_drv_video.so libva info: Found init function __vaDriverInit_1_22 libva info: va_openDriver() returns 0 [vist#0:0/wrapped_avframe @ 0x55e3c619fb80] WARNING: defaulting hwaccel_output_format to qsv for compatibility with old commandlines. This behaviour is DEPRECATED and will be removed in the future. Please explicitly set "-hwaccel_output_format qsv". Input #0, lavfi, from 'testsrc2=size=128x128:rate=1': Duration: N/A, start: 0.000000, bitrate: N/A Stream #0:0: Video: wrapped_avframe, yuv420p, 128x128 [SAR 1:1 DAR 1:1], 1 fps, 1 tbr, 1 tbn Stream mapping: Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (wrapped_avframe (native) -> wrapped_avframe (native)) Press [q] to stop, [?] for help Output #0, null, to 'pipe:': Metadata: encoder : Lavf61.7.100 Stream #0:0: Video: wrapped_avframe, yuv420p(progressive), 128x128 [SAR 1:1 DAR 1:1], q=2-31, 200 kb/s, 1 fps, 1 tbn Metadata: encoder : Lavc61.19.101 wrapped_avframe [out#0/null @ 0x55e3c61a0800] video:0KiB audio:0KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: unknown frame= 1 fps=0.0 q=-0.0 Lsize=N/A time=00:00:01.00 bitrate=N/A speed= 195x

Custom Jellyfin FFmpeg VAAPI test succeeding:
Input #0, lavfi, from 'testsrc2=size=128x128:rate=1': Duration: N/A, start: 0.000000, bitrate: N/A Stream #0:0: Video: wrapped_avframe, yuv420p, 128x128 [SAR 1:1 DAR 1:1], 1 fps, 1 tbr, 1 tbn Stream mapping: Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (wrapped_avframe (native) -> wrapped_avframe (native)) Press [q] to stop, [?] for help Output #0, null, to 'pipe:': Metadata: encoder : Lavf61.7.100 Stream #0:0: Video: wrapped_avframe, yuv420p(progressive), 128x128 [SAR 1:1 DAR 1:1], q=2-31, 200 kb/s, 1 fps, 1 tbn Metadata: encoder : Lavc61.19.101 wrapped_avframe [out#0/null @ 0x5571f6d9ad00] video:0KiB audio:0KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: unknown frame= 1 fps=0.0 q=-0.0 Lsize=N/A time=00:00:01.00 bitrate=N/A speed= 469x

[NickM-27]

Not all Battlemage GPUs are the same, the B50 I believe requires newer drivers than B580 and Battlemage integrated GPUs.

Your findings regarding ffmpeg are not correct, Jellyfin ffmpeg is not statically built while Frigate's default ffmpeg (BtBn) is. These are not really directly comparable. The reason Jellyfin ffmpeg works is because it includes its own copy of the drivers in its installation, overwriting those included in the Frigate image itself.

[sergeantc03]

That makes sense. So it's just a driver issue rather than issue with the version of ffpmeg.

[NickM-27]

seems so, though it is confusing as we have already updated the drivers and should have a recent enough version

[NickM-27]

the driver should now work correctly