diff --git a/src/torchcodec/_core/BetaCudaDeviceInterface.cpp b/src/torchcodec/_core/BetaCudaDeviceInterface.cpp
index 8ae6a3959..78fa8d635 100644
--- a/src/torchcodec/_core/BetaCudaDeviceInterface.cpp
+++ b/src/torchcodec/_core/BetaCudaDeviceInterface.cpp
@@ -203,10 +203,7 @@ BetaCudaDeviceInterface::BetaCudaDeviceInterface(const torch::Device& device)
   TORCH_CHECK(
       device_.type() == torch::kCUDA, "Unsupported device: ", device_.str());
 
-  // Initialize CUDA context with a dummy tensor
-  torch::Tensor dummyTensorForCudaInitialization = torch::empty(
-      {1}, torch::TensorOptions().dtype(torch::kUInt8).device(device_));
-
+  initializeCudaContextWithPytorch(device_);
   nppCtx_ = getNppStreamContext(device_);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.cpp b/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.cpp
index ee2f63c28..4f3664031 100644
--- a/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.cpp
+++ b/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.cpp
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@ PerGpuCache<NppStreamContext> g_cached_npp_ctxs(
 
 } // namespace
 
+void initializeCudaContextWithPytorch(const torch::Device& device) {
+  // It is important for pytorch itself to create the cuda context. If ffmpeg
+  // creates the context it may not be compatible with pytorch.
+  // This is a dummy tensor to initialize the cuda context.
+  torch::Tensor dummyTensorForCudaInitialization = torch::zeros(
+      {1}, torch::TensorOptions().dtype(torch::kUInt8).device(device));
+}
+
 /* clang-format off */
 // Note: [YUV -> RGB Color Conversion, color space and color range]
 //
diff --git a/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.h b/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.h
index b4c081885..b935cd4bf 100644
--- a/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.h
+++ b/src/torchcodec/_core/CUDACommon.h
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@ extern "C" {
 
 namespace facebook::torchcodec {
 
+void initializeCudaContextWithPytorch(const torch::Device& device);
+
 // Unique pointer type for NPP stream context
 using UniqueNppContext = std::unique_ptr<NppStreamContext>;
 
diff --git a/src/torchcodec/_core/CudaDeviceInterface.cpp b/src/torchcodec/_core/CudaDeviceInterface.cpp
index e8df0a608..2d09864a1 100644
--- a/src/torchcodec/_core/CudaDeviceInterface.cpp
+++ b/src/torchcodec/_core/CudaDeviceInterface.cpp
@@ -129,11 +129,10 @@ CudaDeviceInterface::CudaDeviceInterface(const torch::Device& device)
   TORCH_CHECK(
       device_.type() == torch::kCUDA, "Unsupported device: ", device_.str());
 
-  // It is important for pytorch itself to create the cuda context. If ffmpeg
-  // creates the context it may not be compatible with pytorch.
-  // This is a dummy tensor to initialize the cuda context.
-  torch::Tensor dummyTensorForCudaInitialization = torch::empty(
-      {1}, torch::TensorOptions().dtype(torch::kUInt8).device(device_));
+  initializeCudaContextWithPytorch(device_);
+
+  // TODO rename this, this is a hardware device context, not a CUDA context!
+  // See https://github.com/meta-pytorch/torchcodec/issues/924
   ctx_ = getCudaContext(device_);
   nppCtx_ = getNppStreamContext(device_);
 }