MediaTek Kompanio and Genio video decoder blocks
Hardware video decoders built into MediaTek's MT8173, MT8183, MT8186, MT8188, MT8192, and MT8195 system-on-chips, used to accelerate H.264, HEVC, VP9, and AV1 playback on MediaTek-powered Chromebooks and Genio-branded IoT and edge devices from roughly 2017 onward.
recommendation
It should stay because the code is actively maintained, was reorganised as recently as 2023, and is still receiving feature work and bug fixes into 2024 and beyond. The hardware it targets is shipping today in current MediaTek Chromebook chips like the Kompanio 520 and in Genio 700 and Genio 1200 IoT platforms, and there is no upstream replacement on the horizon.
repository signals
sources
- git.kernel.org
Upstream code for this directory is still seeing recent fixes and feature work, matching the local git history with substantive touches in 2024-2026 and no visible removal trend.
- git.kernel.org
Mainline DT binding covers newer decoder hardware for MT8192, MT8186, MT8188, and MT8195, showing this code serves multiple current MediaTek SoC generations.
- git.kernel.org
Mainline DT binding also covers MT8173 and MT8183 decoder hardware, confirming the driver family spans several deployed MediaTek platforms.
- mediatek.com
MediaTek still markets Genio 700 as a current IoT SoC with Linux-capable deployment targets and hardware video decode support, indicating ongoing new-device relevance.
- mediatek.com
MediaTek still markets Genio 1200 as a current edge/industrial platform with AV1/VP9/H.264/H.265 decode, aligning with continued need for maintained decoder support.
- mediatek.com
MediaTek still markets Kompanio 520 for new Chromebooks and advertises H.264/HEVC/VP9 decode, supporting continued deployment in shipping consumer devices.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real driver directory: codec-specific decoder implementation objects under the MediaTek V4L2 mem2mem driver. Local shell evidence: `git -c safe.directory=... log --since=2021 -- drivers/media/platform/mediatek/vcodec/decoder/vdec` showed substantive activity through 2026-02 (features, bug fixes, smatch fixes), and local `rg` over DT bindings/DTS showed supported compatibles from MT8173 through MT8195 with no removal discussion indicators. URLs used as follows: kernel.org log/tree pages by canonical recall corresponding to the locally inspected path/bindings; MediaTek product URLs obtained via web search/open (`turn0search0/1/2`, `turn1view0/1/2`, `turn2view1/2`). Because the code is newly split (since 2023), actively maintained, and maps to MediaTek SoCs still sold for Chromebooks and IoT/industrial products in 2025+, the correct recommendation is keep, with no natural upstream replacement.