drivers/media/platform/mediatek/vcodec/encoder · keep

MediaTek MT8173/MT8183/MT8188/MT8192/MT8195 video encoder

The hardware video encoding engine built into MediaTek's MT8173, MT8183, MT8188, MT8192, and MT8195 ARM SoCs, which power a wide range of Chromebooks and other Arm Linux devices from the late 2010s through today. It accelerates H.264 and VP8/VP9 video encoding for applications like video calls and screen recording.

keep conf=0.82 deploy=medium replacement=none subsystem=media category=media-other

82%

recommendation

It should stay in the kernel because it drives the hardware video encoder block on a current generation of MediaTek ARM SoCs that ship in Chromebooks from Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo, with MediaTek publicly committing to more Chromebook launches in 2025. Upstream commit history shows ongoing fixes and feature work into 2026 with no removal discussions on the mailing lists.

repository signals

15 files

4,590 source lines

26 commits, 5y

+4,723 / −124 lines added / removed, 5y

19 authors, 5y

monthly commits · 2021-04-21 → 2026-04-21 · 26 total · active in 15/61 months

sources

git.kernel.org
Upstream driver match table covers MediaTek MT8173, MT8183, MT8188, MT8192, and MT8195 encoder blocks, indicating this directory supports multiple relatively recent SoCs rather than one obsolete part.
mediatek.com
MediaTek states its chipsets power Chromebooks from major brands including Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo, showing continuing new-device deployment in the Chromebook market.
mediatek.com
MediaTek discussed Chromebook launches and plans for 2025, which supports the conclusion that this SoC family remains in active new-product deployment.

codex reasoning notes (technical)

Local shell inspection of mtk_vcodec_enc_drv.c confirmed a real platform V4L2 encoder driver with OF matches for MT8173/8183/8188/8192/8195. Local git log plus the user-supplied stats show sustained upstream activity through 2026-01-13 with multiple non-removal fixes, so this does not look dormant. web.search_query on lore.kernel.org returned no removal-discussion hits. Sources were obtained via local exec_command for code/history, web.search_query for MediaTek product-market evidence, and one canonical-recall kernel.org tree URL for the exact upstream file.