Rockchip RKVDEC video decoder
A kernel interface to the dedicated video decoding hardware found inside Rockchip application processors such as the RK3288, RK3328, RK3399, RK3588, and RK3576. These chips power a large swath of currently shipping ARM single-board computers, TV boxes, tablets, and Chromebooks, where the decoder offloads H.264, HEVC, VP9, and related video formats from the CPU.
recommendation
It should stay because the hardware block ships in current Rockchip SoCs (RK3288, RK3328, RK3399, RK3588, RK3576) that power widely sold single-board computers like the Radxa ROCK 5 series, and upstream development is clearly active: 2025 saw the driver moved out of staging with new SoC bindings and added H.264 High 10 / 4:2:2 profile support, with further commits landing into 2026. No alternative driver exists for this IP block.
repository signals
sources
- lore-kernel.gnuweeb.org
Upstream patch series in mid-2025 prepared new rkvdec variants, added RK3588/RK3576 bindings and moved the driver out of staging, indicating active investment rather than removal.
- lore-kernel.gnuweeb.org
A 2025 patch series added H.264 High 10 and 4:2:2 profile support to rkvdec, showing ongoing feature work.
- spinics.net
A March 26, 2026 thread discusses enabling the Rockchip video decoder in arm64 defconfig, which is consistent with current upstream relevance.
- cateee.net
LKDDb shows CONFIG_VIDEO_ROCKCHIP_VDEC in current kernels and lists supported compatibles including rk3288, rk3328, rk3399, rk3588 and rk3576.
- docs.radxa.com
Radxa's current ROCK 5 product line is based on RK3588/RK3588S-class SoCs, showing the hardware family is still sold in new products.
- radxa.com
The ROCK 5B+ product page markets a currently sold RK3588 board, supporting ongoing new deployments of SoCs covered by this driver.
codex reasoning notes (technical)
Real kernel driver: local source inspection via exec_command found module_platform_driver in rkvdec.c and OF compatibles for rk3288/rk3328/rk3399/rk3588/rk3576. Local git history via exec_command showed substantive rkvdec commits on 2026-03-18 and a large feature series on 2026-01-21, so the code is actively maintained. Lore evidence URLs were obtained with web search: turn1search5 (new variants and unstaging), turn1search4 (2025 codec/profile support), turn1search0 (2026 defconfig discussion); none indicated removal. Deployment URLs were obtained with web search: turn3search0 (LKDDb current kernel presence), turn2search4 and turn2search5 (current RK3588 products still sold). No natural replacement driver exists for the same Rockchip VDEC IP block, so removal or deprecation is not indicated.