Note: This article is only applicable to XenDesktop or XenApp 7.15 LTSR VDAs. For VDA versions 7.16 and newer H.264 hardware encoding is enabled by default provided the latest Intel GPU drivers are installed on the machine. 

Hardware encoding with Intel Iris Pro graphics processors offloads H.264 operations to the GPU to save CPU and increase server scalability and performance.

System Requirements

• Windows 10 and Windows Server 2012 and higher
• Install 7.15 Server OS or 7.15 Desktop OS VDA (in standard or HDX 3D Pro mode)
• Supported Intel Iris Pro graphics processors in the Intel Broadwell processor family and later are supported
• Intel Remote Displays SDK version 1.0 is required and can be downloaded from Intel website here. 

Instructions

1. Install Intel Graphics Drivers on the Server or Desktop machine.
2. Install the 7.15 LTSR Server OS / Desktop OS VDA . 
   • You can install the Intel graphics drivers before installing the VDA. The following step is only required for VDA version 7.15 LTSR if you install Intel drivers after you install the VDA with HDX 3D Pro or if the Intel driver has been updated. (This step is not required for VDA versions 7.16 or newer)
     • In order to enable the Intel drivers required for multi-monitor support, run the following command using the GfxDisplayTool.exe tool located in C:\Program Files\Citrix\ICAService, then restart the VDA: GfxDisplayTool.exe –vd enable
   • Note: Uninstalling Intel drivers within an ICA session is not supported.

3. Enable the HDX policy: “Use hardware encoding for video codec” (it is set to Enabled by default). This setting allows the use of graphics hardware to compress screen elements with video (H.264) codec. If such hardware is not available, the VDA will fall back to CPU-based encoding using the software video codec.

1. Download and install HDX Monitor on the VDA.
2. Open HDX Monitor and Select the Graphics - Thinwire option on the left to see the Applied thinwire settings.