Non-h264 items (playable="transcode": HEVC/VP9/AV1/MPEG-2/XviD…) now play by
re-encoding the video to H.264 inside the existing HLS session, instead of the
old HTTP 501. VAAPI hardware encode (h264_vaapi, full GPU decode→scale→encode
pipeline) where the render node is present and the source is HW-decodable;
libx264 software fallback otherwise (yuv420p 8-bit, -threads reserve-one-core).
The re-encode mints a keyframe at every segment boundary (-force_key_frames) so
the HLS muxer still cuts independent segments and seeking works; everything else
— -copyts, the HLS tail, multi-audio renditions, the AAC audio path — is the
same machinery as remux, so hls.js/subtitles/seeking are unchanged. The session
route returns transcode/hw so the player can surface the active mode.
pytest pins both command branches (software + VAAPI shape) and the HW-selection
gate (render node present AND source HW-decodable). Browser-UAT'd on the XviD
fixture (Winning London): 501→plays, real 528×384 H.264 frames, 0 dropped, seek
lands clean; stats overlay Mode row reads "transcode".
peter
0658f9550b