An iDiot's Guide To Lilu and its Plug-ins

[GhostRaiderMX]

I'm in audio so, a lot of the tools I use no longer works on Catalina like my Waves plugins which I would have to purchase again for working updates.

Coffee Lake Refresh processors must use 0x3E9B0007 as their igplatformid if you're planning to use Intel UHD 630 Graphics. From there, you must patch the framebuffer to correctly map the motherboard video ports. What's happening in your case is that macOS doesn't recognize your video ports. Ports 5, 6, and 7 must use the correct BUS ID and TYPE that match to your motherboard. This guide should help you [GUIDE] General Framebuffer Patching Guide (HDMI Black Screen Problem)

Now, how does one know what to use? Well you'll need to do some guessing. So you have 2x HDMI ports and 1 DP port.
Port 5 can be HDMI, Port 6 can be HDMI, Port 7 can be DP. Or Port 5 can be DP, Port 6 can be HDMI, port 7 can be HDMI.... you get the idea. So the best way to figure it out is to make everything the same. Make Port 5, 6, and 7 of TYPE HDMI first. Then you have to set BUS ID. Again, here you have to do some guessing. Make Port 5 use 0x01, Port 6 use 0x02, Port 7 use 0x04. If none of them work, switch the BUS IDs around. It's a lengthy processes.

Once you have both HDMI ports working, the last port remaining will be of TYPE DP. Then use Bus ID 0x02, 0x04, 0x05, or 0x06. I'm not sure if Hackintool allows you to change BUS IDs for the ports. If not, you'll need to add the patches first and manually edit them in Clover Configurator.

 

[kylec]

Can anyone here explain to me why H264 decoder fails when Intel UHD 630 is in headless mode? As you can see, the Intel UHD 630 framebuffer is loaded and macOS detects it just fine. However, it makes no sense.

Running VDA Decoder also gives an error

Interesting. In researching your issue I learned that in Catalina there is now the possibility that hardware encode/decode is implemented with the AMD GPU. We can find out whether that's the case. Try running these commands:

defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaDebug -boolean yes
defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA enableSyslog -boolean yes

Then do a search for GVA in Console, start VideoProc up and post the output.

 

[GhostRaiderMX]

Interesting. In researching your issue I learned that in Catalina there is now the possibility that hardware encode/decode is implemented with the AMD GPU. We can find out whether that's the case. Try running these commands:

defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA gvaDebug -boolean yes
defaults write com.apple.AppleGVA enableSyslog -boolean yes

Then do a search for GVA in Console, start VideoProc up and post the output.

I got a picture of the output:

I'm guessing the error is that it can't find IGPU IOService plane? Not sure if this is a 10.15.4 thing. If I go to IORegistryExplorer:

Is it because its known as IGPU@2? From WEG documentation it is recommended to not patch the DSDT. Radeon RX 5600 XT is at GFX0@0:

The only time I have seen VDA decoder working was when I fully enabled the Intel UHD 630 with igplatformid as 0x3E9B0007. The AMD Radeon 5600 XT would still be the main display driver but at the same time Intel UHD 630 would be active and would show activity in Intel Power Gadget. I don't know if my problem is common (haven't found anything for my issue) or I'm missing something or Apple has changed something in 10.15.4.

H264 works when Intel UHD 630 is not set as headless. If its set as headless (0x3E910003, 0x3E920003, 0x3E980003) it fails.

 

[kylec]

I got a picture of the output

Try the different values for -shikigva mentioned in the Shiki FAQ: https://github.com/acidanthera/WhateverGreen/blob/master/Manual/FAQ.Shiki.en.md

 

[GhostRaiderMX]

Try the different values for -shikigva mentioned in the Shiki FAQ: https://github.com/acidanthera/WhateverGreen/blob/master/Manual/FAQ.Shiki.en.md

I've tried all shikivga values. None of them make a difference. For some reason I am required to have the Intel UHD 630 in online mode (0x3E9B0007) for H264 to work. The problem is that this increases the boot time compared to when it is set offline (headless).

I don't understand why H264/VDA decoder won't work in offline (headless) mode. Very weird . I'm assuming iMac 19,1 doesn't force you to have the IGPU online.

I guess maybe I could try to artificially make it offline by making Ports 5, 6, and 7 dummy? Idk if that would improve boot speed though. The only cool thing I see from having it set to online is that it appears in Intel Power Gadget.

 

[kylec]

I've tried all shikivga values. None of them make a difference. For some reason I am required to have the Intel UHD 630 in online mode (0x3E9B0007) for H264 to work. The problem is that this increases the boot time compared to when it is set offline (headless).

It's backwards from what I would have expected. Does DRM work for you with headless mode? https://bitmovin.com/demos/drm for example.

Let's see your list of installed kexts.

Also, as long as you have updated Mojave or Catalina, then you have the option of disabling IGPU and switching the SMBIOS to iMacPro1,1. That should allow it to use the AMD GPU for AppleGVA, according to https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...lack-screen-solution-hdcp.195083/post-1968072. Have you ever switched SMBIOS? There's a particular procedure for doing it correctly, FYI. Ah, here it is: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-fix-imessage.110471/#TOP3.2

 

[GhostRaiderMX]

It's backwards from what I would have expected. Does DRM work for you with headless mode? https://bitmovin.com/demos/drm for example.

Let's see your list of installed kexts.

Also, as long as you have updated Mojave or Catalina, then you have the option of disabling IGPU and switching the SMBIOS to iMacPro1,1. That should allow it to use the AMD GPU for AppleGVA, according to https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/...lack-screen-solution-hdcp.195083/post-1968072. Have you ever switched SMBIOS? There's a particular procedure for doing it correctly, FYI. Ah, here it is: https://www.tonymacx86.com/threads/how-to-fix-imessage.110471/#TOP3.2

Using Microsoft Edge and Firefox, all DRM videos work (DASH, HLS, Smooth). In Safari, its very buggy. The only one that seems to load fine is Smooth.

Kexts wise there's nothing special.

Currently running macOS Catalina 10.15.4. Yeah I've heard about switching to iMac Pro 1,1. The thing is I have everything set up with 19,1 and would be a pain to switch it to that. Of course for me to do that I have to sign out of Apple and try everything without signing in first to avoid any iMessage problems. I'll look into it and see if there's any difference.

 

[kylec]

You could also try opening an issue at the Whatevergreen github.

Exhausted my knowledge!

 

[GhostRaiderMX]

You could also try opening an issue at the Whatevergreen github.

Exhausted my knowledge!

Thanks for the assist though . On the FAQs it says no support is being provided. I'll see what I can do or maybe wait for a next Lilu and Whatevergreen update. And 10.15.5 update.

 

[kylec]

Thanks for the assist though . On the FAQs it says no support is being provided. I'll see what I can do or maybe wait for a next Lilu and Whatevergreen update. And 10.15.5 update.

One never stops learning...

How to Enable AMD GPU Encoding instead of Intel's?

Sorry to break the bad news, I was hoping you’d cracked the code. As was stated before in this thread, Videoproc’s hardware encoding flags don’t mean GPU hardware encoding/decoding is actually enabled across the board with all your apps. In fact, on my Skylake system, Videoproc shows that...

www.tonymacx86.com

Here the board ID of iMacPro1,1 is being used, but just as it applies to Shiki. Could be the final piece of the puzzle for you.

btw forgot to mention that DRM behavior I've seen is same- all but Safari.