AMD Alveo™ MA35D AMA SDK 1.5.0: Keeping MA35D Current and Ready for Next Gen Video Workflows

We are excited to announce that the AMA SDK 1.5.0 release for the  AMD Alveo™ MA35D Media Accelerator is now generally available to our customers. This release continues showing our focus on platform maturity, ecosystem alignment, and production stability. It delivers targeted improvements that help customers stay current with modern operating systems, kernels, and media frameworks - while maintaining the reliability expected from a deployment‑ready platform.

What’s New in SDK 1.5.0

• Support for New OS Distributions
  This release extends official support to the latest Linux distributions commonly used in cloud and enterprise environments. We’ve added support for AlmaLinux 10.1, Rocky Linux 10.1, Debian 13.3. This ensures smoother adoption on newer platforms and reduces friction as customers refresh their infrastructure.

• Kernel 6.17 Support
  AMA SDK 1.5.0 adds support for Linux kernel 6.17, enabling compatibility with newer kernels while maintaining alignment with evolving OS baselines.
  

• Improved Driver and Firmware Packaging
  Driver and firmware packaging have been improved in this release. The driver now uses GPL‑only licensing, simplifying integration and aligning more cleanly with standard Linux environments.
  

• FFmpeg 8.0
  This release updates the supported media framework to FFmpeg 8.0^*, continuing AMD’s commitment to staying aligned with modern FFmpeg development and enabling customers to build on a current, well‑supported media stack. 

Obsolete Features in This Release

As part of maintaining a clean and well‑defined support matrix, the following components are now obsolete in AMA SDK 1.5.0:

• FFmpeg 7.1
• AlmaLinux 9.7, Rocky Linux 9.7, and Debian 12.11

These removals reflect the natural progression of platform support as the SDK moves forward.

The full list of changes for this release can be found in the release notes section of our documentation.

To Summarize

With this release, we continue to reinforce a disciplined approach to platform evolution, keeping the software stack up to date while preserving the stability required for production media workflows. Our customers can adopt newer OS and kernel environments with confidence, knowing AMD Alveo™ MA35D hardware remains aligned with modern infrastructure and media tooling.