You can configure VMware Blast options for remote desktop and published application sessions that use the VMware Blast display protocol.

Prerequisites

To use High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), your environment must meet the following requirements:
  • Horizon Agent 7.13 or later must be installed.
  • For increased color accuracy with YUV 4:4:4, Horizon Agent 7.13 or later must be installed.
  • Client system must have a GPU that supports HEVC decoding.
  • For full-range color and improved color fidelity, Horizon Agent 2203 or later and Horizon Client for Windows 2203 or later must be installed. These features apply only if YUV 4:4:4 is being used.

The client-side Allow Blast connections to use operating system proxy settings group policy setting determines whether VMware Blast connections can connect through a proxy server and whether users can change the VMware Blast proxy server setting in the Horizon Client user interface. For more information, see Using Group Policy Settings to Configure Horizon Client.

Depending on the Horizon Agent version that is installed, a Horizon administrator can use agent-side group policy settings to enable or deactivate VMware Blast features, including H.264 and HEVC high color accuracy. For information, see "VMware Blast Policy Settings" in the Horizon Remote Desktop Features and GPOs document.

Procedure

  1. Start Horizon Client.
  2. Click Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right corner of the menu bar and select VMware Blast.
  3. Beginning with Horizon Client for Windows version 2206, both Allow H.264 Decoding and Allow BlastCodec Decoding options are on by default. If you leave both options selected, BlastCodec is used for receiving remote screen content. If you de-select Allow BlastCodec Decoding, H.264 is used.
  4. To allow increased color fidelity when H.264 decoding is allowed in Horizon Client, select the Allow High Color Accuracy (reduces battery life and performance) check box.
    When this option is selected, Horizon Client uses high color accuracy, but only if the agent supports high color accuracy. Selecting this option might reduce battery life and performance. This feature is deactivated by default.
  5. To allow HEVC, toggle the Allow High Efficiency Video Decoding (HEVC) option to on.
    When this option is selected, performance and image quality are improved if the client machine has a GPU that supports HEVC decoding. This feature is enabled by default.
    If this option is selected but the client machine does not have a GPU that supports HEVC decoding, or the agent does not support HEVC encoding, Horizon Client uses H.264 decoding instead if H.264 is selected. Horizon Client uses Blast Codec decoding if H.264 is not selected.
  6. To enable high dynamic range decoding, select the Allow High Dynamic Range Decoding (HDR) check box.
    This option is available only if you enable the Allow High Efficiency Video Decoding (HEVC) setting.
  7. To allow VMware Blast connections through a proxy server, toggle the Allow Blast connections to use operating system proxy settings option to on.

Results

Changes take effect the next time a user connects to a remote desktop or published application and selects the VMware Blast display protocol. Your changes do not affect existing VMware Blast sessions.