Although VDPAU is not technically "dead" there is no progress on 10-bit support so at some point (maybe Kodi v20) the axe will fall.
Coming with the NVIDIA 450 Linux driver series besides CUDA 11.0 RC compatibility are:
- HEVC 10/12-bit "decode only" support has been added to the VDPAU driver.
- Support for image sharpening for OpenGL and Vulkan applications.
- New 16-bit format support within the NVIDIA VDPAU driver and with that support for creating 16-bit video surfaces in the VDPAU driver.
NVIDIA 450 Linux Beta Driver Quietly Rolls Out With New PRIME Option, Other Improvements - Phoronix