diff --git a/configure b/configure
index e2e50e516c..e797567780 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -5791,7 +5791,14 @@ enabled libgsm            && { for gsm_hdr in "gsm.h" "gsm/gsm.h"; do
                                done || die "ERROR: libgsm not found"; }
 enabled libilbc           && require libilbc ilbc.h WebRtcIlbcfix_InitDecode -lilbc
 enabled libkvazaar        && require_pkg_config "kvazaar >= 0.8.1" kvazaar.h kvz_api_get
-enabled libmfx            && require_pkg_config libmfx "mfx/mfxvideo.h" MFXInit
+# While it may appear that require is being used as a pkg-config
+# fallback for libmfx, it is actually being used to detect a different
+# installation route altogether.  If libmfx is installed via the Intel
+# Media SDK or Intel Media Server Studio, these don't come with
+# pkg-config support.  Instead, users should make sure that the build
+# can find the libraries and headers through other means.
+enabled libmfx            && { use_pkg_config libmfx "mfx/mfxvideo.h" MFXInit ||
+                               { require libmfx "mfx/mfxvideo.h" MFXInit -llibmfx && warn "using libmfx without pkg-config"; } }
 enabled libmodplug        && require_pkg_config libmodplug libmodplug/modplug.h ModPlug_Load
 enabled libmp3lame        && require "libmp3lame >= 3.98.3" lame/lame.h lame_set_VBR_quality -lmp3lame
 enabled libnut            && require libnut libnut.h nut_demuxer_init -lnut