1080p decoding minimum CPU requirements

[Agent]

Agent: That still needs a capable DXVA card - like the ATI series.

I was fairly sure (but correct me if im wrong), that all recent nVidia graphics cards supported some form of DXVA. I know the Geforce 4 range was the first to support it, I doubt it has been dropped since?

Either way (again, as I understand it, correct if wrong), DXVA is just the API used to communicate with the card, it doesnt imply how much power the card itself has.
PureVideo (or in this case PureVideo HD) certainly offloads work to the GPU, nVidia make a big issue about playing back Blu-ray / HD-DVD fine in their advertising.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/articl...E2NiwzLCwxNjA=
Thats page 3, which is most relevant. Also keep in mind that both the drivers and the application have matured a lot since then

http://sg.nvidia.com/docs/CP/27894/P...son_060807.pdf
That PDF shows what each card with PureVideo can accelerate.

If this isn't what you are after / I've miss-understood, feel free to correct me

[Skinleech]

Agent, you are correct - didn't really explain myself well. In XP the drivers aren't available for the Nvidia cards as yet, so dxva capability is there, but cannot be used until a driver update. PureVideo or PureVideo HD can be installed, but is useless without the right drivers. ATI have them for XP but Nvidia only have Vista ones at the mo.

[Nemz0r]

My age-old A64 3200 2ghz clawhammer seemed to cope with the 1080p "I am Legend" trailer OK, and I don't think my 9800pro helps with that kinda stuff: So I reckon like said above, any modern CPU should cope fine, even if your GPU is a lazy slag for decoding. Oh and the CPU usage I get while I watch a trailer like that is erhh... 100% .

[this_is_gav]

Oh and the CPU usage I get while I watch a trailer like that is erhh... 100% .

So it didn't cope... it was missing data in order to keep the audio and video in sync.

[lanceuppercut]

i'm getting a spec together for a media pc and leaning towards a e2140 and a ati 2400pro purely because it can accelerate VC1 as well as h264.

and lol at the poster who reckoned his/her xbox can do 1080p!!

[Nemz0r]

So it didn't cope... it was missing data in order to keep the audio and video in sync.

I guess so, but it was very viewable -- not noticably jerky or anything. But these were trailers, I guess full films will need higher requirements because of the extra processing for the copyright protections.

[Hopper.]

I have been watching them on my Core Duo 2 without any issues (apart from when it 1st loads were it doesnt play correctly for like 10secs)

[Sinizter]

I have been watching them on my Core Duo 2 without any issues (apart from when it 1st loads were it doesnt play correctly for like 10secs)

What speed processor ?

[Skinleech]

I guess so, but it was very viewable -- not noticably jerky or anything. But these were trailers, I guess full films will need higher requirements because of the extra processing for the copyright protections.

Not just that, it's a minimal addition. But the bit rate for movies will be much higher than Apple trailers.

[EarlGrey]

Have you tried Purevideo?



Id be surprised if that didn't give smooth playback on a A64+7800!

Thanks Agent! that does actually help, it appears that the 7800GTX does have some useful hardware decoding abilities, but they are only used in nvidia's own program; which will keep me going for the moment

As for the next beast of a machine I shall construct, it seems from you guys that any Core 2 Duo will be fine, and with the July 22nd price cuts imminent, I should be able to afford a beefy processor anyway

Thanks to all who posted

[Sinizter]

I am now seriously considering building a desktop with the £155 (or thereabouts) BD drive and the X360 HD-DVD addon for hi-def movie goodness.

It just wasnt worth it with the prices of BD drives being over £350.

And with AnyDVD HD installed all BD playback with be region-free and hopefully DRM-induced-pain-free.

[Skinleech]

The 360 HD-DVD drive is excellent, some find it noisy, but I've found it to be fine, in an otherwise near-noiseless set up. You can get it for ~£100 new now I think so go for it... As for the BD drive, I'm also tempted by it. I've only seen it for pre-order at overclockers though, who I don't really want to use.

[s_kinton]

I am now seriously considering building a desktop with the £155 (or thereabouts) BD drive and the X360 HD-DVD addon for hi-def movie goodness.

It just wasnt worth it with the prices of BD drives being over £350.

And with AnyDVD HD installed all BD playback with be region-free and hopefully DRM-induced-pain-free.

My thoughts exactly. I only realised yesterday just how much BD drives had fallen in price!!! I was busy looking at a new DVDRW for my HTPC when I saw them.

Im eyeing up the same combo i.e. BD drive and AnyDVD to life easier.

[d3fiant]

...and lol at the poster who reckoned his/her xbox can do 1080p!!

My xbox handles HD @ 1080p .....just a tad slow thats all, its like a slideshow

Seriously tho I think its still a tad early to be spending out on kit for HD until we know the format of choice and that drivers are sufficiently stable

[Agent]

Agent, you are correct - didn't really explain myself well. In XP the drivers aren't available for the Nvidia cards as yet, so dxva capability is there, but cannot be used until a driver update. PureVideo or PureVideo HD can be installed, but is useless without the right drivers. ATI have them for XP but Nvidia only have Vista ones at the mo.

eh?
Purevideo has worked fine with XP drivers for as long as I can remember [in fact I ran the BETA for a while, and it was fine!]
Why would NV make an application for their cards, sell it, and then provide no drivers for it?

There certainly is working drivers for Purevideo! I can't understand where you got that idea from?

Thanks Agent! that does actually help, it appears that the 7800GTX does have some useful hardware decoding abilities, but they are only used in nvidia's own program; which will keep me going for the moment

As for the next beast of a machine I shall construct, it seems from you guys that any Core 2 Duo will be fine, and with the July 22nd price cuts imminent, I should be able to afford a beefy processor anyway

Thanks to all who posted

I was shocked by it too. My media centre only has a 3000+ Venice in it, with a mild overclock. I grabbed some of the 1080p WMV HD videos from the MS site, and they played back flawlessly.
Not tried with VC-1 yet, should be interesting

Glad it helped

[Sinizter]

My xbox handles HD @ 1080p .....just a tad slow thats all, its like a slideshow

Seriously tho I think its still a tad early to be spending out on kit for HD until we know the format of choice and that drivers are sufficiently stable

If you want to enjoy HD now, format of choice is not a problem. BD is here to stay as far as PC drives are concerned and HD-DVD drives (well buy a few spare ones if you are so concerned). Once you have the drives, your ability to play the discs is ensured.

That said you can still buy Betamax players on ebay.

So if you buy the discs now, just enjoy them and forget about which format will win. The format war as it stands currently can go on for an indefinitely period of time. Are you going to wait for three years before getting HD stuff just because there are two competing formats?