HD-DVD/Blu-Ray acceleration in GFX cards

***Veridian3*** · Jul 30, 2007, 10:14 AM

With the current generation of graphics cards from ATI and Nvidia the 2400/2600/8400/8600 series feature full acceleration of high definition content, taking the load from the CPU and leaving it free for other tasks. (E.G. Blu-Ray/HD-DVD playback)

The higher specification parts ( 8800/2900 series )do not feature this same level of video acceleration and more of the playback is dependant on the CPU.

For the next generation of graphics cards would you prefer to see the high end cards feature full acceleration or not?

**temeteus82** · Jul 30, 2007, 10:34 AM

I would like to see it in cards in all price ranges. I think there are people like me who likes to use PC as to play HD-content.

***Veridian3*** · Jul 30, 2007, 11:03 AM

I'm pretty much of that view myself... the more i can do on my main PC's the better and having full video acceleration on all cards enables me to choose the best all round card for every system.

Brutality · Jul 30, 2007, 11:33 AM

Yup. I'm a gamer but I also watch DVDs. I don't really care as long as my CPU can handle that load, because it doesn't matter which processing unit decodes my movies for me. But as long as my cards cost 700$, I want everything possible for that. Damn, for that money a piece of hardware should be capable of doing backmassage and serve you cold beer.

niceguyrichy · Jul 30, 2007, 11:55 AM

frankly if I'm spending as much on a single component as some spend on an entire system I expect it to do everything, not just make games look pretty.
makes it a bit easier to put system together as well if they all support it by default.

bug77 · Jul 30, 2007, 12:48 PM

Of course it shoulg have everything and the kitchen sink for that kind of money.

Otherwise, it will turn into another marketing gimmick. They'll tout the uselessness of full video acceleration on high end cards, only to offer it in a generation or two at a premium.

Hell, video cards are way overpriced already and people are already paying for features that are not supported in the drivers for 6 months after launch. This is crazy.

Edit: And don't even have a single HD movie. And I don't pay 300USD for a video card. But if I did...

IvanV · Jul 30, 2007, 12:49 PM

It makes no sense to leave out video acceleration on high-end cards, considering their price and the fact that high definition video is quite a strain even for higher end CPUs - paying $700 for a video card and then not being able to watch a film?!

Falstaff · Jul 30, 2007, 06:42 PM

not so far in the future these dual specifications will be attainable, I will wait.

INSTG8R · Jul 30, 2007, 07:03 PM

Having just built a new rig with a 2900XT the HD part of it was not even a thought in my purchase. I have a HD TV, HD Cable Box and a home theatre setup to watch movies on. I mean sure its a nice feature to be included but not neccasary in the least for me.

dipstick · Jul 30, 2007, 10:44 PM

You know its funny but when I pay three times more for a high end card I expect all that is included in the cheaper ones and then some. It's the most retarded thing ever to pay more for less(in a way course).
I've always thought that the video playback features where not included because they rush the high end cards out first but how many times can one do that before people notice a shitty trend? Either that or they think that whoever buys a $600 video card is also going to buy a $600 cpu anyways..

***Veridian3*** · Jul 31, 2007, 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dipstick

Either that or they think that whoever buys a $600 video card is also going to buy a $600 cpu anyways..

Thats an interesting point, my own view on that (being someone with an expensive CPU) is that quite often i want to put a movie on in the background (casual viewing i guess you could call it) whilst i work on other things, maybe encoding some music or something more demanding. With the 2900/8800 a large chunk of my CPU time is taken up with video decoding already which impacts my other tasks and how long they take.

However if i had chosen to buy a 8600/2600 i would complete the work faster and thats just crazy given the price difference! (of course then my games wouldnt be as good)... so as a high end CPU user i would rely on my card to be a great gaming card, and a great video card ideally... that would allow me to have a real multi purpose system which i expect for the money they are asking.

BWX · Jul 31, 2007, 05:04 AM

[COLOR="Red"]I want it all for my £400/$700! Great gaming performance AND full video acceleration [/COLOR]

Hell yes...

Lowfat · Jul 31, 2007, 06:12 AM

meh, my old Geforce 6200 turbocache can play 1080P with a good CPU, why do you need acceleration for video.

bug77 · Jul 31, 2007, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowfat

meh, my old Geforce 6200 turbocache can play 1080P with a good CPU, why do you need acceleration for video.

That was my first thought, too. But apparently, there's a lot of people that do many other things while watching a movie (background tasks maybe)? And again, for the kind of money they're asking for, you should get everything. And then some.

Vikingod · Jul 31, 2007, 03:33 PM

I don't really watch video on my computer, but for the price they are asking for high-end cards, the damn thing better do your laundry.

Judas · Jul 31, 2007, 06:05 PM

My PC has fully replaced everything, it's my TV, HD DVD player, DVD/CD player, Gameing rig, Hell i'll even plug my console into it. (TV card anyone?)..

IMO, Even on the high end cards, i think specific Accelerations should be avaialble, while ATI's current 2900's lack of "acceleration" in the form we are familare with is no there, and used the gpu itself as an option, i don't think it's a wise way around it.

OmegaRED · Aug 5, 2007, 07:17 PM

Believe me, when you're so used to watching trailers in 1080p you'll miss the video acceleration as soon as you're on a PC without it and the trailers play like slideshows.

Judas · Aug 7, 2007, 05:56 PM

i got to toy with a HD2900xt quick, and playing a 1080p trailer @ 2560x1600 played smoothly for me..... but the suckers fan starts spinning up though.

Salty85 · Aug 7, 2007, 07:32 PM

I do not understand what the big deal is with video accelleration, I had a 9700 AIW Pro when DivX started the Acceleration scheme, and it sure did lower my CPU usage, from 20% to 5% on my 2.4 Ghz P IV, but the quality suffered because of it (seemed like a manditory snow filter effect). I dunno, CPU's are so fast, that we don't need GPU for video decoding, keep it to the CPU I think is best, because that way we don't have to worry about needing specific hardware to do it, and leave it in the CPU and Operating system based codecs which for the most part are uniform between brands

Judas · Aug 7, 2007, 09:27 PM

Salty, some if not most of the current video accelerators not only accelerate, but also improve video quality, imo Avivo is pretty damn slick.

Salty85 · Aug 7, 2007, 09:32 PM

But isn't AVIO something that ATI created. I am an ATI fan, don't get me wrong, but I want my video to be universally compatible, with the same quality. I don't doubt that the cards may increase the quality, but I have not seen any non-proprietary video schemes that benifit from a card over the CPU doing the decoding, that is all I am saying. I gave that example because the 9700 was touted as the same thing and it was worse quality when I did screenshot comparisons years ago.

Judas · Aug 7, 2007, 10:54 PM

the was first generation accerlation.... fairly old tech today now..

as far as i can tell, no specific video codec is specific to brand of video card, there is a standard in place, however each company can and does allow for getting a few extra benfits.... i mean in cyberlinks powerDVD 7.3, i can easily uncheck avivo so that i get the generic cpu accelerated version with no enhancements.

OmegaRED · Aug 7, 2007, 10:56 PM

You can't compare Avivo or Purevideo with the old 9700 video quality

Judas · Aug 7, 2007, 11:11 PM

9700's were never ment for todays codec qualities... aren't they mostly only MPEG2 accerlation anyways?

Salty85 · Aug 8, 2007, 02:32 PM

DivX was the big contender back then.

ronnn · Aug 11, 2007, 05:45 PM

Of course we want it all! Does video acceration effect our buying decisions is the question that interests intel/amd/nvidia.

swimtech · Aug 13, 2007, 06:15 PM

Considering that AMD/Nvidia can include it in their lowest end/lowest priced cards, it can't cost much to include the circuitry.

I would speculate that the die design/research of the high end cards was done before the percieved need or desire to include the acceleration feature was noticed enough, but fortunately was relatively easy (and cheap) to add to the die design of the less expensive cards (makes for good marketing - and badly needed, since the mid/low range cards are relatively awful for playing the latest games anyway).

neezee · Aug 15, 2007, 09:46 AM

1080p in .mvk format is murder for most...

IamLakota · Aug 19, 2007, 12:57 AM

For the money we spend on video cards we should get "ALL THE BELLS & WHISTLES" and how about they work right out of the box for a change.

GeneralClaymore · Sep 4, 2007, 11:34 PM

I use my computer to watch movies all the time, I would love to have something like this on my video card. that way i dont need to go and buy a standalone card. Yea I watch dvds on my comp. I perfer that to the HDTvs in the other room.

I cant use FFDShow on the dvd players in the other room. and on my computer the movies look better then they do in the other room. even without FFDshow config.

Jul 30, 2007, 10:14 AM	#1
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 182	HD-DVD/Blu-Ray acceleration in GFX cards With the current generation of graphics cards from ATI and Nvidia the 2400/2600/8400/8600 series feature full acceleration of high definition content, taking the load from the CPU and leaving it free for other tasks. (E.G. Blu-Ray/HD-DVD playback) The higher specification parts ( 8800/2900 series )do not feature this same level of video acceleration and more of the playback is dependant on the CPU. For the next generation of graphics cards would you prefer to see the high end cards feature full acceleration or not?

Jul 30, 2007, 12:48 PM	#6
bug77 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: around Posts: 792 Rep Power: 0	Of course it shoulg have everything and the kitchen sink for that kind of money. Otherwise, it will turn into another marketing gimmick. They'll tout the uselessness of full video acceleration on high end cards, only to offer it in a generation or two at a premium. Hell, video cards are way overpriced already and people are already paying for features that are not supported in the drivers for 6 months after launch. This is crazy. Edit: And don't even have a single HD movie. And I don't pay 300USD for a video card. But if I did... Last edited by bug77; Jul 31, 2007 at 12:35 AM.

Jul 30, 2007, 12:49 PM	#7
IvanV HH Assassin Guild Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,921 Rep Power: 336 System Specs	It makes no sense to leave out video acceleration on high-end cards, considering their price and the fact that high definition video is quite a strain even for higher end CPUs - paying $700 for a video card and then not being able to watch a film?! __________________ If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

Jul 30, 2007, 06:42 PM	#8
Falstaff Old Codger Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: USAFA Posts: 19,048 Rep Power: 207	not so far in the future these dual specifications will be attainable, I will wait. __________________ "Inspiration is always a surprising visitor."

Jul 30, 2007, 07:03 PM	#9
INSTG8R DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canadian lost in Norway Posts: 527 Rep Power: 0	Having just built a new rig with a 2900XT the HD part of it was not even a thought in my purchase. I have a HD TV, HD Cable Box and a home theatre setup to watch movies on. I mean sure its a nice feature to be included but not neccasary in the least for me. __________________ Sys. Specs. Intel E6600@3.2\|Abit IP35 Pro\|2x1024 Crucial Ballistix PC8500 \|Sapphire HD4870 512\|Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500G SATAII 16MB w/PRT\|SB X-Fi Fatality\|TT Tough Power 1200W\|TT Kandalf L.C.S.\|Samsung 204B 20" 5ms LCD\|Logitech G25\|Logitech G5\|Logitech G15\|Saitek X-52+Pro Rudder Pedals\|TrackIR w/Trackclip Pro 3DMark06

Jul 30, 2007, 11:03 AM	Thread Starter #3
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 182	I'm pretty much of that view myself... the more i can do on my main PC's the better and having full video acceleration on all cards enables me to choose the best all round card for every system.

Jul 30, 2007, 11:33 AM	#4
Brutality DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Estonia Posts: 887 Rep Power: 0	Yup. I'm a gamer but I also watch DVDs. I don't really care as long as my CPU can handle that load, because it doesn't matter which processing unit decodes my movies for me. But as long as my cards cost 700$, I want everything possible for that. Damn, for that money a piece of hardware should be capable of doing backmassage and serve you cold beer.

Jul 30, 2007, 10:44 PM	#10
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	You know its funny but when I pay three times more for a high end card I expect all that is included in the cheaper ones and then some. It's the most retarded thing ever to pay more for less(in a way course). I've always thought that the video playback features where not included because they rush the high end cards out first but how many times can one do that before people notice a shitty trend? Either that or they think that whoever buys a $600 video card is also going to buy a $600 cpu anyways..

Jul 31, 2007, 05:04 AM	#12
BWX unplugged Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,669 Rep Power: 110 System Specs	[COLOR="Red"]I want it all for my £400/$700! Great gaming performance AND full video acceleration [/COLOR] Hell yes... __________________

Jul 31, 2007, 06:12 AM	#13
Lowfat Xtreme Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Grande Prairie, AB, Can Posts: 4,254 Rep Power: 101	meh, my old Geforce 6200 turbocache can play 1080P with a good CPU, why do you need acceleration for video. __________________

Jul 31, 2007, 03:33 PM	#15
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	I don't really watch video on my computer, but for the price they are asking for high-end cards, the damn thing better do your laundry.

Aug 5, 2007, 07:17 PM	#17
OmegaRED Relapsed Gamer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 5,688 Rep Power: 173 System Specs	Believe me, when you're so used to watching trailers in 1080p you'll miss the video acceleration as soon as you're on a PC without it and the trailers play like slideshows. __________________ E Penis Specs: <------------- See System Specs

Aug 7, 2007, 07:32 PM	#19
Salty85 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 59 Rep Power: 0	I do not understand what the big deal is with video accelleration, I had a 9700 AIW Pro when DivX started the Acceleration scheme, and it sure did lower my CPU usage, from 20% to 5% on my 2.4 Ghz P IV, but the quality suffered because of it (seemed like a manditory snow filter effect). I dunno, CPU's are so fast, that we don't need GPU for video decoding, keep it to the CPU I think is best, because that way we don't have to worry about needing specific hardware to do it, and leave it in the CPU and Operating system based codecs which for the most part are uniform between brands

Aug 7, 2007, 09:32 PM	#21
Salty85 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 59 Rep Power: 0	But isn't AVIO something that ATI created. I am an ATI fan, don't get me wrong, but I want my video to be universally compatible, with the same quality. I don't doubt that the cards may increase the quality, but I have not seen any non-proprietary video schemes that benifit from a card over the CPU doing the decoding, that is all I am saying. I gave that example because the 9700 was touted as the same thing and it was worse quality when I did screenshot comparisons years ago.

Aug 7, 2007, 10:56 PM	#23
OmegaRED Relapsed Gamer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 5,688 Rep Power: 173 System Specs	You can't compare Avivo or Purevideo with the old 9700 video quality __________________ E Penis Specs: <------------- See System Specs

Aug 8, 2007, 02:32 PM	#25
Salty85 DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 59 Rep Power: 0	DivX was the big contender back then.

Aug 11, 2007, 05:45 PM	#26
ronnn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 617 Rep Power: 0	Of course we want it all! Does video acceration effect our buying decisions is the question that interests intel/amd/nvidia.

Aug 13, 2007, 06:15 PM	#27
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Considering that AMD/Nvidia can include it in their lowest end/lowest priced cards, it can't cost much to include the circuitry. I would speculate that the die design/research of the high end cards was done before the percieved need or desire to include the acceleration feature was noticed enough, but fortunately was relatively easy (and cheap) to add to the die design of the less expensive cards (makes for good marketing - and badly needed, since the mid/low range cards are relatively awful for playing the latest games anyway). __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Aug 15, 2007, 09:46 AM	#28
neezee HardwareHeaven Lover Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: canada Posts: 101 Rep Power: 0	1080p in .mvk format is murder for most... __________________ • DH's Chopper Challenge Dominator • DH's Donkey Kong Dominator • DH's Simon Dominator • DH's Snake Dominator • DH's Worms 3D Dominator •

Aug 19, 2007, 12:57 AM	#29
IamLakota HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Viriginia Posts: 552 Rep Power: 0	For the money we spend on video cards we should get "ALL THE BELLS & WHISTLES" and how about they work right out of the box for a change. __________________ Harley Davidson: If You Have To Ask You Wouldn't Understand!!! System Specs: Mobo:Asus P6T Deluxe V2,intel i7 920,2x BFG GTX 250 oc in SLI,Corsair 6gigs tri channel pc12800CL8 2xWD Velociraptor's 2x74gig WD Raptor , X-Fi Fatal1ty Titainium,HANNS-G HG281HD 1080p 28" monitor,Coolermaster HAF/922,PC-PWR&Cooling Sliencer 750,CoolerMaster V8 HSF

Sep 4, 2007, 11:34 PM	#30
GeneralClaymore HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: MI Posts: 434 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I use my computer to watch movies all the time, I would love to have something like this on my video card. that way i dont need to go and buy a standalone card. Yea I watch dvds on my comp. I perfer that to the HDTvs in the other room. I cant use FFDShow on the dvd players in the other room. and on my computer the movies look better then they do in the other room. even without FFDshow config. __________________ Source: x-fi titanium hd 2x LT1124ACN+ 2x LT1115 > Matrix M-Stage V2 /w 2x LME49710NA> DT880 pro 250ohm