Mainstream Video Quality Shootout

[mrcorbo]

Good: the differences between 6800 Ultra and 7800 GTX are minimal.
Furthermore: "By the first GeForce 6800 Ultra modifications with disabled video processor, the CPU Utilization level could be as high as 100%"...

Sorry about being away from this thread, kinda thought it had died....

Keep in mind that they were using a 3.6GHz PIV in their test. That's going to be able to handle the WMV-HD decoding just fine with or without assist from the GPU. It's possible that the 6800 Ultra's results were, in fact, showing the result of the broken VPP (it was slower, even if the margin wasn't that large).

Anyway you wanted a link to something official? Here it is, right from the horses mouth Nvidia customer support:

http://nvidia.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...opup_adp.php?p_faqid=108&p_created=1098889190

In all honesty, if you've got a 6800-class vid card in your machiine you are also very likely to have it paired with a CPU that's capable of playing back these clips without any hardware assist, so it's not really that big of a deal. Still, NVidia should be accurate on their own website. For the record, I think it is an error and not a deliberate attempt to mislead. If you look at the tables you might notice another error, too. It shows the page designer didn't really proofread the page very well.

 

[Murakami]

Do somebody have a link to an MPEG2-HD clip?

 

[mrcorbo]

Do somebody have a link to an MPEG2-HD clip?

Try this page:

http://www.fusionhdtv.co.kr/ENG/Download/Demo.aspx

There are some sample clips available there.

 

[Deathlike2]

So.. was this "information" a bunch of BS?

If this information was false, wouldn't NVidia make an attempt to disclaim this info? The fact the Anand and other websites HAD IT RIGHT... choosing not to follow what NVidia had told them is just...

Though, I'm disappointed at the minor fact that there hasn't been a lot of benching of CPU utilization for Purevideo (and soon to come AVIVO) HD video encoding/decoding...

 

[Murakami]

Pure Video supporto page has changed: now, 6800 GT/Ultra PCI-E does not support WMV9 acceleration...
I immediately changed my 6800 GT with a 6600 GT...

 

[Murakami]

New tests with "T2: 720p" and my brand new 6600 GT...nothing changed: CPU % is the same (with or without "high quality mode" switch in WMP10, 2 patches already installed), GPU temp does not rise...it doesn't work!

 

[Deathlike2]

Did you remember to install the Purevideo decoder? That is required (it's not just a driver thing)..

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nzone_purevideo_requirements.html

 

[Murakami]

Did you remember to install the Purevideo decoder? That is required (it's not just a driver thing)..

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nzone_purevideo_requirements.html

Yes, i installed PureVideo decoder, but PureVideo is only an MPEG decoder: in fact, it shows its icon in the systray only if WMP plays a DVD.

 

[Deathlike2]

Considered reinstalling the drivers+Purevideo decoder after changing the video card? It might be worth trying here.

 

[Moloch]

Yes, i installed PureVideo decoder, but PureVideo is only an MPEG decoder: in fact, it shows its icon in the systray only if WMP plays a DVD.

erm purevideo does wmv-hd steams along other things.
If you have purevideo installed you should also get the purevideo systray item.

 

[Murakami]

erm purevideo does wmv-hd steams along other things.
If you have purevideo installed you should also get the purevideo systray item.

No, PureVideo Decoder is only an MPEG decoder: http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder_techspecs.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/decoder_faq.html
"The NVIDIA DVD Decoder combines the industry’s highest quality DVD and MPEG-2 playback with rich surround sound and is capable of supporting any Microsoft DirectX 9 compatible graphics product. Once installed, no additional setup is required. The DVD Decoder runs automatically whenever MPEG-2 or DVD video is launched in Windows Media Player. " from http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_purevideo_requirements.html

 

[Murakami]

Considered reinstalling the drivers+Purevideo decoder after changing the video card? It might be worth trying here.

I've just formatted my system with no luck.

 

[Moloch]

No, PureVideo Decoder is only an MPEG decoder: http://www.nvidia.com/object/dvd_decoder_techspecs.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/decoder_faq.html

Well.. wmv-hd is a feature of purevideo according to nvidia, what you're referring to is the dvd decoder that you pay for.
http://nvidia.com/page/purevideo.html

pureVideo delivers:
High-Definition Video: NVIDIA PureVideo technology finally allows you to experience lifelike HD video on your PC, notebook, or HDTV without the expense of additional home-theater devices. With dedicated hardware to accelerate MPEG-2/DVD as well as the new Microsoft® Windows Media® HD Video (WMV HD) standard, your DVDs come to life in detail never before possible on a PC. Using NVIDIA PureVideo technology, the GPU offloads video decoding from the CPU, resulting in smooth, stutter-free, high-definition video playback. And, since PureVideo supports most current and future HD formats, you can rest assured that a PC powered by PureVideo will keep up with the pace of tomorrow’s video technologies, and continue to deliver HD content well into the future.

 

[Murakami]

Well.. wmv-hd is a feature of purevideo according to nvidia, what you're referring to is the dvd decoder that you pay for.
http://nvidia.com/page/purevideo.html

Exactly what i mean: PureVideo is the technology behind the video processor, PureVideo decoder is the MPEG decoder. To get WMV-HD acceleration support, PureVideo decoder is not required; only Forceware drivers, WMP10 and two WMP patches, just like Ati.

 

[Moloch]

Exactly what i mean: PureVideo is the technology behind the video processor, PureVideo decoder is the MPEG decoder. To get WMV-HD acceleration support, PureVideo decoder is not required; only Forceware drivers, WMP10 and two WMP patches, just like Ati.

Oh I see what you meant.
ya.. you dont need to pay to get wmv-hd accel.

 

[Murakami]

Oh I see what you meant.
ya.. you dont need to pay to get wmv-hd accel.

Yes: i don't need to pay because it does not work...

 

[Moloch]

Yes: i don't need to pay because it does not work...

works for 6600GTs unless your card is borked.

 

[Murakami]

Well, there's something strange here: unlike 6800GT, during MPEG2 playback (with PureVideo decoder) GPU temp rises only by 1° C...exactly like WMV-HD playback...
Switching to "overlay mode" in WMP10 does not change anything during WMV9 playback: in order to test CPU %, i have to uninstall the two WMP10 patches.

 

[Murakami]

Ok, i uninstalled the patches and CPU % goes up to 40-50 degree; reinstalled the patches and CPU % goes down to 20-30 degree.
Conclusion: NV43 WMV-HD acceleration does work; GPU temp is not a reliable indicator (6600 GT related only).

 

[Moloch]

Ok, i uninstalled the patches and CPU % goes up to 40-50 degree; reinstalled the patches and CPU % goes down to 20-30 degree.
Conclusion: NV43 WMV-HD acceleration does work; GPU temp is not a reliable indicator (6600 GT related only).

As I said much earlier in thread, you should be looking at gpu speed in rivatuner.. it goes to 3d clocks when accerating video.