Codec question for ATI!

[radio1]

I am building a dedicated HTPC with a mix of new and old parts. I have purchased a Gigabyte uATX motherboard with HDMI support:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813128056
It has an integrated Hi-Def video solution: ATI Radeon Xpress 1250.
(I have downloaded the new integrated 7.9 Catalyst Drivers for XP-32bit and the Avivo package.)

I have used GBPVR before, but always with my gaming rig that have(had) NVidia cards. Their solution is easy: PureVideo. Does anyone have any experience w/ATI and GBPVR?

Also, could someone recommend a codec, if they are needed.

Thx!

[Ted the Penguin]

just use purevideo again they support DXVA, nowever I am not sure about things like h.264 acceleration, you might need a different codec for that

[bogyver]

I use the purevideo codec with my ati card as well, also i was looking around ati/amd's website and it looks like you need to purchase (big surprise there) software, i think it was intervideo something, to get hardware decoding of h.264

[wtg]

I use NVidia's PureVideo decoder with my ATI X1600 Pro. I've found it uses significantly less CPU than ATI's provided decoder, especially with HD content, and provides a great picture.

[radio1]

Great!

Thanks guys... I'll be sure to install it...!

[radio1]

Actually I had some issues with the encoder.

Apparently, there is some kind of issue with GBPVR and Hauppauge (PVR-150) having only the NVidia decoder as the only decoder??!

First time I ever hit that error.

[wtg]

Actually I had some issues with the encoder.

Do you mean decoder?

Apparently, there is some kind of issue with GBPVR and Hauppauge (PVR-150) having only the NVidia decoder as the only decoder??!

First time I ever hit that error.

What error? I have a 150, but I probably installed the Hauppauge supplied decoder along with the drivers before installing the NVidia decoder, so I can't say I've had the exact scenario as you've described, but I'm curious what you ran into.

[Loomy]

I use NVidia's PureVideo decoder with my ATI X1600 Pro. I've found it uses significantly less CPU than ATI's provided decoder, especially with HD content, and provides a great picture.

Everyone has to be more specific when talking about this stuff. Not all codecs are the same, and not all codecs will be decoded by every software with every hardware.

For example, mpeg2 in avi, divx in avi, x264 in mkv, hddvd/bluray on disk. Each of these are totally different and may or may not be assisted by your hardware and your software.

Different video cards have different hardware assists, and different generations of video cards have different generations of hardware assists. And different software does different things. For instance, the last time I read the docs, only PowerDVD and WinDVD support decoding hddvd/bluray disks with the latest video cards, and even then they don't support any other container with x264.

People on every forum are confused about this stuff (rightfully so) partly because nobody specifies what they're really talking about!

[wtg]

Everyone has to be more specific when talking about this stuff. Not all codecs are the same, and not all codecs will be decoded by every software with every hardware.
...<snip>...
People on every forum are confused about this stuff (rightfully so) partly because nobody specifies what they're really talking about!

Actually, Radio1's question was pretty specific about using an ATI X1xxx class video card with an HTPC and the PureVideo decoder, and I answered with my experience accordingly. I don't really think the question demanded I be more specific.

I appreciate your obvious frustration with trying to find comprehensive performance information about the various hardware and software used for decoding content - I've experienced the same. However, if we all needed to give full verified and reproducable benchmark stats on our rig's handling of MPG, Divx, x264, HD-DVD and Blu-ray content, very few of us could post a reply to any question.

[StanO]

I just installed the same board (nice except for the lack of 2 IDE and funky SATA ports) and was getting a poor picture with the stock Intervideo decoder. I found an "ATI MPEG Video Decoder" that has worked well.

I wanted to put it on my laptop which I was using remotely (an ATI 1150 chipset) and now I can't find it! I've searched everywhere. If anyone knows where to find it let me know

Isn't it true that Purevideo doesn't have Vista support?