Question about NVidia decoder

[wtg]

Ok, I'm confused.

Many people have raved about the NVidia decoders, but was I wrong in assuming they came with an NVidia graphics card? I couldn't tell that a decoder got installed with my new 6200, gbpvr's config certainly doesn't show it, and when I got to NVidia's website all I can find was reference to their PureVideo decoder which has to be purchased separately.

Did those of you who use the NVidia decoders purchase them separately? And if so, are the PureVideo decoders really that much better than a quality decoder like Nero or some others?

Thanks,
Tim

[sub]

I'm fairly sure its the PureVideo one that needs to purchased separately.

And if so, are the PureVideo decoders really that much better than a quality decoder like Nero or some others?

I think most people just use either the Cyberlink or Intervideo decoders.

[b00sfuk]

I'm fairly sure its the PureVideo one that needs to purchased separately.

It does, if you are in the US you can buy it from the Nvidia online store otherwise you have to do a search for a dealer.

I use it with my Nvidia Mx4000 card and it does give the best picture of the ones I've tried (DScaler & Cyberlink) - for one I find it noticeably clearer with fast moving images. Whether it is worth paying for when you probably already have at least one decoder and also Dscaler is free is a personal choice.

[fiteclub]

I use the nVidia decoder; costs about $20.00 for the bronze version. I am quite satisfied with it. I think it has noticibly better quality than the nero decoder. If you search the web you will find quite a few good reviews of the nVidia decoder.

[capone]

You can do a 30 day trial of the decoder. Do that first.

[Huugs]

I think the video is best quality when I use the nVidia decoder but i struggled getting the audio in sync when using the nVidia MPEG decoder in GBPVR. I ended up using one that is just labled as 'MPEG Decoder' in GBPVR config. The sound now stays in sync. Dunno if anyone else has this problem but it annoyed the hell out of me for ages before I ended up with one that actually works well.

Both the nVidia Audio and Video decoders seem to work fine in other stuff though.

[ricklous]

i think its a case of try it and see, i tried the trial version and the quality seemed slightly better than cyberlink ones i had used till then. To my eyes, it seemed to have richer colours, but the time it took to start live TV went up noticably. not seen this mentioned by other nvidia users so it was most likly something i did wrong, but i couldnt get rid of the lag till i uninstalled the nvidia decoders, and the jump in quality wasnt enough to justify the price or living with the lag...

[wtg]

I'm trying the 30 day trial now. I can't say I really see much difference between the NVida and the Nero decoders, but I may change my mind when I pick my HDTV later this month.

I guess what surprised me more than anything was that the Pure Video decoders, or any other for that matter, weren't included with my video card to begin with. The ATI 9200 SE I used previously included the very nice ATI specific Cyberlink decoders, and I just expected NVidia cards to include a quality decoder too, especially since the product packaging mentions the Pure Video technology so prominently. It just irritated me that I have to pay more money for something I thought was included.

Oh well. Thanks for the info.

[capone]

They have more overhead, if you have trouble setting the hardware acceleration, since the output is deinterlaced. That will give you some sync issues.

If you have a powerful enough system and no conflicts, they can look nicer than the Intervideo ones.

[acidfiend2003]

I've been trialling them for a few days now and I prefer how controllable they are from the system tray icon that comes up to other decoders I've tried. Not noticed any sync problems and I think the quality is better but it is hard to say.

One thing I did notice that was weird though - the purevideo system tray icon doesn't appear when playing back a recording in GBPVR, although it does when I play the same file back in WMP. Since I spent some time with the DirectShow Filter Manager (http://www.softella.com/dsfm/index.en.htm) setting merits etc. to make sure the system defaulted to the Nvidia codecs, this strikes me as being a bit odd.

Cheers
D