9800 PRO HDCP? Blue Ray 1080P compatible?

[grimlykindo]

I just assembled an HTPC out of older parts:

Pentium 4 2.4 Northwood
2x512 DDR
9800 PRO DVI -> HDMI -> Sharp Aquos 1080P
Chaintech av710 -> Denon 7.1
Thermaltake Tenor case
250GB Seagate SATA
Windows XP

It works great for DVD (PowerDVD), MP3, Internet, Emulators - But I'm considering a Blue Ray Drive. Can I do this with my current setup at 1080P? I'm having trouble finding out if my 9800 PRO is HDCP compliant or if it is even capable of decoding 1080P Blue Ray.

Can anybody help me out?

 

[v8envy]

Your 9800PRO will not accelerate HD DVD playback. I'm not aware of a single blue ray title which enforces the copy protection, so if your cpu was macho enough to decode the DVD (it's not) you would be able to see it in 1080p. A DVI to HDMI adapter is not enough to keep the chain of trust from disk to eyeball, so once the publishing houses enable the copy protection bits you'd lose the 1080p ability as well.

Short answer is: that box doesn't look likely to play back either HD DVD or blueray disks without skipping frames.

 

[grimlykindo]

So basically I will either need a new video card or CPU to decode Blue Ray at 1080P?

Are you sure about the DVI -> HDMI cable missing HDCP? Why do video cards offer HDCP compliance if DVI cannot do HDCP?

 

[Auric]

The card lacks HDCP. Software can circumvent that requirement else analog could be used until discs begin enforcing a dumbing down the quality. DVI to HDMI would maintain HDCP.

But as said, the main problem is lack of video acceleration for AVC and VC-1. I suggest an HD2600 Pro (minimum) as it has HDCP, VA, and higher quality.

As to audio quality, barring HDMI interconnects and receiver decoding, the best is had with analog but then again it would suffer with that av710 so it is a trade-off versus S/PDIF. The only add-on HDMI audio output solution currently available is the MSI HD2600XT (other 2000 AGP cards forgo the feature).

 

[grimlykindo]

Thanks for the info-

The 2900 pros are looking pretty cheap - I might have to grab one and sell my 9800 Pro (with passive cooler). Its surprising how much 9800 pros are going for on Ebay! some 128mb are going for over $60?!?

I'm not too worried about the Blu Ray "HD" audio - My Denon doesn't have HDMI anyway. As long as I can get DD or DTS I am happy.

 

[Sunday Ironfoot]

As far as I'm aware Windows XP doesn't support HDCP, you'll need Vista for that. This is what led some people to erroneously think they would need a new monitor that supports HDCP to run Vista.

 

[grimlykindo]

As far as I know this was a rumor - After googling around it seems that XP is capable of HDCP with the correct software / drivers.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: Sunday Ironfoot
As far as I'm aware Windows XP doesn't support HDCP, you'll need Vista for that. This is what led some people to erroneously think they would need a new monitor that supports HDCP to run Vista.

XP fully supports hdcp.

i have tried that powerdvd tooll that tells you if you have a hdcp link , when i had an 8600gt and my 20wmgx2 which supports hdcp.


that said, to the original poster you might as well buy a new board and chip. get a radeon 790g or something motherboard with hdmi and just buy a cheap athlon x2. probably the cheapest way to get a working htpc for high def

 

[Mana]

Originally posted by: grimlykindo
Thanks for the info-

The 2900 pros are looking pretty cheap - I might have to grab one and sell my 9800 Pro (with passive cooler). Its surprising how much 9800 pros are going for on Ebay! some 128mb are going for over $60?!?

I'm not too worried about the Blu Ray "HD" audio - My Denon doesn't have HDMI anyway. As long as I can get DD or DTS I am happy.

You may want to think twice about grabbing a 2900 Pro since I don't think it has the decoder thingy on it for movies (the name escapes me). As of now, the cards I know that have it are the 2400, 2600, and 3000 series cards.

 

[ZoNtO]

check out the HD3850 or 3870 if you want to stick with ATI. Both have UVD (unified video decoder) which is what you're looking for to decode movies. If you don't care about gaming, some of the 36xx cards might fit the bill better when they come out, they will replace the 2600 line.

 

[Auric]

Given Northwood, I am assuming AGP and that 2900 was a typo (further evidenced by use of the word "cheap") and that OP meant 2600 Pro as I suggested. So, there are no other viable options at the mo'. The 3850 is on the verge of being available but will not be better for an HTCP and may be overkill for that CPU. A 2600 XT would probably be the best match if 3D performance is relevant.

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: grimlykindo
I just assembled an HTPC out of older parts:

Pentium 4 2.4 Northwood
2x512 DDR
9800 PRO DVI -> HDMI -> Sharp Aquos 1080P
Chaintech av710 -> Denon 7.1
Thermaltake Tenor case
250GB Seagate SATA
Windows XP

It works great for DVD (PowerDVD), MP3, Internet, Emulators - But I'm considering a Blue Ray Drive. Can I do this with my current setup at 1080P? I'm having trouble finding out if my 9800 PRO is HDCP compliant or if it is even capable of decoding 1080P Blue Ray.

Can anybody help me out?

9800pro is not HDCP compliant and does not have the advanced hardware acceleration of the ATI 2400/2600 -2900pro or the nVidia 8600/8500 - 8800gt.

That said - I'm not aware of any AACS encryption of BluRay content at this time ...

Originally posted by: Mana
You may want to think twice about grabbing a 2900 Pro since I don't think it has the decoder thingy on it for movies (the name escapes me). As of now, the cards I know that have it are the 2400, 2600, and 3000 series cards.

AFAIK the ATI 2900pro not only has advanced hardware acceleration is does it with 'dual-link' HDCP encoders - meaning you can run 2 hdcp compliant monitors.

I need one of the 'experts' in here to chime in but I think the 2900pro (with 'dual-link' / dual Crossfire) is the original ""video-wall"" card for the Spider.

I'll buy the 4 2900's if you guys chip in and buy me 8 40-inch LCDs ...

I'm a heckuva guy ...

 

[Makaveli]

Originally posted by: heyheybooboo

Originally posted by: grimlykindo
I just assembled an HTPC out of older parts:

Pentium 4 2.4 Northwood
2x512 DDR
9800 PRO DVI -> HDMI -> Sharp Aquos 1080P
Chaintech av710 -> Denon 7.1
Thermaltake Tenor case
250GB Seagate SATA
Windows XP

It works great for DVD (PowerDVD), MP3, Internet, Emulators - But I'm considering a Blue Ray Drive. Can I do this with my current setup at 1080P? I'm having trouble finding out if my 9800 PRO is HDCP compliant or if it is even capable of decoding 1080P Blue Ray.

Can anybody help me out?

9800pro is not HDCP compliant and does not have the advanced hardware acceleration of the ATI 2400/2600 -2900pro or the nVidia 8600/8500 - 8800gt.

That said - I'm not aware of any AACS encryption of BluRay content at this time ...

Originally posted by: Mana
You may want to think twice about grabbing a 2900 Pro since I don't think it has the decoder thingy on it for movies (the name escapes me). As of now, the cards I know that have it are the 2400, 2600, and 3000 series cards.

AFAIK the ATI 2900pro not only has advanced hardware acceleration is does it with 'dual-link' HDCP encoders - meaning you can run 2 hdcp compliant monitors.

I need one of the 'experts' in here to chime in but I think the 2900pro (with 'dual-link' / dual Crossfire) is the original ""video-wall"" card for the Spider.

I'll buy the 4 2900's if you guys chip in and buy me 8 40-inch LCDs ...

I'm a heckuva guy ...

This has already been stated in a previous post the X2900XT and X2900Pro do not have UVD on them only the lower end cards. Its only the 38xx series that has UVD across all products. The rest of your post is correct tho.

 

[XMan]

Your CPU (without hardware video acceleration) and video card aren't enough for Blu Ray. Your best bet would be to grab an AGP 3850 if and when they become available. It'll accellerate video enough that your CPU speed won't be as big an issue. AACS can be bypassed in software with a program like AnyDVD HD.

 

[TheOtherRizzo]

Before you dive in to the HD disk world make sure you check the long ass threads at avsforums so that you know what you're in for. Basically both GPU manufacturers and Cyberlink are having a very hard time making HD disk playback actually work. I wouldn't spend money on it yet. Unless you have time to test 13 driver versions and want to manually fiddle with copying dll files from one version of PDVD to another.

 

[grimlykindo]

Thanks guys -

I will probably be getting a 2600pro when/if I get a Blue ray drive. It sucks I will have to get an AGP - they are cheaper on PCI-e :frown: I really want a passivly cooled one as well

Hopefully my 9800 pro 128 w/ zalman passive heatick will sell on Ebay

Anyway - thanks alot for the input - Now I just have to decide if its worth it!

 

[bigsnyder]

I used a Radeon 9800 Pro for a while, and was pleased with the results considering the age of the card.
The 9800 will do SOME cpu off-loading, but don't expect miracles. This card was paired with a Barton
core Athlon running 2.3Ghz. Xvid, H264, and wmv-hd played pretty well up to 720p. 1080p was hit or
miss. I would at least try it to see if it performs good enough to get by before you completely ditch it.

 

[newbieKC]

Do you think my PC can handle 1080P/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD video?

Athlon 64 3000 (2.0 GHZ Venice) FSB 1600 MHZ Hypertransport
Socket 754
ECS Nforce 3
1 GB PNY DDR 400 memory
AGP only

I am thinking about getting an ATI Radeon HD 2400 pro AGP

 

[hooflung]

As to audio quality, barring HDMI interconnects and receiver decoding, the best is had with analog but then again it would suffer with that av710 so it is a trade-off versus S/PDIF. The only add-on HDMI audio output solution currently available is the MSI HD2600XT (other 2000 AGP cards forgo the feature).

The av710 does its full 192khz over digital on all channels not just the 2 for analog. It is not HDMI but its about the best damn audio you can get for under 30 dollars.

 

[hooflung]

Originally posted by: newbieKC
Do you think my PC can handle 1080P/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD video?

Athlon 64 3000 (2.0 GHZ Venice) FSB 1600 MHZ Hypertransport
Socket 754
ECS Nforce 3
1 GB PNY DDR 400 memory
AGP only

I am thinking about getting an ATI Radeon HD 2400 pro AGP

This is basically what I have. I use an Asrock 754 mobo though, with a SiS chipset. I use a Gigabyte Geforce 6600 256mb AGP DVI/HDTV output. For 1080p you definately need to get a new video card that does decoding.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814161210

That card should do you. Will even play games decent if you need.

 

[themisfit610]

Originally posted by: bigsnyder
I used a Radeon 9800 Pro for a while, and was pleased with the results considering the age of the card.
The 9800 will do SOME cpu off-loading, but don't expect miracles. This card was paired with a Barton
core Athlon running 2.3Ghz. Xvid, H264, and wmv-hd played pretty well up to 720p. 1080p was hit or
miss. I would at least try it to see if it performs good enough to get by before you completely ditch it.

Downloaded H.264 720p and WMV-HD content is NOT the same as BluRay / HD-DVD.

These new formats have very high bitrates, and are encoded using high profile H.264, or VC-1, both of which are very computationally demanding to decode.

Nothing short of a fast Core 2 Duo or a Core 2 Quad can decode these formats in pure software.

Full hardware acceleration through the HD2400/2600 or 8500/8600/(some)8800 series cards is mandatory on anything lesser, if you want flawless playback.

Do you think my PC can handle 1080P/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD video?

Athlon 64 3000 (2.0 GHZ Venice) FSB 1600 MHZ Hypertransport
Socket 754
ECS Nforce 3
1 GB PNY DDR 400 memory
AGP only

I am thinking about getting an ATI Radeon HD 2400 pro AGP

That should be just fine. I did HD-DVD on a Sempron 3000+ - albeit an AM2 version with a PCIe 2400 Pro. I wouldn't think the AGP cards would have enough bandwidth to do it, but apparently they can.

As mentioned, be prepared to try lots of different driver versions. It's tricky, as only certain versions work properly with certain versions of the player software. It can be tricky, but once you get it working, its not so bad.

~Misfit

 

[newbieKC]

Thanks for providing the link to the HD 2600 Pro. However, I am hoping to spend less, since I do not plan on using it to play games. The card will mostly be used to play downloaded 1080p content. Can you provide a link to a card that is lower priced and is adequate for a smooth playback?

 

[bigsnyder]

Originally posted by: newbieKC
Thanks for providing the link to the HD 2600 Pro. However, I am hoping to spend less, since I do not plan on using it to play games. The card will mostly be used to play downloaded 1080p content. Can you provide a link to a card that is lower priced and is adequate for a smooth playback?

This isn't much cheaper, but this is about the best AGP card you will find for HTPC use.
Sapphire HD2600XT