AMD Demonstrates Prototype FreeSync Monitor

[Stuka87]

Told you guys it did not require new hardware specifically for this functionality. Obviously the display has to support certain features, which a fully compliant DP1.2 should.

There is no logic being handled in the display, AMD's GPU is doing it all. nVidia's solution is the opposite. The GPU doesnt have the ability to handle that functionality, so they have the G-Sync card handle it. The G-Sync module is then most likely doing the same thing Free-Sync is in terms of what it sends to the display itself. The G-Sync module is just a middle man between the GPU and the Display.

 

[blastingcap]

I still can't find a major manufacturer that is intending to upgrade an existing monitor, I rang around a whole bundle of them and sent out a lot of emails. The answer none from all of them.

Good to see it actually works and I'll take AMDs word for it that this is varying the refresh rate as the demonstration has no indication of frame rate. Still wondering how they do it, the implementation details do matter.

They'd rather sell you a new monitor than upgrade your old one for free.

 

[PPB]

This is the time when one painfully regrets not buying a 1.2DP monitor. But still, this is good news for (almost) everybody!

 

[Mand]

So...this is concerning.

Source

"Die Demo läuft mit einer Bildwiederholfrequenz von 47 bis 48 Frames pro Sekunde und der Monitor liefert dank der angepassten Bildwiederhohlfrequenz ein einwandfreies Bild ab, das dem von Nvidias G-Sync sehr ähnlich sieht. Eine variierende Framerate, auf die der Monitor reagieren kann, lässt die Demo aktuell noch nicht zu. Während der Monitor während der Präsentation keine Probleme machte, stürzte die Techdemo von AMD zudem mehrfach ab."

"The demo runs at a refresh rate 47-48 frames per second and the monitor provides thanks to the custom frequency a perfect picture that is very similar to Nvidia G-Sync. Currently the demo does not have a varying framerate at wich the monitor could react. While the monitor showed no problems during the presentation, the tech demo of AMD also crashed several times."

So now we have conflicting press reports about what was being shown. And here I was ready to be excited...looks like it's time to go around again.

 

[24601]

So...this is concerning.

Source



[/I]So now we have conflicting press reports about what was being shown. And here I was ready to be excited...looks like it's time to go around again.

Dammit.

And I was thinking they would have used a G-Sync Module or something.

I keep forgetting how incompetent they are.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

Too bad, anyway, there'll be a gsync alternative eventually.

 

[BrightCandle]

They'd rather sell you a new monitor than upgrade your old one for free.

Its important to understand that what I asked all these companies was which monitor I should buy that would be receiving Freesync in the future. I was specifically saying I wanted to upgrade my monitor but since this was an important feature to me which of their lineup would be capable of receiving an update. I wasn't asking about any particular model, I was asking them to add information to their line up on an issue that wasn't listed in their standard product brief.

Its to that question they all either turned around and said none of their monitors would or that AMD hadn't told them anything or worse still they weren't interested in the technology as it was a gimmick or that I was better off with 144hz lightboost 2. Not one company told me they had a monitor that could be updated. Admittedly I didn't ask Yamakasi (Catleap) and I will do so now that we have one of their monitors being demoed with the technology enabled.

 

[Dribble]

Yet to be convinced. Other then the background behind the windmill the most noticeable difference is this time they hid the frame rate numbers. If it really was variable surely they'd be showing them off for all to see?

What this does show is the syncing bit working on a desktop monitor which is a step forward, but still several steps away from a working solution I can buy.

 

[MeldarthX]

Its important to understand that what I asked all these companies was which monitor I should buy that would be receiving Freesync in the future. I was specifically saying I wanted to upgrade my monitor but since this was an important feature to me which of their lineup would be capable of receiving an update. I wasn't asking about any particular model, I was asking them to add information to their line up on an issue that wasn't listed in their standard product brief.

Its to that question they all either turned around and said none of their monitors would or that AMD hadn't told them anything or worse still they weren't interested in the technology as it was a gimmick or that I was better off with 144hz lightboost 2. Not one company told me they had a monitor that could be updated. Admittedly I didn't ask Yamakasi (Catleap) and I will do so now that we have one of their monitors being demoed with the technology enabled.

Wrong- as a company hasn't released those products they will not tell you which ones will have this until they are either released or or just about. Moment they tell you a model that's not available you'll start pestering when it will be out. This will leak out about a model that's not out; and snowball out.

I know if you came to my company and asked if this was going to be in our product; *know it will be just when is the question* answer would be no; or can't comment on that because of exact PR nightmare it would create. Companies are not going to tell you about a product that's about 4-6ish months away......its just not going to happen unless they are the only one's doing it or allowed to do it......

 

[Hitman928]

I think it's interesting that two different reports come out and people automatically assume that one is true and the other is false. Anyway, it's worth noting that the picture in pcper's article shows a different setup (monitor next to computer rather than side by side with another monitor, could be just on the far side of comptuerbase's picture though).

The pcper picture also shows a more complex version of the windmill demo than the youtube video (and presumably computerbase's setup) because the pcper picture shows different angles of the windmill not seen before. This could explain why pcper reported a wider variation in frame rates as different parts of the scene were being rendered instead of the static viewpoint seen elsewhere.

Long story short, one or the other could be mistaken or both reports could be correct but they were reporting on different demos. Hopefully people have learned not to shout FUD, lies, and deception prematurely just because every last detail isn't yet known.

 

[Mand]

Hopefully people have learned not to shout FUD, lies, and deception prematurely just because every last detail isn't yet known.

For the record, my reaction was "I'm concerned that they say different things" not "This one is wrong."

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Dammit.

And I was thinking they would have used a G-Sync Module or something.

I keep forgetting how incompetent they are.

It currently doesn't support varying framerates. That could easily change as soon as they are using monitors that actually support the full standard.

It's safe to assume that this monitor they are using is one that is currently available and that it's incapable of doing dynamic changes with it's hardware.

 

[sirroman]

I'm glad to know people stopped yelling "LIES! LIES! ALL LIES!".

I hope an AMD representative can confirm if the framerates were variable in this demo.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

the computer base article pretty much confirms it wasn't.

 

[showb1z]

So (maybe) it's just the same demo as last time, but on a desktop display...
The info on this tech has been all over the place from the start. It's pretty ridiculous. Guess I'm waiting for a report on Anand.

 

[Keysplayr]

So is all this just another lie from AMD? Or is it laden with conditions and technicalities to keep them out of the hot water? Basically, we just saw a V-Sync locked demo.

 

[csbin]

Computex 2014: AMD Demonstrates First FreeSync Monitor Prototype

by Ryan Smith & Anand Lal Shimpi


http://www.anandtech.com/show/8129/computex-2014-amd-demonstrates-first-freesync-monitor-prototype

Our very own Anand Shimpi just got off of the Computex showfloor for a bit after paying a visit to AMD’s booth. Among the items AMD is showing at Computex is the current status of their FreeSync project, whose base feature of Adaptive Sync was recently added to the DisplayPort 1.2a standard as an extension.
First announced at CES 2014, FreeSync is AMD’s take on variable refresh monitors, utilizing some variable refresh functionality first designed for embedded DisplayPort (eDP). At the time AMD was showing off the concept on laptops (due to the need for eDP) but are back at Computex with an update on the project.
Here at Computex AMD is showing off the first prototype monitor that is FreeSync capable, which interestingly enough is based on a retail monitor that was hardware capable and could be converted with updated firmware. AMD’s actual demo hasn’t changed – they’re still running the fan blade demo we saw at CES 2014 – but it’s now running on external monitors. The monitor in question operates with a fairly narrow range of rates of just 40Hz to 60Hz, which for the purposes of a prototype is good enough to showcase that the technology works, though it is narrower than the refresh ranges AMD is expecting for retail monitors.
At this point AMD is emphasizing that while they were able to get FreeSync up and running on existing hardware, owners shouldn’t be expecting firmware updates as this is very unlikely to happen (though this is ultimately up to monitor manufacturers). Instead AMD is using it to demonstrate that existing panels and scalers already exist that are capable of variable refresh, and that retail monitors should not require significant/expensive technology upgrades. Meanwhile AMD is also holding to their earlier projection of 6-12 months for retail monitor availability with retail prototypes expected around September, which puts final retail availability potentially as early as very late this year, but more likely into the first half of 2015.
Finally we have a video interview of the FreeSync demo in action. It bears mentioning that YouTube is limited to 30fps, so while we can give you some idea of what FreeSync performs like it’s not a fully capable representation. That will have to wait for closer to release when we can sit down with a high speed camera.

 

[sontin]

It looks that the PCper.com quote is wrong. This comes directly from Anandtech:

The monitor in question operates with a fairly narrow range of rates of just 40Hz to 60Hz, which for the purposes of a prototype is good enough to showcase that the technology works, though it is narrower than the refresh ranges AMD is expecting for retail monitors.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8129/computex-2014-amd-demonstrates-first-freesync-monitor-prototype

So, Freesync works between 40-60Hz and the demo run within 47-48FPS.
With this information it is clear why they dont show a game...

 

[Keysplayr]

Our very own Anand Shimpi just got off of the Computex showfloor for a bit after paying a visit to AMD’s booth. Among the items AMD is showing at Computex is the current status of their FreeSync project, whose base feature of Adaptive Sync was recently added to the DisplayPort 1.2a standard as an extension.
First announced at CES 2014, FreeSync is AMD’s take on variable refresh monitors, utilizing some variable refresh functionality first designed for embedded DisplayPort (eDP). At the time AMD was showing off the concept on laptops (due to the need for eDP) but are back at Computex with an update on the project.
Here at Computex AMD is showing off the first prototype monitor that is FreeSync capable, which interestingly enough is based on a retail monitor that was hardware capable and could be converted with updated firmware. AMD’s actual demo hasn’t changed – they’re still running the fan blade demo we saw at CES 2014 – but it’s now running on external monitors. The monitor in question operates with a fairly narrow range of rates of just 40Hz to 60Hz, which for the purposes of a prototype is good enough to showcase that the technology works, though it is narrower than the refresh ranges AMD is expecting for retail monitors.
At this point AMD is emphasizing that while they were able to get FreeSync up and running on existing hardware, owners shouldn’t be expecting firmware updates as this is very unlikely to happen (though this is ultimately up to monitor manufacturers). Instead AMD is using it to demonstrate that existing panels and scalers already exist that are capable of variable refresh, and that retail monitors should not require significant/expensive technology upgrades. Meanwhile AMD is also holding to their earlier projection of 6-12 months for retail monitor availability with retail prototypes expected around September, which puts final retail availability potentially as early as very late this year, but more likely into the first half of 2015.
Finally we have a video interview of the FreeSync demo in action. It bears mentioning that YouTube is limited to 30fps, so while we can give you some idea of what FreeSync performs like it’s not a fully capable representation. That will have to wait for closer to release when we can sit down with a high speed camera.

Bolded part is what concerns most probably.

I mean, down the road with improvements this surely has some potential, but for touting this half a year ago when G-Sync was announced and still today only has a static fps of 47-48 with a limited range of 40hz to 60Hz isn't much of a success especially while folks were complaining about G-Sync's limitations 5 to 6 months ago.

 

[3DVagabond]

Bolded part is what concerns most probably.

Free-Sync is AMD's feature that uses the Adaptive-Sync standard to allow dynamic refresh rate on monitors. What's the concern?

 

[Keysplayr]

Free-Sync is AMD's feature that uses the Adaptive-Sync standard to allow dynamic refresh rate on monitors. What's the concern?

Oh, none whatsoever 3D.

 

[MeldarthX]

It looks that the PCper.com quote is wrong. This comes directly from Anandtech:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8129/computex-2014-amd-demonstrates-first-freesync-monitor-prototype

So, Freesync works between 40-60Hz and the demo run within 47-48FPS.
With this information it is clear why they dont show a game...

Dude that's fud and you know it; Demo showing the technology doesn't need major changes and AMD already said it will work wider range. So far everything looking decent; we'll know more sooner it comes near end of the year

 

[sontin]

It's fud to talk about something you cant show.
Up to know AMD wasn't able to show us Freesync with games. They needed 6 months to modify an existing monitor.

I dont care what you think but they haven't shown anything of their promises.

 

[3DVagabond]

Oh, none whatsoever 3D.

Then why say it? I'm really wondering what you are concerned about.

 

[Keysplayr]

Then why say it? I'm really wondering what you are concerned about.

Above was sarcasm (you probably knew that)
And I can't fathom your post right here. There is no way possible that you don't know what the problem is. You're clearly being deliberately obtuse here.
Anyway, Sontin has your answer.