Bad news for you nv40&nv45 owners, and the requirements for H.264 acceleration.

[DAPUNISHER]

For support, you need a 6or7 series GPU that supports H.264 acceleration, that means all but nv40/45, drivers with support, and you need to buy a supporting decoder from


CyberLink PowerDVD? with H.264 (AVC) and AAC Pack
InterVideo® WinDVD®
Nero® ShowTime

It is still a bit speculatory till some testing is done with all the necessary elements to make it work, but the speed of your GPU core seems to be directly related to the degree of acceleration you will have

The quality of the acceleration depends directly on the speed of the GPU. At 300MHz, the acceleration is going to be minimal. As you scale on up towards 500MHz GPU clock speed, acceleration gets to the point where less than 50% CPU is being used to deliver full speed playback.

Nvidia has no checkmark for H.264 support under your card :thumbsdown:

 

[otispunkmeyer]

i thought it was pretty much common knowledge that the NV40 PVP was just ****** beyond repair and that it was never gonna do anything usefull

having said that, does this H.264 decode work on 7 series cards? and what does one need to make it work?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
i thought it was pretty much common knowledge that the NV40 PVP was just ****** beyond repair and that it was never gonna do anything usefull

having said that, does this H.264 decode work on 7 series cards? and what does one need to make it work?

How could anyone know if it was borked for H.264 before nV either declared it so, or supported drivers and software revealed the fact? I am happy to see it is readily available@their site this time, but disturb they didn't declare this more openly during all the "6/7 series cards support" that has been circulating for months now.

Some in the thread for the 84.12 beta that tout support for H.264 acceleration have already asked about this specifically, with nv40/45. So this answers their questions.


For support, you need a 6or7 series GPU that supports H.264 acceleration, all but nv40/45, drivers with support, and you need to buy a supporting decoder this page shows who is supporting it.


This news blurb from bit-tech yesterday makes no mention of the nv40/45 exclusion either. It actually implies that any 6series card or newer features the support.

 

[Munky]

I'm not surprised in the least...

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: munky
I'm not surprised in the least...

where is Woofmeister when you need him?
:Q
[for a class action lawsuit]

:roll:

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I wouldn't say so much I'm surprised either, like cookie dude pointed out, but rather disappointed. And I am probably being to hard on them since they didn't originally decalre any 6 series as having support, but rather stated that later on after the 7 series support was already being talked about.

Hence, This is a bit of a rant thread, no doubt, but I also wanted to do a PSA for the members who've asked this very question.

I'll add the requirements for acceleration to the OP now as well, since that is popping up repeatedly in the beta thread.

 

[beggerking]

Odd how PCI version of 6800 has support for H.264 while the AGP version doesn't. Does it have something to do with the bridge chip on AGP version?

 

[Creig]

It is actually because the PCI-E versions are based on the updated NV41/NV42 core instead of the older NV40/NV45.

 

[beggerking]

ok.. thanks
so basically they fixed the problem with it..

 

[deeznuts]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
i thought it was pretty much common knowledge that the NV40 PVP was just ****** beyond repair and that it was never gonna do anything usefull

having said that, does this H.264 decode work on 7 series cards? and what does one need to make it work?

How could anyone know if it was borked for H.264 before nV either declared it so, or supported drivers and software revealed the fact? I am happy to see it is readily available@their site this time, but disturb they didn't declare this more openly during all the "6/7 series cards support" that has been circulating for months now.

Some in the thread for the 84.12 beta that tout support for H.264 acceleration have already asked about this specifically, with nv40/45. So this answers their questions.


For support, you need a 6or7 series GPU that supports H.264 acceleration, all but nv40/45, drivers with support, and you need to buy a supporting decoder this page shows who is supporting it.


This news blurb from bit-tech yesterday makes no mention of the nv40/45 exclusion either. It actually implies that any 6series card or newer features the support.

Text

I think it was common knowledge that the nv40 and nv45 cores were somewhat defective, therefore it was deduced they would not have h.264 acceleration. I have seen this mentioned several times since nVidia announced they would have h.264 acceleration for 6 series cards.

This confirms it though.

 

[Wreckage]

A lot of 6xxx series cards do support H.264 (like my 6600GT), none of the ATI cards during that generation support it.

 

[Nextman916]

So uhh i have a 6800ultra agp based on the NV45 core....that means no fully functioning purevideo for me? BTW i have had powerDVD for a long time, is there anyway to tell what version i have? so that i may know if i have the MPEG-2 decode acceleration already? Im kinda confused about this whole h.264 acceleration, basically is there anything i can do to make DVD's look nicer on my 6800ultra?

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
A lot of 6xxx series cards do support H.264 (like my 6600GT), none of the ATI cards during that generation support it.

Yes, lets bring Ati into this... a common trollo tactic. :roll:

 

[natto fire]

Originally posted by: munky

Originally posted by: Wreckage
A lot of 6xxx series cards do support H.264 (like my 6600GT), none of the ATI cards during that generation support it.

Yes, lets bring Ati into this... a common trollo tactic. :roll:

The bigger thing to do would have been to ignore this post, as you stated in your OP, it affects NV40/45 cores. Why Wreckage brought up that the 6600GT is not one of these cores is beyond me (LOL), but your comment was just as unecessary.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: deeznuts
Text

I think it was common knowledge that the nv40 and nv45 cores were somewhat defective, therefore it was deduced they would not have h.264 acceleration. I have seen this mentioned several times since nVidia announced they would have h.264 acceleration for 6 series cards.

This confirms it though.

It was a 50/50 chance of correctly predicting the outcome i.e. it will work or it won't There was some speculation that H.264 would also be borked, yes. Hence, no surprise, but none-the-less another disappointment for owners who might have had a use for the missing capabilities.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Disappointing, but not too surprising given what we've seen in the past (or, more accurately, what we haven't seen in the past). At least I have a dual-core CPU now so software playback seems to always work fine, but it would be nice if you didn't have to have a $300+ CPU just to play some videos

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
but it would be nice if you didn't have to have a $300+ CPU just to play some videos

A $75 7300GS will do the trick, and a 6600GT for $115 additionaly provides an exceptable level of casual gaming experience too IME.

 

[Cookie Monster]

7300 clocked at 550mhz is perfect for HTPC. (Gigabyte model looks tempting).

INQ also "supposedly" said that the 7600GS and 7600GT will be bundled with the h.264 decoders.

Link

WE are happy to inform you that Nvidia plans to get aggressive on H.264 acceleration and HDTV support. A month ago we wrote about Nvidia's driver that is supposed to make H.264 much faster and we are still waiting for it. The driver should re-surface around Cebit time. If you remember, Nvidia usually have only four drivers each year, one per quarter.

Nvidia's Geforce 7600 GT and 7600GS are born to take the 6800 GS and 6600 GT place. Those cards should give you much more gaming power and nice video support.

Nvidia is so aggressive that it plans to bundle H.264 decoding software. You usually need to pay some money for the decoder. We found out that Cyberlink, for example, charges ?12.99 for its H.264 player meant for ATI cards. Nvidia will give you its decoding software for free.

We are sure that Geforce 7600GT and 7600GS can give X1800GTO and X1600XT/PRO a run for the money but we still don't know which will end up faster.

Nvidia is also promoting HDTV support and we are sure that both companies are going to claim supremacy over the other. Good job, green boys, and I think it will force the red boys to make a similar move. µ

 

[Paratus]

Well for my last AGP upgrade I'm definately avoiding the 6800GS and going with a 7800GS or X1600PRO. Either is better than my 9600XT and both can improve my machine in more than just games. (Dual Link DVI, Accelerated playback of WMV HD & H.264, & the X1600 can accelerate transcoding which I'm doing a fair amount of right now) Although I'll probably see what falls out of the NV launch and ATI response this month before buying.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
i thought it was pretty much common knowledge that the NV40 PVP was just ****** beyond repair and that it was never gonna do anything usefull

having said that, does this H.264 decode work on 7 series cards? and what does one need to make it work?

It speeds up everything but WMV and H.264, i dont use WMV-HD, however, H.264 support is important, because i probably cant play back high definition without GPU assistance.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
but it would be nice if you didn't have to have a $300+ CPU just to play some videos

A $75 7300GS will do the trick, and a 6600GT for $115 additionaly provides an exceptable level of casual gaming experience too IME.

Downgrading to a 7300GS or 6600GT isn't much of an option for someone who already has a 6800(/GT/Ultra)

 

[rbV5]

Why offer driver support for these video features in the first place? Hell, these "minor" features work perfectly fine until they are supported in the drivers. I say, make the claims, and never actually support the tech...(these are gaming cards...not "video" cards btw).

Who cares if your pron is accelerated or not? What does this affect like <1% of the market?

I "heard" that Adobe is working on MPEG encoding support in their products however, so there is still "something" to hang onto....right?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
but it would be nice if you didn't have to have a $300+ CPU just to play some videos

A $75 7300GS will do the trick, and a 6600GT for $115 additionaly provides an exceptable level of casual gaming experience too IME.

Downgrading to a 7300GS or 6600GT isn't much of an option for someone who already has a 6800(/GT/Ultra)

I was specifically addressing your comment quoted above i.e. $300 CPU isn't necessary. I know you were funnin' a bit though. And to argue semantically, while it would be downgrading for gamers, it would be upgrading for much less for HTPC/MCE box users.

rbV5, Perfect incapsulation of the damage control that was posted. :beer: I have to admit they were largely correct about WMV HD though, I have only 2 18+ months later, T2 and SITL. MPEG4 part10 obviously will be huge, so that argument carries no weight at all now.

 

[pukemon]

Originally posted by: beggerking
Odd how PCI version of 6800 has support for H.264 while the AGP version doesn't. Does it have something to do with the bridge chip on AGP version?

The original 6800 was native AGP and didn't/doesn't use a bridge chip.

 

[justlnluck]

So is the PCI-E 6600GT an NV41 card?