Mpeg2 720p plays fine on my render workstation but not on the another ??

[plainman007]

Hi,

I tried googling yesterday and in fact was checking on this particular point and i downloaded the 7300 spec sheet which clearly mentions that its HD enabled and can decode HD mpeg2 streams. My main workstation which plays the files properly has a Nvidia 8400GS with 512mb video memory.

I very clearly remember reading that the 7300GS has Purevideo HD. Ive also read that Purevideo and Purevideo HD are different elements and was aware of that from start. I faintly remember even seeing purevideo HD on the box packing but unfortunately dont have it now. Do the Nvidia driver CDs contain complete info or a manual which has the complete specs ?

I will anyway google again and post back what i find.

On a side note, are there any latest basic (Non-expensive ) cards which handle Nvidia Mpeg2 HD decoding ?

Thanks..

[CrowdAds]

[zsaz1029]

Can you find a link for what you read about the 7300GS being PurevideoHD? Everything I can find lacks the 'HD'. Also, do you have the 128MB or 256MB edition? There's no doubt in my mind that the larger memory card would help in HD decoding.

[plainman007]

Mine is a card with 256 + 256 shared memory if im right. In fact your right. Even on google and reviews some mention it as having PureVideo HD and some dont. Im confused now. Will try to get some factual details and post back in a few hours.

Meanwhile did you see these ....

NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS - Graphics Cards - Peripherals - Reviews - PC Authority

V I P E R L A I R .com - MSI GeForce 7300 GS PCI Express, Page 1/3

XFX GeForce 7300 GS PCI-E Graphics Card - Reviews, Best Prices and Product Information at BizRate

Thanks...

[ctal]

NVidia's comparison tables clearly put the 7300GS in the PureVideo (non-HD) category, although they indicate that it provides some degree of hi def mpeg2 acceleration. That may be the source of the confusion that exists in some of the reviews and comments which are out there.

http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/11036/...Comparison.pdf

There are lots of low priced cards with PureVideoHD. Just look through the listings at NewEgg for the lower priced families which NVidia lists as supporting PureVideoHD (e.g. 8400GS, 8500GT).

Among the various card manufacturers, I'm a believer in EVGA, as are a lot of other people.

Regards,
-- Al

[zsaz1029]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Mine is a card with 256 + 256 shared memory if im right.

The 'shared' memory you're referring to is NVIDIA's TurboCache and is entirely dependent on the system memory available. As the first review you linked to points out, if system memory is only 512 MB, then this will never be enabled.

[plainman007]

Hi Again Ctal,

Your right. Many of the reviews mention HD and high-def mpeg acceleration and that mustve confused me. I saw a Nvidia offcial specs pdf that stated hardware based decoding of HD mpeg2 etc. But whatever they say, its still not 'PureVideo HD'. Thats why ive been unable to playback the file on the presentation system i assume.

My Vegas workstation has the Nvidia 8400GS. I assume thats the reason it effortessly plays mpeg2 HD with CPU usage at just 6-10%. But im still going to do some testing before i buy it.

Ctal, the 8400GS is guaranteed to handle HD Mpeg2 in hardware right ?

Thanks...

Zsaz > Yes, i understand that its 256 + 256 shared memory architecture. I guess Nvidia just calls it turbo something. But my system has 4 gb of ram in it. Thats why im not worried about the shared memory thing as i think this is as ample memory one would expect. I dont think windows 32bit recognizes more than that.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

the 8400GS is guaranteed to handle HD Mpeg2 in hardware right ?

I would put it that it is "specified" to handle hd mpeg2 decoding in hardware. Nothing is "guaranteed" when it comes to computers, it would seem

Regards,
-- Al

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal,

Your right, Nothing is guaranteed in this arena. So many factors involved makes it so complex to put things down in black and white.

One slightly off track question here.....Instead of Mpeg2 HD if i rendered my presentation to Cineform 1280x720 how would that be comparable in quality to an mpeg2 of the same res ?

That format seems to run smooth on the current hardware of the presentation system itself with very little CPU usage but im only worried about the quality.

Thanks

[plainman007]

Just a quick update. I just now rendered and ran a 80Mbps Mpeg2 file with razor sharp clarity and color fidelity. It ran smooth without any hiccups on my main workstation. Thats higher than Bluray in bitrate i guess. .

Regards

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Instead of Mpeg2 HD if i rendered my presentation to Cineform 1280x720 how would that be comparable in quality to an mpeg2 of the same res ?

Don't know; as I mentioned I haven't done any hi def stuff yet. And I don't use Vegas' built-in mpeg2 encoder, because I found that CCE basic, Multimedia solutions - Custom Technology Corporation (integrated into Vegas via the DebugMode Frameserver, Debugmode FrameServer Homepage) gives significantly better quality and also encodes nearly twice as fast.

-- Al

[zsaz1029]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Just a quick update. I just now rendered and ran a 80Mbps Mpeg2 file with razor sharp clarity and color fidelity. It ran smooth without any hiccups on my main workstation. Thats higher than Bluray in bitrate i guess. .

Regards

And how does it play on your presentation machine? Also, are you transferring the file over? Such as via a network. Or are you playing from some other digital media? CD/DVD/Blu-ray/usb drive?

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal,

Yes you told me that you dont work HD much. Sorry it slipped my attention.



Zsaz > I was only refering to playback on my main workstation. My presentation system ?? No way ! its stuttering on the 30mpbs Mpeg2. It makes no sense to try with a higher bitrate mpeg.

About my presentation system, Yes all files are loaded on to the media drive (yes its got a seperate HDD to avoid sharing the OS drive) inside it. Everything is playedback from internal SATA only, never from an external drive or network and definitely not from a flash drive of all devices .

Blueray ? Hmmm err . No im not using bluray. We are talking system rendered files playing back from within systems and not optical or flash devices etc. Those will all lag in speed compared to a internal HDD.

[zsaz1029]

Originally Posted by plainman007

We are talking system rendered files playing back from within systems and not optical or flash devices etc. Those will all lag in speed compared to a internal HDD.

That was my point in asking.

[plainman007]

Yes i kind of guessed that was where you were getting. Thats why i specifically mentioned that. Its all internal.

[zsaz1029]

Just out of curiosity...

You've stated that you have nothing on the machine at all other than Windows XP and the drivers. Have you created an image of the boot drive to easily restore to this setup? And have you since played around with any codec packages on your own to see if there's any playback improvement?