NVIDIA GeForce 8600: Full H.264 Decode Acceleration
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 27, 2007 4:34 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
Although we haven't been terribly impressed with the gaming performance of the GeForce 8600, it is currently the best option for anyone looking to watch Blu-ray or HD-DVD on their PCs. The full H.264 offload onto the GPU makes HD movie playback not only painless but also possible on lower speed systems.
Even more interesting isn't the GeForce 8600, but the $100 GeForce 8500 that we'll be looking at in the coming weeks. According to NVIDIA, the GeForce 8500 will have the same H.264 decoding power as the 8600, so if you don't need the added 3D gaming performance then the 8500 will be an even better solution for HTPCs.
Honestly, the only downside to H.264 decoding with these cards isn't the cards themselves but rather the state of decoding software. WinDVD appears to be ahead in the fit and finish department, while hardware support is better with PowerDVD. WinDVD also performs better on the new 8600 GPUs for H.264 decoding, while PowerDVD is faster on other hardware configurations. Both applications also need serious work before they are useful in Vista 64-bit. We'd expect at least one or two more revisions of the software to go by before these problems really get taken care of.
Kudos to NVIDIA on being first to deliver full H.264 decode assist not only in any GPU but moreover in a mainstream GPU. Now it's a matter of how quickly NVIDIA can extend this functionality to the rest of its product line, and how quickly ATI can respond.
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Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
I corrected the statement, we will have our 8500 review sample in the coming weeks :)Take care,
Anand
kilkennycat - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Anand, you need to keep an eye on both ZZF and Newegg on release dates for new computer hardware, just in case your review versions don't materialize. The MSI 8500GT (o/c version, irc) was orderable and In Stock at ZZF @10PM Pacific Time on April 16 and continued to be in stock for at least part of April 17.JarredWalton - Saturday, April 28, 2007 - link
We know they're available, but if we ran out and purchased every piece of new hardware for testing rather than relying on our partners, that can start to put a pretty sizable dent in the old paycheck. Not that we don't often purchase hardware anyway....mmp121 - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Page 3 paragraph 1, last sentence ends abruptly.Could you comment on what you are confirming?
Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Just confirming that the two 8600s perform the same despite their differences. Thanks for the correction :)Take care,
Anand
WarlordBB - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Did I miss it, or did you mention it in a previous article?What the heck are you using for your HD-DVD drive?
mmp121 - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Most likely the XBOX360 HD-DVD drive. Or heck, maybe he ripped it to HDD?Anand Lal Shimpi - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
We used the Xbox 360 HD-DVD drive. We would never rip a HD-DVD movie to HDD, that would be illegal of course ;)DerekWilson - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
quite ... of course, inspite of the fact that ripping the HD or BD movie is illegal (DMCA violation), *having* the HD or BD movie on your HDD is protected by fair use ...as Anand alluded to, though, playing back content that isn't aacs protected would result in lower cpu utilization and wouldn't be reflective of the average consumer experience.
Ard - Friday, April 27, 2007 - link
Well, strictly speaking that's not exactly true. Having a ripped movie on your HDD, assuming you legally own the movie in question, is certainly a fair use due to the software archival provisions in the Copyright Act. However, since the DMCA is itself a part of the Act, having the movie on your HDD essentially becomes de facto illegal because the only way you could put it there is through ripping, which, as you stated, is illegal anti-circumvention. It's things like this (the chilling of fair use and extension of copyright owners' rights) that make me hate the DMCA and all who would use it for their gain.On topic, I'm glad to see that the 8600 line is capable of significantly decreasing CPU utilization. I wasn't expecting a drop from 80+% to 24%. It's really incredible.