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Full Version: Brief guide to use Nvidia's PureVideo HD

NVIDIA Forums > nZone > Hardware > GeForce GeWhiz

boon25

Apr 2 2008, 03:59 AM

I can see that there is still a lot people finding it confusing to use H/W acceleration for HD video playback and since I don't see a single thread dedicated for it I have decided to post a brief guide here. Hope it helps:-

Things that you will need to get you started:-
1) An Nvidia garphic card that supports PureVideo HD tech (8xxx and 9xxx series)
2) A compatible codec or player installed, such as PowerDVD or WinDvD (one that supports H/W acceleration)
3) MP4 splitters for H.264 HD videos (to play in other directshow supported players)

The PureVideo HD that most people are referring to is the feature of the VPU unit in the 8xxx and 9xxx series of Nvidia's cards. You do not need to purchase the PureVideo codec (unless you currently do not have any codecs to decode mpeg2 video).

PureVideo HD allows for compatible players to use H/W Acceleration for HD video playback (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or VC-1).

Once you have the correct player installed (for example, PowerDVD) then you can use its codec for playing back HD videos** (with H/W Acceleration) on other players that support directshow codecs. One very good example of such a player is WMP 11.

Definition of a HD video is a video source (its video segment) that is encoded in either the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or VC-1 format. You can only playback such videos if:-

1) Your computer have a compatible decoder (codec installed) (software or hardware accelerated)
2) The player you are using contains its own decoder for such a format

This also applies for every other video formats as well. Note that I'm using the term "HD" here in a very loose manner (I know video purist can shoot me for it) as I do not wish to cramp this guide with too many technical details.

Below is a brief guide on how you can use the PureVideo HD feature (that is to use H/W Acceleration) for HD video playbacks in WMP 11: -

Note that to get WMP 11 to use H/W Acceleration (that's is to make use of the VPU for video processing) you will need a codec that supports H/W Acceleration.

Such codecs are provided together with players such as WinDVD and PowerDVD. (there are other codecs or players out there as well)

Note that CoreAVC and the H.264 decoder in ffdshow do not have H/W Acceleration features. They will however be able to decode HD videos but will be using your CPU instead of the VPU.

The downside of this is high CPU usage while playing back HD video. On weaker CPUs the playback might not be smooth at all.

Also bear in mind that HD video's official container is MP4* and to play it in WMP you'll need a third party MP4 splitter and might have to carry out some registry editing to get WMP to recognise the MP4 files (some codec packs can do this automatically for you - they may also contain the MP4 Splitters you need).

You will know that if you required an MP4 splitter or not - if you have already installed the correct codecs and you are getting only sound and no video from your HD source then you are missing an MP4 splitter.

If you have Nero7/8 installed then you need worry about the MP4 splitters as other players will be able to use them.

You will not need the additional MP4 splitters if you use the players (PowerDVD/WinDVD) to play the videos directly.

*Some H.264 HD videos are encoded in other formats such as AVI. This is only true for H.264 HD videos while VC-1 uses WMV (it has its roots from the WMV9 codec) or other video containers such as AVI, MKV and etc.

**Please follow the requirements stated on this post. In WMP 11, right click on its interface. On the popup menu navigate to file -> properties to check which decoder it is using for playback. If it not using the codec you want then you will have to edit the codec's priority***.

***You cannot use WMP 11 to change a codec's priority/merit, you will need another software tool to do that (see my second post below)

I know the guide is a bit messy.... I'm happy to receive any feedback and do tell me if I missed out anything

HellasVagabond

Apr 2 2008, 04:29 AM

Everything is well known...However to change the codecs priority in WMP11 is something that cant happen , not in Windows Vista Ultimate...
But just in case i am missing something , Hints ?

boon25

Apr 2 2008, 04:37 AM

I have not tried in windows vista but in windows xp you can use some softwares to do it.
One such software is GSpot (it lists all the directshow codecs you have and allow to analyze if you have the right codecs to play a particular media file and also allows you to change a codec's priority)

Another useful tool for doing this is RadLight Filter Manager 1.5

I'm not sure if they support windows vista or not (perhaps someone who have some experience in this can share his/her experience here).

You might need to give administrator privilege to the software when you are using it in windows vista.

If all else fails, maybe you can unregister a codec that you do not want to use.
Again you need to give administrator privilege to the command prompt or software you are using (in vista).

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