PC DVD Informational Text v1.1
==============================
Visit the OFFICIAL PC-DVD Informational Website at:
http://www.llamas.net/pcdvdfaq/
1) DO NOT e-mail me and tell me my information is wrong. All information is
factual except for recommendations (see #6). If you have new, updated
information and I have not updated the FAQ with this information, please
e-mail me with this information and be VERY specific! (contact
information is at the end of this file)
** 2) The following video cards, and ONLY the following cards have on board
MPEG-2 acceleration. If the card is not listed, it does N-O-T have any
acceleration. The card may say it offers "30fps MPEG-2 without frame
drop" or has "DVD acceleration" but this is only a marketing gimmick.
NOTE: Unreleased chipsets are not listed currently.
a) SiS 6326 DVD
b) Rage Pro/Rage 128 based cards
c) S3 Savage3D/Savage4
d) Intel i810/i752
e) NeoMagic NMG5 (256AV)
f) ST Riva128DV
g) MPACT2
3) I cover all of the most common PC DVD Player available as well as the
most common software for region hacking, so don't expect to see EVERY
piece of software and hack in here.
4) "Optimized for" - chipsets listed in this category mean the player takes
advantage of any motion compensation and/or iDCT capabilities of this
card. Of the cards in this FAQ, the SiS6326 DVD and ATi Rage 128 are the
only chipsets with Inverse Discrete Cosine Transformation (iDCT) and
Motion Compensation (MC). All other chipsets only have motion
compensation.
5) "Recommended video cards" - cards listed in this category are cards that
have chipsets that the player was specifically optimized, or a card that
generally yields the highest quality (image and speed) for CPU based DVD
playback. These are just personal recommendations and recommendations
based of visitors to #pcdvd, so do not freak out if your card does not
perform well.
6) Other comments are based off my personal opinion as well as the general
consensus of opinions that float around #pcdvd (EFnet). Do not be
annoyed if the player does not perform well but your card was listed with
it. The video card is not the only thing that effects performance. CPU
speed, drivers, and various other factors all take effect on DVD
performance.
7) If you are using a hardware decoder (DXR2/DXR3, Hollywood Plus) then NONE
of these software players will work and utilize your decoder at the same
time. Software players use CPU or any onboard acceleration in your video
card. You MUST use the software provided with your hardware decoder in
order to utilize it's decoding/TV out/AC-3 features.
8) I personally suggest not bothering doing any software decoding unless you
meet the following minimum requirements:
NO MC/iDCT: P2 350+
MC: P2 233+
MC/iDCT: P200 MMX+
Note: MC and/or iDCT based playback meeting the above requirements
should yield full speed motion playback with no frame loss.
Strictly CPU based decoding may appear to be flawless but in
actually, it may not. I have had people say their P2 300
looked flawless to them. This issue will be entirely
subjective as to whether or not the playback speed is "full
motion"
9) WinDVD 1.2.84+ is the only confirmed player that works in WindowsNT.
I've only tested it with SP4 and SP5 so make sure you are running one of
those service pack updates. WinDVD 1.2.84 will also work in Windows
2000.
10) ALL of the following players downmix Dolby Digital AC-3 5.1 to 2 channel
stereo. Some offer 4 channel downmixed output with select cards.
11) Sound Cards with AC3 S/PDIF Output Capabilities:
a) Aureal Vortex1/2 based cards: (ie. MX80, MX200, MX300, Xitel Storm
Platinum) In order to get AC3 output with these cards, a player
utilizing the Cinemaster 1.0.28+ Engine must be utilized. Use
Region Selector 1.9x+ to set the AC3 SPDIF Out Module setting
to the approriate chipset (Aureal 8820 = Vortex1, Aureal 8830 =
Vortex 3)
b) Creative Labs SB Live!: This requires an SB Live! with S/PDIF
output, Live!Ware 2.0, and Cinemaster Engine 1.0.28+. Use Region
Selector 1.9x+ to set the approriate AC3 SPDIF Out Module. See
http://members.tripod.com/erica677/sound.html for more detailed info.
12) Some players may utilize more CPU then others, but this is no way an
accurate way to determine the quality of the players. Some players
will take shortcuts in the decoding process, which leads to less CPU
useage. A player that utilizes 40% CPU may look just as good to you
as the player that utilizes 100% CPU, but in actuallity, it may just be
the inability of your eye to see the differences. In actuallity, the
player using more CPU Is most likely taking LESS shortcuts, and is
givin you a more "true" picture then the one using less CPU.
13) The Creative Labs DXR3 *IS* the same card as Sigma Designs REALMagic
Hollywood Plus. A specific set of H+ drivers even work on the DXR3.
(see Zone Selector) The DXR3 isn't any better then the H+ or vice
versa. The only differences come in the drivers and support.
14) For non 16:9 (anamorphic) enhanced DVDs, a resolution of 800x600 can be
utilized. When watching a 16:9 enhanced DVD, resolution of 1024x768
or should be used. Anything higher then these will introduce
unnecessary scaling artifcats to occur.
15) Some player erros may result from an outdated firmware in your DVD-ROM.
Go to http://perso.club-internet.fr/farzeno/dvd/dvdf.htm to find the
newest firmware for your DVD-ROM. *FLASH AT YOUR OWN RISK*
S O F T W A R E P L A Y E R S
===============================
ATi Software DVD Player v3.1
----------------------------
Optimized for:
ATi Rage Pro/Rage 128 chipsets
Intel Whitney/Portola
NeoMagic NMG5 (256AV)
ST Riva128DV
Recommended video cards:
ATi Rage Pro/Rage 128 based cards
NeoMagic NMG5 (256AV)
ST Riva128DV based cards
Matrox G200 based cards
nVidia Riva TNT/TNT2 based cards
Homepage:
http://www.atitech.com/
Notes:
Cinemaster Engine 1.0.28
You DO NOT need an ATi card to use this, BUT you need to do some
hacking to get it to work properly with non-ATi cards (most of the
time) You can find this pack called "ATi 3.1 Setup Files" on
various websites as well as in #pcdvd on EFnet IRC. It is
recommended to update the engine to 1.0.29.5291 for optimum
performance.
I recommend that if you are not using an ATi card to stick with
Qi (Cinemaster) Player v1.6 and Cinemaster Engine 1.0.29.5291.
Software Cinemaster98
---------------------
Optimized for:
ATi Rage Pro chipset (NO Rage 128 enhancements)
Recommended video cards:
ATi Rage Pro based cards
Matrox G200 based cards
nVidia Riva TNT/TNT2 based cards
Homepage:
http://www.qi.com/swcm98.html
Notes:
Cinemaster Engine: 0.9.04.0725
Cinemaster Player: 1.4
Cinemaster98 is now an outdated player. Combining Cinemaster Engine
1.0.29.5291+ with Qi (Cinemaster) Player 1.6 is the most current
Cinemaster combination. Cinemaster98 works on roughly 70& of
computers and has various bugs. Do not waste your time with it.
Cinemaster Engine 1.0.32
------------------------
Optimized for:
ATi Rage Pro/Rage 128 chipsets
Intel Whitney/Portola
NeoMagic NMG5 (256AV)
ST Riva128DV
Recommended video cards:
ATi Rage Pro/Rage 128 based cards
NeoMagic NMG5 (256AV)
ST Riva128DV based cards
G200 based cards
nVidia Riva TNT/TNT2 based cards
Homepage:
Does Not Apply Directly
Notes:
This is an engine ONLY. This engine can be used with Qi Software Player
v1.6, ATi Software DVD Player v3.1, or Cinemaster98.
Region Selector 1.92 (see HACKS section below) has the ability
to control ALL know features (both those done via registry and those in
the control panel applet). This will allow you to install Qi Player
v1.6 and the 1.0.29 engine and control all of it's possible
functionality, or use the ATi Software DVD Player v3.1 without having
to copy a different Control Panel Applet into \windows\system.
The Cinemaster 1.0.29 engine has the Cinemaster98 Control Panel applet
packaged with it. So you can install this even though Region Selector
has all of its functionality.
S/PDIF - There is now confirmed support of Cinemasters ability to output
to the S/PDIF on Vortex1/2 based sound cards (ie. MX300, Xitel Storm
Platinum) as well as SB Live! using Live!Ware 2.0. See the Region
Selector section below on appropriate settings.
RESOLUTION ERROR - If you get a window with yellow lines through it
telling you to change your resolution then check the following:
1) Load Control Panel Applet and make sure decode setting is set to
"Full Quality (CPU)" you do not have an ATi Rage Pro based card
2) drop resolution to 1024x768
3) drop color depth if this does not work
4) drop to 800x600 if step #2/#3 does not work
4) your video card may not support overlays (ie. Millenium II), and
will not work with Cinemaster.
Qi (Cinemaster) Player v1.6
---------------------------
Optimized for:
No specific chipsets
Recommended video cards:
Does Not Apply Directly
Homepage:
http://www.qi.com/softindex_right.html#cinemaster-c1
c-disk1.zip, c-disk2.zip
Notes:
Qi Player v1.6 is ONLY a front end. It requires Cinemaster Engine to
play DVDs. I recommend using Qi (Cinemaster) Player v1.6 with
Cinemaster Engine 1.0.29.5291+ and Region Selector 1.80 to tweak the
engine (see "Region Selector 1.80").
MGISoft DirectDVD
-----------------
Optimized for:
No specific chipsets
Recommended video cards:
Infomation Not Available
Homepage:
http://www.mgisoft.com/
Notes:
This player is about 15 megs too big because it has DirectX and I
believe, DirectX Media/DirectX Runtime bundled with it. DirectDVD
hardly works for anyone, so I don't recommend wasting your time with it.
Cyberlink PowerDVD v2.0
-----------------------
Optimized for:
ATi Rage Pro chipsets
SiS6326 DVD
S3 Savage3D/Savage4 chipsets
Intel i810/i752
Recommended video cards:
S3 Savage3D/Savage4 cards
SiS6326 DVD cards
Matrox G200 based cards
nVidia Riva TNT/TNT2 based cards
Intel i810/i752
Homepage:
http://www.cyberlink.com.tw/english/products/powerdvd.htm
Notes:
Overall this is a very noce player, however it is more CPU hungry the
WinDVD and Cinemaster players. This added CPU intensity makes it more
chopy then other players for playback. Some people prefer the image
quality of PowerDVD to Cinemaster or WinDVD.
PowerDVD is the only player to sport a built in screen capture.
v2.0 now support true 4 speaker output with a variety of audio chipsets,
the most popular being the SB Live!/Live! Value. See the readme.txt
for a full list.
XingDVD Player v2.03
--------------------
Optmized for:
S3 Savage3D(?)
Recommended video cards:
Homepage:
http://www.xingtech.com/video/
Notes:
Xing claims that their player supports S3 Savage3D motion compensation
but this has not been actually validated.
XingDVD may also work in Windows 2000 but this is unconfirmed.
XingDVD is a general all around player. It has problems with cards that
are no 100% macrovision compliant and thus will not function. (yields
macrovision error). This player seems to work fairly nicely for me on my
G200 based video card, but others do not like its performance. Best bet
would be to try this if all else fails, or you get bored.
InterVideo WinDVD v1.2.97
-------------------------
Optimized for:
SiS6326 DVD
ATI Rage Pro chipsets
S3 Savage3D/Savage4 chipsets
NeoMagic 128XD/256AV
Intel Whitney/Portola
Silicon Motion Lynx 3D
Recommended video cards:
ATi Rage Pro based cards
SiS6326 DVD cards
NeoMagic 128XD/256AV
Intel i740/Whitney/Portola
Silicon Motion Lynx 3D
S3 Savage3D/Savage 4/Trio3D based cards
nVidia Riva 128ZX/TNT/TNT2 based cards
3DLabs Permedia2
Homepage:
http://www.intervideoinc.com/products.htm
Notes:
WinDVD 1.2.84+ is currently the only player that fully supports
WindowsNT. This player may have exceeded Cinemaster in my personal
opinion. However, Cinemaster does have more audio tweaks.
WinDVD 1.2.97 has improved audio and video quality making it
virtually identical to Cinemaster, if not better in some instances.
Zoran SoftDVD
-------------
Optimized for:
ATi Rage Pro
Diamond Monster Sound MX300 Sound Card
S3 Savage3D(?)
Recommended video cards:
Diamond Monster Fusion
Diamond Viper V550
Homepage:
http://www.zoran.com/
Notes:
S3 Savage3D Motion Compensation may be supported but this is unconfirmed.
Being that SoftDVD was ATi original DVD Player before they switch to the
Cinemaster based plyers, SoftDVD support Motion Compensation on the Rage
Pro chipset, but the Rage 128 and iDCT is NOT supported. The newer
Cinemaster based players are a MUCH better choice then SoftDVD if you
have a Rage Pro based card.
SoftDVD also has optimization for the Diamond MX300 Sound Card. Instead
of down-mixing Dolby Digital (AC-3) 5.1 to 2 channels like all of the
other players, it will downmix to 4 channels. The new release of SoftDVD
for Diamond cards now supports the Fusion and Viper V550. 2.215_9.01
now also supports S/PDIF with a MX300 and an accmpanying daughter card
with S/PDIF out (MX-25). These features WILL NOT work on the SB Live!/
Live! Value or any other sound cards with 2 sets of outputs or S/PDIF
output
I also feel this is one of the worst players on the market. I have a
G200 and an MX300 and neither version would even run. The MX300 version
didn’t even install, and the G200 version would load then hang forcing me
to reboot immediately after the controls loaded. Diamond told me they
have an updated version for the MX300 but I have yet to get it and test.
Many others dislike SoftDVD as well, so it is not just my biased opinion
of it not even installing.
H A C K S
=========
Zone Selector v4.1
------------------
Recommended for:
Sigma Designs REALMagic Hollywood Plus (H+)
Creative Labs DXR3
Homepage:
http://www.multimania.com/hollywoodplus/uk.htm
Notes:
Zone Selector is a Region and Macrovision Removal hack for the Hollywood
Plus and Creative Labs DXR3 ONLY! (It is unconfirmed if the Macrovision
removal works with the DXR3, however the DXR3 is an OEM Hollywood Plus,
the exact same card, so it should)
In order to get Zone Selector to work with the DXR3 perform the following:
1) Change DXR3 drivers to Hollywood Plus Driver v1.6
ftp://ftp.sigmadesigns.com/HollywoodPlus/holp1_6d.zip
2) Install Hollywood Plus Software
ftp://ftp.sigmadesigns.com/HollywoodPlus/holp1_6a.zip
3) Use Zone Selector 3.0 to change Regions
NOTE: The new versions of Zone Selector and the new H+ drivers may work
with the DXR3. I have not confirmed this yet.
Remote Selector v1.7
--------------------
Recommended for:
Creative Labs DXR2 (CT7120/CT7220)
Creative Labs DXR3 (CT7240)
Creative PC-DVD Inlay (CT7160)
TeraMovie DVD Set
LuxSonor LS-220 and LS-242 based boards
Sigma Designs REALMagic Hollywood Plus (H+)
Cinemaster Engine
Homepage:
http://www.visualdomain.net/
Notes:
This offers region disabling for all listed players as well as
macrovision disabling for DXR2, DXR3, and Hollywood Plus
Region Selector v2.00
---------------------
Recommended for:
ALL Cinemaster Engine based players (ATI v3.1, Cinemaster98)
PowerDVD 1.3+
WinDVD 1.0+
XingDVD Player v2.03
Zoran SoftDVD v2.125_901 (Diamond cards)
Jammin' DVD II
VaroDVD 1.34+
Homepage:
http://www.inmatrix.com
Notes:
This program provides region selecting for all the above mentioned
players, as well as to the ability to select which player auto-loads
on DVD disc insertion.
1.80+ provides ALL known HACKS/TWEAKS for Cinemaster 1.0.29 engine
COMPLETELY eliminating the need for the Control Panel Applet.
HACK/TWEAKS - the following is a description of all available hacks/tweak
available through Region Selector 1.90+ to control CINEMASTER ENGINE based
players. (ATI/CineMaster tab)
1) Decode Setting - Use a CPU based setting if you do not have a card
mentioned in this category. If you have a card
listed then selecting it for decoding will utlize
any of its onboard DVD acceleration capabilities.
2) Sample Rate - Control frequency at which sound is played back
3) DeInterlacing - Set DeInterlacing. Use "Smart Detect" if you are
unsure of what to do with this.
a) Force BOB: All frames are presented as two fields. This setting
is useful for VGA cards that have bad artifacts when
switching between BOB and weave, and the audience is
less disturbed by the bobbing algorithm than by the
weave artifacts. (The switching artifacts are most
likely to be described as "rolling" or "loss of
vertical sync").
b) Force Weave: All frames are presented as a single frame. This
setting is useful for VGA cards that have problems
when switching between BOB and weave and the
audience is less disturbed by the weave algorithm.
c) Prefer BOB: When the decoder is unsure whether the frame is
interlaced or not, it will rather take the BOB
approach than weave. This is the more secure
approach than "Prefer weave", as it will avoid
interlace tearing effects, by the cost of some
titles being displayed BOB instead of weave,
although they are clearly weave titles.
d) Prefer Weave: When the decoder is unsure whether the frame is
interlaced or not, it will rather take the weave
approach. This etting resultsin a better overall
image quality than "Prefer BOB", but it might, at
some rare occasions in a movie (approx every
15mins), display a single frame that has slight
interlace artifacts.
e) Smart Detect: This algorithm selects BOB and weave based on a
set of patterns that are matched against the
frame/field flags in the streams. This setting
results, typically, in the best viewing quality.
4) Enable Hardware Optimization - Just like it says, if you are
experiencing odd playback errors,
try unchecking this.
5) Enable 3:2 Pulldown Reconstruction - When selected, the decoder
attempts to smooth the
encoded 3:2 pull-down flags
to 24fps, or display it as it
would be on a TV screen. This
yields more regular playback.
Use this setting.
6) Version - Shows current Cinemaster Engine version number
The following are found in "Undocumented" Tab of Region Selector 1.74
7) Sound Compression Mode - Only works with Dolby Digital (AC-3) 5.1
tracks (no Dolby Surround)
a) Normal: no sound modification
b) Attenuated: no compression
c) Amplified: no compression, amplified
d) Compressed: increases volume globally,
enhancing soft souns and
suppressing loud
explosions
8) AC3 SPDIF Out Module - Selects use of any possible S/PDIF module on
supported sound cards to output Dolby
Digital (AC-3) 5.1 sound (non down-mixed).
a) Aureal 8820: Use this setting if you have an Aureal Vortex 1
based audio card
b) Ensoniq / Old SB Live! (Live!Ware 2+): Use this setting if you
have an SB Live! with
Digital S/PDIF Out.
(requires Live!Ware 2.0+).
Also use this if you have
a Creative ES1737/EV1938
based card.
c) Aureal 8830: Use this setting if you have an Aureal Vortex 2
based audio card.
d) SB Live! (1.0.32 engine): Use this option if you have an SB Live!
and are using v1.0.32 of the Cinemaster
Engine.
9) AC3 DownSample Mode - This is the method Cinemaster uses to
combine the Dolby Digital (AC-3) 5.1 channels
into a down-mixed 2 channel stereo signal.
Using a lower setting will give more CPU to
other decoding issues, but lower sound
quality.
10) Dynamic Audio Range Compensation - Selects dynamic ranges in
Dolby Digital (AC-3) decoding.
a) Low: Selects dynamic range for low volume sequences in Dolby
Digital (AC-3) decoding. 0 gives highest quality but low
volume signals may be to weak to be noticed when outputted
from poorly amplified PC sound cards. 256 gives minimum
quality but amplifies signals to be noticed on poorly
amplified speakers.
b) High: Selects dynamic range for high volume sequences in Dolby
Digital (AC-3) decoding. 0 gives highest quality but low
volume signals may be to weak to be noticed when outputted
from poorly amplified PC sound cards. 256 gives minimum
quality but amplifies signals to be noticed on poorly
amplified speakers.
c) Dialog Normalization: Keeps the average dialog level of an
audio stream at a constant dB level
when checked.
11) Surface Flip Mode - Controls in non-hardware assisted cases how
the multiple buffering of decoder surfaces is
handles
a) Flip (Trident/NeoMagic): Use with all Trident/NeoMagic cards
b) Overlay (Riva 128/Matrox) "Default": Use with all Riva128
and Matrox cards. This
is also the Default to use
if you have a non-listed
video card.
c) Reserved: Not used
d) DDFLIP_EVEN (Intel i740): Use with all Intel i740 cbased cards
e) DDFLIP_Even - Interlaced (Riva TNT): Use with Riva TNT based
cards
f) Soft-DeInterlace (Best, 400mhz CPU+): This mode offers the best
quality but requires a
minimum of a P2 400mhz
CPU anda minimum of 6
overlay surfaces. This
also requires 4 megs
minimum video ram.
12) Enforce Flip Sync - Select this if you see video tearing and
tearing during horizontal pan shots. This is
for cards that "cheat" in the decoding
process. Any ATi Rage Pro or Rage 128 based
card does not need this setting. Try
playback WITHOUT this setting first. Only
use this if you notice tearing and flickering.
13) Intel i740 page flipping - Check this box if you have an Intel
i740 card ONLY. Do not use this with
any other cards as it will lead to
poorer performance.
14) Pro-Logic Sound Compatible - Selecting this provides support for
Pro-Logic amplifiers to provide them
the ability to produce the center and
surround channels frm the down-mixed
2 channel signal. If no Pro-Logic
decoder is in use, do not check this
box.
15) Use LFE decoding - Enable Low Frequency Effect, this adds what are
commonly considered the subwoofer range of
frequencies, mixed into the L/R channels output
signal, providing are much more dynamic sound.
16) Triple Buffering - Checking this box utilized three off-screen
buffers for decoding. This can result in
smoother playback, but it requires more video
RAM.
V I D E O C A R D S
=====================
This section will address some common myths and truth about the
most popular graphics chipsets available (or to be available in the
immediate future).
All of the information in this section is taken from freely available
resources. I try to provide all the links to place I obtained this
information. The Voodoo3 is without a doubt the most controversial
chipset for DVD, the information below is the truth about it. Do not
flame me because you are a die hard 3dfx fan and believe everything
they spoon feed you.
Please note that there are two major units that are involved in the DVD
decoding process; Video Engine Unit (VEU) and MPEG-2 Acceleration Unit
(MAU). Things such as sub picture alpha blending and planar to/from
packed conversion exhist in the VEU. Motion Compensation and Inverse
Discerete Cosine Transformation (iDCT) exhist in the MAU. The MAU is
the ONLY place where any MPEG-2 acceleration occurs (hence the unit's
name)
3dfx Voodoo3
------------
Datasheet:
Datasheet not available
DVD Features:
DVD Hardware Assist (planar to/from packed conversion)
Myths/Truths:
1) DVD HARDWARE ASSIST
The following is taken from the 3dfx Interactive: Voodoo3 FAQ at
http://www.3dfx.com/view.asp?IOID=102
18. Q: It also stated it has DVD Hardware Assist. I currently have
a DVD Hardware Decoder card. When I purchase a Voodoo3 will
I be able to remove the original DVD Decoder card and play
DVD movies directly thru the Voodoo 3 Card?
A: You can still use your original DVD decoder card. The
Voodoo3 card will just make the DVD decoding operate faster.
By integrating offers planar-to-packed conversion in
hardware the Voodoo3 offers full 30 fps (frames per second)
MPEG-2 Playback with no dropped frames, and Soft DVD support
for all major CODECs.
This is without a doubt the most frequently talked about "feature"
of the Voodoo3. The fact of the matter is thats the DVD Hardware
Assist is planar to/from packed conversion, which is another
part of the color space conversion process. The color space
conversion process is just the changing from YUV to RGB and RGB
to YUV color formats for TV and monitor. Planar to/from packed
conversion is a 'fancy' term for YV12, which is another part
of color space conversion. What this all comes down to is simple.
Hardware assisted color space conversion has been integrated into
almost every major video card since around 1993. 3dfx chose to
single out this 'feature', most likely because they never had this
'feature' integrated into their Banshee or prior standalone cards,
and make it their big "DVD Hardware Assist" feature. If you look
below, nVidia has planar to/from packed conversion in their TNT,
yet you do not seem them glorifying it. Why? Because it really
has no acceleration effect on DVD. Color space conversion exhists
in a totally different unit then MPEG-2 decoding, which the 3dfx
FAQ (see above) claims that their "planar-to-packed conversion in
hardware" will accelerate playback. In reality, 30 fps is 30fps.
The Voodoo3 can't accelerate a hardware DVD decoder any further
for the simple fact that they already offer a FULL 30fps. To put
it simply, there is no DVD hardware assist in the Voodoo3
chipset. It will perform just as equal to any other chipset
without hardware acceleration.
2) There are possible incompatibilities with Voodoo3 and Cinemaster
Engine based players. BSOD (blue screen of death) may occur.
ATi Rage 128
------------
Datasheet:
Datasheet not available
DVD Features:
Motion Compensation (MC)
Inverse Discrete Cosine Transformation (iDCT)
Myths/Truths:
Motion Compensation and iDCT are the only legitimate forms of hardware
based DVD acceleration. Both MC and iDCT exhist inthe MAU (MPEG-2
Acceleration Unit) The combination of MC and iDCT in the Rage128 offer
roughly 80& of the decoding process in the hardware.
Matrox G200/G400
----------------
Datasheet:
G200: Datasheet not available
G400: http://www.matrox.com/g400/technical/paper/media/pdf/chipspec.pdf
DVD Features:
G400: hardware sub picture alpha blending
Myths/Truths:
1) HARDWARE SUB PICTURE ALPHA BLENDING (G400)
G400 supports hardware based sub picture. This is useful only
for sub pictures, which are primarily menus and subtitles.
Furthermore, this feature must be accessed via the software.
There are currently no know players that utilize the TNT/TNT2's
hardware sub picture alpha blending. In EXTREME cases only,
hardware based sub picture can offer a 1 fps improvement. 99.99%
of the time, no increase in frame rate is achieved.
nVidia Riva TNT/TNT2
--------------------
Datasheet:
Datasheet not available
DVD Features:
TNT/TNT2: hardware sub picture alpha blending
planar to/from packed conversion
Myths/Truths:
1) HARDWARE SUB PICTURE ALPHA BLENDING (TNT/TNT2)
(see Matrox G200/G400 #1)
2) PLANAR TO/FROM PACKED CONVERSION (TNT/TNT2)
(see 3dfx Voodoo3 #1)
===============================================================================
Evan - esm@iag.net (HDClown@IRC #pcdvd EFnet)
QED.
9/12/99 - 5:27pm EST