Microsoft Delivers NVIDIA PureVideo

by Marco Chiappetta — Monday, June 13, 2005, 01:10 PM EDT

NVIDIA Corporation is pleased to announce that Microsoft Corporation has released a software update that enables NVIDIA PureVideo" decode acceleration of Microsoft Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV-HD) content in Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 with NVIDIA GeForce" 6 Series video cards. NVIDIA PureVideo" technology a combination of NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series graphics processing units (GPUs), NVIDIA ForceWare" software drivers, and advanced algorithms is among the first technologies to take advantage of this feature with its WMV-HD decode acceleration.

With WMV-HD decode acceleration, NVIDIA PureVideo technology can offload video decoding from the CPU onto the GPU, giving users up to 40% gains in CPU utilization and smooth, stutter-free, HD video on any display. Unlike most video solutions which are hard-wired for MPEG decoding, NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series GPUs are programmable. They feature an on-chip, programmable video processing engine to support multiple video formats, such as WMV-HD. As with MPEG-2 decoding, the NVIDIA video engine can perform most of the computation-intensive work, leaving lesser aspects to the CPU. This capability is important if users want to watch videos while recording other programs in the background.

According to Microsoft, its software update enables WMV-HD decode acceleration after users meet the following prerequisites:

-- The graphics adapter must support this update.
-- The user must install hotfix 891122.
-- The content must be WMV-HD clips (720p and 1080p) with a frame rate that is less than or equal to 30 frames per second.

For more information, please visit the Microsoft Web site at: http://www.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;888656.

Tags: Nvidia, Microsoft, video, Liver, pure, live, OS, MIC, Ive, id, icrosoft, Micro

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com