NVIDIA's PureVideo Technology

Summary: In the examples we have shown here today, the NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT with PureVideo Technology had better image quality than the Radeon X700.  The NVIDIA powered card also had lower CPU utilization when playing back WMV HD content when hardware acceleration was enabled using a pair of beta DLL files.  However, the ATI powered card had a slight advantage in CPU utilization in the default configuration.

NVIDIA's PureVideo Technology is a definite step in the right direction. The video quality produced on the GeForce 6 Series of graphics cards with PureVideo technology was excellent, and rivaled that of most consumer electronics devices.  When compared to ATI, NVIDIA also seems to have gained ground, or even surpassed ATI in some respects.  We won't dwell on this point though, because ATI also has some updates in the works that will likely render the comparisons made here somewhat out-dated in a few short weeks. We'll have to revisit the topic of image quality during video playback at a later date, using real world content to make any final conclusions. Regardless, NVIDIA's PureVideo Technology and new decoder software dramatically improve video playback on the PC, and further blurs the lines between the PC and a Home Entertainment Center. More information on NVIDIA's PureVideo Technology is available on their website in this press release, and in this comparison chart that illustrates the specific features available in the GeForce 6 Series of cards.

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Marco Chiappetta

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

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