Core i7, i5 & i3 LGA1156 Processors Thread: Clarkdale Supports HD Audio Bitstreaming! - Page 121

Have you tried an HDMI splitter?

babgvant - can you comment on the picture quality of the Clarkdale GPU vs the Sandy Bridge GPU, and then against a lower end card like the Radeon 5550/5570? I continually read that for the best PQ, you should go Radeon, but I was wondering if SND does a better job. I see Intel touts the new Clear Video HD, but I wasn't sure if it made a big difference.

I'm just trying to decide if I should get a discrete card for my HTPC or just use the SNB iGPU...

I could see no significant difference going from a 5750 to the i3. Other then the fact that the ATI card was a PITA to deal with and try and get consistant black levels. i3 with integrated is a much better experience for me.

If using the Intel GPU just keep in mind that for any directshow players you use (such as MPC HC) ffdshow/mpc video decoders don't play nice, so you are going to want to use alternaives such as the MS Video Decoder and the arcsoft video decoder

How would that come into play if I was using the Shark007 codec pack in WMC7? My collection of DVD's has been encoded into MKV h.264's.

What video decoder are you using for h264? If Sharks Codec pack is using the MS Video Decoder then you are fine

On my laptop right now (Core2Duo with a Radeon HD 3650), I have it set to the way GreenEyez suggested in his thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1250607

So I currently have it as FFdshow DXVA...would this be bad?

PQ is somewhat subjective so I think it's better to judge for yourself - there are screenshots of the ~same scene in a soccer game using an i5-661, 5550, GT430 and the i5-2500K at the end of the SNB review. I would have liked to include more shots, but ran out of time

There certainly was a time when AMD did a better job with overall PQ than either NVIDIA or Intel, but right now I think it's pretty close at least w/ most US content. And there are enough knobs/dials in all three to enable some tweaking (things like noise reduction) to bring PQ more in line w/ your preferences. I can't really speak to other sources (like PAL), but I would expect AMD and Intel to do better because of better cadence and DI support.

Each solution has pros/cons (I can get into that more if you want) that make a general recommendation difficult. Personally I use Intel (Clarkdale) in my main HTPC because of the feature set and driver stability. I haven't decided yet which GPU will go in this year's build, but right now I'm leaning toward SNB for the same reasons.

But you are using Radeon as your GPU, not Intel. That is why you don't have the issue. The issue I mentioned relates to using Intel as the GPU. YOu are fine with your HD 3650

That's what I wanted to hear - awesome. Thanks!

Right...I know I don't have a problem now...but I am in the midst of building a new permanant HTPC, and I'm going to be buying a Sandy Bridge CPU.

I was more or less trying to figure out what would happen if I move over to the Sandy Bridge GPU...or if I should go ATI still...

Well, what I would recommend (and what I did when I built my core i5 HTPC which you can see here) is build your SB HTPC and try using the Intel GPU. If you are not happy with it you can always add an ATI GPU later. When I built my core i5 I also bought an ATI 5450 GPU. Once I sorted out the issues with MPC HC I decided the intel GPU did what I needed so I sold the 5450. Of course the only remaining issue is 23.976 which as of now appears you will need an dGPU to get proper support

TBC only AMD does 23.976 exactly, Nvidia supports it but has less precision than SNB after disabling UAC (which depending on your preference may not be acceptable).

That's I think what I'm going to do. I have a 5570 on hand, and I'll just buy a SNB CPU with an H67 motherboard and see what happens - thanks for the heads up!

Yeah, I think I have the 23.976 itch now that I have a TV that supports properly. I will have to wait for a low profile 6xxx GPU to go with my mini-ITX HTPC (I guess if I go this route there would be no reason to upgrade my Clarkdale to a SB).

Hey, why aren't you at CES???

NVIDIA's 3D is very unfriendly, where with SNB it just works. So we'll have to see how good AMD's implementation is; if it's good I don't think SNB is a compelling upgrade for you.

Didn't work out. Hopefully it will next year

Just posted my writeup on the video decoders I use with my core i5 clarkdale build to get around the Intel Issues:

http://www.mediasmartserver.net/2011...-an-intel-gpu/

Yes, I picked up this "1X2 Powered HDMI Splitter (HSP-102M)" from Monoprice.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

Unfortunately, with my setup, a Sony Bravia in the front room and a Vizio XVT in the bedroom, I can turn on just the Bravia, or the Bravia (1st) and then the Vizio. I can NOT turn on the Vizio by itself without turning on the Sony 1st.

bummer....

P.S. - I'm pretty sure it didn't make any difference which TV was plugged into which output on the splitter. But I haven't tried the splitter with the new Intel drivers.

thanks for the feedback

Maybe a switch installed backwards would work.

I'm not sure when these showed up, but W7/Vista graphics drivers 2266 are available for download at Intel's website. These look to be the first official driver versions that support the second generation Core i* integrated graphics (SandyBridge), and they still support the first generation Core i* integrated graphics (Clarkdale). 24.000 instead of 23.976 bug is still there on my Core i5-661.

Is anyone able to calibrate using only their display, as in NOT tweaking any settings in the Intel control panel? I downloaded the basic settings MP4, but even at maximum settings on my display, I can't get 17 to flash in the blacks or 235 to flash in the whites unless I raise the brightness setting and lower the contrast setting in the Intel control panel (just barely, like 3.9 (from 0) on brightness and .95 (from 1) on contrast). Anybody else finding this to be the case? I'm on driver 2202, although I don't think the driver version has really mattered for a while.

WOW.. great write up.. very detailed, even i can follow it!!

Any idea when we can expect to see this and X9SRE-6 on the market?

Hi Everyone:

Today I am actually loading up my HTPC! It's been 2 years in the making so I'm pretty excited. I have a 5450 but I'm going to try the Intel video (I have a i3-550). Can someone recommend the best version of the drivers to use? I'm running Windows 7 32 bit and I'll be outputing 1080i to a Pioneer 5070 Plasma.

Also on the 24p and 60i issue, I know I have to disable UAC to get the closer frequencies, but what else do i need to do?

Thank you!
Chris

i have been getting some very loud pops when i start playing a dts-hd ma track... i know it is the htpc because the ps3 nor the pioneer bluray player does it..

i am thinking of getting gt430. .. but may wait for the sandy bridge.. who knows..

one think i know for sure is that i downloaded xbmc and it is awesome.. so you should build your pc around that platform.. !!

I've never had any loud pops when playing DTS-HDMA on my Core i5-661 + H55. I assume you are bitstreaming DTS-HDMA? For comparisons, does your PS3 bitstream it? And your Pioneer BD player? What graphics/audio driver are you using?

Years ago with a POS receiver, I always got loud pops when pausing my DVD player when playing a DTS audio track.

thanks for the reply.

the receiver is a pioneer elite sc05. i am using the latest drivers. and i have noticed it when using xbmc mostly. it doesnt do it everytime.

the ps3 does not do it, neither does the pioneer bdp51fd. all connections are of course hdmi and yes they are all set to bitstream.

Well, that eliminates one other variable: I'm also bitstreaming to a Pioneer SC-05, but I'm not going through xbmc. I've used both TMT3 and TMT5, and I don't use the WMC integration.

i like xbmc because it puts all the info of the movie right there.. cast, plot, directors..

are you using anything like that as a way to orgranize your movies? maybe a better solution than xbmc.. although it is one of the few programs that actually sets the refresh rate of the monitor to match the movie which is pretty bad ass... powerdvd nor tmt does that.. that i am aware of..

I'm not using anything like xbmc. TMT doesn't set the refresh rate. It is a pain in the butt to manually switch it to 24 before a movie, and switch it back to 60 after. I know several people have asked ArcSoft for this feature, but I don't think it is very high on their priority list.