[cualexander]

Forgive me if this is posted elsewhere. I didn't see it and the article just came out today.


There is an article on the inquirer that states:


"If you read this thread here you will see that there is a big chance that video processing fuctions will never work in Nvidia 6800 cards. It should work fine on 6600, 6200 and other cards but not on 6800 series."


Full article link:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19278



That is good to know because actually I've found that for the price of a 6800 Ultra, I can get a 6600GT with 256MB RAM, A 915p Motherboard, 512MB RAM, and a P4 3.0GHz Processor.


So I think thats the route I'm going to take. Especially since Asus released a new 6600GT that can be had for what I consider to be a bargain.


Opinions?

 

[bkzoller]

 Read this post for a clarification on the issue. The problem is with WMV decode acceleration on the 6800 chip (NV40). Decoding of other formats works correctly.


Brian

 

[finlandia]

I'd get the 6600GT. It's a much better deal than both the 6800 and the 6800 Ultra, and the WMV issue only adds to it. Oddly, firingsquad's review found that the 6600GT actually has a slight fill rate advantage over the 6800, so it performs comparably or better under all but the heaviest stress (think UT 2004 at 1280x1024 with lots of AA/AF).


Buy just a step behind the latest and greatest and you can save a lot of cash while still getting kickbutt performance. That's what I figure.

 

[mnn1265]

Yes, the problem is just with WMV decode acceleration - which for me is not really a big deal because I have a high-performance computer and don't need acceleration via the video card. Besides that I don't really play much WMV media. Though, it obviously should work and there's no excuse for it not to.

Quote:

I'd get the 6600GT. It's a much better deal than both the 6800 and the 6800 Ultra, and the WMV issue only adds to it. Oddly, firingsquad's review found that the 6600GT actually has a slight fill rate advantage over the 6800, so it performs comparably or better under all but the heaviest stress (think UT 2004 at 1280x1024 with lots of AA/AF).

Sure, it's a better deal if you're looking for that level of performance. However, if you look at all the reviews and comparisons done you'll see the 6600 isn't a 6800... Sure you can pick-out specific tests and conclude it performs just as well for half the cost but in the end you'd be fooling yourself.


My conclusion at the present after reading all the reviews I'be been able to find is that the 6600GT is approximately one-half plus a little bit as strong a performer as the 6800GT. This is due probably to the higher clock speed on the 6600GT. In that sense it is a "better deal" but I'm not sure I'd call it a "much better deal." I look at much like when I bought my new truck. A V8 version of the Touareg costs roughly twice what the V6 costs (due to package differences) though clearly a V6 is not twice as fast and it doesn't have twice the HP than a V8. However, if you want V8 power it's going to cost you a premium. The same holds true with the 6x00 series. If you want to save some money and still get excellent performance the 6600 series is a great bargain. If you want top performance you're going to have to pay to get the 6800 series.

 

[cualexander]

Wouldn't the 6600 card naturally be a better choice for High Definition Video due to the fact that it operates on the PCI Express Bus and it is upgradable via SLI configurations? If I spend $500+ on a video card, I want it to last for a few years at least. I've been running on an ATI Radeon 8500DV since it first hit the market and I want my next purchase to last just as long if not longer. Wouldn't buying an AGP card nowadays be investing in outdated technology? I understand that AGP isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but PCIExpress was supposed to be the holy grail of high definition video from what I understood.

 

[Halstead]

To me this is a big deal. WM9 is my HD storage format of choice (I have several beautiful HBO off-airs @ 720p that can fit on a single-layer DVD-R). Also, I have several of the IMAX discs,and the HD transfers make amazing demo (and general viewing) materials.


I currently have a 6800 in my testbed machine, but I'll probably wait for the AGP 6600 and get 2 (one for that machine and one for my dedicated HTPC).

 

[mnn1265]

Quote:

Wouldn't the 6600 card naturally be a better choice for High Definition Video due to the fact that it operates on the PCI Express Bus and it is upgradeable via SLI configurations? If I spend $500+ on a video card, I want it to last for a few years at least.

First of all a 6800GT can be had for about $400. I can assure you that my computer will last for at least a couple of years and yet has no PCI Express Bus. The very hot-running Prescott is not a superior CPU for HTPC use and the benefits of PCI Express bus will take some time to become apparent and significant, if at all.


Perhaps for HD video you could make an argument that it is better due to hardware acceleration not being available with the 6800 series. Well, I certainly understand this is a big deal to many but I'm able to play HD with no problems whatsoever with my 6800GT - in fact it takes more system resources to play standard DVD's (using ffdshow). I'm not aware of all that many videos available in HD and thus I suspect most people are primarily still going to be using DVD playback at 480p for some time to come... in that case the 6800GT is still the leader of the pack.

 

[DanielTS]

NV41 to quietly replace 6800 standard :
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19271

 

[Scotty L]

well what the f*ck am I gonna do with this shiny 6800GT?


It may be much ado over nothing since DXVA still isn't perfect, and most people willing to drop $400+ on a vid card should have a CPU that can handle 1080p decoding. Even still, I may consider selling this card soon if the NV41 is worth the benefit.

 

[mnn1265]

Quote:

It may be much ado over nothing since DXVA still isn't perfect, and most people willing to drop $400+ on a vid card should have a CPU that can handle 1080p decoding. Even still, I may consider selling this card soon if the NV41 is worth the benefit.

It is much ado about nothing... though still we were cheated!


Hey, tell me you wouldn't have found a reason to upgrade in any case? I'm not crazy about the idea of going to a hot-Prescott and PCIe in the near future but I'll probably use this as an excuse to upgrade my HTPC next year. Hopefully by then the benefits of PCIe will start to show. There's always some reason to upgrade and if we waited for the perfect components we'd still be using a Pentium 286.

 

[uddinz]

 http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19314


the text follows...


Nvidia 6800 acceleration works


Video acceleration works



By Fuad Abazovic: Wednesday 27 October 2004, 13:44


WE WROTE this article yesterday but Nvidia has given us guidance on the subject.

Nvidia 6800 generation indeed has hardware video support up and running. It will work just fine if you download new drivers which are expected soon and will appear on its web site. You will need the Nvidia DVD decoder as well.


Some people already have these drivers and you can check our friends' web site which has already tried them out, here.


Here is original response that we got from Nvidia on this matter just a few minutes ago.




Hey Fudo,


In answer to your story on 6800 having no video.


The GeForce 6800 models featured the 1st generation of our programmable video technology which includes support for high-definition MPEG2 video decode and standard definition MPEG2 encode, as well as advanced post processing features such as motion adaptive deinterlacing, and inverse 3:2 pulldown.


The GeForce 6600 models have the same 1st generation programmable video technology support as the GeForce 6800 models. However, the GeForce 6600 models also include hardware acceleration for high-definition Windows Media Video (WMV) decode.


In order to utilize the programmable decode and advanced post processing features of the GeForce 6800 and 6600, end users need to download an updated ForceWare driver as well as the NVIDIA DVD decoder.


The ForceWare driver will be available shortly on the NVIDIA.com and the NVIDIA's DVD decoder is already available for download from NVIDIA.com. For Windows Media Video decode on the GeForce 6600 models, end users will also need to download an update to Windows Media Player from Microsoft.


NVIDIA is also working with application vendors to take advantage of the programmable encode features of the GeForce 6800 and 6600. This feature just like programmable pixel shaders when they were first introduced, requires additional collaboration with application vendors. The first application that NVIDIA is targeting to support it's GPU encode capabilities is Windows Media Center Edition 2005.†Adam


Nvidia PR manager Europe

 

[madpoet]

"However, the GeForce 6600 models also include hardware acceleration for high-definition Windows Media Video (WMV) decode"


And that, friends, is where NVidia lied to us. The 6800s also are supposed to.

 

[mnn1265]

MP, I agree with you out of principal... I think for most of us that's what it boils down to.


If I recall your computer specs are quite similar to mine and perhaps slightly better/higher performance (with a higher OC setting). The last couple of days I've tested every single HD source I have which includes a number of different samples from many sources and I've yet to find anything that came anywhere near taxing my system (w/ 6800GT). Playing back DVD's via TT/ffdshow is by-far much more resource-intensive than playing back HD media. Is there something or some HD media that I've failed to test that hardware acceleration is needed for?


I think it's gotten a little silly with people proclaiming the 6800 series "dead" and claiming they are going to sell their 6800 card on E-bay because it's just no good... I know a lot of that is hype and I'm not against making a stink to demand that NVidia make good on their broken promise but the rest of the rhetoric seems to have gone overboard.

 

[madpoet]

I quite agree... I don't NEED the acceleration. I'm quite fine without it. But I am annoyed that it isn't there when they said it would be, and when their cheaper line has it.

 

[mnn1265]

My sentiments exactly...

 

[MikeSM]

With confusion like this over what features work on which card, it's no wonder why ATI now is the market leader.


Mike

 

[stanger89]

ATI is the market leader (at least this market) because of inertia.

 

[maxleung]

You may think a 3GHz processor is enough for WMV-HD, but how do we know this? Step Into Liquid 1080p WMV-HD is what most people use to test their playback ability, but what about the Halo2 1080p trailer posted on FilePlanet a month or so ago? Are we absolutely sure that our 3GHz machines can handle the most strenous WMV-HD files?


Even a little bit of WMV-HD hardware acceleration would be helpful. If it reduces CPU usage by 25%, I think that would be ideal. *fingers crossed*


Judging from the NVIDIA response to the article, it seems they are sidestepping the issue that WMV-HD is broken - and it sounds like it will be permanently broken for us poor 6800 AGP owners. Gee, thanks a lot NVIDIA for not addressing this issue directly.


I want a straight answer: Will WMV-HD hardware acceleration ever work for currently shipping 6800 AGP cards? It's a simple question. Yes or no.

 

[erpauls]

I know this has been beaten to death but I want to make sure I'm clear.


NVidea has released new drivers and such that take away the imfamous bug everyone has reported in the VPU. Correct?


Ie. It works fine now????

 

[jimwhite]

no