AMD 780G-chipset good enough for XBMC?

[sockenelk]

Hi folks,

There is this much promising 780G-chipset from AMD which has support for HD-decoding built in the onboard graphics chip. The topic has already been somewhat discussed on the linux-fourms, but I think it may be different for the Windows-port of XBMC... so will XBMC have benefits from the hardware support from the chipset? Or does it decode the HD content soley on the CPU?

So anyone got his hands on this chipset and can try this out?

I would really love to build a HTPC around this chipset, because it would allow complete passiv cooling (which boosts the waf), so any info on this would be great!

cheers
Sockenelk

[Clumsy]

Well, I have a mainboard with a 780G chipset. The problem is, that xbmc doesn't use any commercial filters thare are needed to use the HD decoding chip on the mainboard, so you won't get any benefits. I tried some 720p and 1080p samples with my amd be-2400 and most of them played without any dropped frames, with bitrates up to 10mbit. But if you try the infamous bird sample, the cpu is instantly maxed and the framerate is about 12fps instead of 24fps. Unfortunately I don't have any full length movies in 1080p, so I can't do much testing.

[waldo22]

Originally Posted by hotzenpl0tz

Well, I have a mainboard with a 780G chipset. The problem is, that xbmc doesn't use any commercial filters thare are needed to use the HD decoding chip on the mainboard..

So, you have driver support for the hardware acceleration in Windows, but we have to have support in FFMPEG as well in order for XBMC to make use of it.

I don't know if the proprietary AMD/ATI drivers support the acceleration via DirectX or OpenGL (or SDL, clearly I don't know what I'm talking about here).

If it's only DirectX, then we're hosed. If it's everything, then there is a possibility that we'll get FFMPEG support for the acceleration, in which case it will work for the XBMC Windows port.

Those are a lot of ifs though...

And, it won't help our Linux port.

One can hope.

[uncola]

ati and nvidia hardware decode of h264/vc-1 is only enabled for powerdvd/windvd and only for decoding blu-ray or hd-dvd. the codecs they use won't work in directshow players trying to play files.

media player classic home cinema has experimental support for dxva2 decode for nvidia 8/9 series but I haven't been able to get it to work.

[Clumsy]

I use the filter that comes with powerdvd in mediaplayer classic homecinema, and that seems to work ok, at least for most movies. The bird sample just gives me a screaming color potpourri of purple and green for some reason The board still seems ok if the quality/bitrate of the 1080p trailers I have tried is any indication - they all worked flawlessly up to now. I might give lord of the rings 1080p a try, as soon as I get my hands on it.

[dpassent]

Originally Posted by uncola

ati and nvidia hardware decode of h264/vc-1 is only enabled for powerdvd/windvd and only for decoding blu-ray or hd-dvd. the codecs they use won't work in directshow players trying to play files.

totally not true. you can use Cyberlink h264 decoder in any directshow player. it's directshow filter, all you must do is set proper merit on it, or load it in external filters in MPC HC and set it to prefered. I am using it that way and I get HA in mkv's.

DP

[Duedate]

Are there any work done by the developers to make XBMC take advantage of HW acceleration-functions in new VGA-cards?

( I think this is a function that would come very high up on many users wishlists! )

[rodalpho]

It's in progress, but it's a great deal of work. Don't hold your breath.

http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=GSoC_-_G...Video_Decoding
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33802

[MonkeyRoach]

what is this nfamous bird sample i keep hearing about?