Absolute processor speed needed?

[Flyboy]

I am planning to purchase the AnyDVD suite and possibly the HD-DVD program. Per your posted requirements, HD-DVD says that it needs a 2 GH processor. The PC that I am planning to use has a 1.81 GH processor. Will HD-DVD work on this machine and if so what would be the possible problems?
This looks like a great program and can hardly wait to try it!:

[Charlie]

I am planning to purchase the AnyDVD suite and possibly the HD-DVD program. Per your posted requirements, HD-DVD says that it needs a 2 GH processor. The PC that I am planning to use has a 1.81 GH processor. Will HD-DVD work on this machine and if so what would be the possible problems?
This looks like a great program and can hardly wait to try it!:

Here are some requirements for this.

http://www.cyberlink.com/english/support/bdhd_support/system_requirement.jsp

[hddvdsupporter]

i tried it with a pentium 4 with 3,2ghz and 1GB ram and a middle-class radeon card, but in action scenes like in mission impossible 3 the pc was to slow. it runs, but not perfect. the processor usage was 80-99% ;-)

now i've got a core 2 duo with 2,4ghz and 2gb ram and a radeon x1950 pro and it works perfect!

[oldjoe]

I am planning to purchase the AnyDVD suite and possibly the HD-DVD program. Per your posted requirements, HD-DVD says that it needs a 2 GH processor. The PC that I am planning to use has a 1.81 GH processor. Will HD-DVD work on this machine and if so what would be the possible problems?
This looks like a great program and can hardly wait to try it!:

Generally speaking, most published system requirements are exaggerated. Vista is a prime example.
One never knows for sure what problems will arise, if your machine is under their published spec requirements,until you try it. A dual Core 1.8G CPU would most likely be sufficient but I would have doubts with a single core. The video card requirements would certainly be the most crucial to comply with.

[Androo79]

Generally speaking, most published system requirements are exaggerated. Vista is a prime example.
One never knows for sure what problems will arise, if your machine is under their published spec requirements,until you try it. A dual Core 1.8G CPU would most likely be sufficient but I would have doubts with a single core. The video card requirements would certainly be the most crucial to comply with.

A Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz processor might be fine for MPEG2 encoded movies. For VC1 and AVC you might run into issues. Of course you could overclock that processor for better performance. The new E4300, 1.8 Ghz, can overclock beyond 3 Ghz with the stock cooler and voltages.

[Faye]

A Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz processor might be fine for MPEG2 encoded movies. For VC1 and AVC you might run into issues. Of course you could overclock that processor for better performance. The new E4300, 1.8 Ghz, can overclock beyond 3 Ghz with the stock cooler and voltages.

I've posted on here several times that I'm watching HDDVD movies on a 1.83GHz Core Duo (not 2 Duo) with Intel onboard graphics (Mac Mini).

There is tearing occasionally though.. and if anyone can definitively tell me this is due to the processor being too slow, rather than the pants onboard gfx then it's worth upgrading the processor. Otherwise I'll live with the occasional tear because the system is as good as silent and I wouldn't trade *that* aspect for anything.

[James]

I've posted on here several times that I'm watching HDDVD movies on a 1.83GHz Core Duo (not 2 Duo) with Intel onboard graphics (Mac Mini).

There is tearing occasionally though.. and if anyone can definitively tell me this is due to the processor being too slow, rather than the pants onboard gfx then it's worth upgrading the processor. Otherwise I'll live with the occasional tear because the system is as good as silent and I wouldn't trade *that* aspect for anything.
Stutter would be a CPU overload. Check CPU load in task manager. Tearing is usually caused by vsync problems.

[Band Aid]

Or is it my GeForce 7300 that is the problem? Ironically I bought the 7300 because it has HDMI and HDCP support - great fanless card for HD on HTPC, I thought....:disagree:

[oldjoe]

I've posted on here several times that I'm watching HDDVD movies on a 1.83GHz Core Duo (not 2 Duo) with Intel onboard graphics (Mac Mini).

There is tearing occasionally though.. and if anyone can definitively tell me this is due to the processor being too slow, rather than the pants onboard gfx then it's worth upgrading the processor. Otherwise I'll live with the occasional tear because the system is as good as silent and I wouldn't trade *that* aspect for anything.

Onboard graphics is definitely a bottleneck and could cause the symptoms you are experiencing. Purchasing a graphics card would be a major improvement for your system.

[oldjoe]

Or is it my GeForce 7300 that is the problem? Ironically I bought the 7300 because it has HDMI and HDCP support - great fanless card for HD on HTPC, I thought....:disagree:

What are your problems? The 7300 series is a little short on RAM and the pixel pipelines are in the lower range but it is a decent card for general use.

[Charlie]

The higher end the graphics card & RAM on the card the better resolution and less issues on playback of high-def videos'.

[oldjoe]

The higher end the graphics card & RAM on the card the better resolution and less issues on playback of high-def videos'.

RAM does play a significant part in video playback but the Pixel Pipelines are far more important. The more pixel pipelines, the faster the video card can process the data.

[Octavean]

I am planning to purchase the AnyDVD suite and possibly the HD-DVD program. Per your posted requirements, HD-DVD says that it needs a 2 GH processor. The PC that I am planning to use has a 1.81 GH processor. Will HD-DVD work on this machine and if so what would be the possible problems?
This looks like a great program and can hardly wait to try it!:

Its probably better to approach the system in a holistic way rather then focus solely on the CPU. Therefore full system specs are in order rather then just CPU frequency.

Following the Cyberlink specs that Charlie posted would be advisable.

There is also an interesting article with respect to GPU hardware assistance here:
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/print.php?cid=11&id=2161

It is advisable not to skimp on the GPU or any other area of the system specifications regardless of what CPU you have.

[Band Aid]

What are your problems? The 7300 series is a little short on RAM and the pixel pipelines are in the lower range but it is a decent card for general use.

Problem is that it refuses to play HD DVD. What do I need an HDCP for when it can't play HD DVD? On the other hand, what do I need HDCP for when I have AnyDVD HD? :doh:
Yesterday i swaped the fanless 7300 with a low noise 7950GTX I had lying around, and woops - HD DVD played smoothly, even with a Pentium D 2,8GHz that doesn't meet Cyberlinks minimum requirements :clap:

[oldjoe]

Problem is that it refuses to play HD DVD. What do I need an HDCP for when it can't play HD DVD? On the other hand, what do I need HDCP for when I have AnyDVD HD? :doh:
Yesterday i swaped the fanless 7300 with a low noise 7950GTX I had lying around, and woops - HD DVD played smoothly, even with a Pentium D 2,8GHz that doesn't meet Cyberlinks minimum requirements :clap:

Glad to hear you got it worked out. I was pretty sure the graphics was your problem. System bottlenecks are usually more of a concern than CPU speed. People tend to look at the RAM numbers and assume that makes a better card.

[Clams]

I'm also curious what absolute "baseline" is for a PC to "just play" an HD-DVD?

I know from many personal experiments that for a regular DVD playback on an XP machine with 512RAM, the baseline using PowerDVD is way down around a PII-400mhz and an old Nvidia GeForce2 card.
I tried it with (Socket-7) PI-266 and an AMD P1-400 (same graphics card) and they could not do it without some stuttering and tearing.

So I'd be curious to hear what absolute *minimum* config is to play an HD-DVD on a XP based machine (forget Vista).

-W

[Charlie]

Everyone has opinions on this and they all vary. I think it is more on the lines of personal interest?

[oldjoe]

Everyone has opinions on this and they all vary. I think it is more on the lines of personal interest?

Pardon my ignorance but your post confuses me.....how would "personal interest" effect requirements for a software to work?

[Charlie]

I'm also curious what absolute "baseline" is for a PC to "just play" an HD-DVD?

I know from many personal experiments that for a regular DVD playback on an XP machine with 512RAM, the baseline using PowerDVD is way down around a PII-400mhz and an old Nvidia GeForce2 card.
I tried it with (Socket-7) PI-266 and an AMD P1-400 (same graphics card) and they could not do it without some stuttering and tearing.

So I'd be curious to hear what absolute *minimum* config is to play an HD-DVD on a XP based machine (forget Vista).

-W

Pardon my ignorance but your post confuses me.....how would "personal interest" effect requirements for a software to work?

This is what was asked and it was in reference in "powerdvd" YES..... but also in question "for HD-DVD" too. Some people are cheap and will get the lowest and not see the difference and some will splurge and have a decent system. You are far from ignorant so no need to say that.

[Octavean]

I'm also curious what absolute "baseline" is for a PC to "just play" an HD-DVD?

I know from many personal experiments that for a regular DVD playback on an XP machine with 512RAM, the baseline using PowerDVD is way down around a PII-400mhz and an old Nvidia GeForce2 card.
I tried it with (Socket-7) PI-266 and an AMD P1-400 (same graphics card) and they could not do it without some stuttering and tearing.

So I'd be curious to hear what absolute *minimum* config is to play an HD-DVD on a XP based machine (forget Vista).

-W

That’s a good question and while I’m no expert I think the simple answer is that “there isn’t a simple answer to that question“. This is in part due to the fact that HD DVD and BD can use different encoding processes such as MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding) / H.264 as well as VC-1 which may impact system resources in radically differently ways.

For example a VC-1 encoded HD DVD title may play smoothly without any GPU / VPU hardware acceleration whatsoever on a reasonably fast modern CPU but an MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 encoded HD DVD title might tax that same CPU to 100% and thus exhibit artifacts and visual anomalies without GPU / VPU hardware assistance.

GPU /VPU hardware acceleration is implemented differently with respect to ATI and nVidia products. ATI AVIVO compliant parts offload 3 of the 4 major components of H.264 decode such as “Reverse Entropy (AVIVO doesn’t do this one)”, “Inverse Transform”, “Motion Compensation” and “In-loop Deblocking” whereas nVidia PurVideo_HD compliant parts offload 2 out of the 4 (“Motion Compensation” and “Deblocking”).

Both nVidia and ATI have good solutions but the CPU is still needed for some tasks.

So basically, if the system builder neglects proper GPU /VPU hardware acceleration with a compliant PureVideo_HD or AVIVO part the CPU could be left doing all the work and playback will likely suffer depending on how the title was encoding (even with a fast modern CPU). Conversely, if the system builder uses a lower then recommended CPU with reasonably sufficient GPU /VPU hardware acceleration playback could still suffer because the CPU still can be taxed to some degree depending again on how the title was encoded.

Unlike with standard DVD‘s there isn’t a static performance requirement and as such there is some degree of variance with HD DVD and BD. Therefore, it would seem that if users / system builder whish to assure smooth performance across that variation it will be necessary to cover all the bases and have all your ducks in a row. In which case Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra specifications are a good guide.

[Androo79]

Very, very, very well said. If you build a system today that only meets the minimum requirements it likely will not be good enough to play the movies that come out a few months from now.

[Faye]

Onboard graphics is definitely a bottleneck and could cause the symptoms you are experiencing. Purchasing a graphics card would be a major improvement for your system.

If you know how to fit a graphics card into a mac mini, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.

It's tearing rather than stuttering... The TV is only capable of 60 and 50 Hz at 1080p and the problem seems worst when the disc is encoded at 24fps.


Faye

[Faye]

Very, very, very well said. If you build a system today that only meets the minimum requirements it likely will not be good enough to play the movies that come out a few months from now.

I think that's unlikely. Unless people are going to be expected to upgrade their HDDVD set-top players?


Faye

[oldjoe]

If you know how to fit a graphics card into a mac mini, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din.


Ahhh the magic word.............MAC. My condolences. :D No slot, no card.

[Androo79]

I think that's unlikely. Unless people are going to be expected to upgrade their HDDVD set-top players?


Set top players are designed to only play HD-DVDs and can handle the higher encoded movies. Computers are designed for many uses and there are not many products that are currently optimized to play HD-DVDs.

[Octavean]

The AMD (ATI) 690G/690V integrated X1250 class IGP supposedly has HDCP support and a top resolution of 2048x1536. Hardware MPEG4 playback decode isn’t quite supported though they seem to have addressed it in some way,…..

No IGP is great but it might be one of the best IGP solutions out there and while I personally wouldn’t want to be dependent on it for HD DVD and BD application it might get someone’s foot in the door.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2942&p=2

But again its not really a good idea to shoot low and try and scrape the bottom of the barrel. Its better to shoot for the stars and address every aspect of the system by being "sure" that it is more then adequate,.....or suffer the screen stuttering consequences.

[palavering]

i tried it with a pentium 4 with 3,2ghz and 1GB ram and a middle-class radeon card, but in action scenes like in mission impossible 3 the pc was to slow. it runs, but not perfect. the processor usage was 80-99% ;-)

now i've got a core 2 duo with 2,4ghz and 2gb ram and a radeon x1950 pro and it works perfect!

I've got an AMD dual core 4200 with 2 gigs of RAM, and a ATI Radeon 1600 (512 Megs of RAM) PCI-E graphics card. I am using the X-BOX 360 HD-DVD drive through a USB 2.0 port connection.

AnyDVD-HD took several hours ripping King Kong to my hard drive; I gave up after 8 hours and aborted the rip. I also purchased Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra version but the video is jerky, the sound goes off and on, and it is impossible to watch.

Do I need to upgrade my graphics card? I've already spent $30 for AnyDVD HD, and a $100 for PowerDVD Ultra. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. Thanks.:doh:

[Octavean]

I've got an AMD dual core 4200 with 2 gigs of RAM, and a ATI Radeon 1600 (512 Megs of RAM) PCI-E graphics card. I am using the X-BOX 360 HD-DVD drive through a USB 2.0 port connection.

AnyDVD-HD took several hours ripping King Kong to my hard drive; I gave up after 8 hours and aborted the rip. I also purchased Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra version but the video is jerky, the sound goes off and on, and it is impossible to watch.

Do I need to upgrade my graphics card? I've already spent $30 for AnyDVD HD, and a $100 for PowerDVD Ultra. Any suggestions would be deeply appreciated. Thanks.:doh:

Do you have the “Enable Hardware Acceleration (AVIVO)” checkbox selected in Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra?

What CPU utilization are you looking at?

What OS are you using XP or Vista?

[hiro1030]

In my case, it took me about 1hour and 10 min to rip KingKong to HDD using a single core Athlon 64 3800+. CPU usage was like 30%.

[Androo79]

In my case, it took me about 1hour and 10 min to rip KingKong to HDD using a single core Athlon 64 3800+. CPU usage was like 30%.

I ripped King Kong to my harddrive with my computer also, that is not the issue, it is playback.

[hiro1030]

I ripped King Kong to my harddrive with my computer also, that is not the issue, it is playback.

I was responding to palavering's post.

AnyDVD-HD took several hours ripping King Kong to my hard drive; I gave up after 8 hours and aborted the rip.

Sorry about confusion.