Posted on 12/16/2008 3:23:09 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing
A month ago NVIDIA had introduced the Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (VDPAU) that brought PureVideo-like features to Linux. Our initial benchmarks of this video decoding API within NVIDIA's binary driver were quite favorable as it was able to dramatically cut down on the CPU usage when playing H.264 video files. To see how well NVIDIA's VDPAU really is though, we have carried out some more thorough testing now and our hardware consists of a CPU we purchased for $20 USD and a NVIDIA GeForce graphics card that retails for just $30. Can this very low-end hardware manage to play high definition videos under Linux?
As you can see from these results the CPU usage had dropped dramatically. Without VDPAU the low-end Sempron was facing a near-constant utilization rate of more than 50% and frequently would spike to 100% usage. When switching to VDPAU, the CPU utilization started out at just under 20% and never went beyond that. Most of the time the CPU utilization was less than 10% and would just jump when restarting the H.264 video file playback.
This sounds like good news for those interested in building their own DVR. Current technology HD chips are just too expensive when starting from scratch.
Hmmm. So these little netbooks would be able to do HD.
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I was considering a smart phone but the Mini-9 is quite small, lightweight and more functional/easier to use than a smart phone...and without the extra monthly fees. It's scheduled to arrive Christmas Eve - just in time for my annual excursion to CES in Las Vegas.
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