Re: Home Video Server?

["Ian Lowe" <ian@xxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Miller" <pmiller@xxxxxxx>
To: <ukha_d@xxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 4:11 PM
Subject: RE: [ukha_d] Home Video Server?


> Beg to differ Ian, the ATI AIW does NOT have hardware mpeg
compression.
>
> Paul

That doesn't matter though: "hardware" MPeg compression usually
only assists
one or two of the maths processes involved.

I have done a lot of hours on this, trying combinations, save yourself the
pain!

MPEG2 blows. unless you want to go to VideoCD (which is a cool thing given
the personal CDR/MP3/VCD Players you can pick up, but not the raison d'
ettre....)

Using DiVx, or indeed, Microsoft's ASX format with MP4v3 compression will
blow any MPEG-2 video into the dust for punch-per-meg.

I have found M-JPEG in hardware using a MAtrox card to be diabolically bad
for lipsync, frame dropping, and wierd artefacts. ATI's own VCR-2 codec
blows chunks, as it can only use 12-bit colour, whihc introduces wild
streaking in video captured from Sky, or any other high quality digital
source (video quality, not content quality btw ;) )

The Voodoo 3500 which claimed Hardware Mpeg-2 used a software codec to do
80% of it's work, and could manage flying postage stamp resolutions at
25fps.

Even the hauppage cards (the only one I have not used is the PVR) have
severe bandwidth problems, and start dropping frames furiously when tasked.

Basiclly, I don't think the ATI AIW is that great, but it's the best there
is.

as always, my £.02

Ian.