http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/ Engadget Comments for S3's Chrome 500 graphics processors handle Blu-ray, HD video http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 11:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/
but S3 does make crappy cards, HIGHLY RECOMMEND to stay away from it. I don't care how cheap you are, PLEASE PAY that a little more for an ati or nvidia card for a headache free experience]]>Nov 21st 2008 9:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:12AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:55AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.s3graphics.com/en/resources/drivers/]]>Nov 21st 2008 9:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:09AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/
He was referring to 'video cards' ... The low end AMD 'video cards' that sell for $90-100 that have HDMI out have NO audio processing.]]>Nov 21st 2008 2:30PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 1:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:43AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:44AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/
I can understand the price point comparisons made here, but in terms of heat output and noise, how does this card stack up against ATI and NVIDIA?]]>Nov 21st 2008 10:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/Nov 21st 2008 10:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/
Nvidia now are also having problems with their chipsets....

Look at this...
one of the pioneers on Videocards before nvidia or ati arrives.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S3_Graphics
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So if this is only for a HTPC would their be any benefit of going with a better, more expensive, card with NVIDIA or ATI?

The integrated audio processing through HDMI is nice....]]>Nov 21st 2008 12:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=via_nov_20&num=1]]>Nov 21st 2008 2:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/

I am in the process of 'upgrading' my 3 year old Dell PC (3 GHz P4 with HT) to a HTPC by adding a video card. I have no plans of playing games of any sort on it, and my plan is to mainly decode video streams from the hard disk for display on my 1920x1200 monitor.

I was initially planning to go for the ATI HD 3450 when I stumbled upon the Chrome 530 release from S3 Graphics, which appears to be a good deal in the same range.

I come from a tech background (work for a image / video processing company in the Bay Area myself). I have perused the press release ( the usual marketing talk :) ), as well as the extra information on the 500 series. I also looked at the ChromationHD 2.0 white paper (which seems to be from 2007 and applicable to the 400 series). I have some doubts about the 500 series:

1. Is there a plan to release an updated version of ChromationHD which can support 1080p at 60fps? The current version seems to be able to do only 30fps at 1080p.

2. Does the H264 decode engine in the Chrome series (400 or 500) support VLD of streams encoded by CAVLC only or CABAC too?

I have a camcorder which compresses HD video using CABAC instead of CAVLC in order to achieve better compression efficiency. The problem is that even decently powerful PCs are not able to keep up with the CABAC decode when the H264 stream is decoded in a software only mode, particularly at higher frame rates. The main reason I am looking to add a video card is to accelerate the CABAC decode in hardware so that the playback of the camcorder streams is smooth.

3. Are the Chrome 500 series drivers available for XP or Linux? I have no plans to upgrade to Vista (Don't want to pull down my already aging PC further!), and it is imperative that support be there for my present OS or the OS to which I plan to shift later. The only drivers I see for the 530 on the S3 website are for Vista.

4. As a HTPC solution, is S3Graphics thinking of any model with a passively cooled solution instead of the present one with a fan?

5. Is the PCI-Express 2.0 connection on Chrome 530 backwards compatible with the PCI-Express x 16 slot on my Intel 945G motherboard? ( I guess many people take this for granted, but I would just like to confirm! )

Whew! So many questions.. Anyways, thanks in advance for taking out some of your time in order to answer some (or all) of my queries!]]>Nov 22nd 2008 3:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/21/s3s-chrome-500-graphics-processors-handle-blu-ray-hd-video/http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Njg3Mg

phoronix is da bomb sry engadget :-) ]]>Nov 22nd 2008 12:24AM