Decoding
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NVIDIA's Turing GPUs can process 8K video in real time
You and I won't likely be working with 8K video anytime soon, but a lot of the movies and YouTube videos we enjoy are shot in that format. NVIDIA announced that with camera company RED's help, it has solved one of the thorniest problems with 8K. The latest Quadro RTX Turing GPUs will support real-time 8K playback and effects, significantly speeding up workflow for video editors, compositors and colorists. Eventually, the tech will make it possible for all of us to play videos in 8K glory, once we graduate to supported monitors and TVs.
XBMC looks to improve Android video playback with 'Gotham' beta
Version 13 of XBMC's media center software, codenamed Gotham, is now ready for your official beta-testing pleasure. The foundation -- which started the project for the Xbox and spawned apps like Plex and platforms like Boxee -- kicked off work on the update nearly a year ago. It said that many of the qualms from version 12 (Frodo) users have been addressed. Most notably, it now supports native hardware decoding on Android for x86 and ARM platforms, which should bring smoother playback for formats like Blu-ray. Other improvements include support for more 3D formats (with the notable exception of 3D Blu-ray), better touchscreen support, enhanced UPnP capability, "dramatic" audio engine improvements and easier setup. Though nightly versions have been available for a while, the company provided the usual caveats about beta software and the importance of backing up. If you're unperturbed by that, hit the source.
Raspberry Pi lands MPEG-2 and VC-1 decoding through personal licenses, H.264 encoding and CEC tag along
Making the Raspberry Pi affordable involved some tough calls, including the omission of MPEG-2 decoding. Licensing fees alone for the video software would have boosted the board's price by approximately 10 percent. Now, after many have made media centers with the hardware, the foundation behind the project has whipped up a solution to add the missing codec. For $3.16, users can purchase an individual MPEG-2 license for each of their boards on the organization's online store. Partial to Microsoft's VC-1 standard? Rights to using Redmond's codec can be purchased for $1.58. H.264 encoding is also in the cards since OpenMax components needed to develop applications with the functionality are now enabled by default in the device's latest firmware. With CEC support thrown into the Raspbmc, XBian and OpenELEC operating systems, a single IR remote can control a Raspberry Pi, a TV and other connected gadgets. If you're ready to load up your Pi with its newfound abilities, hit the source link below. Update: The Raspberry Pi Foundation let us know that US customers won't have to pay sales tax, which means patrons will only be set back $3.16 for MPEG-2 and $1.58 for VC-1 support, not $3.79 and $1.90 for the respective licenses. We've updated the post accordingly.
Intel mulling WebM hardware acceleration in Atom CE4100 chip
Hey Google, shall we try the other box? Maybe it has hardware acceleration built in for your new WebM video format? Intel's Wilfred Martis has told IDG News that his company is keeping a close eye on Google's new VP8-based format, and should it prove popular enough, hardware acceleration for it will be built into the CE4100 and other Atom chips headed to TVs and overpowered cable boxes in the future: Just like we did with other codecs like MPEG2, H.264 & VC1, if VP8 establishes itself in the Smart TV space, we will add it to our [hardware] decoders. Not exactly astonishing news, as Google TV is still likely to proceed on those chips with WebM getting decoded by software in the mean time, but at least Intel's absenteeism from the WebM hardware partner list can now be explained as simple precaution, rather than some deeper division between the companies.
HD 101: How to use Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD with your PS3
If you read Engadget HD, it's safe to say that you're ahead of the curve when it comes to home audio/video. You do your homework before picking out gear, and you know that the PS3 can deliver Blu-ray audio bliss courtesy lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA tracks. One look at all the configuration options in the PS3's XMB (Xross Media Bar) interface, however, and you might find yourself wondering how to unlock the those audio codecs. In this installment of HD 101, we'll briefly cover the reason for the confusion and then go through setting up your PS3 for lossless audio step-by-step.
Your PC BD-Live ready? Cyberlink's latest Blu-ray Disc Advisor can check
Cyberlink's updated its BD Advisor (the HD advice having sadly, but understandably, falling by the wayside), to check for profile 1.1 (Picture-in-picture) and 2.0 (BD-Live) support. A quick download of the 4 MB app and a scan later, and you know if your hardware may need an upgrade to play movies at all, or to enjoy all the special features by checking out the new advanced tab in the new, slightly cleaner interface. Our request for a calculator to add up the cost of necessary upgrades has yet to be answered, though we're slightly comforted in the knowledge that the required equipment is a lot cheaper now than it was two years ago during our first scan.
HD decoding CPU usage shootout: ATI vs nVidia
While around here you're more likely to see a flame war erupt about Blu-ray versus HD DVD, on many computer gaming websites the war is over ATI and nVidia, with the two major video card manufacturers constantly leapfrogging each other in an attempt to benchmark the highest scores on games like Unreal Tournament and Doom. Ars Technica has a head-to-head comparison on how well the their latest offerings perform decoding high-definition content, using an Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on drive and some prerecorded 1080p and 1080i content. While both camps did similarly well, ATI was better at playing back VC-1-encoded HD DVD content, and nVidia held a slight edge on 1080i recordings. The benefits to both allow even older video hardware to take a load off the CPU, meaning home theater PC builders can pair a cheaper CPU and video card for playing back HD on the cheap.
Laptops and flat panels also vulnerable to Van Eck eavesdropping
Those who wander into the realms of spying, phreaking, and dubious eavesdropping are likely familiar with Wim Van Eck, but for those new to remote screen-grabbing scene, you should probably take note. Back in the day, Mr. Eck "proved it was possible to tune into the radio emissions produced by electromagnetic coils in a CRT display and then reconstruct the image," effectively rending the images on a distant monitor without the user knowing. Now, however, a modern day guru in his own right has found that the methodology used in 1985 can still be potent today, albeit on laptops and flat panel LCDs. Markus Kuhn has since discovered that by tuning into the radio emissions produced by the cables running into a monitor, hackers can garner the pixels one at a time, and carefully stack them together to form a picture of someone else's screen. Reportedly, Markus was able to "see a PowerPoint presentation from a stand 25 meters away (pictured)," and he also noted that laptops with metal hinges were particularly good targets as they tended to broadcast the necessary signals quite well. Of course, we aren't encouraging the act of on-screen voyeurism without appropriate consent, but if you're interested in seeing what's behind the (faraway) LCD, be sure to hit the read link and push aside those morals for a moment. [Warning: PDF read link][Via Slashdot]
NVIDIA vs. ATI for HD movie playback
Whether playing HD DVD and Blu-ray discs from a drive, or files obtained or stored via other means, you'll need plenty of horsepower to keep the HD flowing smoothly. Hardware Zone took a look at NVIDIA and ATI's competing platforms for hardware acceleration of h.264 and VC-1 decoding on PCs. They tested a few 1080i h.264-encoded movies from Japan and found neither solution was able reduce CPU load by more than 20-30% on their Core 2 Duo equipped test machine, with similar reductions on less CPU-intensive VC-1 discs. Overall they like the NVIDIA's PureVideo GeForce 7600 GT over the comparably priced ATI Radeon X1650 XT with Avivo, but check out the head to head for all the numbers before deciding which videocard goes in your next Media PC.[Via MPEG4.net]
