AMD's UVD2-based XvBA Finally Does Something On Linux

[droidhacker]

It does support mp4 files, depending on the codec.

The container (.mp4) is irrelevant since the player rips it all apart before doing anything else -- i.e. sending the audio stream to the audio decoder, sending the video stream to the video driver.

As for support for mpeg4 (video stream), yes, it *DOES* support mpeg4. At least *some* mpeg4. H264 *IS* mpeg4 -- specifically, mpeg4-AVC. There are other kinds of mpeg4, i.e. mpeg4-ASP (i.e. h263/xvid/divx). There are also HUGE variations in parameters available in any form that have the potential (if not an absolutely perfect implementation) to choke either the driver or even the hardware.

[Kitof]

I bought HD 2600 XT AGP 2 years ago to have hardware acceleration on my x264 movies on linux.

Month after month, i've been waiting for xvba support during 24 catalyst drivers versions (and believe me, it's a long time).

Now, it's done, but with my rv630 chipset, it's doesn't work at all.

So please, could you tell me : I have to trash my card and buy an Nvidia, or can I keep hoping for a working driver in a fews weeks?

(For the joke, my driver doesn't work on windows too, since 2 years because of AGP ... Am I angry ?)

[barkas]

I bought HD 2600 XT AGP 2 years ago to have hardware acceleration on my x264 movies on linux.

Month after month, i've been waiting for xvba support during 24 catalyst drivers versions (and believe me, it's a long time).

Now, it's done, but with my rv630 chipset, it's doesn't work at all.

So please, could you tell me : I have to trash my card and buy an Nvidia, or can I keep hoping for a working driver in a fews weeks?

(For the joke, my driver doesn't work on windows too, since 2 years because of AGP ... Am I angry ?)

You bought ATI, what did you expect?

I had to learn the same lesson, only some years earlier.

EDIT: I must confess that I use mostly ATI again, after some NVidias, but the driver situation has gotten better. It was much worse when radeon started.

[Kano]

@Kitof

You need to use the AGP Hotfix drivers not the normal ones. Maybe thats your problem. Nvidia cards with vdpau and AGP do not exist.

[droidhacker]

I bought HD 2600 XT AGP 2 years ago to have hardware acceleration on my x264 movies on linux.

Month after month, i've been waiting for xvba support during 24 catalyst drivers versions (and believe me, it's a long time).

Now, it's done, but with my rv630 chipset, it's doesn't work at all.

So please, could you tell me : I have to trash my card and buy an Nvidia, or can I keep hoping for a working driver in a fews weeks?

(For the joke, my driver doesn't work on windows too, since 2 years because of AGP ... Am I angry ?)

Well, the nice thing is that your card is sufficiently strong to make good use of the in-the-works G3D shader-based video decoder for R600G driver. In other words, wait a bit longer and you'll have BETTER than what you ever expected.

[Kano]

@droidhacker

are you a clone of bridgman who always wants to tell us how great the idea of oss drivers are which are way behind fglrx for 3d? if you want working video accelleration NOW you can not chose the card freely, the vendor is determined that it will not be ATI.

[mirv]

@droidhacker

are you a clone of bridgman who always wants to tell us how great the idea of oss drivers are which are way behind fglrx for 3d? if you want working video accelleration NOW you can not chose the card freely, the vendor is determined that it will not be ATI.

In all fairness, droidhacker did not say anything about "now", but was referring to something in the future. There wasn't a comparison about the oss drivers and fglrx for 3d features either.

[Kano]

Well the first we read about xvba was over a year a ago and the thing is still in early beta stage. So how do you define future? I guess the ATI card will be broken before a driver exists can use real video accelleration (expect xv) with Linux.

[mirv]

xvba was first heard about for embedded devices. Only recently for linux desktops has it been announced. There seems to have been quite a bit of confusion over that, not sure why, it was stated as embedded only in the first press releases.
As for the oss drivers, I'll leave that to people more in the know as to when any sort of video acceleration will be ready.

[Kano]

First of all it does not matter if you give the sdk only to oems or not. It is very unlikely that they could decode those files more correct than others. I tried it with real bluray m2ts and had wrong colors with some of em - that this was undiscovered so long time is hard to believe. Ok, crashes with h264 l5.1 material is not that easy to check when you don't use that content.

The usual way to advertise the superior ati oss support is that something will work in the FUTURE. I can always say that this or that will work sometime, when you define future as infinite it would not even be wrong. But you have get the hardware NOW, pc hardware does not tend to live that long, or why do you think so many R300,R350,RV710 (2x) already died that i got to try? It is much more likely that you will never get that driver you dream about in the lifetime of your hardware.