[vlc] [Ecartis <listar at via.ecp.fr>] Message submitted to 'vlc'

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----- Forwarded message

Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2003 19:18:34 +0200
Subject: Re : [vlc] Hardware acceleration under OS X
From: "Godefroy Troude" <godefroy.troude at wanadoodata.com>
To: "Derk-Jan Hartman" <d.hartman at student.utwente.nl>,
	vlc at videolan.org
Message-Id: <20030423171817.475DD3ABF7 at zen.via.ecp.fr>

Hello !

Reading you answer (thanks for giving it so quick !) I think my question
wasn't precise enough.

I just tested the playing of DVD-video with VLC in a big french shop (BHV)
where there was some PowerBook G4 in demonstration. I only could test the
PowerBook G4 867MHz with a DVD-video that I know well (Avengers, 1968,
season 6, volume 1 - Universal 2002). There was almost enough power to play
correctly the DVD-video: there was still some dropped frame. So, I thought
that PERHAPS on a PowerBook G4 1GHz there would be enough power. But I want
to be sure of that !

Then, I read on the FAQ that "VLC doesn't support the ATI DVD hardware
decoding" and I asked myself the exact meaning of this sentence, that I
still haven't understood after your answer (sorry). Is it:
1) VLC doesn't support ANY DVD hardware decoding
2) VLC support ANY OTHER hardware decoding than ATI

What is the correct proposition ?


Just a few words about hardware acceleration, because I have not the same
point of view: I agree that on a PowerBook G4 1GHz the hardware acceleratio=
n
is perhaps less important than on my iBook G3 500MHz, but this hardware
acceleration is more reliable (because it is no dependant of other process
running on the machine), and I think also that hardware acceleration will b=
e
power savy instead of intensive computer power decoding.

I would appreciate to have your point of view about this second point.


In attachment (if it could interest you) a review of the problems I found o=
n
the OS X Apple DVD player (versus OS 9 Apple DVD player). I'm french and I
translated it in english in the beggining of the text, but I didn't
translated the last part because the Apple discussion forum didn't allow so
much text and anyway I must be shorter.


Best regards.


- - - - -
Godefroy Troude
Paris, France
Email: Godefroy at troude.com
Site web: http://www.troude.com


----------
>De=A0: Derk-Jan Hartman <d.hartman at student.utwente.nl>
>=C0 : vlc at videolan.org
>Cc : "Godefroy Troude" <godefroy.troude at wanadoodata.com>
>Objet=A0: Re: [vlc] Hardware acceleration under OS X
>Date=A0: Mer 23 avr 2003 18:03
>
> The OS takes care of graphics acceleration. We just give the OS our
> graphics and it displays it.
> The OS takes advantage of many of the hardware accelerations the
> graphics cards supply.
>
> With the old Powerbooks, there was a problem that the CPU couldn't
> DECODE the DVD fast enough. It therefore had an extra DVD decoder card.
> This card was used by DVD player <=3D 2.0
> Since OSX was released, apple dropped support for this particular card,
> with that making that old Powerbook once again incapable of watching
> DVD's. You are talking about way faster computers, which are probably
> about 4-6 times as fast as the Powerbook discussed in the FAQ. The new
> Macs don't need such a card, because they can handle decoding all by
> itself (and do something in the background at the same time ;).
>
> Just remember that a G4  1Ghz is always faster then a G3 1Ghz CPU.
> The Graphics Cards are less important then you make them out to be.
> When you want to run all the latest games, then you need to take a look
> at what kind of graphicscard you want.
>
> DJ
> ---
> Videolan - VLC media player
> Derk-Jan Hartman (thedj at users.sourceforge.net)
> Co-Developer of the MacOS X port of vlc
> http://www.videolan.org/vlc
>
> On woensdag, apr 23, 2003, at 12:33 Europe/Amsterdam, Godefroy Troude
> wrote:
>>
>> Hello and thanks for your DVD player !
>>
>> I read in your FAQ: "3.1.1. Does VLC support the ATI DVD hardware
>> acceleration cards? -> Currently it does not. We would be glad to
>> support
>> them, but we lack technical information on them."
>>
>> Is hardware acceleration supported with new PowerBooks with Nvidia
>> cards ?
>> In example 12 and 17 inches PowerBooks ? I'm planning to buy a new
>> Powerbook or iBook and hardware acceleration in VLC will be a big
>> element of
>> my choice ! OS X Apple DVD player is really uggly with many DVD (OS 9
>> was
>> better).
>>
>> Best regards.

---------------

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