Asus P5Q or Intel D45 FreeviewHD Hardware Acceleration

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Asus P5Q or Intel D45 FreeviewHD Hardware Acceleration

mattyboy2

84 posts

Master Geek

#25949 7-Sep-2008 17:56

Hi all,

I've just spent all weekend building my HTPC. All has not gone smoothly and I have quite a few bugs to iron out which I'll be addressing.

Firstly, I can't get hardware acceleration for Freeview to work. I'm using the integrated graphics which has H.264 built in, and an HDMI out (but I'm using VGA out into my LCD TV for now ).

Specs: Asus P5Q-EM motherboard, Core 2 Q6600, 4Gb RAM, HVR 2200, 1Tb HDD, Vista Enterprise.

I'm trying to get HA working in Freeview in MediaPortal. I've also tried to get it going in Cyberlink PowerCinema by editing the ini files as posted herehttp://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=83&TopicId=22139

Then I tried to get it going in MediaPortal using the instructions at http://cranznz.googlepages.com/
also to no avail.

I've been trying to use the PowerDVD codec in MediaPortal. But I see no reduction in CPU usage between using the PDVD8 codec and the Powercinema codec PCV45. CPU usage is between 30% - 40% while watching TV3.

Any pointers? I see in another thread (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=84&TopicId=25271) datahawk got his HA going and has 2.5% CPU usage.

Cheers

-Matt

mattyboy2

84 posts

Master Geek

#163413 10-Sep-2008 00:06

Am I missing something? I'm still not getting hardware acceleration with my P5Q onboard video.

CPU usage while viewing TV3

I've been trying out GBPVR too and I think I like it better than MediaPortal - but if I can get HA to work in either of them I'll use that.

-Matt

Quidam

291 posts

Ultimate Geek

#163441 10-Sep-2008 08:38

Be prepared to do a lot of reading, but this thread could reveal alot:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1057809

And from a link in the above thread:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2328153,00.asp

From the quick scan I did, it appears that getting HA going on the G45 chipset is not exactly easy.

One comment was made that you need to ensure you have EVR enabled when using Vista. [scrap that -I see that you are]

I know you need to select this from within Mediaportal as it defaults to VMR9 -have you done this?

regardless, you might want to consider using an external graphics card instead?

I recently purchased an Asus EN8400GS 512meg silent.

It has the same hardware accelleration capabilities as the 8500/8600 series, and can be got for less than 80 dollars.
It has low power requirements, is small, and of course, is completely silent.

as reference, I'm using this card with a lowly Pentium M (single core). Without the card, I hit 100% cpu usage and drop frames all over the place -with the card, it drops to 20-40% and the picture is perfect.

"There is no way to Peace -Peace is the Way" (A. J. Muste)

datahawk

256 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 30

Lifetime subscriber

#163460 10-Sep-2008 10:50

I'm not sure what the actual differences are between the P5Q and the Intel BOXDG45ID are so I can only point you toward possible options to look at.

First off, check your BIOS settings and make sure the PAVP (Protected Audio Video Path) is set to 'Lite' if you have that option on your board. There is not a lot of technical info available for the PAVP, but it is built into the Intel board and if the OS/Software suppliers get their act together, it could be the solution to pure HD sound delivery in the future. Anyhow, this setting affects PowerDVD8 video and probably other software and the recommended setting is 'Lite'.

I also use DVBViewer instead of Media Portal and I am a bit puzzled about your MP H.264 Video Decoder Setting that states 'if selected de-interlace options are controlled by VMR9' - which is what you don't want. What happens if you un-tick this option ?

Vista EVR works fine with my Intel DG45ID (using DVBViewer+PowerDVD8) but I did have to change the driver settings. I would suggest that you experiment with the advanced GPU driver settings and disable/enable various exclusive use and picture adjustment options. This is how I found out that I had to enable 'Application Settings Override' to solve a EVR colour issue.

The G45 chipset has been built for 'us' - i.e. HTPC users, and I can confirm it works great for our Freeview and Blu-ray playback. We still have a problem where many of the applications that 'we' want to use for HA decoding are not completely up with the play or are still in beta mode such as MP states on your screen shots in regard to EVR.

This chipset works great for me, but I accepted the fact that I needed to use all the latest drivers and software to make the most of it. e.g. Use all latest drivers and purchase the latest PowerDVD8 Ultra or WinDVD9 for a good BD experience.

Good luck

Quidam

291 posts

Ultimate Geek

#163489 10-Sep-2008 14:16

datahawk: I am a bit puzzled about your MP H.264 Video Decoder Setting that states 'if selected de-interlace options are controlled by VMR9' - which is what you don't want. What happens if you un-tick this option ?

Good luck

Hey dude, I suspect that message assumes you are using VMR9. It should probably be context sensitive and change to EVR if that is what is selected..

But either way, you don't get to choose the deinterlacing method if you are using hardware accelleration.

My assumption is that if you uncheck the Hardware accelleration option you will not get it (whether you are using VMR9 or EVR)

"There is no way to Peace -Peace is the Way" (A. J. Muste)

mattyboy2

84 posts

Master Geek

#163624 10-Sep-2008 21:34

datahawk: I'm not sure what the actual differences are between the P5Q and the Intel BOXDG45ID are so I can only point you toward possible options to look at.

First off, check your BIOS settings and make sure the PAVP (Protected Audio Video Path) is set to 'Lite' if you have that option on your board. There is not a lot of technical info available for the PAVP, but it is built into the Intel board and if the OS/Software suppliers get their act together, it could be the solution to pure HD sound delivery in the future. Anyhow, this setting affects PowerDVD8 video and probably other software and the recommended setting is 'Lite'.

Thanks for that datahawk, yes my PAVP was set to disabled. I've set it to Lite now, but still no hardware acceleration.

Why oh why did I buy this motherboard? Well, because it was recommended to me in another post I guess. On paper it sounded good and I wanted onboard graphics to save $$ on a graphics card, but mainly to have a quieter and greener system.

But I must have spent 30 hours on this heap of junk and I'm just about ready to chuck the whole thing in the bin.

-Matt

Regs

4066 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 206

Trusted

Snowflake

#163635 10-Sep-2008 22:13

mattyboy2:On paper it sounded good and I wanted onboard graphics to save $$ on a graphics card, but mainly to have a quieter and greener system.

onboard graphics isnt necesarily quieter and greener (but it usually *is* cheaper).... since dropping an 8400GS passive cooled card into my asus a8nvm-csm motherboard and disabling the onboard gpu the temperatures have dropped by few degrees all round and the fans are running slower and more quietly.

Sales Engineer
Snowflake
www.snowflake.com

about.me/nzregs
Twitter: @nzregs

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE. Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

sfrasernz

234 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#166706 24-Sep-2008 11:56

Hi Mattyboy2,

Just wondering if you have made any further progress using this motherboard? I'm considering buying one myself (probably the Intel Box though)

kiwijunglist

2983 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 135

ID Verified

#166710 24-Sep-2008 12:17

mattboy - enable EVR and Aero, see if that helps.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

mattyboy2

84 posts

Master Geek

#166722 24-Sep-2008 12:44

kiwijunglist - yep, I've got enabled EVR as you can see from my MediaPortal screenshot above. Aero is enabled by default under Vista I think - well if I do the Start-Tab thing I get the 3D effects. Where exactly are you talking about, as there may be some other setting I've missed.

sfrasernz - no, no hardware acceleration still. I gave up on that. It sux cos now that I've only got a P4 3.0 in there TV3 is unwatchable... (I had to give the Quad core back to my flatmate).

I figure the drivers are still immature and so is the software support, so for now I'm just gonna wait until another bunch of drivers get released. The HTPC is being used for recording anyway and that seems to be OK.

I still haven't bought a bluray drive as I'm in no hurry to get stressed out again with the hardware acceleration. And I might as well wait for the prices on the drives to drop a bit.

-Matt

kiwijunglist

2983 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 135

ID Verified

#166815 24-Sep-2008 17:43

if you have start+tab i assume aero is on. when i installed vista im sure aero was off by default
if you right click desktop => choose aero theme, then i assume that is how you enable it.

i cant offer anymore help as i use XP now, but i just remember people claiming that you needed to have aero enabled.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

kiwijunglist

2983 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 135

ID Verified

#167380 26-Sep-2008 15:05

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=427

2nd to last paragraph

Our sources have told us that the Intel G45 is suffering growing pains. The current revision is locked at a 667MHz GPU core speed and the VC1/H.264 decoder capabilities are turned off. A new revision will be available in July with the 800MHz GPU core speed and VC1/H.264 decoder capabilities turned on. In essence, the first chipsets (if they are available) will be nothing more than a G35+. We will update this information as we receive additional information.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.