Analysis of his answers
Godfrey confirms that the new Avivo hardware isn't doing accelerated H.264 - either transcode from other formats or even decode - just now, due to driver immaturity and lack of a standard interface for H.264 processing in DirectShow via DXVA. They're working with Cyberlink (increasingly a big software partner for ATI) and Intervideo to get H.264 assist into the products those companies produce, and they'll use any standard interface that Microsoft add into Windows. However with Microsoft firmly behind their own HD video format, VC-1 (now a part of the Blu-Ray spec), it's unclear just when that interface to DirectShow will show up.Support on Linux and other operating system for H.264 is unknown and we'll follow up with ATI on that shortly.
His answer about H.264 performance scaling with GPU engine clock is also somewhat telling, depending on how you read the non-answer. It hints to me that their internal testing on RV515 of H.264 decode performance isn't that great, although I could be reading it wrongly. Addition: I am reading it wrongly, according to Godfrey, however there's still performance tuning to be done for RV515 as is normal.
His answer that R520 does fine with an Intervideo decoder, besting PureVideo, in the HQV benchmark he's happy for people to use to benchmark SD MPEG-2 video doesn't say much for Anandtech's testing. Anand showed poorer performance than PureVideo, and the same output quality on R520 using NVIDIA's decoder compared to Intervideo's. If R520 is better with the Intervideo decoder, why didn't Anand spot it?
I can't see much wrong with Anand's analysis so that's one for a bit more digging and Q&A with ATI. It's a shame Anand doesn't mention the revision of the Intervideo decoder he tried, or where he got it from.
Addition and edit: Godfrey mentions that ATI spent over three days trying to reproduce Anand's testing environment and results but with no joy, indicating to me that Anand's (or indeed ATI's) testing was flawed in some way. That gives weight to Godfrey's statement that the Intervideo decoder would have been the better one to use.
Moving on, HDCP doesn't exist in the retail SKUs apparently (not sure why that's the case) so we'll ask about that in a future round of questions as to when it'll show up on the consumer retail parts.
Lastly, AIW R1K by Christmas! After X800 All-In-Wonder's longer than 6 month delay, we'll hold the big man to that come the end of the year. Might take a few of us to grab and beat the answer out of him though, he's a big chap.
Stay tuned for some followup Q&A with Godfrey and other guys at ATI with the new Radeon hardware in mind as we continue our analysis of their new products. Want to comment on what Godfrey said? The HEXUS.community is the place to do it.
(Ed. rofl!)
