HD Decoding on a macbook... ?

Discussion in 'MacBook' started by finnschi, Apr 2, 2009.

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  1. finnschi, Apr 2, 2009

    finnschi macrumors 6502

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    Hamburg, Germany
    #1
    HEy guys here is something I Don't get :eek:

    I just saw the Demo Video for the new Nvidia ION, which is basically a ATOM with a 9400m ... they where running 1080p video on 30% cpu Usage :rolleyes: ...

    Now If I start a 1080p movie on my macbook, i get about 80% cpu usage :confused:

    why is the macbook not able to decode HD movies using the GPU :confused:

    or is that a feature "comming soon", or does it work using windows/bootcamp?
    :rolleyes:

    one more thing... If I buy a good GPU for my old pentium 4 windows machine, will I be able to Rock HD videos? :eek: (its not working with a Nvidia 6200)
     
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  2. davwin, Apr 2, 2009

    davwin macrumors regular

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    #2
    From what I've read it's pretty much what you said: the Ion is able to do this through GPU acceleration. It's performing alot of the operations for decoding the HD file across both the CPU and the GPU whereas currently, HD file decoding on a Mac would take place on the CPU only (no GPU accleration). I believe Quicktime has some basic GPU acceleration functionality but, the Ion platform was built to do this from the ground up so has a more "robust" implementation. This should change after Snow Leopard comes out (Open CL) but, probably not overnight :)
     
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  3. NewMacbookPlz, Apr 2, 2009

    NewMacbookPlz macrumors 68040

    NewMacbookPlz

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    #3
    If you check with a Quicktime HD trailer, you should see the lower CPU usage, as Quicktime utilizes GPU assisted decoding as the previous poster said.
     
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  4. finnschi, Apr 2, 2009

    finnschi thread starter macrumors 6502

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    #4
    Wow... thats... Lame.
     
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  5. JamesGorman, Apr 2, 2009

    JamesGorman macrumors 65816

    JamesGorman

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    #5
    although cpu usage is high when watching hd video, are you really doing anything else while watching the movie?

    I mean if your watching a video does it not kinda defeat the purpose to not have your attention on it lol?


    EDIT: I realize the heat could also be an issue with a cpu running that high
     
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  6. anthony691, Apr 3, 2009

    anthony691 macrumors newbie

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    #6
    Not to mention battery life.
     
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