Benchmark test for WMV 9 HD content

[admin]

I've downloaded some of the Microsoft HD WMV 9 demos (1920 x 1280 - 1080p) and have been testing it on my (old and slow) computer :

PIII-1 Ghz
512 MB CAS2 RAM
NVIDIA GeForce2 Ultra

Unfortunately, I only get around 3 frames per second. The recommended specs seems to be a top of the range P4 (3.06 Ghz or above).

I was just wondering if anyone else has tested this clip (in particular, the 1080p "Terminator 2 Extreme DVD Clip") and what their performance was like?

[Enchanter]

That sort of high-resolution clip will kill my own system as well (a Willamette P4 1.8GHz)!!! I wonder how many percent of computer users throughout the world will be able to play it without any frame drops...

Seriously though, do we need such a high resolution for a video? Even people who use 21in monitors will seldom run their desktop at 1920 x 1280. Not everyone owns a high-definition plasma TV as well. Only a select few of people will have the hardware that is fit to run this kind of video.

p.s. Can you give me the link to the video? I am interested to see how 'low' my system can perform with this?

[admin]

Strange ... I thought I posted the link ... anyway, here it is :

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/content_provider/film/ContentShowcase.aspx

The clips are 1080p and 720p. There are quite a lot of displays (rear projection, plasma, etc...) that can do 720p (progressive DVD being 480p or 576p, depending on NTSC/PAL), but not a lot that can do 1080p, so the decision to include the 1080p HD version of T2 on the T2 Extreme DVD was a little strange, but it may help sell a few more top of the range P4 machines.

[Enchanter]

I tried the 720p, 6.5 Mbps Pinball clip and it played perfectly well on my system. I do not know how the 1080p clips will fare on my system though and I am not going to download it anytime soon (blame it on my already restricted volume limit - imposed by my ISP).

p.s. How do you get to view the fps achieved on your system?

[admin]

You can view the FPS from WMP 9 :

Select "Statistics" from the "View" menu -> Advanced -> Video : Actual rate

I played back the pinball clip just now, and only got 3 FPS (skipped some 380 frames !!).

What resolution are you using, and are you using it under Windows XP? What kind of graphics card?

The T2 HD version actually does recommend just a mid-range P4 (probably 2.4 GHz, minimum requirement was a P4 1.8 GHz, I think) for the 1080p clip, so I think MS's claim for requiring a P4 3.06 GHz (and Windows XP) may be just their way to help sell some new PCs.

Thanks again for the results - should help me out when buying a new home theatre PC, since I want to be able to playback these types of clips in the near future.

[Enchanter]

Originally posted by admin
You can view the FPS from WMP 9 :

Select "Statistics" from the "View" menu -> Advanced -> Video : Actual rate

I played back the pinball clip just now, and only got 3 FPS (skipped some 380 frames !!).

That put things better.

I played the same clip about 5 times and on average I dropped 25-30 frames (this occured on 2 scenes where apparently the bitrate is highest). Otherwise, the clip played well enough and smoothly. It would be safe to say that a 1.8GHz P4 is indeed the bare minimum for these kinds of clips (why am I itching to upgrade too? ).

Originally posted by admin

What resolution are you using, and are you using it under Windows XP? What kind of graphics card?

1280x960 @ 32-bit colour
Windows XP SP1 (DirectX 8.1)
Radeon 8500 (Omega Driver 2.4.07a)

Newer P4s at 2.4GHz up to 2.66GHz don't cost much nowadays and I have faith that they will effortlessly handle high-resolution videos. Alternatively, you should consider getting the P4 2.4C. These come with 800MHz Quad-pumped FSB and have Hyper-threading enabled. In addition, they are very very highly overclockable (one mag reviewing it found the stable ceiling at 3.3GHz), enabling you to crank up the speed when you 'feel the need'.

Good luck with your purchase.

[admin]

Thanks for the additional info and advice, Enchanter. I'll take it all into account when I go on my next shopping spree

[Enchanter]

You're welcome.

[Livewire]

what is a link to try one out? I'd like to try AMD chipset and see how it fares.
oh nevermind. I'm blind.

[Batman]

This has been talked about on the doom9 forum.

It seems that a 1.7 ghz or higher machine, coupled with a "decent" medium-range graphics card should be able to play the file?

Terminator2 WMV9 version is accesible only to Canadians/Americans. Every five days, you must obtain a license via the internet (M$ traces your IP).

[Livewire]

Originally posted by Batman
This has been talked about on the doom9 forum.

Terminator2 WMV9 version is accesible only to Canadians/Americans. Every five days, you must obtain a license via the internet (M$ traces your IP).

whats this about licencing? Microsoft pulling a "You need to submit statistics to use our software" or "Your content you are viewing must be authentic, or you are playing illegal content"?

[Batman]

The license renewal scheme in my opinion, is possibly an attempt to ensure that the WMV dvd is viewed only in Canada/USA (it is not intended for release elsewhere). It may also have something to do with DRM.

[admin]

M$ traces your IP

Any chance of using a public proxy server to disguise your IP?

With DRM, and it's IP tracing, it could be in fact a new level of region control and of course, anti-ripping encryption.

The other problem now is that WB wants to push their own red laser HD-DVD standard, possibly using WMV 9, whereas everyone else wants to use blue laser high bit-rate HD-DVD (but unfortunately, they all want different standards so they can make money out of licensing) :

http://www.dvdsite.org/

[Batman]

Some people have had limited success with public proxy servers (MS has blacklisted some proxies). So it may or may not work.

Obviously, the challenge is finding the "right" Canadian/American proxy server every five days.

It looks like the most "extreme" aspect of the new T2 dvd is the copy protection and license activation

[RNCSerge]

I for one would support a WMV9 DVD format. To the point: Whatever encryption system MS devises, someone will decrypt it sooner or later. Secondly, the reason I don't use SVCD is because of the low quality. If there was a WMV9 DVD player, you could get a much better quality SVCD on a CDR