Regardless of what we hear and read the latest ATI Radeon does not have a hardware or software acceleration HD. On the brighter graphics cards through ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, there is another obstacle. After delays and standing under a question mark taktykach benchmarkowych, a source of controversy has become a Universal Video Decoder

ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT has been deprived of so much zachwalanego by AMD hardware engine to process the video image UVD, a characteristic that was emphasized in all plans for AMD. If that was not enough, AMD continue to advertise its entire series of ATI Radeon HD 2000 as equipped with UVD, when in fact only 65 nanometrowy HD 2600 and HD 2400 series has the ability to hardware decoding.

Scott Wasson from techreport encountered this problem during testing feature UVD. “Yesterday during testing HD video decoding acceleration for Radeonie HD 2900 XT using the drive and HD DVD version of PowerDVD supplied by AMD for these purposes, to my surprise, CPU utilization during playback on our test system equipped with a Core 2 Extreme X6800 remained between 40 and 50%, which is well above the level that you can expect from a solution in the form of full HD video decoding acceleration. ”

Wasson decided to check with AMD and share their results. AMD has confirmed that the GPU ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT really is not equipped with UVD hardware processing capabilities and provides video decoding performance comparable to the latest generation of ATI Radeon x1000 series. At least as presented to Dave Bauman, technical marketing manager at ATI.

Despite the lack of UVD, claiming AMD ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT as having the function of handling Avivo HD. Page on the AMD Avivo HD UVD provides as part of a set of features Avivo HD.

The smooth playback of HD video from UVD
ATI Avivo HD technology is designed for the best video playback of high-resolution by the home cinema systems. His task is to release the processor, and provide it with power needed for other applications. Help in the image processing hardware is in HD formats using UVD (Unified Video Decoder). UVD technology reduces power consumption, reduces noise emitted by the system and operating time for notebook batteries during HD video playback.

Wasson is not the only journalist who has made himself taken in by advertising material AMD.

Public relations officer at AMD, during unofficial talks said DailyTech that all industrial publications should contain information that the 2900 XT is not equipped with UVD. One of the representatives cited the introduction to the family of Radeon 2900 (PDF), claiming that “ATI Avivo HD is a platform technology, which is equipped with a broad set of features offered by certain ATI Radeon graphics processors HD 2000. Not all products have a set of features and support all of the features included in the ATI Avivo HD capabilities may require additional products. ”

Service Beyond3D points out that other info AMD report that the UVD is not present in the R600. What’s more, adds that slide talking about UVD does not say exactly that UVD is present in Radeonie HD 2900, while the same slide indicates that the UVD can be found on Radeonie HD 2400 and 2600 HD Radeonie

When asked why AMD never contacted any medium, to correct mistakes in connection with his presence UVD and Radeonie in 2900, the caller refused to comment. He added, however, that full HD acceleration is present in the R600 ASIC and will be finally activated by the drivers.

“Unfortunately, although they are very tried, we were unable to zaprzęgnąć UVD to work through the current drivers provided by AMD and PowerDVD, which is to include hardware acceleration of a series of HD 2000,” gives Derek Wilson, spec dealing with processors and graphics cards in AnandTech. “We need a second look at hardware decoding, when AMD and CyberLink or Intervideo lead its software on the agenda.”

The company AMD is not yet released a driver that enables them to use multimedia features a series of ATI Radeon HD 2000. Also, no company has so far failed to present the player who would be able to use such equipment.

Last year, ATI has supplied false information about the compatibility of a series of Radeon X1900 graphics card with HDCP, despite the lack of HDCP keys. In the end, ATI has been sued on charges of misleading advertising by false publications.

ATI partners are faced with potentially the same allegations. At present, no less than four partners, AIB alleges that the Radeon HD 2900 XT UVD support. Strangely, the list of the tiles is not built by ATI.