Nvidia fires up HD movies on the PC

Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia has unveiled its PureVideo HD technology which delivers HD-DVD and Blu-ray movie playback on PCs.

PureVideo HD combines hardware acceleration from an Nvidia graphics processing unit, high-definition movie player integration and HDCP support to make it easy for manufacturers and consumers to build PCs that can play HD-DVD or Blu-ray movies.

"Consumer interest in blue-laser DVD technology on the PC is growing. We project that more than 35 million high-definition optical disk drives will be integrated into PCs in the next five years," said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director at analyst IDC.

"The industry is on the threshold of a new era in entertainment, but typical consumers do not know what is required to play an HD movie on a PC.

"An integrated solution such as PureVideo HD, which will give the user a high-quality experience when playing HD movies on a PC, will be an important feature of a next-generation PC."

HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies are anticipated to start shipping this summer. These movies feature lifelike imagery with up to six times more visual detail than standard DVDs.

But HD movies are encoded in new formats that require special HD optical drives, hardware acceleration, HDCP compatible displays, and new HD movie player software.

PureVideo HD technology combines high-definition movie decode acceleration using certain Nvidia GeForce 7-series GPUs, HDCP circuitry and HD movie player integration to deliver cinematic-quality Blu-ray and HD-DVD movie playback.

A graphics card featuring PureVideo HD technology combined with an AACS HD disk drive, an HDCP-compliant display and a PureVideo-powered HD movie player from companies like CyberLink, InterVideo and Nero make it possible for consumers to enjoy superb HD movie playback on their PC.

System builders including Sony, Toshiba and Acer have adopted Nvidia GeForce GPUs with PureVideo HD technology to power their first PCs capable of playing Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies.

HD movie software from Nero, CyberLink and InterVideo fully supports PureVideo HD technology. Graphics card manufacturers including MSI and Asus will release video cards this summer supporting all of the features of Nvidia PureVideo HD.

Nvidia is also working closely with major optical disk drive manufacturers including Sony/NEC, Panasonic, Pioneer, Toshiba/Samsung and Philips to test disk drive performance and maximise compatibility.