Microsoft released a software update that enables NVIDIA PureVideo decode acceleration of WMV-HD content in Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 with NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series video cards. NVIDIA PureVideo technology – a combination of NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series graphics processing units (GPUs), NVIDIA ForceWare software drivers, and advanced algorithms—is among the first technologies to take advantage of this feature with its WMV-HD decode acceleration.

With WMV-HD decode acceleration, NVIDIA PureVideo technology can offload video decoding from the CPU onto the GPU, giving users up to 40% gains in CPU utilization and smooth, stutter-free, HD video on any display. Unlike most video solutions which are hard-wired for MPEG decoding, NVIDIA GeForce 6 Series GPUs are programmable. They feature an on-chip, programmable video processing engine to support multiple video formats, such as WMV-HD. As with MPEG-2 decoding, the NVIDIA video engine can perform most of the computation-intensive work, leaving lesser aspects to the CPU. This capability is important if users want to watch videos while recording other programs in the background.

According to Microsoft, its software update enables WMV-HD decode acceleration after users meet the following prerequisites:

-- The graphics adapter must support this update.
-- The user must install hotfix 891122.
-- The content must be WMV-HD clips (720p and 1080p) with a frame rate that is less than or equal to 30 frames per second.

For more information, please visit the Microsoft Web site at:
http://www.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;888656.