Graphics cards and TVPA Q.

[Paul Fierlinger]

What significance does the computer's graphics card have on TVP's performance? I ask because my old nVIDIA card died on me and I had to get a new one, which is the NVIDIA Quadro NVS by PNY Technologies. Just working with it for a couple of days on a pretty undemanding project seems to show improved performance. I haven't had time to test it with some of our more complicated projects, so I'm really curious to find out what I can expect from the future.

[Byron]

I understood that TVP uses only the CPU and doesn't utilise the graphics card at all, but your experience would suggest otherwise. It's all witchcraft to me, so I'll stand aside and allow those who know what they're talking about be heard.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Exactly -- this is where I am at a loss too. Sometimes I think I see a huge difference in speed and then my thrill dies because something else seems to behave the same way as before. I hope Herve or one of the crew will pitch in.

[Sewie]

Good point, Paul. I have always wondered about this.

[Paul Fierlinger]

The card's box boasts about "High performance 2D rendering engine" and that makes me giddy. But that can easily mean something else than we would think, because the card is mostly aimed at businesses that use multiple screens, mostly stock-brokers and CEOs of BP. I bought just so that I can have 4 monitors (3, as I've been working with already, and a fourth one to playback on a TV set with an NTSC and HD signal.)My IT said not to expect any enhanced performance, but some of the stuff I am experiencing during routine work seems to indicate that TVP works better. Maybe it's due to less dust in the box.

[Fabrice]

I understood that TVP uses only the CPU and doesn't utilise the graphics card at all

Indeed, you are 100% right

@ Paul, just make sure that the card can handle as many screens as you want, but there is no need of big and expensive GPU.

[Sewie]

It might be that your new card has more RAM than the old one, Paul ?
RAM on the graphics card is usually used for building up your screen (details and colors), I believe... If you have an HD+ screen, or multiple HD screens, that would free up some resources from the CPU and system RAM.(But I should add that I'm a complete noob in this area.)

So which one did buy, Paul ?

[Paul Fierlinger]

Bummer. But installing this card has been a major headache for two technicians and it turns out, after investigating some Internet forums, everyone else who wants to use this card the way we do. When I turn off one monitor, a second one turns off with it, resets my graphics card settings and won't turn on again unless I learn a very hidden workaround trick.

There is a better solution, which involves getting some kind of a converter, which we have on order. It took two full days of uninstalling and reinstalling certain programs and drivers before the guys could figure out what's going on, so I suspect during that process certain things got cleaned out and streamlined, which must be the cause of the improved performance which I am clearly seeing now (I just made some tests).

Thanks for the clarification, Fabrice.

[Paul Fierlinger]

It might be that your new card has more RAM than the old one, Paul ?
RAM on the graphics card is usually used for building up your screen (details and colors), I believe... If you have an HD+ screen, or multiple HD screens, that would free up some resources from the CPU and system RAM.(But I should add that I'm a complete noob in this area.)

So which one did buy, Paul ?

I bought the NVS 420 x 16 DVI. It can memorize any combinations of any software so I can open Vegas and TVP at the same time, for instance and each program can be saved with different settings etc. The problem (as always) with TVP is that when using this function it always opens as a single window which I have to stretch out and sometimes re-arrange the windows back to order. Will this be ever fixed in TVP, or is it something not worth doing for the very few of us who work this way?

And yes, I do have multiple HD screens -- I have to look into what you say above.

[malcooning]

RAM on the graphics card is usually used for building up your screen (details and colors)

RAM on Graphics cads is used for 3D. It's mainly there to keep as many textures as possible in quickly accessed memory. So Large RAM affects almost nothing in TVP.
It DOES help though with one thing, and that's with keeping all the eye-candy of the OS away from the CPU. typically, all the windows animation, transparencies etc is utilizing the RAM on the card (although not much) and this ensures smooth switching between applications and opening/closing of windows.

As for a suitable graphics card, you largely want one that supports the latest soft-technology, like directX 10/11, and which can solidly support all your attached screens.
If I was to buy a new card now, I would go for a entry-level professional series card. Something like the Entry Quadro-FX is a way to go at 1/3 of the price of the NVS series (the one Paul has)

[Paul Fierlinger]

Asaf, are you saying this because it's just as good and for less money, or that it's almost as good and a lot cheaper? Have you seen this card perform; do you know someone who has it and uses it for four monitors, one of which gives a TV signal out?

[malcooning]

Asaf, are you saying this because it's just as good and for less money, or that it's almost as good and a lot cheaper? Have you seen this card perform; do you know someone who has it and uses it for four monitors, one of which gives a TV signal out?

Sorry, I forgot about this thread.
Well ,the cards have a lot of similarities, with slightly better features for the FX (apart from monitors number).
I only suggested this card judging by what Sewie was needing. I think the NVS card that you have is a great card, but is an overkill for most users. Since you drive 4 monitors you probably did the right choice. The Quadro FX can do only up to 3 monitors (2xHDMI, 1xDVI), which is not quite "only" for most uses (I'm just thinking of the added electricity bill...). I have an aging Quadro4 card in my desktop, and although it is dated now it did it's job very well, and could do only up to 2 monitors (well, we're talking a 2003 model card).

If you compare the specs, you can see that the FX has somewhat stronger features, while the NVS' advantage is the 4 monitors at high resolution:

Quadro NVS 420

QuadroNVS 420.JPG (58.84 KiB) Viewed 27299 times

QuadroFX 580

QuadroFX 580.JPG (60.29 KiB) Viewed 27299 times

[Paul Fierlinger]

It's becoming more complicated than that and way above my head. I wish I had never asked for four monitor capability because with my new card I am getting into the realm of High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)which is a form of digital copy protection developed by Intel Corporation [1] to prevent copying of digital audio and video content as it travels across DisplayPort, Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), Gigabit Video Interface (GVIF), or Unified Display Interface (UDI) connections (the last three lines not being mine).

What this means to me is that if I turn off one monitor, two of them turn off and the nVIDIA card looses its settings -- this all to prevent the piracy of streaming movies. We have found a workaround which involves about 3 extra clicks etc. so I'm almost there... all this while I am on commercial deadlines; don't ask, can't tell -- don't know, now what..oh my God! Not again!! and such delights of cutting edge technology. Much to learn.

[slowtiger]

Could've predicted that years ago. There were some serious (but highly technical) discussions about that when HDMI and the other standards were introduced. Basically we concluded that you as a producer could be "protected" from not only watching but even producing your own content.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Basically we concluded that you as a producer could be "protected" from not only watching but even producing your own content.

Well, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
But I'm getting better at understanding what this is all about and have figured a workaround that involves just one extra click. I'm not opposed to the protection of intellectual property, being the producer of a program I am hoping to sell across the Internet in the near future. Imagine if something like this could be done for the protection of software from piracy too!