X-bit labs

AMD Warns About ATI Radeon HD Without Video Acceleration.

Category: Video

by Anton Shilov

[ 08/01/2007 | 11:52 PM ]

ATI, graphics product group of Advanced Micro Devices, said on Wednesday that due to issues with test software, it failed to determine imperfect graphics processors from the ATI Radeon HD 2000 family. As a consequence, some graphics card makers had to recall certain production bathes. The problem, however, can be solved with drivers, according to some sources.

Apparently, certain graphics cards based on ATI Radeon HD 2400 and ATI Radeon HD 2600 graphics processing units (GPUs) from AMD come with disabled universal video decoder (UVD) technology that provides hardware acceleration of high-definition H.264 and VC-1 videos. The problem, according to claims made by undisclosed makers of graphics cards in an interview with DigiTimes, was a result of a bug in AMD’s hardware validation software.

Some other sources indicated that A13 revision of the RV610 (ATI Radeon HD 2400) chip came with disabled UVD, whereas later revisions came with enabled feature. According to reports, the issue can be fixed by updating BIOSes of the boards or by using the latest drivers, which are due in August.

Even though the problem may not be industry-wide, it can still cause delays of personal computers featuring ATI Radeon HD 2400/2600 graphics cards, as computer makers will have to ensure that UVD is enabled on all the boards that they install, a process that may take a long time to accomplish. On the other hand, some makers may skip the procedure for systems not equipped with Blu-ray or HD DVD drives.

Earlier this year AMD already disabled UVD in its ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT product, claiming that usage model of a high-end PC does not require hardware video acceleration. Nevertheless, sources close to the company implied that eventually the capability to decode HD video may be enabled from drivers even for the top-of-the-range products.