ATI Technologies Radeon HD 3450 User manual

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450

High Definition HTPC for the masses

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 2

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................. 3

Video Benchmarking Checklist ..................................................................... 7

How To Evaluate Video Playback Performance............................................. 8

Video Playback Performance...................................................................... 13

Appendix A: ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 based HTPC........................................ 16

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 3

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Introduction

High Definition (HD) content is gaining in popularity, driven by the increasing

availability and affordability of HD-capable televisions, new releases of movies on HD

media (Blu-rayTM & HD DVD) and a desire by consumers for a more immersive

entertainment experience.

It may be possible for consumers to upgrade their current PCs by adding new HD

DVD and/or Blu-rayTM optical drives; however, the remaining PC components might

lack the required processing capabilities for fully featured and smooth HD content

playback. HD content presents many challenges, including:

•Large quantities of data processing

oup to six times the rendering required of standard-definition content

oit is also memory bandwidth intensive

•Computational complexity of algorithms for decode (i.e. CABAC) and

processing (i.e. advanced de-interlacing)

•High power consumption levels as PC resources run intensively to decode HD

content, which can reduce battery life on notebooks and increase noise levels

caused by the fans of the system running to dissipate heat

oThis is not ideal in a home theater scenario

•HDCP and content protection mechanisms included on most HD media by

content providers (movies studios, cable providers…). If these requirements

are not supported properly, consumers may encounter issues to playback HD

protected content on their PCs.

In the past, the ATI Radeon™ X1000 series of graphics processors from AMD sought

to overcome these challenges by harnessing the GPU processing power hardware to

assist in the video decoding process. This innovation moved the major part of the

video decoding off the CPU, while taking advantage of the GPU graphics power for

post processing routines designed to enhance the image quality.

AMD continued its efforts to deliver an exceptional home entertainment experience

for consumers with the ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series. These products leveraged

ATI’s Avivo™ HD technology to provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of

HD playback.1These features have been further enhanced with the ATI Radeon™ HD

3000 series.

1Not all ATI Avivo HD features may be available on all models.

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 4

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Unified Video Decoder (UVD)

To enable the largest number of consumers to playback HD content on their PCs,

from thin notebooks to entry-level PCs, AMD introduced the Unified Video Decoder,

or UVD. Initially featured on the ATI Radeon™ HD 2400 series, ATI Radeon™ HD

2600 series, ATI Mobility Radeon ™ HD 2300, ATI Mobility Radeon ™ HD 2400 and

the ATI Mobility Radeon ™ HD 2400 XT, UVD is a dedicated video decoding block that

facilitates the full, bit accurate, decoding process of VC-1 or H.264/AVC encoded

video. The entire range of ATI Radeon™ HD 3000 series desktop GPUs now feature

UVD with further processing improvements.

By utilizing dedicated hardware for the decoding of VC-1 and H.264 encoded video,

the CPU is alleviated from the decoding process and the graphics pipeline and CPU

cycles are freed up. The decreased drain on system power is particularly beneficial in

notebooks, where HD playback processing on the GPU places a lesser burden on the

battery life. Less overall heat is produced, resulting in a quieter system as fans are

not required to spin as fast and move as much air to dissipate the heat.

Processing of HD video requires large amounts of memory bandwidth. The initial

implementation of UVD on the ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 series had restrictions

dependant on the available memory bandwidth on a given board. The net result was,

at launch, the lowest bandwidth ATI RadeonTM HD 2400 PRO solutions targeted

playback of all HD content at 720p pixel resolutions. If the desktop resolution was

set any higher than 720p, then HD video decoding would fall-back to software in

order to save GPU bandwidth.

Subsequent Catalyst™ software updates have improved the situation such that VC-1

and H.264 content encoded in 1080p will play back using UVD at desktop resolutions

as high as 1920x1200 (higher than 1080p), however 1080i VC-1 and H.264/AVC as

well as HD MPEG-2 content still fall-back to fully software based decoding.

The ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series of graphics processors features improvements to

the UVD engine that both reduce CPU utilization under HD decode and also improve

memory bandwidth utilization in order to maintain hardware HD decoding at higher

resolutions. The net result is that even the DDR2 equipped ATI Radeon™ HD 3450

will facilitate hardware decoding of 1080p and 1080i VC-1 and H.264/AVC encoded

content at 1920x1200 / 1080p desktop resolutions.

HDCP Support

The advent of new HD optical discs, such as Blu-rayTM and HD DVD, as well as digital

cable on PCs, mandates certain requirements to playback protected content at HD

resolutions. Certain technology licensing specifications mandate that these new

technologies comply with content protection mechanisms. In particular, when stored

on Blu-rayTM and HD-DVD discs, protected content may only be displayed at HD

resolutions if HDCP is supported on both the PC and the monitor.

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 5

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

The ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 series and ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series are designed

with a comprehensive approach to provide exceptional quality video playback for HD

content and carefree HDCP support2for easy playback of protected HD content from

Blu-rayTM and HD DVD. The ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 series and ATI RadeonTM HD

3000 series supports HDCP on all DVI (single-link or dual-link), HDMI and

DisplayPort interfaces, up to the maximum desktop resolution supported by that

interface.

HDMI & Audio Support on the ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 Series

To be compliant with Windows Vista® Premium logo requirements, a system with

enabled HDMI output must include two distinct audio sources – one main system

source and one for HDMI output. Like the ATI Radeon™ HD 2000 series, the ATI

RadeonTM HD 3000 series provides a comprehensive approach to ensure audio

support for HDMI by including an HD-audio controller on the ASIC, creating a

protected audio path separate from the system’s audio, compliant with Windows

Vista Premium requirements and without any additional connection or cable.

Combined with the ATI Radeon™ DVI-to-HDMI adapter, ATI RadeonTM HD 2000

series and ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series3solutions enable end users to get full video

and audio support via standard DVI for easy connectivity and a superior HD

experience. Current DVI-to-HDMI connectors do not carry audio, thus do not enable

HDMI. ATI Radeon™ adapters handshake with the board to enable audio via the DVI

port; when the adapter is connected to the output of an ATI RadeonTM HD 2000

series or ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series solution, it can provide seamless HDMI

output.

ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 series and ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series products support

home theater audio formats such as Dolby Digital and DTS enabling an immersive

multi-channel surround sound audio experience when playing back Blu-rayTM or HD

DVD discs (when connecting to an HDMI receiver).

ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 series and ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series innovate with the

support of HDMI, bringing several benefits to the end user:

•‘Plug-n-play’ HDMI solution

•Full audio experience, preserving the system’s digital (S/PDIF or optical)

sound output while also providing full HDMI audio output

•Flexibility through seamless support of different interfaces using ATI Radeon™

DVI-to-HDMI adapter when needed

•Immersive home theater audio with multi-channel digital surround sound

support

2Playing HDCP content requires additional HDCP ready components, including but not limited to an HDCP

ready monitor, disc drive, multimedia application and computer operating system. While ATI RadeonTM HD

2000 series and ATI RadeonTM HD 3000 series ASICs have with HDCP keys integrated, AMD’s add-in board

manufacturers may choose not to enable HDCP on their specific ATI RadeonTM HD 2000 and ATI RadeonTM

HD 3000 based products.

3Not yet available on AGP

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 6

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Summary

The emergence and popularity of HD has created high expectations from consumers

looking for a unique and immersive video experience, and this includes consumers

choosing to use a PC as the hub of their entertainment center. But as a relatively

new technology, HD brings new challenges related to the large quantity of data

needed to be processed in HD, as well as its computational complexity, power

consumption and need for content protection.

GPUs can play a critical role in providing consumers with a high quality and seamless

HD playback experience. Unfortunately, many of the current graphics solutions on

the market do not provide the performance for full-quality HD playback, and in some

cases, lack the proper support for HDCP, audio and HDMI output preventing end

users from fully enjoying the complete HD experience.

With ATI’s Avivo™ HD and its unique video playback technologies such as UVD and

advanced image post processing, a comprehensive approach to HDCP requirements

and seamless support for audio and HDMI interfaces, the ATI RadeonTM HD 3000

series address HD playback challenges for The Ultimate Visual Experience™ for HD.

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 7

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Video Benchmarking Checklist

Here is a list of hardware and software tools AMD recommends you use to evaluate a

graphics card’s video playback capabilities:

9Test system with Windows® XP or Windows Vista® (32-bit or 64-bit)

operating system

9HDCP compliant monitor or HDTV with native resolution of at least 1920x1080

9DVD Optical Drive

9HD DVD Optical Drive

9Blu-rayTM Optical Drive

9System monitoring software such as Windows® Reliability and Performance

Monitor

9Playback software such as CyberLink PowerDVD

9Silicon Optix HQV and HD HQV Benchmarks

9HD DVD and Blu-rayTM discs

9Power Analyzer

How To Evaluate Video Playback Performance

While video image quality is paramount in choosing the right solution, playback

performance is of equal importance. This applies especially to PCs that are set up as

media centers where multi-tasking is a necessity.

Here are some guidelines on how to properly measure video playback performance:

Step 1: Make sure that there aren’t any unnecessary tasks running in the

background. End all unnecessary tasks using Windows Task Manager.

Step 2: Set the desktop resolution to 1080P (1920x1080) through Windows Display

Settings.

Step 3: Launch Window’s performance monitor by pressing

Window key + r and typing “perfmon” in box. Alternatively, you can create a

shortcut to this application located in the “C:\Windows\System32\perfmon.exe”

folder.

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 8

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

Step 4: Once Windows’ Reliability and Performance Monitor application launches,

configure it to record CPU activity for at least 120 seconds (2 minutes). You can do

so by first activating the Performance Monitor window:

Proceed to the Action ÆProperties menu where you can change the duration and

frequency of the CPU activity logger to the amount of time you plan to test each

scene/clip in a movie:

AMD believes that 120 seconds of playback is sufficient for obtaining an accurate

measurement of CPU utilization for video playback. AMD recommends that you test

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 9

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

scenes with high bit-rate to evaluate how the system will perform under heavy

workload from decoding video streams.

Step 5: Launch your software player of choice and make sure that hardware

acceleration is enabled for each test. You can enable and disable hardware

acceleration by going to the Configuration ÆVideo menu:

ATI Radeon™ HD 3450 - Video Review Guide 10

Catalyst, The Ultimate Visual Experience and Radeon are trademarks of Advanced Micro

Devices, Inc. Features, pricing, availability and specifications may vary by product model and

are subject to change without notice. Products may not be exactly as shown. Not all features

may be implemented by all manufacturers.

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