NVIDIA Releases New Video API For Linux

Ashmash writes "Phoronix is reporting on a new Linux driver nVidia is about to release that brings PureVideo features to Linux. This video API will reportedly be in nVidia's 180 series driver for Linux, Solaris, and *BSD. PureVideo has been around for several nVidia product generations, but it's the first time they're bringing this feature to these non-Windows operating systems to provide an improved multimedia experience. This new API is named VDPAU, and is described as: 'The Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix (VDPAU) provides a complete solution for decoding, post-processing, compositing, and displaying compressed or uncompressed video streams. These video streams may be combined (composited) with bitmap content, to implement OSDs and other application user interfaces.'"

Comments

Re:too late, I won't buy nvidia now

[RocketRabbit]

I don't think people who can't bother to color correct the self portrait they have on their website need to be criticizing people's writing style. Nice try though.

Or do you have hepatitis?

Re:ATI

[Ash-Fox]

I keep seeing sentiments like this on the Phoronix forums and elsewere, italways seems to e Nvidia Zealotry

Wait a moment. Because I care about my hardware working better with my operating system more than the company assisting with making open source I'm a nVidia zealot?

I think you need to take a look in the mirror, right now. I'm not the one advocating or 'zealoting' (if there is such a word) that things must be opensource, I just want my stuff to work. You, on the overhand are shunning nVidia because they don't release detailed specifications on their cards and any positive mentioned about nVidia must be zealotry for this reason.

How long will it be till they release any docs for their long discontinued hardware?

I don't see why they need to.

even as crap as ATI's drivers where they did release docs for the R200 series and under cards, yet I still need the Nvidia binary blob to get the now ancient Riva TNT2 M64 in my mom's Ubuntu web browser comp, let alone my 3+ year old Gforce 6200.

So you tick a checkbox in the 'restricted-drivers' (or whatever your distribution provides for managing proprietary drivers) application, I don't see the problem?

Color me unimpressed with this latest release from Nvidia, they're the ones falling behind from their once defacto standard.

What standard? How?

the open source drivers may suck at this time, but at least they're being fed documentation , which is more then you can say for Nvidia.

Yeah... nVidia only made their driver remap huge portions of X to get proper memory mapping going so users could actually use the software and hardware properly...

Now if only Intel would release a decently powerful GPU card while holding their consistency of releasing docs and code to x.org.

Even if Intel released a decently powerful GPU card, unless x.org has a major architecture change or Intel pulls a driver hack like nVidia, it is not going to be comparable to nVidia.