Jeremy Charette
08-25-2006, 08:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.com.com/2061-10794_3-6109427.html?part=rss&tag=6109427&subj=news' target='_blank'>http://news.com.com/2061-10794_3-6109427.html?part=rss&tag=6109427&subj=news</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Microsoft surprised more than a few people on Thursday when one of its developers told a technical crowd in Australia that 32-bit versions of Windows Vista won't be able to play back next-generation high-definition protected content, i.e. commercial Blu-ray and HD DVD discs. Later Thursday, representatives in the U.S. said that senior program manager Steve Riley was mistaken. "The information he provided to that audience was incorrect," a representative told CNET News.com. "Playback is possible with Windows Vista in 32-bit."</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/18847s_windows_vista_i-709166.jpg" /> <br /><br />This is one point folks seem to be ignoring in the race to get high-definition DVD discs to the masses: it takes a lot of horsepower to decode those discs. Because of the ultra-high resolution and data rates, you need a fast processor and plenty of memory bandwidth to display a clean signal at the full framerate. Add this on top of the headroom required just to run Windows Vista, and you're going to need a screamer of a machine to watch an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc on your PC. While technically a 32 bit machine "can" display an HD disc in Windows Vista, I'm going to have to side with Steve Riley here and say that you'll want a 64 bit processor for the best playback experience.