e800 & betaplayer - can play VGA res at >1Mbps?

[KuroNeko]

I'm looking for a new PPC, and the Dell X50v and Ipaq hx4700 are on top of my list. They're hard to find (Dell will not sell theirs until Q2 again) or pretty pricey. The one thing my new PPC must be able to do is play my DIVX files made for TV viewing without re-encoding them.

Someone mentioned the new Betaplayer and the old e800 will also do this. Currently, I can find this for half the price of the Ipaq... But the limited tests available on the Betaplayer benchmark page by AVI are for an overclocked e800. I do not want to overclock my PPC.

Any owners here, that can tell me if they can play 640x480 files, encoded at bitrates say 1500kb/s, without dropping frames in Betaplayer?

Also, any comments on screen quality esp. vs the other 2 PPCs mentioned above, would be appreciated.

Thx!

Neko

[NilsSl]

I'm using betaplayer wich is optimized for my axim x50v and its intel 2700g. playback is very smooth and no frames are dropped. I encode my videos at about 900-1200 kps, but I tested the performance with the matrix trailer at 1500 kps, wich can be downloaded on the betaplayer website. No frames were dropped. Quality is awesome.

[KuroNeko]

Sorry, but you're saying "my Axim X50v"? So the results you're talking about are from your Axim?

I'm asking about the results on the Toshiba e800

Neko

[nwd]

my e800 running wm2003fe and clocked to 528mhz will start dropping frames when bit rate exceeds about 900
thats for any video resolution

[KuroNeko]

That's odd, the test results from the Betaplayer benchmark site show an overclocked e800 handling high bitrate video quite well...

Maybe your memory card is too slow?

Neko

[picard]

There are many factors. Example are you using the latest version or the old 0.04 :) Other important factor is video size. If the video is not 640 pixels width (or 640 pixels height if it's prerotated) it has to be zoomed by the ATI chip which slows down playback (or you can select manual 100% zoom, but the video won't will the full screen)

[KuroNeko]

Hadn't thought of this... some of my videos would be less than 640, say 540 (just a rough guess, not something I checked).

Guess the e800 may be a bit slow then.

Well, if video's aren't prerotated and require zoom, are you saying the ATI is then not capable of handling these video files (1200-1500kbps)?

So the Ipaq 4700 would then also be out of breath? Would the Dell with Intel2700 be better?

Thanks!

Neko

PS: thx for 0.5 - mkv support, woohoo :D :D

[picard]

Well, if video's aren't prerotated and require zoom, are you saying the ATI is then not capable of handling these video files (1200-1500kbps)?
I think the E800 won't be able to handle them.

So the Ipaq 4700 would then also be out of breath? Would the Dell with Intel2700 be better?
I don't know about the hx4700, but it's definitly faster as E800.
The Intel2700 needs very-very little (marginal) additional time for scaling the video and it can play high bitrate movies (more important factor for speed is the width*height*fps number which is limited by the internal video memory bandwidth)

PS: thx for 0.5 - mkv support, woohoo :D :D
Thank to Haali. He made the matroska reader library :)

[KuroNeko]

Thanks. Guess I'd better find a way to test the 4700 before buying it.

Pity the Dell isn't available, or the choice would be easier.

Neko