High definition is the future entertainment standard of tomorrow's video's. Playing high definition content on current generation PCs can bog down even the fastest processors because there is more data to handle. Similar to the need for DVD accelerators a few years ago, nVIDIA PureVideo enables computer users to view MPEG-2/DVD and WMV High Definition formats on the monitor without slowing the Biostar iDEQ 250N system to a crawl.

The PureVideo standard incorporates a hardware accelerator for the afore mentioned MPEG-2/DVD, and Microsoft Windows Media High Definition Video standards (WMV HD). According to nVIDIA's documentation on PureVideo, the GPU (GeForce 6 and 7 series GPUs) takes on video decoding tasks from the CPU, and the end result is smoother, shutter free High Definition playback. nVIDIA PureVideo also supports most current and future high definition formats.

PureVideo is more than just a media accelerator; it also includes features to improve video picture quality. DVD, cable and satellite video provide poor crispness, clearness and smoothness that consumers have been desperate to be "saved from." nVIDIA's PureVideo technology applies spatial temporal de-interlacing to apparently deliver a better image than traditional de-interlacing can muster. PureVideo also fixes the 3:2 pull down problem that can arise from 24 fps video being converted to 30 fps for viewing on TVs or monitors. By recovering the original 24 frame content, PureVideo allows for a clear crisper image.

Another neat feature of PureVideo is its ability to scale videos to any resolution, while maintaining a relatively detailed picture. This means users can view lower resolution videos at a high resolution without suffering too much from blocky or blurry pictures.

Examining CPU Load with PureVideo

To test PureVideo's High Definition accelerating capabilities on the Biostar iDEQ 250N Mini PC System, we'll playback a video downloaded from Microsoft's WMV HD Content Showcase through Windows Media Player 10. "The Discoverers" (IMAX) video is available in both 720P and 1080P formats. Socket AM2 processor utilization will be monitored via Task Manager.

When running the 720P version of the Discoverers video, CPU usage hovers between 21-26% which is very low and leaves plenty of resources to go around for other tasks or background applications.

The AMD Athlon64 X2 5000+ has plenty of system resources to go around but we're always surprised to see 1080P system usage. Running the 1080P version of the Discoverers video does not increase CPU load much at all and we're looking at between 22-28% system load.

Older systems would definitely have a much harder time here but not this little SFF PC.