1280X720 & 1366x768 with P650

[robconvery]

I am looking to use a new P650 in my HTPC but i am getting a bad feeling that its not going to be up to the job.

I have got an LCD & Projector to connect up. I want to have the LCD connected up via DVI showing 1366 x 768 and the projector connected to the second DVI showing 1280x720.

Is this setup possible as i am struggling to get it working. I am looking to be playing at least 720p films ideally 1080p. Is this gfx card up for the job or should i send it back and get a better one?

[Mikko]

Have you tried Matrox's "Monitor Manager"?

ftp://ftp.matrox.com/pub/mga/utils/t...manager1_1.exe

This utility (beta only) may be used to edit your current monitor settings and also add new settings. Supports Matrox Parhelia and Millennium P-Series products only under Windows 2000/XP with 1.04 drivers and above.

[robconvery]

yeah I did try playing with that but found it not very user friendly. I can get most things to work but playing with it seemed to have virtually no effect at all. Essentially what I am looking for is

The card will be driving
a) Panasonic Projector @ 1280x720
b) Samsung LCD @ 1366x768

The idea is that ALL the time both outputs will be active but I will have he
resolution switched via a hotkey on my remote to..

1) 1280x720 @ 50Hz
2) 1280x720 @ 60Hz
3) 1366x768 @ 50Hz
4) 1366x768 @ 60Hz

This would mean could turn on either display and then set the resolution
appropriately. The card needs to be capable of playing 1080p films without
any skips on a AMD 2500+ Barton CPU.

[greinedo]

I am looking to be playing at least 720p films ideally 1080p. Is this gfx card up for the job or should i send it back and get a better one?

I think P650 is not fast enougth to play 720p and really to slow for 1080p.

I have a P750, and 1280x720 video playback is not smooth (loose frames). If I kill all background processes I just keep all frames, but sound is not sync with image. In any case, CPU usage hits 100%. I tried with WMHD demos from Microsoft : http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...tshowcase.aspx 720p and 1080i and also regular DVDs upscaled to 720p with FFDSHOW.

It seems the amount of data to process is to high for that card. The lack of VMR9 hardware acceleration (DX9 missing) is one point, but also only 128bits memory and only 64MB onboard. My CPU is not the bottleneck, I have a AMD64 3500+ overclocked to approx 4000+.

I must admit I only tried in VRM9 render, not overlay so it might be better with overlay and perhaps watchable. But on AVSForum I read some posts from disapointed owners of P750 or even Parhelia trying with no success playing HD contents. HD is for sure at the edge of the Pxxx line of products.

I replaced the P750 with a 6800GT and the 720p/1080p playback is smooth (30%/45% CPU usage). But for 1080p, I advice a powerfull ATI card since DVI support for higher res is not optimal with Nvidia.

For managing multiples monitors with different and custom resolutions, the ultimate tool is Powerstrip. It's a bit tricky, but it works great.

[Whirl-Secret]

wow those Microsoft 1080 videos really beat up my p650. I thought it would be ok with the smalls ones (being able to fit in vidmem) but nooo....

Matrox cards that can't do video.... whatever next....

[schmosef]

Plays beautifully on my ati 9800Pro AGP card. Not so good on my P650 PCI though.

BTW, I didn't know that Qi-Gon Jinn was in the new Batman movie. I guess he teaches Bruce Wayne about the Force.