Overview for Video Components

This section presents the key design issues for video components under Microsoft Windows. New applications that require MPEG and other video playback for games or advanced graphics applications require high-performance support in the video hardware.

Key design issues for basic video requirements:

• Power management for video devices. Under the OnNow design initiative, specifications are being developed for standard interpretation of the four standard device power states (D0 – D4) plus a set of minimum power capabilities for devices in this class. These specifications will cover power consumption, command latency, device functionality, and Wakeup event definitions.
• Connection with consumer-electronics video devices, such as TV, VCR, camcorder, and so on.
• High-quality playback of multiple audio/video source streams:
  • DVD-ROM and CD-ROM movies, games, and applications
  • Digital broadcast satellite input
  • Internet, using ISDN, cable modem, ATM, DVB, and so on
  • Video conferencing

Key design issues for Entertainment PC 97:

• For TV and movie watching, the system must provide full image quality, smooth playback, stereo or surround audio, and synchronized audio and video.

  This also means support for large-screen VGA monitors that offer higher resolution and better image quality than televisions offer. Large-screen VGA monitors will ensure a high-quality user experience for family-oriented and multiplayer computer entertainment applications.

• Non-exclusive operation — that is, other tasks running in the system don't interrupt video. This is necessary for the PC to carry on background management tasks, such as downloading e-mail or handling an incoming telephone call, without impacting TV or movie playback.

  For PCs at Entertainment PC 97 price level, customers expect that software should be capable of multitasking while providing more functionality and dramatically better content. Windows-based PCs can't deliver this if the CPU and PCI bus are overused. Therefore, the end-to-end video subsystem, from input source to rendering, must be capable of sustaining full quality playback and display for complex applications.