LAB NOTES
GPU-Accelerated Video Encoding
LAB NOTES
GPU-Accelerated Video Encoding
LAB NOTES
We take Elemental’s Badaboom H.264 encoder for a test drive to see if the
GPU is ready to take the CPU to task
N
vidia and ATI have been claiming that
the programmable GPU that sits idle
in your videocard anytime you’re not
playing games is a massively parallel supple-
ment to the CPU nestled in your motherboard.
To see how the early GPU-powered apps
work, I tested Badaboom—which converts
MPEG-2 video on DVDs to H.264-encoded
video suitable for playback on iPods and PSPs.
To get the full story, I compared Badaboom’s
performance and video quality to Hand-
brake’s, a popular CPU-powered H.264 encoder.
Aft er poring over hours of encoded video using both apps, I deter-
mined that Handbrake, whose X264 encoder uses the better “high” profi le
for encoding, produces better-looking video when encoding to the DVD
source’s native resolution. When I set Handbrake to use similar quality set-
tings as Badaboom, the CPU-powered app smoked the GPU-powered app.
Check out my full write-up online at http://tinyurl.com/4d4omu.WILL SMITH
EDITOR-IN-CHIEFDAVID MURPHY
ASSOCIATE EDITORI’ve been arm-deep
researching the
future of storage
and displays for this
month’s technology
preview (page 24).
I’ve also been plan-
ning my own future,
and will be leaving
the magazine after
this issue. I’ll miss
working with some
of the industry’s
best tech journalists.
Murphy, out!NORMAN CHAN
ONLINE EDITORAft er recently switch-
ing from Internet
Explorer 7 to Firefox
3, both Microsoft
and Google released
new beta browsers
to test my resolve.
Chrome’s elegant
interface and zippy
speed are compel-
ling, but where are
my add-ons? I can’t
live without mouse-
gesture navigation
(à la Firegestures).TOM EDWARDS
MANAGING EDITORThis month, I spent
time at the annual
CTIA trade show. I
checked out a load
of new handsets
and mobile apps
and also learned
about the future of
voice recognition
software. Look for a
story about the lat-
ter on MaximumPC.
com later this
month.GORDON MAH UNG
SENIOR EDITORI gave up on small,
powerless notebooks
years ago, so it was
a joy when I got my
hands on the anti-net-
book: Lenovo’s Think-
pad W700 (http://
tinyurl.com/3uyzky).
Featuring a quad-core
CPU, high-color-gamut
display, integrated
Wacom-tablet, and
1GB frame-buff ered
GPU, it’s a beast in both
size and performance.
In my book, it’s worth
the backache.KATHERINE STEVENSON
DEPUTY EDITORFor the last year or so,
I’ve been using ING.
com for banking and
loving it. The site lets
me easily transfer
funds from my tra-
ditional savings and
checking accounts
into any of ING’s
banking or investment
vehicles—which off er
better interest rates—
and then back again to
my checking account
when I need to access
my money.http://www.maximumpc.com|DEC 08 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| 97