News Vista is a hardware beast

They have a dulled down mode for older machines and it is possible to run XP on a 486. The mouse moves like it is in jello. But the all 3D enviroment sound interesting. Most of the systems my friends have meet or exceed the spec required for 32bit mode

 

The point is that at present any decent monitor is HD already. Yet we will not be able to use this capability because of the MPAA's draconian control over this area. They don't make the hardware so why should they be able to dictate how its made.

 

However most computer monitors have enough resolution already to display HD content. It would be like ploping $$$$ on an "HD Ready" TV only to be told that it won't play content in HD because it is missing a specific connector.

All said, I'm sure somebody is going to crack it on the PC side, just so that we can all keep using our current monitors.

Don't get all caught up with the requirements as those are for a system with everything turned on. They also want to pump up the requirements so that somebody that buys a "Built for Vista" computer gets a snappy experience. I've installed the Beta 1 on a laptop with 1GHz PIII, 512MB RAM, and a 64MB GeForce4MX. It looked like XP with a new theme and it ran about like XP. Even some of the fancy 3D icons that would normally be generated on the GPU, like folders with your documents in them, are software rendered for you. Basically you got a default 2D icon and they were replaced with the fancy ones as they were generated, which took about a second per icon.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong:
Nearly every friggin' monitor with at least like 20" is able to play HD videos, right? I mean, what's the resolution of HD? Won't be like 3200x2400, will it?
So why developing a new standard of encryption when not having a "big-fat-shitload-of-money-contract" with the hardware manufacturers?

 

1920x1080
most big widescreens (like the 20" and 24" dells) can do it, my 19" crt has the height but not the width (1600x1200)

 

I'm suprised there's been little talk of what kind of activation or copy protection there will be with the MS OS. There will of course be a new approach which will be cracked as soon as it's created.

 

rofl i dought im going to buy a compete new system for the new windows for a looonnngg time, Fk M$ im holding off. Even then i can't imagine lots of people paying for it on these forums.

 

If I could afford to buy a brand new computer, you can bet I would buy Vista along with it too. Upgrade version + OEM = Fairly cheap.

 

If it weren't for the fact that 99% of people would need new computers to run it anyways, I'd say the HDCP thing will totally screw it over. Mind you it'll piss off a LOT of people - all you guys with the 50" plasma screen and 24" widescreen LCDs that can't do jack squat for HD content.

Yes, HDCP will get cracked, and mighty quick. But Joe Consumer won't find the crack without looking, and will instead go raging about how his new $4000 TV won't play the new content. And I betcha anything that the instant a core Windows Vista file is modified, something gets sent to MS which either locks down your computer via return signal (something that you will have quite a time blocking, as it'll be coded into the OS to allow it at all costs, MS isn't stupid so much as owns enough of the market to not care how much they piss off their customers)

Boycott this too! (see my ungodly-long post in the "Convergence? Bah!" article) Problem is we need this kinda crap to hit mainstream media, and as often as I browse Bit, it's not mainstream enough to attract entire countries... I mean like BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, etc.

Do ANY shipping displays support HDCP as of yet?

 

Not PC displays as far as I know but in the UK to be HD Ready you need to support HDCP through either HDMI or DVI, many TV displays are currently sold which reach this requirement. Now if Vista allows DVI and HDMI encoded with HDCP output then many people may be happy enough hooking up the cable directly to their movie display and then use a standard connection to display their desktop on a more traditional monitor.

 

I don't see vista running on a notebook anytime soon save two exceptions:

1) The version of vista will be so crippled, it won't be worth upgrading from xp
2) The full version can run but with a batterylife that lasts just long enough to almost see the entire "vista is loading" screen.

I like the idea of HDCP, I can see me scooping up a load of plasmas and lcd's on ebay for a song from all the suckers that took the bait.

Philosophically, the only real problem I have with HDCP is that it's enforced on the OS level, that seems a bit obsurd. Why not enforce it in media players that would actually deliver the media. That's like arresting the car that was involved in a bank hiest. The answer is obvious, it's easier for MPAA and RIAA to go after the source rather than chase down every media player but it's inherently wrong to assume guilt and make a lot of innocent customers comply with something that they never intended to violate.

There are sooooooo many computer users that just want: web, email, solitare and vista is way too far for a lot of them. I guess Microsoft intends to drag them kicking and screaming into an incrypted digital entertainment era.

I'm also curious about the price. I think it's obsene that Microsoft still considers the MSRP of XP pro at $150 (yes, I know it can be legally obtained for much less but the fact remains.

 

Sometimes it ain't that bad to live in good-ol'-Germany.
Windows XP Pro is given away for free at my university. Well you get a CD, burn it and voilà there you go a brand new legal copy of Windows XP Pro. Every student gets 3 keys if demanded. Even though I ain't got no idea what the hell you might use 3 keys for... except giving them to your friends.

 

For those who suggest that hi-def cannot be truly appreciated on a 24" screen I would reply saying you're talking out your arse as you've never seen hi-def on a 24" screen.

Frankly it is simply mind blowing, the difference between standard definition content and true HD content (1080i) is night and day, it is gob-smackingly, draw-droppingly, amazing when displaying HD content. This can be best experienced with Apple's new HD trailers that are available all the way up to 1080i if you look in the source code for the webpage

The fact that I won't be able to watch any HD content on my HD capable monitor is frankly an utter joke, an example of how incredibly corrupt the media industry is. I believe in paying a fair price for fair content, but with this absolute affront I do hope they all go bankrupt from rampant piracy due to their draconian and unnecessary copyright protection systems.

 

Well if that's all you think it is then no you don't! Just don't buy it

<A88>

 

Well maybe the WMVHD samples just suck then. But they definately look the same at 1080i in picture quality as my re-encoded Xvid movies at... I think... 272i? (640x272 I think for most of the widescreen ones). I fullscreened the WMVHD 1080i samples at 1920x1440 and 1920x1080, and aside from ungodly-small icons, the only difference I noticed was remarkably higher CPU usage.

I do rather like eddie_dane's outlook on buying up plasmas that don't support HDCP on the cheap, but I really don't seeing anyone but the richest just ebaying their new plasma in favor of one that will actually let them USE high-def content at a huge personal loss. It'd be one thing if a 42" LCD TV used LCD monitor-sized pixels so it would run at like 1293812x23908, but that just ain't the case now, is it!?

A88 - I think the point of this discussions is more along the lines of "WTF is the industry thinking by saying 'we're going to impose a media protection form that makes every high-def screen in the world obsolete' and knowing consumers can't do a damned thing about it except suck up the costs?"

I REALLY don't see it surviving though. Unlike the rediculous DRM everywhere that's creeping in left, right, and center, this WILL get noticed by the masses who probably won't take it sitting down.

 

i suggest you visit your optician post haste
even at 1600x1200 the difference is clear, im definately with JADS on this one

 

Yep, it looks creat on mine too @1600x1200, but a true 1080 is something to behold

 

Okay, maybe I won't install the beta on my 1.13GHz, 768MB ram laptop..

 

ROLF !!!!

wow !

/bows down




I wonder how the speed of the animations will be affected by the AGP port....

 

Is my SyncMaster 213T HD ready? LOL.