01.29HTC Updates Their Response To The Video Driver Issue 1/25/08
Here we go! More on the HTC Video Driver Saga that we have been watching like a great soap opera play out! First and foremost, I have to give tremendous thanks to Chainfire at HTCClassAction.org for raising awareness and taking the lead in the fight for HTC to respond and take ownership of the Video Driver problem they have in several devices! If you have not already, please read over at HTCClassAction.org and get familiar with the issues, and the current state of affairs regarding this issue. There is a lot to know, and a lot going on with organizing a global class action lawsuit against HTC. Please support Chainfire and his website!
Now, here is the latest in responses for HTC:
HTC does plan to offer software upgrades that will increase feature functionality, over the air wireless speeds, and other enhancements for some of the phones being criticized, but we do not anticipate including any additional support for the video issues cited in customer complaints. It is important for customers to understand that bringing this functionality to market is not a trivial driver update and requires extensive software development and time.
HTC will utilize hardware video acceleration like the ATI Imageon in many upcoming products. Our users have made it clear that they expect our products to offer an improved visual experience, and we have included this feedback into planning and development of future products.
To address lingering questions about HTC’s current MSM 7xxx devices, it is important to establish that a chipset like an MSM7xxx is a platform with a vast multitude of features that enable a wide range of devices with varied functionality. It is common that devices built on platforms like Qualcomm’s will not enable every feature or function.
In addition to making sure the required hardware is present, unlocking extended capabilities of chipsets like the MSM 7xxx requires in-depth and time consuming software development, complicated licensing negotiations, potential intellectual property negotiations, added licensing fees, and in the case of devices that are sold through operators, the desire of the operator to include the additional functionality. To make an informed decision about which handset suits them best, consumers should look at the product specification itself instead of using the underlying chipset specifications to define what the product could potentially become.
Give me a break! We are talking about the HTC Flagship Device! The Kaiser! This is not the low end version of their range. This is the most feature rich Windows Mobile Device on the market, and as such should have made use of the hardware that they boasted about. How could they expect us to accept worse video playback and performance than on Hermes, 8525, or TyTN!
The upside to all of this is that Chainfire continues to get reports from HTC support that a Video Driver Patch is “definitely” coming.
Lets keep our fingers crossed shall we!
For more information visit HTCClassAction.org
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HTC is really beginning to piss me off. While I agree that no phone uses every single feature that its hardware allows, video playback is a critical reason - probably one of the top five reasons - why people buy smartphones. So ensuring the best possible video playback should have been a priority. I don’t know who beta-tested for them, but I wonder if HTC knew about the problem and just decided to ignore it.
That said, I have a partial solution for HTC. If and when a driver is developed, they should pay the bounty…in fact, they should double it. People are essentially working for HTC to develop a fix and HTC should be grateful enough to compensate them.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Agreed, and on top of it all, they are losing customers. I got the AT&T Tilt because of its Outlook functionality - everyone else I talk to wants the IPhone, because it is “cool” and because they can use it as a video/audio player. The normal “customer on the street” does not understand most of the technicalities. Several friends of mine were very impressed with the Tilt when I showed it to them, until they compared it with the IPhone’s multimedia experience. One friend with the 8525 understandably derided the Tilt for “not having even 8525 performance”. Having the capabilities but not using them “does not compute” for most potential users. It is the same as not having the capability.
Needless to say, most of my friends have now gone to the IPhone.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:33 am
What’s all this fuss about the Tilt being slow? Can someone explain? I upgrade my 8525 to the Tilt and they both seem to be about the same speed. Video works fine on both devices for me. They are both 400 mHz right?
January 31st, 2008 at 3:55 am
Rob,
Most modern PDAs use dedicated GPUs (Graphic Processing Units) - microchips that have only purpose of rendering everything graphical, be it UI, video playback or games. The reason behind that is that because they are purpose-built, they are better at graphical tasks than the CPU (Central Processing Unit), they have better performance AND less power consumption AND produce less heat AT THE SAME TIME. When no GPU is used, all those tasks fall on the CPU, eating away at its resources.
When HTC failed to provide the necessary drivers to use the integrated GPU chip, they made the device use up battery power faster, produce more heat and lag a lot. Had those drivers been included, the TyTN II would work longer when using the battery, not burn your pocket, and work flawlessly when it came to UI, video and gaming.
Compared to your 8525 (HTC TyTN or Hermes), which does have a 400 mHz Samsung CPU but also uses the ATI Imageon GPU, TyTN II (Kaiser, Tilt) does not use the GPU resulting in all the aforementioned problems.
If you do not notive the problems, try doing the following things on your Tilt:
-Open the keyboard and notice how long it takes to go to landscape
-Fire up TomTom and see how laggy and jerky it is
Play a video (doesnt matter whether it’s TCPMP, CorePlayer or WMP, the latter has the worst performance actually), and notice how it’s sometimes out of sync and how many frames are falling out, even in converted 512 Kbit/s videos.
-Try playing a game
-Try playing a 3D game using OpenGL ES which was advertised as available and notice that it either does not start, or does not use OpenGL
Mike
P.S. Your post DID sound like you’re an HTC employee trying to destroy the credibility of the article. If you are, could you share some insider info please?
January 31st, 2008 at 10:31 pm
I agree. I have a tilt, I use orb. Video works great! It appears someone is getting into the nitty gritty of the hardware specs for some reason
February 1st, 2008 at 12:35 am
You guys are fu**ing stupid. Do you know what video acceleration is? The issue has nothing to do with video playback. Video acceleration has to do with how fast things are drawn to the screen. Have you ever noticed on your tilt when you pull out the keyboard that the screen doesnt update instantly. Yeah, thought so! Before posting stuff you dont know about, read up at this website: http://www.htcclassaction.org/
February 19th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
DJ: Please visit and re-read http://www.htcclassaction.org/
Quoting Chainfire:
“The drivers (small pieces of software that govern your device’s hardware) in question are responsible for all drawing operations. This means absolutely everything having anything to do with putting something on your screen is affected. This includes normal programs, video playback, games, taking pictures, etcetera. If it’s on your screen, it’s affected. This makes the devices feel really slow and unresponsive.”
Video Playback is clearly outlined amoung other issues.
February 20th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Abandon Qualcomm phones.
Check out the newest Nvidia phones!
youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kLFPfaxQ6U&feature=related
Fast 2d, 3d, video!
February 21st, 2008 at 7:21 am