DVD Playback

Both systems are capable of DVD playback but at 60 percent average CPU usage for the EPIA, it doesn't look too rosy. We were unable to switch on hardware acceleration in PowerDVD 7 Ultra, with the software saying it was not supported in the drivers. Assuming it was a problem with compatibility with PowerDVD, we asked Cyberlink and were informed that the acceleration is a standard DirectX enabling in the video drivers. We checked with VIA and company representatives couldn't understand the problem either: we had used the latest VIA Hyperion drivers and the rest from the CD supplied with the board which should have worked.

The AMD 690G chipset required updating to the latest Catalyst 7.7 IGP drivers in order to enable hardware acceleration correctly. With older drivers we suffered stuttering playback that made it un-watchable with hardware acceleration on. However, by turning video acceleration off, the problem was cured and CPU usage jumped to just 12 percent.

DivX (MPEG-4) Playback

The systems are leagues apart. For reference, that's 0.5, 2.6 and 1.8 percent from the BE-2350 CPU. In comparison the VIA EPIA EX 15000G just about plays 720p MPEG-4 DivX and is completely unwatchable at 1080p. The EPIA EX is rated to handle 1080i MPEG-2 playback, which is 1.125 times more intensive than 720p, so it should just be able to achieve this. All 720p TVs should do 1080i, however you've still got to be careful of your bit rate.