What is Intel® Clear Video Technology?
Intel Clear Video Technology is a collection of video playback and enhancement features to improve the end user’s viewing experience. It is supported by the Intel® G31, G33, G35, G41, G43, G45, GL40, GM45, GS45, G965, GL960, and GM965 Express Chipsets. Read more about Intel® Clear Video Technology.
Latest versions of the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver provides end-user settings to configure individual features of Intel Clear Video Technology on Windows Vista* and Windows* 7. These settings are not available with the graphics drivers for Windows* XP. These configurable settings are available on three tabs accessible via the driver’s Video Settings button (see Figure 1):
- Video Quality Tab: To improve video playback quality.
- Color Control Tab: To improve video playback color quality.
- Video Scaling Tab: To allow 4:3 aspect ratio content to seamlessly scale-up for playback on wide screen (16:9) displays.
Settings on these tabs are applicable system-wide. The graphics driver does not support per user settings for Intel Clear Video Technology.
Note: Some tabs or settings may not be available. For example, only the Color Control tab is available on the Intel G31 and G33 Express Chipsets. A computer manufacturer may customize tabs by making the following changes:
- Enable/disable the Video Settings button.
- Enable/disable parts of the Video Quality, Color Control, or Video Scaling tabs.
- Include additional video color profiles on the Color Control tab.
- Predefine the values on the Video Quality, Color Control, or Video Scaling tabs.
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Does my computer support Intel Clear Video Technology?
The Video Settings button is only displayed on chipsets supporting Intel Clear Video Technology and using latest version of the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator Driver. These settings are not available on Windows XP.
Supported chipsets include: Intel® G31, G33, G35, G41, G43, G45, GL40, GM45, GS45, G965, GL960, and GM965 Express Chipsets.
Chipsets that do not support Intel Clear Video Technology include: Intel® Q33, Q35, Q43, Q45, Q963, and Q965 Express Chipsets.
To identify your chipset, see How to identify your Intel chipset.
To check your driver version, see Do I have the latest Intel graphics driver?
If you have verified that you are using a supported chipset and driver version, check the Intel Graphics Driver Properties window to see if the Intel Clear Video Technology controls are available:
- Open the Intel Graphics Properties. This can be done using one of several different methods:
Hot Key Method:
Press Ctrl + Alt + F12 keys to open the Intel Graphics Driver Properties window.
Desktop Menu Method:
Right-click on the Windows* desktop and click Graphics Properties .
System Tray Icon Menu Method:
Locate the icon for the Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator Driver in the system tray of the Windows* taskbar. The system tray is the area of the taskbar that displays the current time. In the system tray area, right-click on the icon and then click Graphics Properties .
Display Control Panel Method:
- Click Start .
- Click Control Panel .
- Click Appearance and Personalization » Personalization (or click Classic View and then double-click on Personalization ).
- Click Display Settings .
- Click Advanced Settings .
- Click the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator Driver tab.
- Click the Graphics Properties button
On the Display Devices tab, check the availability of the Video Settings button (see Figure 1).
For newer driver check the availability of the Media button (see Figure 1a).
Note: If you do not have a Video Settings or Media button, the feature is not enabled on your computer. The Video Settings feature may be disabled by your computer manufacturer.
Figure 1: Video Settings Button
Figure 1a: Media Button
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Can I improve the quality of my video playback using this technology?
The Video Quality tab (see Figure 2 or Figure 2a for newer drivers) allows you to configure advanced de-interlacing, picture sharpness, and noise reduction. These features are primarily focused on improving quality of a video playback.
Note: Some Video Quality settings may not be available if not supported by the computer’s chipset.
Figure 2: Video Quality Tab
Figure 2: Image Enhancement Tab
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Will this technology let me change display colors and the color quality of my video playback?
The Color Control tab (Figure 3, for newer drivers Figure 3a) allows you to configure video visual attributes such as brightness, contrast, hue and saturation through the Processing Amplifier (ProcAmp). ProcAmp is an amplifier designed to adjust video visual attributes, such as brightness, contrast, hue and saturation.
This tab also allows you to select color profiles which provide pre-configured values for each video visual attribute. By default, four color profiles are provided and optimized for the following playback scenarios:
- Sports
- Dark Movie
- Normal Movie
- Animation
Note: A computer manufacturer may define more color profiles as needed.
Figure 3: Color Control Tab
Figure 3a: Color Enhancement Tab
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Can I change the aspect ratio for my widescreen display using this technology?
The Video Scaling tab (see Figures 4 & 5, for newer drivers Figures 4a) allows you to enable and configure various settings of Non-Linear Anamorphic Scaling (NLAS). NLAS scales content with 4:3 aspect ratio to widescreen displays with 16:9 aspect ratio while minimizing the loss of image quality.
Figure 4: Video Scaling Tab with Scaling Disabled
Figure 4a: Image Scaling Tab
Figure 5: Video Scaling Tab with Scaling Enabled
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How can I preview the changes I have made to the tab settings?
Use the Preview Section to get real-time feedback on the changes made to the Video Quality, Color Control, and Video Scaling tabs (see Figures 6, 7, & 8 and for newer drivers Figures 6a, 7a, & 8a). Preview allows you to optimally configure each Intel Clear Video Technology feature. Preview is provided to view via Picture-in-Picture mode using static bitmaps.
You can select one bitmap from a group of three different bitmaps for Picture-in-Picture preview. The Graphics Properties application processes the bitmap in the outer window to represent your new settings, irrespective of whether the new settings have been applied. The bitmap in the inset window reflects your current (already applied) settings.
Figure 6: Preview in Video Quality dialog box
Figure 7: Preview in Color Control dialog box
Figure 8: Preview in Video Scaling dialog box
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Operating System:
| Windows Vista 64*, Windows Vista*, Windows Vista 32*, Windows 7*, Windows 7, 32-bit*, Windows 7, 64-bit* |
This applies to:
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