Originally Posted by Sourceforge
Modern graphics card offer the possibility to decode partially or completely a video stream using DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA), in order to reduce CPU usage dramatically. MPC-HC includes an embedded video decoder that uses this technology, to decode H.264 and VC-1 with hardly any CPU time required.
Unfortunately the MPC-HC decoder only supports the "bitstream mode" at this stage, which means that only the most recent graphic cards are supported :
* nVidia series 8(9)xxx for H.264 only
* ATI Radeon HD series for H.264 and VC-1 decoding
"Motion compensation" mode might be added in the future to increase compatibility with older graphic cards, but I cannot promise anything. Mpeg2 and WMV accelerations are not supported either.