[mythtv-users] A noob question regarding hardware req. andhardwarecodecs

[Joseph A. Caputo]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
> [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org]On Behalf Of John Wells
> Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 1:32 PM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Cc: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] A noob question regarding hardware req.
> andhardwarecodecs
>
>
> Joseph:
>
> Joseph A. Caputo said:
> > Probably not with your current hardware.  Possibly with a
> hardware encoder
> > (see below).
> > General rule of thumb: ~1GHz per encoding stream, + at ~500MHz for
> > playback.
> > I've got an Athlon XP 1600+ handling a single V4L tuner, which is just
> > about
> > enough power.  It'd be nice to have a little more breathing
> room, though.
> > I
> > definitely couldn't handle 2 V4L tuners without *really* sacrificing
> > quality.
> >
> >> 2.  If I buy a hardware encoder like the Haupauge 250 or 350, what sort
> >> of
> >> effect will that have on CPU requirements?  Assuming a purchase of one
> >> of
> >> those cards, what CPU could I get buy with?
> >
> > A hardware MPEG encoder reduces the encoding load on your processor to
> > virtually nothing.  Thus, with such a setup you really only
> need a system
> > that can handle full screen MPEG-2 decoding & playback.  A
> PIII-500 might
> > be
> > OK there.
>
> Based on your above comments, and based on what I have now, if I buy a
> Hauppauge PVR-250 or 350 and use the current ATI TV wonder as my second
> tuner, am I correct in assuming that having only one PVR-250/350 will
> force me to still have at least a 1 GHZ processor for recording and
> watching live tv at the same time?

If you want to be able to simultaneously record with both tuners while
watching one playback stream (as you've indicated), then yes.  Some people
have reported being able to do LiveTV (single record/playback) with as
little as 700MHz (without a hardware encoder), if they crank down the
capture resolution to 320x240 and use RTjpeg.  For the combination of
hardware & desired capabilities that you've described, you probably want
somewhere in the 1-1.5 GHz range to be comfortable.  Also, keep in mind that
because they use MPEG-2, the hardware MPEG cards produce very large files
(~6 GB/hr), so that 40GB HD might fill up awfully fast...

-JAC