[mythtv-users] MPEG Hardware decoding

[Edward Wildgoose]

> >As for how the mpeg decoder works, this is mainly done in software and output to a 
> >window on the screen in X.  However, there is some support for using a card called 
> >a PVR350.  In this case the decoder seems to be broadly working in the same way as 
> >before, except that you effectively have a second video card in the pc, choosing 
> >to output myth through the "second" video card will result in lower cpu usage 
> >because the card can offload some of the mpeg processing requirements.
>
> But in that case the running video and UI would have to go to different 
> output
> devices, or not? So this would be a case of computer-monitor-next-to-TV or
> GUI-only-via-TV-out-on-another-channel-of-the-TV or
> control-via-webbrowser-from-an-IPaq :-).

Nope, it really is working as a kind of second graphics card.  You can run X and everything on it as I understand (although no doubt various accelerations dont work, so I guess running Quake wouldn't work very well...?)

The tv quality is usually very high out of these kinds of TV card because the hardware sync's clock signals and handles scaling in a decent way.  Probably you will find this a higher quality output method than the TV out from your video card.  However, support is still at an early stage.

To be honest if you just want DVB based tv, output to an analogue TV screen, timeshifting and you don't have DVB-T, (ie you have satellite, or cable) then VDR is probably a better tool for you.  It has very low resource requirements, and can load the EPG automatically from the broadcast data.  Hopefully Myth will catch up at some point, but Myth's advantage is in the eye candy and all the other functions that it offers, eg weather, music, etc

Hope that helps

Ed W