[mythtv-users] pcHDTV w/ MythTV

[Jarod C. Wilson]

On Feb 16, 2004, at 21:17, Curtis Wood wrote:

> Thanx for the reply...

No problem.

> On Monday 16 February 2004 10:51 pm, Jarod C. Wilson wrote:
>> On Feb 16, 2004, at 16:44, Penguin Man wrote:
>>> 	I've got a pIV 2.4g cpu sitting on an ASUS mb, Im thinking about
>>> upgrading my
>>> hardware to an NVidia card an the pcHDTV card. I've got my setup 
>>> hooked
>>> directly upto my HDTV set via DVI and the ATI8500 (960x540i).
>>
>> I think you mean 960x540p.
>
> Sorry - 960x540 @ 1080i

To be precise, you're running a progressive-scan resolution of 960x540, 
and the TV can't tell the difference between 540p and 1080i, because 
all it knows is that it is getting 540 lines per frame.

> I saw in one of the other threads about needing a P 3g-HT machine to 
> do this
> on? Is this true?

With hardware assistance (nVidia XvMC), you can get by with less (like 
2.4GHz, IIRC), but the quality is somewhat diminished. Otherwise, yes, 
3.0GHz. :-\

> Also, this may be a bad question because of the differences in TV 
> sets, but
> will the NVidia card be a better choice for this? 1) I saw on the 
> pcHDTV site
> that performance is improved with the nv cards? That and maybe the more
> important question

Yeah, that would be the hardware assistance I just mentioned.

> 2) will I be able to get a better resoloution from the
> nv card - like the 1920x1080? Isn't that what I would need to display 
> the HD
> streams?

At the moment, nVidia's Linux drivers don't support interlaced modes, 
so no 1920x1080i. Supposedly, the next release, due by the end of 
March, will feature interlaced mode support. At the moment, your best 
bet is either 960x540p or 1280x720p (if your set supports it) with an 
nVidia card. There is some initial support for 1080i modes in the 
latest winischhofer SiS driver, but I'm still waiting on my SiS Xabre 
to show up to actually try it out. I've found ATI cards to be crapola 
for HD playback, regardless of which drivers you use... :-\

I'd stick with nVidia, use whatever rez you can right now, and wait for 
full-out 1080i support in a month or two.

>>> I currently have the PVR250 card and it seems to work pretty well,
>>> it would be very nice to be able to get that kind of quality from the
>>> pcHDTV
>>> - is that even possible?
>>
>> What exactly do you mean by "that kind of quality"? The quality of the
>> video captured by a pcHDTV card BLOWS AWAY the video captured by a
>> PVR-250. If you mean quality as far as stability, it isn't quite as
>> good, but steadily improving.
>
> That is kind of a bad question - what I meant was the smoothness of 
> the 250,
> it has the encoder on baord, so its not a capture card - does the 
> pcHDTV
> stream mpeg2 or capture like a normal tv card? It seems that from some 
> of the
> responces I've seen and on the pcHDTV site, it streams mpeg2 like the 
> 250
> does...

It isn't quite like either the 250 or NTSC bttv cards. There is no 
encoding done, hardware or software. You simply tune into an mpeg2-ts, 
and dump it to disk. It was broadcast already encoded, so all you have 
to do is put the bits on your hard drive.

-- 
Jarod C. Wilson, RHCE

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