[mythtv-users] Frontend box PII-450 too slow to view MPEG-2?

[Alan Snyder]

> 
> I read the hardware section
> (http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-3.html#ss3.1)
> on the main mythtv page, but it doesn't mention my
> specific hardware.  Anyone out there using a PII-450
> or something else similarly underpowered?  
> 
> All I want this system to do is act as a frontend and
> play MPEG-2 files (5000 kbps/7500 max) my backend
> server's PVR-250 has created.  When I try to view
> them, the video and audio is very choppy.  Is this
> setup just too slow, or is there some setting I should
> enable?
> 
> Hardware specs: PII-450 on a 440BX board.  Onboard 4
> meg S3 Trio 3D video, 512 meg EDO RAM, 12 gig HD (I
> think it's ATA/33 since that's all the BIOS can
> support but I do not know for sure), SB Live and 3COM
> 10/100 NIC.
> 

As just mentioned in another thread, I have a PII-450 that plays 576x432
mpeg-4 video (around 2000 kpbs) at around 20% CPU and plays DVDs just fine.

Is your 3COM NIC working at 100 Mbps?  I have an old 3COM card in this
machine and it originally came up at 10 (not to mention that some of the old
3COM cards seem to have problems).

Video drivers could also be an issue.  I was very surprised that the old
Voodoo Banshee card in this machine worked so well.  You might check whether
a chipset-specific driver is loading for the S3 card.