[mythtv-users] PVR-350 vs PVR-250 + GeForce4MX
Steve Dobson
steve.dobson at uthink.co.uk
Wed May 19 18:18:44 EDT 2004
Micah
On Wed, May 19, 2004 at 04:34:56PM -0400, Micah wrote:
> I'm rolling around the idea of putting together a dedicated Myth box, and I'm
> trying to nail down my choice of hardware.
>
> My current problem is deciding between a PVR-350 or a PVR-250 + GeForce4MX
> with TV-out.
>
> My issues and priorities are in this order:
> 1. Stability <-- Highest priority
> 2. Ease of setup
> 3. Image quality
>
> I was leaning heavily toward the PVR-350 because it simply seems better suited
> to a dedicated Myth box. However, after reading Jarod's guide, it seems that
> stability and ease of setup are issues with the PVR-350.
There is a reported race condition where the sound encoding may not get
configured correctly. I believe this is being worked upon, and in the
mean time a reboot is need to fix is. Once up and working, however, I've
found the system to be stable - so it is only a minor niggle.
> I will be using composite TV-out. I don't have S-video on my TV. Future
> TVs will probably have S-video or better.
I've had both working and have found both to be acceptable (on my 50Hz PAL
Sony widescreen telly).
> * I want to be able to use the console emulators. I don't know if they can
> leverage the 3D capabilities of a video card (like the GeForce). Can they?
Haven't explored this, and I'm not sure I have XF86 configured correctly.
But if this is to be a "dedicated Myth box" then why do you need 3D
capabilities?
> * My Linux knowledge is spotty at best. I have compiled kernels and such, but
> not much more. I still don't understand things like KDE vs Gnome, X-Windows,
> etc. I am an experienced Linux user, not admin.
You don't need to run either KDE or Gnome - X yes - but it is very easy to
configure. Currently I am running a window manager (sawfish) but that is
only to help while I develop the platform.
> * The addition of the GeForce would take up the AGP slot, so I'm not losing
> any PCI slots by putting it in.
The system I'm putting together is based on miniITX - so I only have the one
PCI slot to play with - with a cheap CPU/motherboard (Via EPIA 5000) the
PVR-350 is the better option.
> So, any advice would be quite helpful.
Well you have my $0.02 worth :-)
Steve
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