[mythtv-users] Initial foray into Mythtv

[Fred Squires]

> I agree about that nVidia Ion, I'm anxious to see how it turns out.  I have
> heard some initial reports, however, that indicate it may not be as saucy as
> it appears.  I hope they are preemptive, but then all reports at this point
> are somewhat ahead of their time.  I don't mind spending some money now to
> learn how to work with MythTV and then replace the hardware in the future if
> the Ion, or something like it.  In any case, I would think that those kinds
> of systems would need a backend...and thus the role for my computer now :)
> Of course, being green, I may have some false assumptions lurking in that
> opinion.

The thing you need to realize about the Ion is that it's a relatively
slow processor paired with a fast video card. Most of the complaints
against it (that I've heard anyway) are about CPU intensive
activities, like playing Hulu, and other flash video. Currently flash
is not hardware accelerated, and is therefore slow on an Ion Box. The
typical use in a MythTV box (at least my typical use) will be playing
back HD/SD mpeg2 and h264 video, which can be played back in hardware
with vdpau.

So, while the Ion might not be perfect for every use, it looks like
it'll be great for a MythTV Frontend.