[mythtv-users] PVR350 TVOUT

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Tue Jan 19 15:35:00 UTC 2010


On Monday 18 January 2010 06:55:09 pm Tortise wrote:
> 
> Yes, I'm looking to get simultaneous same program, HD over component, and
>  SD over composite.
> 
> >If so, I don't think a PVR-anything is the right tool to use, I'd use a
> 
> standard video card, using Twinview or whatever they call it these days.
> 
> One NVIDIA card won't do simultaneous component and composite out - the
>  connecters are either /  or, but not both.
> 
> If I used two cards, one with component out and a second with composite out
>  I can use Twin view (as I read the readme documentation each card becomes
>  necessarily dedicated to that use.)
> 
> I currently use two X servers on the 8500, one feeding component to the TV
>  and the second feeding a desktop (VGA) in a 2nd X session.

Remember an X server does not have to be "real". If you have some spare older 
hardware you can run VNC or RDP, and display on a thin client or old laptop, 
no "real" video hardware required at the server end. I realize that's easy for 
me to say: I have a garage full of old machines fully capable of running as 
thin clients or remote X displays.

You can pick up older machines for around $50, or free if you look in the 
right places. The main cost is the display device, but you already have one 
such for the desktop, I assume. Of course you can buy a video card for that 
price, but you may not have enough slots for many video cards.

> 
> Because of the limitation to reproduce all that I'd need (!) 3 video cards,
>  one for component, one for composite and a 3rd for the desktop.    (If my
>  TV took VGA or DVI in would help...)

I guess I've become jaded to TV sets that accept VGA/DVI/HDMI inputs, you're 
correct it would help a lot.

> 
> I've not found out how I'd sync two of those cards, does anyone know?
> 
> Because of the above, siphoning the TV out thru a PVR-350 composite out
>  seems worth further exploration, all be it with some downscaling.  It
>  might not be possible though as the HD video would need to traverse the
>  PCI bus into the PVR-350 in some useable form...

As I understand it you can still use a 350 as an X display driver, sans MPEG 
decoder. This might solve your desktop problem.

You're right that you PCI bus might get busy. There are also PCI cards capable 
of VDPAU, with the same limitation on the bus.


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