[mythtv-users] zbox as a frontend: ID41 vs ID80

Steven Adeff adeffs.mythtv at gmail.com
Fri Apr 5 16:10:00 UTC 2013


On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 10:21 AM, Paul Gardiner <lists at glidos.net> wrote:
> On 05/04/2013 15:04, Steven Adeff wrote:
>> On Fri, Apr 5, 2013 at 6:54 AM, Paul Gardiner <lists at glidos.net
>> <mailto:lists at glidos.net>> wrote:
>>
>>     About to give in, and update my current ION1 frontend
>>     to a zbox. Just looking for some advice on which to
>>     choose. I may need to hurry if I want an ID41.
>>
>>     I'm mainly wondering if a GT520M in any way produces
>>     higher quality than an ION2 (e.g., maybe using more bits
>>     in transformations).
>>
>>     P.
>>
>>
>> what is your definition of "higher quality" in this context?
>> the visual output should be the same, sometimes absolute
>> brightness/contrast levels might be different because of the chipset, or
>> other factors, but I don't think it they will be so different as to be
>> of concern.
>
>
> I was just wondering if any one had seen both and felt they noticed
> a visual difference. I suppose it is unlikely that anyone would have
> had the chance to compare, although someone might have compared an
> ION1 with nvidia cards.

I've compared my two ION1 systems with my GT220 and did not
immediately notice any "quality" differences outside the deinterlacing
difference. Color quality and decoding quality generally looked the
same. This is, of course, using HDMI, to my 50" Panasonic plasma in
the living room.


>> I believe the 520 has a newer "version" of the vdpau/purevideo hardware
>> and can decode more codecs in hardware(if that matters I would look into
>> that further). both will pass through the new higher bitrate audio codecs.
>>
>> Neither is fast enough for Advanced 2x deinterlacing, however most
>> people see no difference between them in their normal tv watching
>> between Advanced 2x and the other deinterlacing options. (however, if
>> you watch a lot of sports and your TV's post-processing interferes, you
>> may notice some jutter).
>
>
> I didn't realise that. Advanced 2x was one of the benefits I was hoping
> to have over my current ION1. I thought I'd seen claims of people having
> it working on ION2.

it will work for slower scenes, but faster motion will show that the
chipset just isn't fast enough to properly support it, which is when
you most need the advantages of Advanced 2x. the ION2 may be slightly
better than the ION1, but nowhere near fast enough to get the most
benefit of Advanced 2X during faster motion.


>> Both should do fine at hardware scaling and like deinterlacing show no
>> generally noticeable difference.
>
>
> That was the other benefit I was after. At the moment, I do notice a
> slight improvement in using variable screen modes and allowing my TV to
> do the scaling, but then I have the annoyance of the flickering as the
> HDMI connection changes mode. I'd like to stick in 1080p continually,
> but then it's a shame to lose quality for non-HD broadcasts.

Are you currently using the ION1? Do you have VDPAU scaling enabled?
(I know you had to explicitly enable it on older MythTV builds, not
sure if newer builds enable it by default?)

I only have one ION1 system connected to a 1080p screen, 27", with
VDPAU scaling enabled I can't tell the difference, but that's not
saying much.

>> The ID80 should be marginally faster for non-video decoding things like
>> the menu interface and such, if that is of concern and worth the
>> potential price difference.
>>
>> Which, in the end I would be more concerned with, which one is cheaper ;-)
>
> I think you are right, and keeping my current ION1 sounds nice and
> cheap. :-) And it's silent.
>
> Thanks. Maybe you've saved me some unnecessary expense.

oh, you already own the ION1! just keep it, unless you've got it
connected to a 50+" high quality tv no reason to spend any money, and
the ID80 won't be enough of an improvement to matter.


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