Placeshifting HDTV

[mikejaner]

Is anybody placshifting HDTV recordings with smooth playback etc?
I ask this because I have a lowly 1.8ghz box as my server in the basement, and it does SDTV placeshifting just fine, but HDTV is jerky and studdery. I totally expect this with the lack of power I have in that box, but before I invest in an upgrade, I kinda want to know what power it would take to make it reincode the HD streams smoothly, or if it works at all.

[ldavis]

Is anybody placshifting HDTV recordings with smooth playback etc?
I ask this because I have a lowly 1.8ghz box as my server in the basement, and it does SDTV placeshifting just fine, but HDTV is jerky and studdery. I totally expect this with the lack of power I have in that box, but before I invest in an upgrade, I kinda want to know what power it would take to make it reincode the HD streams smoothly, or if it works at all.

Well, I can confirm 2.4 GHz overclocked to 2.7 is not enough!!:(

[SD_Entertainmnt]

With My s754 A64 3000+ server, 720p is almost tolerable, however 1080i is no hope.

[Narflex]

It works fine for me on a 3.0GHz HT P4 w/ 1GB RAM. If you've got a fast machine and are having issues with this, please submit a bug report.

[ldavis]

It works fine for me on a 3.0GHz HT P4 w/ 1GB RAM. If you've got a fast machine and are having issues with this, please submit a bug report.

Narflex,

Is there any way to tap into the HW acceleration of our video cards to do the decoding. Obviously, this would not work if the server is being used for playback at the time but it sure would make HD placeshifting a possiblity for everyone.

[paulbeers]

Mike -

So are you actually trying to play HDTV on your server? I don't see any video card listed on your server specs. A lot of HDTV and "how much power do I need" need to be answered depending on what you are trying to do. What do I mean? 720P, 1080i, 1080P? Overlay vs. FSE? What codecs are you using on your server? I am using a simple Sempron 2600+ and a geforce 6600 (non-GT) with cyberlink codecs and am able to pull off 1080i with overlay and the cpu hoversf rom 40-55%. I have only seen it cross 60% once or twice. If I use the sage codecs that come with Sage, forget it. Won't work. SOL. If I use FSE, forget it. SOL. Maybe I am just lucky, but I doubt it.

[mikejaner]

Mike -

So are you actually trying to play HDTV on your server? I don't see any video card listed on your server specs. A lot of HDTV and "how much power do I need" need to be answered depending on what you are trying to do. What do I mean? 720P, 1080i, 1080P? Overlay vs. FSE? What codecs are you using on your server? I am using a simple Sempron 2600+ and a geforce 6600 (non-GT) with cyberlink codecs and am able to pull off 1080i with overlay and the cpu hoversf rom 40-55%. I have only seen it cross 60% once or twice. If I use the sage codecs that come with Sage, forget it. Won't work. SOL. If I use FSE, forget it. SOL. Maybe I am just lucky, but I doubt it.

No, I am not trying to play HD on my server. As a matter of fact, I have not opened the SageTV interface on that server in about a year or so. It sits in a closet under my stairs with all of the tuners etc.... I don't even remember what video card it has.
I watch HDTV with my client box in the living room. I figure the 1.8Ghz proc is not enough to decode and reincode for the placeshifter, I just wanted to know if anybody was placeshifting HD content with a higher end processor, which Jeff confirmed this weekend. I would imagine the placeshifter is using mplayer, and whatever codec built into it for decoding and reincoding the streams, so video card, decoders etc.. would not matter in this type of situation. It would all come down to horsepower. Correct me if I am wrong Jeff.