What if I wanted to run a HD-PVR without an HD200?

[tvmaster2]

So, if I wanted to run a HD-PVR without a HD200, aka, play the files directly from my server to my LCD, what would be the minimum cpu, video card, etc, that would be needed?

Dual core I assume, but what kind of video card ram - 512?
And should the video card (or IGP) be output via a HDMI? I am still unsure how and where all the gear is going, and it may be that I don't need the HD200 front end. And that being the case, is the "playback" of the h.264 files done through the Sage interface, or thru some third party app like Windows Media Player.

[stanger89]

You'll want a dual core and something with H.264 accelleration, like an ATI 3000 series or better or an nVidia 9000 series or better. And you may want to shoot for mid range at least, especially if you're recording 1080i since only the higher end stuff has the good deinterlacing.

FWIW, my desktop is a Core i7 920 and a GeForce 9600GT in Windows 7. And there's something funky with the playback, it's jerky, where my HD200 is perfect.

[bhyman1]

Originally Posted by stanger89

FWIW, my desktop is a Core i7 920 and a GeForce 9600GT in Windows 7. And there's something funky with the playback, it's jerky, where my HD200 is perfect.

Then something is up with your setup. My N330 Atom/ION board from Zotac can handle HD-PVR stuff with no problem Win 7

I'm using CoreAVC, FFDShow for audio, and the beta files for Windows 7. Works like a champ.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by bhyman1

Then something is up with your setup.

Agreed, CPU usage is nil. The point was more about the fact that by trying to avoid buying an HD200, you're going to spend close to as much on hardware, and are more likely to have issues that aren't easilly resolved.

[Chriscic]

My HD-PVR recorded files play back great without hardware acceleration (using FFDShow) on my Core I7. But for some reason it played back like crud on my prior Core 2 Duo.

Anyway just get a card with video acceleration and you will be good. Even my old P4 single core CPU plays back the HD-PVR files great using the ATI 2600pro.

[bhyman1]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Agreed, CPU usage is nil. The point was more about the fact that by trying to avoid buying an HD200, you're going to spend close to as much on hardware, and are more likely to have issues that aren't easilly resolved.

Can't disagree with that. Furthermore, the only reason I didn't just buy an HD200 was so I could access other content I can't through sage.

[SWKerr]

If you get hardware acceleration working with the video card then the cpu will be relativly meaningless to playback. Hardware acceleration is by no means a given as codec and driver support varies. My best experence with sage has been the ATI 4550 ($45). I also just bought a AMD 785G motherboard and it works great with overlay in Sage but EVR is a little jumpy right now. (Windows7)

I would not necessarily ignore the cpu as hardware support for Silverlight and Flash seems tricky. Any cheap dual core AMD or Intel cpu will work right now.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

If you get hardware acceleration working with the video card then the cpu will be relativly meaningless to playback. Hardware acceleration is by no means a given as codec and driver support varies. My best experence with sage has been the ATI 4550 ($45). I also just bought a AMD 785G motherboard and it works great with overlay in Sage but EVR is a little jumpy right now. (Windows7)

I would not necessarily ignore the cpu as hardware support for Silverlight and Flash seems tricky. Any cheap dual core AMD or Intel cpu will work right now.

Did you buy a gigabyte 785 board, with the ATI 4200? If so, how's the IGP? Or did you throw in an external video card?

[camus]

Not that I would recomend the setup but I have been playing HD-PVR recordings with a 4670 on a Athlon 3000 system.

Moral of the story, it is all GPU and codec.

[SWKerr]

This is a GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H with and AMD X3 710 cpu and 4GB DDR2 800. (Motherboard $80, Memory $52, less Newegg bundle discount $20. The X3 710 was $99) Add Case, PSU, DVD and Harddrive and you have a new machine.

I use the built-in video with HDMI to my main monitor (23" LCD) and VGA to a second 17" LCD. The 23" will run 1920x1080P. This is not really a HTPC build but my main desktop but I do run SageTV for testing an watching TV on the smaller monitor while I work (News).

This setup is Windows7 RC with the latest ATI drivers. It did overclock it slightly to 2.9ghz and used the bios hack to open up the 4th core. I also overclocked the video from 700ghz to 900ghz. This is all very simple in the Gigabyte bios.

I install the Arcsoft TME (Full version) and the K-lite codec pack. It all runs very stable and is probably the easiest build I have ever done. I control Sage with a old Firefly remote and Eventghost. I have also tested Netflix and the Hulu client and they all run well.

The only thing I have noticed is that in Sage EVR does not playback smoothly. The same file will work fine in EVR in Graphstudio so I expect that this is something that will eventually be fixed. Overlay works perfectly in Sage. The Hardware acceleration works with the Arcsoft codec as well as the Cyberlink I tested with and CPU usage is minimal during playback. (I did throw in the ATI 4550 from an HTPC rig temporarily to see if it fixed the EVR problem and it did)

I have converted BluRay rips with Megui but have not had a chance to do video editing yet but it is much faster than my old box so I expect I will be happy with it as well.

My main HTPC builds are older 780G machines with AMD X2 4550 and ATI 4550 video cards. They worked ok with overlay with the onboard video but adding the ATI 4550 was worth it as everything runs flawless in EVR and Sage. At $45 I bought a second one for my other HTPC box.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

This is a GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H with and AMD X3 710 cpu and 4GB DDR2 800. (Motherboard $80, Memory $52, less Newegg bundle discount $20. The X3 710 was $99) Add Case, PSU, DVD and Harddrive and you have a new machine. <snip>

So, if performance and money were your two main goals, would it be better to pick up an older 780 motherboard with an ATI 4550 as opposed to a newer 785 card with built-in graphics?

[SWKerr]

The cost difference between a 780G and a 785G is minimal. I would go with the 785G. You can always add a video card later should you have problems.

Since it is so new I expected some minor issues and I would expect the issue with the 785G and EVR in Sage will be fixed at some point. Fact is overlay works fine for me, I don't notice a difference with EVR in everyday use. That said the ATI 4550 works perfectly today with everything I have thrown at it and it is only $45 for a passively cooled card. If you have a high end surround sound system I would go with the 4550 but if you just have the normal 5.1 surround sound setup or nothing at all I would just use the on board from the 785G.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

The cost difference between a 780G and a 785G is minimal. I would go with the 785G. You can always add a video card later should you have problems.

Since it is so new I expected some minor issues and I would expect the issue with the 785G and EVR in Sage will be fixed at some point. Fact is overlay works fine for me, I don't notice a difference with EVR in everyday use. That said the ATI 4550 works perfectly today with everything I have thrown at it and it is only $45 for a passively cooled card. If you have a high end surround sound system I would go with the 4550 but if you just have the normal 5.1 surround sound setup or nothing at all I would just use the on board from the 785G.

Which HD 4550 card did you use, the Sapphire?

[SWKerr]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Which HD 4550 card did you use, the Sapphire?

SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB (Have two)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

SAPPHIRE 100252HDMI Radeon HD 4550 512MB (Have two)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102819

Great, that's the one I currently have in my newegg cart - any heat problems, or the need for noisy extra fans due to the passivity?

[SWKerr]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

Great, that's the one I currently have in my newegg cart - any heat problems, or the need for noisy extra fans due to the passivity?

Nothing. Put it in works fine.