sagetv 4.1 on PC.. over 50% cpu usage... AMD X2 3800+

[cyr0n_k0r]

When in full screen watching TV on my brand new install of Windows XP SP2 on a AMD X2 3800+ I am seeing OVER 50% sustained cpu usage.
If I take the window down to 640x480 my cpu goes to about 20-25%

This can't be normal. I have 2GB of ram running on a Geforce 7800GT

Why am I seeing this much cpu usage. If I recall SAGETV advertised only like 5% cpu usage on their product page.

any suggestions. (this is a brand new fresh install of XP Pro SP2)

[amac]

Why not describe more of your hardware? Which encoder are you using might be a good start?

When recording, my CPU utilization is typically 3% and when playing it's around 20-23%. I never watch TV on a monitor, always standard TV. I use video overlay, have motion compensation turned on, no 3D acceleration, no FSE (full screen exclusive). I'm very happy with that setup and can easily do other work on the computer at the same time.

We really do need a "best practice setup" sticky thread for a few configurations (e.g., viewing on a PC only, viewing on a standard TV only, viewing HD, viewing thru a Sage client, viewing thru an MVP, ...), each with suggested registry tweaks, Sage settings, and video encoder tweaks. All of these are in one thread or another, but it takes a new member a while to research all of them.

My config:
Win2k, Java 1_4_2
Sage 4.1.6
1 Ghz Duron, 512MB
Radeon 9200 with svideo out for TV (TV is primary monitor, no secondary attach)
250GB HD, 64K cluster
Hauppauge PVR150 video encoder with IR/Blaster
Lots of ethernet cables, no wireless, no clients ...

[Opus4]

Among other things, if the TV is the secondary monitor & you are using VMR9 playback, cpu usage could be very high. In this case, make the TV the primary monitor in Windows' Display Properties -> Settings.

- Andy

[cyr0n_k0r]

Originally Posted by Opus4

Among other things, if the TV is the secondary monitor & you are using VMR9 playback, cpu usage could be very high. In this case, make the TV the primary monitor in Windows' Display Properties -> Settings.

- Andy

this is how I have it setup. My TV monitor is set as the secondary display, but I dont want to make it my primary. And I am using the VMR9.

Would turning down the quality or using a different overlay bring down the cpu usage?

This setup is running on a PC that I use for other tasks aswell, so I need SAGETV to only use about 5-10% of the cpu.

[AboveUnrefined]

You can't have the TV as secondary or it will eat all the CPU time, it'll do it for most other videos playing on that secondary display -- I guess it has to do with some accellerations not being able to be implemented or just a plain bug with nVidia/Windows/DirectX. Cloning the displays and having the video mirrored on the TV as fullscreen will not result in high cycle usage or just setting the tv to primary will do it, you will have to keep sage in the foreground to keep the mirroring working correctly though. You can use GeoShell or something else to put your taskbar somewhere else if you can't do it with explorer. Also, if you're using a standard TV all you need is 640x480 res as that is the max any standard tv can really handle anyway (I believe the native res on a standard tv signal is 320x240, not 100% on that one)

[Wheemer]

The Nvidia drivers will enable opening windows and moving the taskbar to your monitor when it's the secondary display.

There's no way around it, you have to make the TV out your primary.

[Opus4]

If you turn off 3D Acceleration & use Overlay instead of VMR9, you can run it on the secondary screen w/o too much cpu usage -- that seems to use the same cpu on my 2nd monitor as on my primary monitor in my office. I have an AMD x2 4400 w/a 7800GT for that PC & cpu time seems to vary between 12-22% during full screen 1600x1200 and 1920x1200 res playback. 640x480 uses less cpu, of course.

- Andy

[waylo]

I've been having similar problems (not just with SageTV but also similar programs such as BeyondTV) in setting up the ATI HDTV Wonder/Blunder I just purchased. I'm routinely getting 90%-100% cpu utilization. Really have to shut off most any other programs to get SageTV to run anything close to acceptable. The only program that's given ~20% cpu utilization is WatchHDTV, a really stripped down but very smooth freeware program that works wonders.

I'm guessing you all are pulling in SDTV signal?

Currently, I've turned off 3d acceleration, using Intervideo audio/video processing. Seems to work the best so far. Any other suggestions? I guess I will attempt to bumble through these forums.

My system:
AMD Athon XP 3000+
1gb ram
ATI HDTV Wonder
ATI 9800 SE Pro

Primary monitor: Dell 2405fpw