To Visa or not to Vista that is the question!

[Crunch]

I just purchased a HD Extender STX-HD100 off eBay and set up was a breeze. I do not fully understand all the DXVA2 support with EVR etc on Vista that is being talked about in the beta release other than less computer resources used and better picture. I tend to just read and wait till there seems to be few problems showing on the forum with a release and then I update. When I see these threads about the benefits of the new beta I am lost and just trust you guys know what you are doing.

My question is, with me switching our house round to where the Sage computer is upstairs in the office and the TV is now run off the Extender, is the better video etc passed down to the extender? Or is the ‘best’ video only possible with the TV connected direct to the computer? Does the computer pass all its benefits and upgrades to the TV running off my extender?

I am running Windows XP but have a retail copy of Vista Ultimate sitting ready to go for my next upgrade. I would have installed it before now but I upgraded our office computer to Vista and played with WMC and my HDHRs, I was not happy. Went straight back to SageTv on my XP computer, thank the gods for SageTV. Question, is there advantages in using Vista now, and are those advantages passed to my TV via my extender?
Thanks

[jerryt]

Originally Posted by Crunch

I just purchased a HD Extender STX-HD100 off eBay and set up was a breeze. I do not fully understand all the DXVA2 support with EVR etc on Vista that is being talked about in the beta release other than less computer resources used and better picture. I tend to just read and wait till there seems to be few problems showing on the forum with a release and then I update. When I see these threads about the benefits of the new beta I am lost and just trust you guys know what you are doing.

My question is, with me switching our house round to where the Sage computer is upstairs in the office and the TV is now run off the Extender, is the better video etc passed down to the extender? Or is the ‘best’ video only possible with the TV connected direct to the computer? Does the computer pass all its benefits and upgrades to the TV running off my extender?

I am running Windows XP but have a retail copy of Vista Ultimate sitting ready to go for my next upgrade. I would have installed it before now but I upgraded our office computer to Vista and played with WMC and my HDHRs, I was not happy. Went straight back to SageTv on my XP computer, thank the gods for SageTV. Question, is there advantages in using Vista now, and are those advantages passed to my TV via my extender?
Thanks

Advantage of EVR with Vista is not passed to a HD-100, and the HD-100 does not need the help.

EVR is part of a software directshow decoder system, the HD-100 used a hardware decoder.

[redondo_se]

It will not help you with an extender, only for playback on a PC.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by jerryt

EVR is part of a software directshow decoder system, the HD-100 used a hardware decoder.

When the EVR is used with a video card and a video decoder cable of hardware decoding the software part is mostly just for controlling the process. Modern video cards coupled with quality decoders and the EVR produce excellent PQ.

I don't have an HD extender, so I can't say if the PQ is better on the extender v. a properly configured PC. When I migrated from XP to Vista, the improvement in PQ was evident immediately. There are other reasons why Vista is a better choice for a HTPC v. XP (better audio stack is one).

Personally, the flexibility and extensibility of a PC (adding new features and capabilities is easy) outweighs the ease of installation that a CE style extender provides.