Upgrade advice

[spotslayer]

Hi guys, I hope all had a merry Christmas. I just got around to fixin up my mythbox. There had been an auto update that sort of hosed things up. I have a furlough until the 4th so I went to work. I have a pvr-1212 ordered from Amazon and need suggestions on making some other upgrades. I currently have two pvr 150's in my box and would like suggestions or ideas. I currently only have svideo out and think I should replace one with something better. Give me some of your thoughts.

David

[Patrick]

Most of the newer video cards have either HDMI or DVI. They are equals so if your video card only has an DVI connection you can pickup a relatively cheap DVI to HDMI cable to connect to your HDTV. Don't overspend for a high end video card. My Nvidia 8600GT card (< $50) does VDPAU perfectly. I'd recommend a card that has at least 512 mb of memory and is passively cooled (quiet).
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Vdpau

Because of VDPAU my 2.0 ghz AMD X2 dual core can handle 1080p h264 files without issue. Without it could only handle the lower bitrate 720p videos and HD mpeg2 video. The CPU would be pegged at about 80% during playback. With VDPAU my CPU is around 5% during HD h264 1080p playback. It really does deliver.

Also, don't overpay for a case. HTPC cases can get expensive very quickly.

[spotslayer]

Thank's Pat! That is the kind of info I was looking for. I have had myth for 2 years and had my share of ups and downs. I have been down since an auto upgrade a couple of months ago, but back up now and have everything working pretty well. I may be screwed though. My current box is using a riser board with only PCI slots. I have DVI out but do not have a dvi input on my tv, only hdmi. I am going to have to do a bit of research before I make any move. I love the input and suggestions as that gives me a place to start.

Like the podcast as well. Another source of ideas. Awesome.

D

[Patrick]

I have DVI out but do not have a dvi input on my tv, only hdmi.

If you have a DVI port on your video card and hdmi in on your HDTV all you need is a relatively inexpensive cable. It has a DVI connection one end and an HDMI connection on another:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... le&x=0&y=0

I have this same exact setup on my main Myth box. You'll still need another cable for your audio. Unlike HDMI, the DVI connection will only pass video. So if this is a big deal get a graphics card with an HDMI out connection.

[spotslayer]

I have DVI out but do not have a dvi input on my tv, only hdmi.

If you have a DVI port on your video card and hdmi in on your HDTV all you need is a relatively inexpensive cable. It has a DVI connection one end and an HDMI connection on another:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... le&x=0&y=0

I have this same exact setup on my main Myth box. You'll still need another cable for your audio. Unlike HDMI, the DVI connection will only pass video. So if this is a big deal get a graphics card with an HDMI out connection.

Thank's for the tip Pat. I found one on Ebay for $.99 and $1.99 shipping. I am getting pretty excited about my mythbox all over again. The new version is great. This has prompted me with a new question. Are there any good scripts that you know of that will cut my commercials and transcode for my N800? I would like to run it as a user job.

David

[sk8er3810]

For the HDMI, how easy is it to get sound as well from it? I've been thinking of upgrading my video card as well and would love to have a single cable to the TV

[lobosolo]

For the HDMI, how easy is it to get sound as well from it? I've been thinking of upgrading my video card as well and would love to have a single cable to the TV

if you are using dvi to hdmi , you will not get any audio out of the dvi. you still need a separate audio out/in.
9.10 made hdmi audio really simple. but there is a catch. assuming you are using the nvidia restricted driver ,you need to unmute the hdmi audio in the mixer and then in mythtv you need to select your alsa hdmi as the default audio. its something like alsa:plughw0,3 on my system. i am using a built in hdmi nvidia 8300 and its a breeze to setup the audio.

[sk8er3810]

if you are using dvi to hdmi , you will not get any audio out of the dvi. you still need a separate audio out/in.

99% of the time that it true. I just found out that a few card manufacturers like Sapphire include a special DVI-HDMI adapter that allows audio as well. I guess you need the adapter and support in the card as well for audio out through DVI. But I would definitely get a Nvidia card with HDMI for my frontends and backends.

I've been looking at the ION boards for small form factor frontends but I heard that either Intel or Nvidia are upgrading their platforms. I have regular desktops as my sole frontends right now so I can wait. I know Pat has said that the current ION boards work just fine, but should I still wait it out?