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System requirements confusion
http://forum.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18849		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Joker [ Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:09 am ]
Post subject:  System requirements confusion
Due to a recent deal I just couldn't pass up on a HDhomerun, I am looking to upgrade my mythbox for HD/DTV usage but I am having difficulty determining what I actually need to buy. I want to be able to play OAT HD as well as 1080P H.264. The latter requirement being the real determining factor. I am assuming that at some point in the next couple years Blueray players will be affordable and, well, you know. If there is hardware accel for H.264 on the horizion then raw cpu power may not be necessary. If anyone knows please tell me.

I currently have an AMD X2 4000+ as my main desktop and it can play 720P without issue, but 1080P seems to be too much for it to handle.

So how much CPU do I need? I would like to use a lowish power chip if possible. My current choices are the AMD 4850 45w offering, or the intel E7200 65w. Will either of these handle 1080P H.264 video on a combined FE/BE machine? Either will be paired with an Nvidia video card (unless the situation with ATI has greatly improved recently)

Thanks for your help
Author:  BigMoneyJim [ Mon Sep 22, 2008 6:33 pm ]
Post subject: 
It's been a few months since I've checked, but when I bought my cpu/motherboard for MythTV back in December/January I wanted to be prepared for Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD at the time, but that's not a factor anymore).

I got a C2D E6550 and recall thinking it was good enough for raw 1080p decoding if it had to do it all itself. I also recall thinking the E4xxx's would probably be too slow.

I just bought a video card (for a Windows PC) and noticed that several nowadays have hardware decoding for H.264 (Blu-Ray) and another codec, and I would presume that the proprietary nvidia driver would support that feature, but offhand I don't know, nor do I know if the MythTV players are ready to take advantage of it.

I've almost bought a Blu-Ray drive a few times as they are falling rapidly in price, but every time I keep wondering if I'll be able to use MythTV to play a movie on it. Plus it will just tempt me to buy some 1080p discs and spend more and more money. And it might make me think my 780p display is inadequate. So I've resisted for fear of a chain reaction.
Author:  Joker [ Fri Sep 26, 2008 5:10 pm ]
Post subject: 
Well I ended up buying a AMD BE-2400 (basically 4400+ with a TDP of 45w) as it was on sale at NewEgg for $25 shipped. Couldn't pass it up for the price. It should be able to handle OTA HD without issue from what I have seen others using. As I don't currently have a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray drive I decided 1080P H264 video didn't matter. For the additional cost now to buy a faster processor, I can rebuild my system again in a year or two when the cost of HD content and hardware is more reasonable. Heck, by then nvidia may have hardware assist in their drivers. I can always hope :)
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