[rene18]

I've been looking through this forum (and others, but AVS seems to be the best) in my search for a good enough HW for a MythTV (and a bit more) setup. Haven't found an up-to-date and suitable one yet.

What I want/need:

* watch video files up to 1080p

* watch live streams and record them
* SD content from 2 x IPTV STB's connected with S-video

* SD content from DVB-T card or USB dongle
* listen to music and radio, watch pictures etc. In short - the things that work anyway regardless of the setup.

* add other MythTV frontends (in near future)

* keep the budget reasonably low

What I don't need in MythTV setup:

* flash support. I'm planning to use my office PC (hooked to the TV) if I want to watch youtube or something similar

* 3D and BluRay is handled also by a separate BluRay player or the office PC

* I don't need a silent backend since it's in a separate "server room"

* I'm not too worried about the energy consumption if I can run most of my stuff from 1 server

* I don't need the frontends to be really-really small and they don't have to look fancy. They don't have to be fanless.

Setup I'm thinking of:

* 1 server that has enough power to act as a MythTV backend AND also be a "normal" server that serves web stuff for my own needs, does some home automation stuff, controls surveillance camera etc. It will run Ubuntu.

* 2-3 MythTV frontend machines

Open questions:

Q1: would it be practical and wise to integrate one of the MythTV frontends also into the server/backend machine?

Q2: what could be the optimal HW setup for the server?

Q3: what could be the optimal HW setup for the MythTV frontends?

Regards,

Rene

 

[Rgb]

Q1- Given you don't have a power consumption/fan issue, I would say yes, use one of the frontends as the backend.


Q2: Recording and simple file serving takes little CPU, assuming digital tuners and a hardware MPEG2 recording card(s) for the Svideo recordings from a STB. I would use PVR150's for the Svideo recording jobs-

http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1798060.html

http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Hauppauge-5188-4202-WinTV-PVR-150-MCE-TV-Tuner-Refurbished/3504891/product.html


and take your pick for DVB-T cards/dongles

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Capture_Cards


I wouldn't stray too far from Hauppauge.


Given the low CPU requirements for recording (Again assuming the PVR150 or similar hardware MPEG2 cards), any old leftover dual core CPU with 2GB-4G of RAm should be fine for a recording server.


Stock up on 1-2TB Samsung hard drives for recordings.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152245


Q3: My current picks for a HTPC frontend/media PC:


A6 X4 3670K Black Edition 2.7GHz Quad Core Socket FM1 Boxed Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382494


or


A8 X4 3870K Black Edition 3GHz Quad Core Socket FM1 Boxed Processor
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382496


You basically get the HD6xxx GPU for "free". With the latest distros and Catalyst drivers, coupled with the quad core, 1080p video playback should be good. If you have issues with tearing, turn off the "free" GPU on the APU and add the Nvidia GT520 below.


You could get an AM3 Quad core for maybe $5 less at the same speed and power consumption (~95-100W)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103889

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113007


but the FM1 APU's are 32nm vs 45nm for the AM3's, and you get a GPU and fan/heatsink for free on the FM1's


GA-A55M-DS2 Socket FM1 A55 mATX AMD Motherboard $10 with CPU purchase and MIR
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0375353


Gskill 2x 2G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231253



If the GPU included on the AMD APU's doesn't work well for you, add an Nvidia GT520 card-

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-GT520-1GD3-CSM-Graphics-Adapter/dp/B005J4XMFW/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340970803&sr=1-5&keywords=gt520+card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709+600030348+600007321+600029795+600142560&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=48&description=&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=



Case choices


Low Profile
http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Aluminum-Steel-Center-ML03B/dp/B004GGUAUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340301865&sr=1-1&keywords=silverstone+ml03


Regular height
http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-Aluminum-Steel-Computer-GD05B/dp/B0036WTDGQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340301895&sr=1-1&keywords=silverstone+05


PSU
http://www.amazon.com/Logisys-Corp-Bearing-Supply-PS550E12BK/dp/B004MU8VCS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340302008&sr=1-1&keywords=logisys+power+supply


Best deal with 500W psu with 120mm fan
http://www.amazon.com/Apevia-X-Master-Desktop-HTPC-Case/dp/B001CCMYV8/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340301917&sr=1-4&keywords=htpc+case


Keyboard choices-
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1108400/media-htpc-ir-and-rf-keyboards


DVD-RW drive: Samsung, Toshiba, Lite-On, Pioneer (Avoid LG, Sony, others)


OS drive- Class 10 or higher SDHC card, Crucial SSD 32G-64G, or Toshiba/Fujitsu/Samsung 2.5" notebook hard drive



EDIT: Changed Nvidia video card back to my original recommendation GT520

 

[Rgb]

It appears there should be no issue in disabling the GPU on the A6/A8 APU if needed:

http://boardreader.com/thread/Nvidia_graphics_card_with_a8_APU_7kkaX3fdc.html

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/AMD-A83870K-Unlocked-Llano-QuadCore-APU-/?page=6


Idle power consumption appears lower than the i3/i5. APU load power consumption might be lower than shown if the A6/A8 GPU were disabled when using an Nvidia PCIe card.

 

[rene18]

Big thanks for the really informative and precise answer. Just amazing and cool that people do care and invest their valuable time to help strangers

The suggestions are really good and guide me almost to the end. Biggest problem is that I live in Europe and thus can't get my hands on all the exact suggested parts or the prices are not so good. That's a well known fact that in terms of technical parts availability and prices we are somewhat "disabled" here in Europe... So I have to make some adjustments and find replacements for some parts.

Q1:

I generally don't like the idea of running X and a GUI on server machines, but it seems a reasonable compromise if I don't want to invest into a lot of different machines + host them all at home.

Q2: "The Server"
Recording cards:

Will go with 2 Hauppauge PVR-150 cards. Here in EU we have mostly PAL instead of NTSC, but appropriate cards are available on eBay .


With DVB-T the "Hauppauge WinTV Nova-T 500 DVB-T PCI Dual" seems to be a popular and affordable choice.

CPU:

If I use the server also as one of the frontends, then the choice here also comes down to A6 X4 vs A8 X4. The price difference is not that big, but in the same time nor is the extra cost for nVidia card. The main difference between these CPU's is the graphics part. So maybe it's smarter to get hte A6 X4 + nVidia card instead (this combo would cost me around ~30$ more then A8 X4)?


Since the price difference is not that big, I'm leaning towards the A8 X4.

Case & PSU:

Since it's located in another room there are no limitations to the noise level and visual design. Probably just a random cheaper case with a 500W PSU will do? Something like this or this for instance.

Motherboard:

I guess the only limitations are the CPU socket and need for 3 PCI slots for recording cards. This means though that your suggested "GA-A55M-DS2 Socket FM1 A55 mATX AMD" doesn't fit as it only has 1 PCI slot.
Any suggestions which manufacturer/model to favor and which ones to stay away from?


Had a quick look what's available locally:

* the cheapest one (~80$) - Asus Socket FM1 F1A55

* something similar to what you suggested (~95$) - Gigabyte Socket FM1 GA-A75-D3H

* and another option (~95$) - ASRock Socket FM1 A75 PRO4

Memory:

I can get the G.skill 2x2GB for the same price here so will probably take them. Only difference is that you suggested F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT , but I can get F3-10600CL9D-4GBNS . The difference in description is that the first one is "Dual Channel Kit", but as far as I could read up, there is no real difference in those 2 options.

OS drive:
What could be the benefit of using a SDHC card over SSD?

Since noise is not an issue in current case then I could easily go with a 2.5" or even a 3.5" drive. Since the server is anyway always running and there is no quick bootup needed it could be OK? Or should I still go with a SSD?

Hard drives:

I can get the "SAMSUNG HD204UI 2TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"" almost the same price here. So I just have to calculate a bit how many do I need them.

GPU:

Let's first try without a separate GPU card as you suggested.

Keyboard:

I've had Logitech K400 on my mind for some time.

Optical drive:

Guess I won't even include it to this machine (this "server" will be located in a hard to access place anyway).

Q3: "The Frontend"

As I said above my main frontend will be located in the server. So now only remain the "companion" screens with their frontends. Actually I'm not in a real hurry with those until my main TV shows the real thing

Still there are 1-2 screens that I'd eventually like to hook up to the same MythTV ecosystem. Actually my first question at this point would be: is it completely hopeless to use a complete prefabricated HTPC box as MythTV frontend? There are tens of ready made HTPC boxes on the market with nice looks and different capabilities.

Regards,

Rene

 

[Rgb]

Q1: Given the low resource footprint of XFCE/LXDE, having a GUI on a server is a non issue, assuming most desktop CPUs of the past 10 years, though I would use at least a dual core CPU.


Q2: Tuner cards look good. If you are not cost sensitive, just go with the A8 APU. Case choices look good, just be sure it supports adequate ventilation/120mm inlet fans and the drive bays you want. I have had good luck with Gigabyte, Asrock and Biostar in recent years. Toss up between the GA-A75-D3H and A75 Pro4, IMO. Asus has done good hardware in recent years but hasn't been so friendly to FOSS/Linux recently. No issue with the RAM. SSD's use more power, have larger capacity, are faster and cost more. Class-10 or higher SDHC/XC cards are lower capacity/$, slower, perhaps fewer write cycles, but lower power consumption, smaller and can be re-used in more devices. All you need is 8-16G for an OS drive, so up front cost is lower as you can't get SSD's with that low capacity. Pick your poison.


Q3: Given this forum and your apparent capabilities, you want to build your frontends. Frontend media players are more important to optimize for media playback vs servers/backends, i.e. CPU and GPU selection, thermal management, storage device optimization, etc. For Linux 1080p frontends, you want the coolest running quad core with recent fanless ATI (>HD6xxx) or Nvidia GPU (>GT2xx) with current proprietary driver. Assuming the A8 GPU works well for you, the total cost+(CPU+GPU thermal power)+ GPU performance equation for the A6/A8's beats the i5's currently. If you went i5 (i3's are only dual core at the moment), you'd probably have to add a fanless HD6xxx or Nvidia card anyways, so the total cost/GPU+CPU TDP equation would still favor the A6/A8.


Be sure the frontend cases you pick handle full size ATX boards- too many HTPC cases support only mATX baords, but you want the extra PCI slots on the full size ATX boards. This is why I've used these-

http://www.amazon.com/Coolermaster-ELITE-Desktop-Tower-Supply/dp/B00502C7CC

http://www.amazon.com/Apevia-X-Master-Desktop-HTPC-Case/dp/B001CCMYV8/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340301917&sr=1-4&keywords=htpc+case

 

[Rgb]

Based on this recent discussion,

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1417224/encouraging-experience-with-xmbcbuntu-on-ati


I think the HD6xxx GPU of the A6/A8's will most likely do the job for you, given the positive results with an older 4xxx ATi GPU.


Plus, got to throw AMD/ATI a bone for their runner-up status vs the Intel monopoly and AMD's opening up of the ATI GPU specs for the FOSS driver guys.

 

[rene18]

Q2: The server (including one frontend)

I get the SSD vs SDHC point now. But still, in this "server" (that is running 24/7 and located in another room) the OS can run on a regular 3.5" HDD or not?

Q3: The standalone frontend

It's valid point you made regarding SDHC and I'll probably go that way in those machines.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgb  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22162181


Be sure the frontend cases you pick handle full size ATX boards- too many HTPC cases support only mATX boards, but you want the extra PCI slots on the full size ATX boards.

In my planned setup I have one backend+frontend combo and 2 separate extra frontend machines. The PCI slots are only needed in the backend machine, so the separate frontend ones can have a mATX board and a smaller case. But then again those extra frontends don't have to look very sexy&small. So I'm a bit stuck here to choose which way to go. It seems that some regular low profile case would be best. This on that you suggested looks good, but it would cost me 95$ shipped. Will see if I find some cheaper alternatives...


Choices for a mATX board would be:

* ASRock Socket FM1 A75M-HVS ~68$

* Gigabyte Socket FM1 GA-A75M-S2V ~60$


APU A6 or A8 X4.


RAM 2x2GB G.skill DDR3


Not sure about the optical drive yet, but it's likely that I will include a DVD-RW drive just in case.

What about the PSU? How powerful should it be?

 

[Rgb]

Q2: OF course you can run any drive you want on the server for the OS. A 3.5" drive will use more power, perhaps noisy, and some drives can run hot. Plus, all mechanical hard drives fail eventually, and in recent years, too many too soon (seagate, WD, Maxtors all to blame). Putting the OS on an SSD or SD car using a non journaling filesystem like ext2 (to minimize writes) will probably be more reiable in the long run, with no heat, far less power usage and perhaps better performance at least on reads, depending on the specific solid state device and reader ou use.


Q3: Another way to find low cost HTPC cases is to look for "desktop" style cases, or just use a mini/mid tower on its side. Optical drives are designed to be used on their side.


Another low cost case option

http://3btech.net/chfcsmfoalmi.html


Already mentioned

http://www.amazon.com/Logisys-Corp-Bearing-Supply-PS550E12BK/dp/B004MU8VCS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340302008&sr=1-1&keywords=logisys+power+supply


You want 500W or greater- no reason for less if using a full size ATX PSU. mATX PSU's run lower wattage. I like a 120mm fan in my PSU's vs 2x 80mm, plus I like the cables sleeved for a clean look and a tidy case layout

 

[waterhead]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgb  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22162873


Putting the OS on an SSD or SD car using a non journaling filesystem like ext2 (to minimize writes) will probably be more reiable in the long run, with no heat, far less power usage and perhaps better performance at least on reads, depending on the specific solid state device and reader ou use.

I recently started having problems when booting from the SSD in my Eee PC. Every boot it would do a full disk check. I did a scan for bad blocks (non-destructive), and it didn't find any. As a last resort I converted the filesystem from ext2 to ext4, and the constant disk checking stopped. I was using this SSD for several years before I started having problems.


I have booted from a SDHC card many times, and still do in my laptop, without any similar problems.

 

[rene18]

Thanks for the answers. It seems that HW wise I have what I need at this point and can start ordering pieces for the server.


Something to still figure out is how to build up storage and file system. I think doing a RAID1 (or rsync) for all the movies, recordings and stuff would be bit of a waste. It seems that best would be to split the data into 2 priority classes and handle backups differently:

1. stuff that can't be lost no matter what (pictures, home videos, some special TV recordings, some music). I think it's 10-20% of all the data.

2. stuff that I don't want to loose, but can live without or restore from internet (movies, most of TV recordings, most of music). I think it's 80-90% of all the data.


The nr 2 stuff is something that I still want to preserver to some extent so maybe a RAID5 with 3-4 SATA drive's would be good?


As for the nr 1 stuff I think that it shouldn't be RAID at all since RAID really is redundancy solution rather than backup. Maybe the easiest way would be to do one big RAID5 for all the data and then have a separate drive where some important directories are just backed up with rsync or a custom script?

 

[tux99]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rene18  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22164511


1. stuff that can't be lost no matter what (pictures, home videos, some special TV recordings, some music). I think it's 10-20% of all the data.

2. stuff that I don't want to loose, but can live without or restore from internet (movies, most of TV recordings, most of music). I think it's 80-90% of all the data.

The nr 2 stuff is something that I still want to preserver to some extent so maybe a RAID5 with 3-4 SATA drive's would be good?

As for the nr 1 stuff I think that it shouldn't be RAID at all since RAID really is redundancy solution rather than backup. Maybe the easiest way would be to do one big RAID5 for all the data and then have a separate drive where some important directories are just backed up with rsync or a custom script?

I use Raid1 for nr. 1 stuff and Raid5 for nr. 2 stuff. Of course as you say raid is not a backup, so I do backups of both nr.1 and nr.2 too (while I could recover all stuff from nr. 2 from other sources it would be very time consuming so I prefer to have a backup of it too).


For small front-ends I still recommend Nvidia ION based systems, Nvidia 's hardware video decoding on Linux is still better than AMD/ATI and Intel. Have a look at this overview of ION systems (yeah I know it's a bit out of date but it still has useful info):
http://www.linuxtech.net/features/nvidia_ion_products_overview.html

 

[rene18]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tux99  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22164732


I use Raid1 for nr. 1 stuff and Raid5 for nr. 2 stuff. Of course as you say raid is not a backup, so I do backups of both nr.1 and nr.2 too (while I could recover all stuff from nr. 2 from other sources it would be very time consuming so I prefer to have a backup of it too).

How do you do the backup? Why the extra RAID1 if you have independent full backup?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tux99  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22164732


For small front-ends I still recommend Nvidia ION based systems, Nvidia 's hardware video decoding on Linux is still better than AMD/ATI and Intel. Have a look at this overview of ION systems (yeah I know it's a bit out of date but it still has useful info):
http://www.linuxtech.net/features/nvidia_ion_products_overview.html

It seems that the ION systems were very good and promising a couple of years ago. But seems like it stopped there.So your overview is very much valid. As far as I could quickly dig the best MB for this system still is the Asus AT5IONT-I, but it costs a lot ( 190$ ). Here's a good blog post of someone building a HTPC on top of that MB.




There's a recent thread here about HTPC + ION. A quote from there:

Quote:
In Linux right now the only 2 chips that handle HD audio, proper de-interlacing and 23.x fps support is the ION2 and GT430 I have read.


As for the GT520, read this .

Some manufactured HTPCs with Atom D525 + ION2:

* Xtreamer Ultra . It's a bit outdated and the included remote + keyboard bring the price up. The newer Ultra 2 has the GT520M GPU that is not recommended. Price: 360$

* ZOTAC ZBOX HD-ID40 . Price: 275$

* ASUS S1-AT5NM10E . Located here in EU. Price: ~275$ (barebone)

 

[Rgb]

Welp- you guys convinced me- I'm returning the GT520 2G card I bought last week and getting the fanless Asus GT430

http://www.amazon.com/ENGT430-DC-SL-DI-1GD3/dp/B0051UWKUW/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1340667397&sr=1-2&keywords=ASUS+ENGT430

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-121-448&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo

Quote:
5 out of 5 eggsCool and Quick: Linux/MythTV w/VDPAU


mlord

2/7/2012 6:55:10 AM


Pros: Takes up only a single PCIe slot width.

Fanless, totally silent.

Fits inside Antec Fusion case with headroom to spare.

96 Stream processors == full VDPAU support in Linux / MythTV.

Very low power consumption when idle.


Cons: Not low-profile.

Long heatsink.


Other Thoughts: Difficult to know from the photos, but this really does take up only a single PCIe slot width. So another card can go into the slot right next to it, which is not normally the case with fanless cards.


The card is tall, but still fits inside the Antec Fusion HTPC case, with height to spare.


The clock speeds drop really, really low (from 1400MHz down to 100MHz) when idle, saving power and helping keep the planet green. Even when running at full clock speed, the card doesn't get very hot (55C here).


"96 Stream Processors" means it can handle all of the fancy VDPAU video playback options without issue -- MythTV "Advanced/2X" deinterlacing, 1080p, high-quality scaling, IVTC, etc.


The best card available for Linux/MythTV today.

It can't be used in a low profile case, but I plan to use it in the Coolermaster Elite 360 or the Apevia X-Master full height HTPC cases.


I picked the GT520 for the fanless and low profile issues, and hadn't done all the research re: full VDPAU support, deinterlacing capability and HD audio output (don't care about DTS-MA or DD-THD audio myself. DTS 1.5Mpbs and DD 640Kbps over SPDIF are good enough for me).

 

[waterhead]

For the GT430 cards, if you don't mind the fan there are these:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133356

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121471


Both can be converted to low-profile by removing the VGA port and using the supplied low-profile bracket. I have one of each, both in computers in the same room. I don't notice any fan noise from them, but that may be because all I can hear is the 24" fan that I have in the window!

 

[Rgb]



Quote:
Originally Posted by waterhead  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22167494


For the GT430 cards, if you don't mind the fan there are these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133356
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121471

Both can be converted to low-profile by removing the VGA port and using the supplied low-profile bracket. I have one of each, both in computers in the same room. I don't notice any fan noise from them, but that may be because all I can hear is the 24" fan that I have in the window!

Nice cards. The end view shows the heatsink protuding slightly, which may interfere with adjacent cards in the slot next to these cards.


The Asus fanless heatpipe card I linked to appears to have a heatsink no wider than the end bracket, and user review comments indicate no issues with interference with adjacent cards.


Not saying the cards you linked to wouldn't work for many people- just a heads up for those packing internal tuner cards or other cards in their HTPC builds.


A fan speed controller should address fan noise if its an issue. The other problem with fans is dust buildup on the blades requiring periodic cleaning (unless you use fan filters on the case inlet fan(s) ) and fan failure. Without a fan alarm to let you know the fan stopped working, a failed fan could cause the GPU to overheat and damage the GPU before you know about it, unless these GPU's/drivers have underclock protection.

 

[tux99]



Quote:
Originally Posted by rene18  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22166035


How do you do the backup? Why the extra RAID1 if you have independent full backup?

Because my back-ups are not in real time, in fact I don't do them regularly or that often...

I use 'rsync' to do my backups to a separate PC that normally is switched off.

Quote:
It seems that the ION systems were very good and promising a couple of years ago.

They might be a few years old now but in practice they are still a very good solution that do everything most people need from a HTPC front end.


The reason why ION based systems are great is because they have a Nvidia GPU which under Linux means VDPAU which is still the best Linux video playback decoding solution by far.


The only flaw of a ION based solution is that full screen HD flash video playback is bad. So if you need full screen HD flash video playback then ION is not for you, but otherwise ION is still a great solution.


Of course you could also build yourself front-ends with discrete Nvidia video cards but those will be usually larger/bulkier than most of the ION mini-PCs.


I actually still use a Asus AT3IONT-I (first gen. ION) in a silver ProCase Noah 3988, this is a great combo as the silent 8cm case fan blow directly on the heatsink of the mobo from the side, so it keeps the passive heatsink of the mobo perfectly cool without generating any audible noise.
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_CPU_on_Board/AT3IONTI
http://www.procase.co.nz/pc/noah.html

Unfortunately the ProCase Noah 3988 is hard to find these days.

 

[tux99]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgb  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22166478


I picked the GT520 for the fanless and low profile issues, and hadn't done all the research re: full VDPAU support, deinterlacing capability and HD audio output (don't care about DTS-MA or DD-THD audio myself. DTS 1.5Mpbs and DD 640Kbps over SPDIF are good enough for me).

The GT520 actually has better VDPAU support than the GT430 as it supports VDPAU feature set D while the GT430 only supports VDPAU feature set C.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_PureVideo

In other words the GT520 is capable of decoding 1080p/60 and beyond (rather than just 1080p/30) which I personally find more useful than the slight lead the GT430 has with regards to interlaced video.

I have a passively cooled Zotac GT520 in my main PC and I'm very happy with it, I can confirm that it handles 1080p/60 content (generated by a high-end camcorder) smoothly.

 

[Rgb]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tux99  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22167872


The GT520 actually has better VDPAU support than the GT430 as it supports VDPAU feature set D while the GT430 only supports VDPAU feature set C.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_PureVideo

In other words the GT520 is capable of decoding 1080p/60 and beyond (rather than just 1080p/30) which I personally find more useful than the slight lead the GT430 has with regards to interlaced video.

I have a passively cooled Zotac GT520 in my main PC and I'm very happy with it, I can confirm that it handles 1080p/60 content (generated by a high-end camcorder) smoothly.

Any practical benefit having 2G over 1G on the card for a media PC, i.e. video playback/processing?


I have to build several media PC's, and some may play more 1080i content than others. So perhaps I'll build one with the GT430 and one with the Gt520...

 

[tux99]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Rgb  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22168448


Any practical benefit having 2G over 1G on the card for a media PC, i.e. video playback/processing?

AFAIK there is no benefit from having 2GB for video playback/processing. 1 GB is more than enough.


BTW didn't you say you currently have a GT520? Rather than just sending it back based on some random forum posts, try it out with some 1080i material and advanced deinterlacers, you will see it will work just fine.


In the xbmc forum thread you linked to (now you appear to have removed the link) there where a few people saying they had no issues with a GT520 and advanced deinterlacers.

 

[rene18]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tux99  /t/1416714/searching-for-a-mythtv-backend-frontend-hw-setup#post_22169599


In the xbmc forum thread you linked to (now you appear to have removed the link) there where a few people saying they had no issues with a GT520 and advanced deinterlacers.

I think you meant this link that I posted earlier: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=108097 (it's was a bit "hidden" inside one of my quotes).