[mythtv-users] Geforce 8200 already advisable, working out-of-the-box?

[Brad DerManouelian]

On Dec 3, 2008, at 11:53 AM, twenty.seven at arcor.de wrote:

> Hi all!
>
> Some 4 weeks ago, I started looking for hardware to build a new  
> MythTV box. Combined BE/FE, analog cable or DVB-T, 37" 1920*1080 LCD  
> TV, at the moment receiving only SD TV (Germany), but system should  
> be future-proof for HDTV.
> With respect to noise and energy consumption, I would favor  
> integrated graphics and thus had the AMD/ATI 780G chipset on my  
> list, also due to some recommendations in reliable magazines. Then I  
> learned that linux support for 780G is, well, not optimal. So I  
> thought about temporarily adding a Nvidia graphics card until the  
> 780G drivers get better.
> Then came the news about Nvidia's VDPAU which also supports the  
> Geforce 8200 chipset. But after some long hours of reading forums  
> and mailing lists, I am still not sure if a 8200 based system would  
> work without a lot of tinkering? So "out-of-the-box" is of course a  
> little excessive, but  I have only intermediate Linux skills and  
> don't want to patch and configure the system for weeks until I can  
> watch a simple TV show (WAF won't ever recover from this ...).
>
> Bottom line: I am fascinated by the idea to build a HD capable,  
> quiet, and low-power system. I would not hesitate to e.g. bridge the  
> time until stable drivers for 780G or Geforce 8200 with a separate  
> graphics card if I had the perspective for a really good system in 6  
> months or so. But, important: The basics just have to work right now  
> without too much efforts.
>
> At the moment, I am wondering if I should give a Geforce 8200 mobo  
> with Athlon 4850e and Mythbuntu a chance.
>
> Would be glad to hear your recommendations!
> twenty

nVidia has always been the most recommended graphics card for running  
MythTV. The 5200 was the defacto standard for a very long time. You  
don't have to worry about VDPAU or beta drivers or patching this or  
that. They work. Lots of people use them.

The advantage of getting an 8200 or other card with a GPU supported by  
VDPAU is that in the future when MythTV is ready and the nVidia  
drivers are no longer beta, you will have the hardware to take  
advantage of off-loading video playback to your card.

It's true that ATI *might* get there, but there is currently no way to  
use hardware acceleration on an ATI card with MythTV so even if it  
does happen, it will definitely happen after nVidia's cards are  
officially supported.

Bottom line is that nVidia did and still make the most recommended  
video cards for MythTV and I don't see that changing any time soon.

-Brad