[mythtv-users] Build a robust FE - irritated with IONs

[Greg Oliver]

On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 3:53 PM, Dave Richardson <mythtv at derdev.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:58:37 -0700, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
>>
>> On Thursday, December 23, 2010 12:15:49 pm Brian Fischer wrote:
>>>
>>> On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 11:48 AM, Brian Wood <beww at beww.org> wrote:
>>> > I have a CrystalHD installed in my Revo, not doing anything now,
>>> > but hoping to be ready for the future.
>>> >
>>> > Any Flash content I play through my PlayOn server, which transcodes
>>> > to something that VDPAU can handle. Of course that's just moving
>>> > the CPU requirement to a different machine, but that one's in the
>>> > garage where a noisy beast is acceptable.
>>>
>>> I had the same idea for a "work-around" for playing flash on my Myth
>>> box (Revo 1600).  However, the end result was either extremely low
>>> quality or playback that stutters.  After checking CPU usage, my
>>> single core Atom was pegged.  Local videos were playing fine using
>>> VDPAU.  How do you playback content from PlayOn and how do you force
>>> a VDPAU compatible stream?
>>
>> Haven't yet got around to settings up to play PlayOn's output with a
>> Myth frontend. I can think of a few different ways to do it, just waiting
>> for the available time to implement some of them and test.
>>
>> I play back PlayOn content with a Myka device. PLayOn seems to default
>> to putting out an mpeg2 stream when it does not recognize the playback
>> device. I originally tried it with an Xbox-360, which worked fine, then
>> moved to the Myka, which is a Sigma-based playback that handles the
>> MPEG2 just fine, with far less power than the 360.
>>
>> PlayOn is running on a fairly fast dual core machine, and my internet
>> bandwidth is high, I get all greens when everything's set to "auto". The
>> quality is quite good, not perfect but very watchable.
>>
>> PlayOn allows access to all my media via the built-in local media
>> function (not the script, which was an earlier way to do it).
>>
>> Now, the Myka can find any NFS or Samba share anywhere on my network, so
>> I don't need PlayOn for local content, just things like Netflix, Hulu,
>> PBS, Discovery, History and the like.
>>
>>> Are you sure the CrystalHD was not
>>> decoding your PlayOn content?
>>
>> The Revo is just for experimenting at the moment, I installed the B'com
>> module to try it out, haven't got around to playing with it much so far,
>> but it seemed like it would be more useful than a WiFi module.
>>
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>
> So my gripes as OP were with having audio sync problems on VDPAU Normal -
> seems like if the gear was up to the task, it wouldn't be an issue.  Seems
> to arise with recorded TV content rather than DVDs/rips.  But that's the
> heart of my point, I'm tired of accepting lesser settings, (seeing some
> visible artifacts), audio sync, with VDPAU and SPDIF passthru on my IONs.  I
> mean honestly, with VDPAU and SPDIF passthru (I disabled upconverting) you'd
> expect this playback to kick ass.  Instead, I visit my bro-in-law's house
> with Comcast HD and DVR and it makes my kit's performance look flawed.
>
> THIS IS NOT ANY KIND OF NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT MYTHTV, THE INTERNAL PLAYER,
> OR ANYONE's EFFORT ON DEVELOPMENT (so please don't go there).  I love Myth
> and what it allows me to do.  I just want the PAYOFF in certain areas and
> I've concluded a major defect in my planning was certain hardware choices.
>
> My next machine/TV to build (PC on hand) will be a Revo with the ION GT 218
> hardware.  Am I setup for more disappointment?

I will say the only thing you might run into with the atom is the
inability of the cpu to keep up with audio sampling changes.  With the
218, you shaders are sufficient for good de-interlacing, but I find
sometimes that audio conversion is too slow still, and it causes me to
transcode just for the atoms.  I have one dual core atom that is much
better at it than the single core 1600s though.  I am actually happy
with it.