[mythtv-users] recommended video card for h.264 playback

[Joe Harvell]

I just started recording with the HD-PVR.  My video card is a GeForce
7600 GT and the processor is a 2.4 GHz Dual Core (E6600).

So far I've captured at 1080i @13.5 Mbits/sec.  The content is actually
SD content over 1080i (black bars on the side).  The playback profile is
set to use Xvmc, which I'm assuming falls back to some sort of default
software decoder.  The playback is fine, but the CPU temp is making my
fans generate unacceptable noise.

I haven't looked at this in a while, but apparently nVidia supports
h.264 hardware decoding on their newer cards for Linux with VDPAU.  I
want to be able to decode H.264 and MPEG-2 with very little host CPU
required as long as the video card doesn't heat up the system.  I'm
trying to reduce noise and heat.  I do want high quality decoding, but
cost is a slight concern.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

---
Joe