[mythtv-users] New laptop - what video do I need for MythTV these days?

[Peter Bennett]

On 6/14/21 4:10 AM, Stephen Worthington wrote:
> My 8 year old GT70 laptop is dying - one hinge is gone and the other
> is loose.  So I need to choose what to replace it with.  The GT70 has
> a 17" screen and an Intel i7-3610QM processor with whatever Intel HD
> graphics was around back then, and also an Nvidia GTX 670M GPU.  The
> 1920x1080 screen is 60 Hz - I do not think it has any other options.
>
> So what sort of graphics that is available in a laptop now is
> recommended for MythTV?  Obviously Nvidia will still work, but you
> only seem to find them in gaming class laptops, and the version of
> Nvidia chip is overkill for MythTV.  Is the Intel HD graphics in their
> laptop processors now good enough to do full deinterlacing properly?
> In my GT70, the Intel GPU was not quite there - it is not bad, but the
> Nvidia GPU is perfect, so I always use that.  And what about the AMD
> GPUs?  I have never used one with MythTV - are the ones available in
> laptops good now?  Do the Linux drivers work properly?
>
> And what about 4K?  I would hope to keep any new laptop I buy going
> for at least the 8 years I got out of the GT70, so does that mean I
> should be getting one with a 4K screen?  Or at least one that can do
> 4K on its HDMI port?  Currently, I do not have any 4K screens, and TV
> here in New Zealand is only 1080i.  And I do not do Netflix or other
> subscription TV that has a 4K option.  So deinterlacing is very
> important, but 4K not so much yet.
>
> The other thing about laptop screens now is that there seems to be
> some that do higher frame rates, such as 120 or 144 Hz.  I do not need
> that for TV, but if it means that the screen can adjust to different
> frame rates and do 50 Hz for NZ TV instead of being stuck on 60 Hz,
> that seems like an very good thing to have.
>
> I am thinking that 17" is overkill and 15" is probably fine, but 17"
> has worked well for when we are away on holiday and two people are
> watching at the same time.
>
> So is anyone using a modern laptop for MythTV and can tell me how well
> it works?
> _______________________________________________

I got a new laptop last August. Acer Nitro 5. I found if I want anything 
that is beyond the basic and is not a business machine, it has to be a 
gaming laptop.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08C1VTNPR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use it mainly for development.

I do not watch MythTV with it, preferring a TV with fire stick. It has 
NVidia graphics. It runs MythTV and supports VDPAU and NVDEC with 
MythTV. The built in screen is 1080 15.6 inch and the ubuntu display 
allows refresh rates of 60 and 120. I don't know if something can be 
done to support 50. Externally you can attach a 4K screen and I use that 
regularly for development.

There is one Linux glitch, and I have a workaround. When suspending 
several times a day, about once a week it locks up solid with a crash in 
the NVidia drivers. It is reported on Ubuntu, but my workaround has 
completely prevented it.

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nvidia-graphics-drivers-435/+bug/1850776

Peter