hello mythfolk,<br>
I have put a pchdtv-5500 into my myth box which consists of a 4-years old AMD Athlon 64 (I think the CPU is rated at 800 mhz).<br>
<br>
In theory, my box should be capable of recording from this card in
HD. In fact PCHDTV minimum specs say 400 mhz pentium would be
enough.<br>
<br>
As for playback, I downloaded an HD testfile - I forgot from where, it
appeared to be a computer-animated short film that my computer played
back in beautiful widescreen HD with no problems. My video card
is a nvidia fx-5200.<br>
<br>
So how come, when I try to record QAM from Comcast cable on this card,
the results are unwatchable, blocky and hesitating to the point where
it barely looks like tv? (I think it is a resource problem, since
when there is a still frame or very little movement, the blockiness
reduces somewhat). I have tried to record, then stop and watch
(so as not to be taping and playback simultaneously). I have also
tried XVMC playback, which seems to make no discernible difference in
the results.<br>
<br>
Please try to resist telling me not to buy the pchdtv-5500, 'cause I
think it's too late to return :) Could it be that the specs on
the PCHDTV site are just plain wrong? Seems more likely I am
doing something wrong.<br>
<br>
cheers,<br>
Mary<br>