[mythtv-users] PVR-350 vs PVR-250 + GeForce4MX

[Mikhail D'Vane]

I have both a PVR-250 and PVR-350 and Epia-M (with onboard hw mpeg
decoder).  I have never tried to get the PVR-350 decoder to work, so
I can't speak for image quality, but I have gotten the Epia-M decoder to
work.  (I also have not used xvmc.)

In general, I prefer the software decoding over the hardware.  Here're
my reasons:

1.  It doesn't take much horsepower to decode the stream with software.
     Inexpensive Celeron's handle the job just fine.  As long as you are
     encoding in hardware, a 1GHz Celeron/P3 does the job well as a
     combo front/backend (for default capture settings, at least).

2.  With the Epia's decoder, position on the screen was an issue if I scaled
     the image (which was necessary because the Epia overscan was WAY
     over).  If I scaled the GUI to fit the display area, the same settings,
     when applied to video playback, caused the playback window to be
     displayed in the upper leftmost corner of the entire scanned area. (So,
     basically, the top and left sides of the video were severly cut and 
there
     was black space along the right side/bottom).  I never could get the
     HW-decoded video to center nicely in the TV screen (unless I took off
     image scaling, which caused all edges of the video to be cut due to
     the Epia's excessive overscan).

     Also, I have seen some posts that suggest this may be an issue with
     the PVR-350's output as well.

3.  With Epia HW decoding, you couldn't apply any post-recording filters.
     I suspect that this is true of any HW decoder.  You're going to see
     "combing" artifacts (especially when big blocks of color are changing
     onscreen - think Simpsons).

I personally like the flexibility of the SW decoder.  Also, remember that
most HW decoders work with one type of mpeg stream, so if you decide
to transcode to say, mpeg4, and your HW decoder doesn't handle that,
you're out of luck.

Mik

>From: Micah <fanmail at micah-wedemeyer.net>
>Reply-To: Discussion about mythtv <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>To: mythtv-users at mythtv.org
>Subject: [mythtv-users] PVR-350 vs PVR-250 + GeForce4MX
>Date: Wed, 19 May 2004 16:34:56 -0400
>
>Hi,
>
>I'm rolling around the idea of putting together a dedicated Myth box, and 
>I'm
>trying to nail down my choice of hardware.
>
>My current problem is deciding between a PVR-350 or a PVR-250 + GeForce4MX
>with TV-out.
>
>My issues and priorities are in this order:
>1. Stability <-- Highest priority
>2. Ease of setup
>3. Image quality
>
>I was leaning heavily toward the PVR-350 because it simply seems better 
>suited
>to a dedicated Myth box.  However, after reading Jarod's guide, it seems 
>that
>stability and ease of setup are issues with the PVR-350.
>
>Cost wise, a quick check on newegg showed that the price difference was 
>about
>$10 (with the PVR-350 being cheaper).  That is close enough to be negigible 
>in
>my book.
>
>Some other related notes:
>-------------------------
>* I will be using composite TV-out.  I don't have S-video on my TV.  Future
>TVs will probably have S-video or better.
>
>* I want to be able to use the console emulators.  I don't know if they can
>leverage the 3D capabilities of a video card (like the GeForce).  Can they?
>
>* My Linux knowledge is spotty at best.  I have compiled kernels and such, 
>but
>not much more.  I still don't understand things like KDE vs Gnome, 
>X-Windows,
>etc.  I am an experienced Linux user, not admin.
>
>* The addition of the GeForce would take up the AGP slot, so I'm not losing
>any PCI slots by putting it in.
>
>So, any advice would be quite helpful.
>
>Thanks,
>Micah
>
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