[mythtv-users] The Ultimate Myth Setup

[Robbie Hughes]

Eyal Lebedinsky wrote:

> Neil Davidson wrote:
>
>> The front ends can be a little as an Epia M6000 i believe, but an
>> M10000 would probably be better. Have you looked at MiniMyth
>> (http://www.linpvr.org) for front end ideas? even if you don't use 
>> MiniMyth
>> there is some very good info on the forum there. Diskless, network 
>> booting,
>> low power, zero noise frontends are what you should go for in my 
>> opinion :)
>
>
> If you plan on watching HDTV then you will find the frontend needing much
> more CPU power that is suggested above. I have the back+frontend on 
> the one
> machine, so I will present the results accordingly. This is a P4/3GHz.
>
> # vmstat 5
> procs -----------memory---------- ---swap-- -----io---- --system-- 
> ----cpu-----
>  r  b   swpd   free   buff  cache   si   so    bi    bo   in    cs us 
> sy  id wa
>
> Frontend idle:
>  0  0 343996 524056   8036 125460    0    0     0     0 1102  1426  0  
> 0 100  0
>
> Frontend tuned to SDTV, but not watched (backend):
>  0  0 343996  74064   8916 561920    0    0     0   998 2574  6546 17  
> 3  80  1
>
> Frontend tuned to SDTV and visible (backend+frontend):
>  0  0 343996   5260   8916 629580    0    0     0  1003 2546  4762 39  
> 4  56  1
>
> Looks like 20% used by the backend, 23% by the front. I count us+sy.
>
> 56% idle - no big deal. Now with HDTV. Tuned, not watched (backend):
>  0  0 343996   3484   1124 631296    0    0  1410  1231 2708  6192 41  
> 3  53  4
>
> Watched  (backend+frontend):
>  2  1 343996   2752    984 632184    0    0   470  1266 2712  2793 96  
> 4   0  0
>
> Oh boy. Modern physics tells us that watching has an effect on the 
> experiment :-)
> My CPU is really busy with HDTV, looks like 44% used by the backend, 
> 56% by
> the front. The frontend actually has trouble keeping up.
>
> FYI
>
that's interesting - all that cpu time just on decoding?
as this is in the uk, we don't have hdtv yet so it's not an immediate 
concern, but i do think it is worth getting right.

so this is now getting complicated - i have to have a  hefty pc at the 
front and back end...which brings noise issues....
unless i can just retrofit a new graphics card with an hdtv mpeg2 
accelerator in it in a couple of years...and keep the epias...

does that make sense?