[mythtv-users] "Good Enough" specs for HDTV?

Byron Poland wpoland at gmail.com
Sun Aug 13 00:00:29 UTC 2006


On 8/12/06, Kevin Kuphal <kuphal at dls.net> wrote:
> Scott wrote:
> > After looking through the list for a bit, I've found some posts that
> > half-answer my question, but none that tell me exactly what I need.
> > That being said, I'm hoping that you all could help me figure out just
> > what I'm going to need to spend some money on in the next few weeks...
> > I've got an HD-Ready TV and an older desktop sitting around, so I
> > figure I can make a decent DVR system for my dorm room this coming
> > semester.
> >
> > As it stands, the desktop has the following hardware:
> >
> > GIGABYTE GA-7VT600-L Motherboard
> > AMD AthlonXP 2500+ (~1.8GHz)
> > 512MB DDR RAM
> > SBLive! 5.1 Soundcard
> > GeForce4 Ti4200 Video card
> > 80GB HDD
> >
> > I'm already planning to purchase a pcHDTV-5500 card for the TV
> > capture, but I'm wondering if my system specs will be good enough to
> > run HD channels smoothly. Sadly, the TV my roommates and I bought
> > (used and fairly cheap... we're college students, after all :P) only
> > supports 1080i for its HDTV display, so that's the only mode I'll be
> > able to use. I've read that the CPU requirement is a P4 3GHz for HD
> > video, but I've also read that using an nVidia card + XvMC can reduce
> > the CPU requirement. It wouldn't be a big problem to pick up an FX5200
> > considering they're pretty cheap, but I'd rather not have to buy a new
> > motherboard + CPU. Would a slightly more expensive GeForce 6200 card
> > serve me better, or do you all think the FX5200 would be fine?
> >
> > The way I see it, once I have a decent base system (motherboard, CPU,
> > video card, sound card) everything else can be upgraded fairly
> > inexpensively, so I'm hoping to get all of that squared away now. Any
> > thoughts/help you all could provide would be much appreciated! :D Do
> > try to keep in mind, however, that I'm attempting to keep the costs of
> > this project down as much as possible...
> I have an Athlon 1800 working with an Nvidia card and XvMC so I can say
> that it does work (I'm not driving 1080i though so I can't speak to that).
>
> Kevin
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>

I have an 2500+ overclocked to be like a 2800+ I think, and I do HD
720p and 1080i without XvMC but also with no deinterlacing, because my
tv handles that.
  I think I'm running an Nvidia 6200 for graphics, and have a gig of
memory.. This is also a frontend only machine.


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list