[mythtv-users] Testing the HDTV Waters

[Calvin Harrigan]

I've been using Mythtv with SD for years now.  I've decided to try HD, 
there are quite a few OTA HD channels available in the area.  I browsed 
through the list looking for minimum configurations needed to play back 
HD.  The specs seemed a bit high.  My current setup is an Athlon XP 1800 
with a FX5200 video card, 512 Megs ram. 360 gigs storage.  According to 
what I've read, what I have is not powerful enough.  But being stubborn 
I downloaded a couple HD clips.  One in mpeg and one in wmv format,1080i 
and 720p respectively.  Suprisingly enough both clips played 
flawlessly.  I was blown away by what I've been missing with HD.  The 
concern is that I played the clips using the mplayer from within 
mythtv.  Is the mythtv built in player able to play HD as efficiently?  
The native format of the tv it's connected to is 1280 x 720 via 
dvi->hdmi.  So the 1080i was scaled.  Does anyone else have a similar 
low end setup that is using hd successfully?  Is an 1800 just too slow?  
Any comments appreciated.