[mythtv-users] mythtv-users Digest, Vol 44, Issue 111

[Brian Wood]

On Nov 22, 2006, at 7:07 AM, Mark A. Hoover wrote:

>
> I guess the question is how much horsepower is really needed to drive
> Mythtv at HD resolutions?  Currently I don't have a HDTV or a
> Blu-ray/HD-Dvd player, however, eventually, I'll probably want to  
> get one
> and not have to buy another frontend machine to handle it.
>
> From what I can tell (hopefully someone can correct this), one  
> needs to
> get the fastest processors available and the newest graphic cards
> available to be able to drive 1080p resolution.  I really wanted to do
> something in a mini-itx type format so as to not have to have  
> something
> the size of a desktop case in my living room, but I don't see that
> happening either.
>
> It's sad when my PVR frontend will have to have more horsepower  
> than any
> other machine in the house.....:(


That should be neither sad nor surprising. With the possible  
exception of some high-end games, nothing most consumers do with  
their computers requires much in the way of horsepower. Web Browsing  
and word processing can be done quite handily by 10-year-old  
machines, despite what the manufacturers would have you believe.

HD playback is no doubt the most computationally intensive process  
you are performing in your home, so it makes perfect sense it would  
require the most machine.