[mythtv-users] Using TV Out on graphics card vs. Hauppauge PVR-350

[Jeff Simpson]

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 12:58 PM, Fred Firestine <ffluvssg1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
>  I recently purchased the following as part of my build for a new MythTV system:
>
>  MSI NX7300LE-TD128EH GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16
>  Video Card
>  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127273
>
>  I didn't even realize it had TV out as well as VGA. Honestly, the
>  price was right, and I found some posts indicating it was
>  Linux-compatible, so it went into the shopping cart. So my question
>  is, do I use the TV Out from this card or continue using TV Out from
>  my PVR-350? Advantages/disadvantages? My inclination is "If it ain't
>  broke don't fix it" because my current MythTV system works fine with
>  the PVR-350. With all the mentions of "decreasing support" for PVR-350
>  TV Out, is the display card a better option?

If it works fine for you, don't fix it. If it gets to be a pain,
however, switching will give you some advantages:
- XvMC may be able to minimize processor impact of video decoding.
Probably not AS good as the PVR-350, but not nearly as bad as no
acceleration. I believe the 7xxx series supports XvMC.
- You will gain OpenGL and probably have significantly faster menu navigation.
- You will be able to use other programs on your MythTV: DVD players,
ability to play non-mpeg video without being jumpy. Games, for
example.
- You'll be able to actually fast-forward, which is missing from the
PVR-350 support. (skipping works, but anything above 3x FF/RW will not
work with the PVR-350)

I used a PVR-350 for a few years. I stopped using the TV-out because
my new video card had TV support, and have been impressed by the
OpenGL. But my 8600 does not support XvMC, so I lose a little on the
processor usage front.