[mythtv-users] Should I be switching to 0.21?

[Tom Dexter]

On Sat, Apr 5, 2008 at 1:10 PM, Tom Dexter <digitalaudiorock at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, Apr 5, 2008 at 12:02 PM, Paul Bender <pebender at san.rr.com> wrote:
>  > Tom Dexter wrote:
>  >
>  >  > I'm confused by the statement that slim is the same as 0.20.  0.20
>  >  > didn't even offer ffmpeg as a decoder did it?  In any case, it would
>  >  > depend on what the users previous settings were.
>  >
>  >  In 0.20, "The Preferred MPEG2 Decoder" option "Standard" is ffmpeg.
>  >
>  >
>  >  > I'm still on 0.20.2.  I'm using bob and libmpeg2.  As I understand it,
>  >  > in order to get those exact settings in 0.21, I'd need to create a new
>  >  > profile group with only one profile for all resolutions that used
>  >  > xv-blit (I believe), libmpeg2 as a decoder, and bob as a deinterlacer.
>  >
>  >  Correct.
>  >
>  >
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>  >
>
>  Ah...thanks for clearing that up.  I decided to do a little testing on
>  my 0.20.2 frontend (P4 3.0 Ghz w/hyperthreading enabled).
>
>  Watching 1080i HD content with bob, it appears that the 'Standard'
>  (ffmpeg) does use a bit more cpu than libmpeg2 that I've been
>  using...about 10% more overall...certainly acceptable, but it does
>  seem to use more.
>
>  I've been a little concerned with all the talk about extra CPU usage
>  in 0.21.  I have the CPU to spare for sure, but my frontend's fan
>  noise might start getting noticable if, for example, it went up by 15%
>  or more.
>
>  It won't stop me from upgrading though.
>
>  Tom
>

I just wanted to report back on my experience regarding CPU usage.  I
upgraded today from 0.20.2 to 0.21 SVN 16944 under Gentoo.  First of
all, the upgrade from everything I've tested appears to have gone
flawlessly.

My frontend (dedicated frontend only) is a Dell Dimension 4700C 3.0
Ghz with hyper threading enabled.  Under 0.20.2 I was using libmpeg2
and bob de-interlacing.  It should be noted that I'm using Viktor's
patch to allow bob de-interlacing on my 1080i interlaced display:

http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/ticket/2903

...though other than allowing me to use bob, that shouldn't be a factor.

First thing after upgrading I setup my own custom playback profile
group to mimic my old settings with only one entry as follows:

Resolution: >= 0 0
Decoder: libmpeg2
Video Renderer: xv-blit
OSD Renderer: softblend
OSD fade: ON
Deinterlacer: bobdeint
Secondary Deinterlacer: none
Filters: none

For max cpus under the Decoder I assumed 2 made sense for my hyper-threaded CPU.

Because of all the talk about increased CPU usage in 0.21, I did
several checks before upgrading, noting the CPU usage on the frontend
for 720p (that doesn't require de-interlacing) as well as 1080i (which
of course does) for several different OTA channels, both watching
recordings and livetv (though those really didn't differ).

I can say beyond question that the CPU usage under 0.21 with the above
profile is identical to that under 0.20.2.  As a matter of fact, on
occasion when watching 720p it's slightly less.

Also...though I may be mistaken...I'd swear the HD video quality is
better under 0.21.  Very, very cool indeed...kudos to all the awesome
devs for this release.

Tom