[mythtv-users] HD-PVR: Answers requested

Yeechang Lee ylee at pobox.com
Sun Aug 17 04:39:12 UTC 2008


I have a HD PVR that hasn't been taken out of its plastic wrapper
yet. Based on what I read on mythtv-users, mythtv, and mythtv-commit,
though, it seems like the day I can use it is nearing. My 0.21-fixes
system crashes when I try playing the variou sample HD PVR recordings
people have offered up, but I understand work on support is proceeding
apace in trunk.

I'd like this thread to consolidate source of answers to various
questions I--and, I suspect, others--have about the device.[1] I request
all posts to come from the MythTV perspective, not mplayer or xine. I
am also *not* asking when support for the device will appear in
0.21-fixes, since I know the proper answer is "when it's done."

Q: Robert McNamara recently stated
(<URL:http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/345697#345697>)
that a Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz frontend is more or less the realistic
minimum to play HD PVR recordings, and even there "it can be dicey."
Is there a minimum processor/speed combination that will play all HD
PVR recordings (again, from *within MythTV*) without any hiccups and
without using CoreAVC, regardless of encoding method or bandwidth??

Q: I am not much of a hardware guy. Any suggestions on prebuilt
frontend boxes that comply with the above minimum while at the same
time adhering to at least two of three on the "fast, cheap, or small"
criterias?

Q: My HD PVR says "Rev C1" on the bottom. I know that some "Rev C1"
units are said to be OK, whiile "Rev C2" units are said to be all
good. How can I tell which is which? Or should I just go ahead and
contact Hauppauge for an RMA?

Q: I know that, currently, a Windows box is needed for initial
firmware installation (And any future firmware installations?). Any
prospects of this changing? I don't have any Windows boxes at home;
just MythTV boxes and a Mac.

Q: I see people set their cable boxes to output either 1080i or
720p. For those who've tried both, how do recordings look at both
resolutions? Any meaningful differences, in either recording or
playback quality/performance?

Q: I know the device's firmware does not currently support AC3 output
although there's hardware support for it. I think this, more than
anything else, has stopped me from jumping to trunk and installing v4l
for device support, as opposed to the FireWire I currently use. Any
word from Hauppauge on when the promised software update will arrive?

Q: Setting all encoding options to whatever the "highest quality"
settings are, how much disk space will recordings take up per hour?

Q: The last, and certainly not least, question: How reliable are Janne
Grunau's current driver and the current MythTV trunk backend and
frontend in day-to-day recoring and playback with the HD-PVR, given
the above caveats?  Rock solid, crashes all the time, or somewhere in
between?

One final bonus question: Other than three brief mentions (starting at
<URL:http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/343143#343143>),
there has been no talk whatsoever of the reputedly-upcoming competing
PVR Companion. John Poet or anyone else with more info, please spill.

[1] For example, it was not until this week that I found any reports
of a minimum hardware configuration for successful playback from
within MythTV.

-- 
Yeechang Lee <ylee at pobox.com> | San Francisco CA US


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