[mythtv-users] VDPAU update from the front lines, December 2008

[mikp]

On Wed, 3 Dec 2008 18:37:09 -0800
Yeechang Lee <ylee at pobox.com> wrote:

> mikp <mikpolniak at roadrunner.com> says:
> > When i got the HD-PVR in October i read this thread to get the
> > HD-PVR working with my 0.21-fixes.
> 
> If
> my frontend were a Core 2 Duo with enough horsepower for traditional
> CPU-based MPEG4 playback that'd be different, too. 

I  am using dual core at 3 GHz which works for all my H.264 recordings. 
But i also had to set my STB to output only 720p. I am using the firewire channel changer for the STB and it has been 100% reliable. 

I have tested the Nvidia VDPAU patches and they work as advertised, but i am in no rush for them since my CPU does the job.
 
> Also, I don't have a Windows box and unless this has changed there
> isn't another way to install new HD-PVR firmware, so I wouldn't have
> 5.1 audio support.

Somewhere you know someone with a Windows box, You just need a few minutes
to plug in the USB cable from the HD-PVR and d/l the firmware. 

> 
> > I have made hundreds of H.264 recordings with the HD-PVR and now its
> > my primary method of recording because of the quality (which
> > compares to HD OTA ) and the fact that the encoding to H.264 is
> > about 1/3 the size of comparable MPEG2.
> 
> I'd still love to hear more on your experience with the HD-PVR on
> 0.21-fixes. Anything else to report, pro or con? 

I have been recording every day since October and have not lost any recordings.
So far the HD-PVR ranks as one of my best mythtv experiences.