[mythtv-users] Getting new display & frontend, a few questions

Kevin Ross kevin at familyross.net
Wed Mar 2 06:44:16 UTC 2011


On 3/1/2011 4:58 AM, Jeppe Nejsum Madsen wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm about to upgrade my tried&  true CRT to a new thinner display
> device and thus enter the modern world :-)
>

Welcome to the 21st century!

> I'm currently netbooting (via minimyth) an Asus M2PV-VM with
> integrated graphics as a frontend, but since it only has S-Video&  no
> HDMI I need to upgrade. So, a few questions:
>
>   * A lot of panel reviews also test for quality of SD-content. I
> assume this tests the device's ability to deinterlace&  scale content.
> Is it correct that all this is irrelevant if Myth is the only source?
> I assume only raw 1080p pq is important? I will have a PS3 for
> blue-ray material (and maybe dvd also, depending on the frontend
> choosen)
>

Correct.  The scaling and deinterlacing are done by the computer.  For 
this reason, you should get one of the better NVIDIA video cards, such 
as a GT430, which has the best deinterlacers and scalers.

>   * I'm considering either getting a new gfx card (eg. gt24) or getting
> a new frontend. I know ion/ion2 cannot do vdpau advanced with 60hz
> material, but have seen various reports that it may work with 50hz
> material. Can someone shed some light on this? How about subtitle
> rendering? We normally always have subtitles enabled. How does this
> affect rendering?
>
>   * For PQ reasons, I'm considering a plasma display but still hear
> there are various issues with retention. How can this be handled in
> Myth? I mostly think of leaving a frontend running on e.g. the main
> menu. Is there any form of auto sleep&  screen blanker available?
>

I use a screensaver on all of my frontends.  I use the Gnome desktop, 
but Myth and the gnome-screensaver don't play well together.  The 
easiest solution is to remove gnome-screensaver from your Gnome session 
(if you use Gnome), and instead use xscreensaver.  It works perfectly 
with MythTV.  Hitting any button on the remote makes the screensaver go 
away, and of course it stays away while playing video.

>   * How do people rate the overall PQ from a myth system vs signal
> directly into panel?

Awesome with digital sources, such as clear QAM and OTA HDTV.  Capturing 
from an HD cable box with an HD-PVR is also excellent.

Hope this helps!
-- Kevin



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