[mythtv-users] Will these machines give me xorg headaches?

[Nick Rout]

On Sat, Jul 7, 2012 at 1:24 AM, Damian <myth at surr.co.uk> wrote:
> On 06/07/2012 07:25, Karl Newman wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 5, 2012 at 3:59 PM, Damian <myth at surr.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> I'm planning on replacing an old MythBox and 'always on' LAN server with
>>> one
>>> of the selection here:
>>>
>>> http://www.mediacenter-tv.co.uk/slim-line-media-centres.html
>>>
>>> The thing I'm worried about is the graphics output and if I'll be able to
>>> configure it.
>>>
>>> I have an old BenQ W100 projector which has a native resolution of 480p.
>>> Yes, I know that's rubbish, and I'll get HD when it dies, but it's
>>> perfectly
>>> adequate for watching SD films until then.
>>>
>>> When I first set up the last machine, I had a NIGHTMARE getting a
>>> workable
>>> resolution though to the projector. I had a lot of help on this
>>> newsgroup,
>>> and after about 2 months of trial and error I got the nVidia drivers
>>> doing
>>> what I wanted them to do. They feed a 720p image to the projector, which
>>> the
>>> projector can interpret.
>>>
>>> These new machines mostly have integratd Intel graphics cards. Is that
>>> going
>>> to give me a headache again??
>>>
>>> I temporarily have a Windows XP machine plugged into the projector, and
>>> that
>>> doesn't know what to make of it. I've not spent time trying to solve it
>>> as
>>> it's only there for a short time, but I'm back to the 16:9 ratio being
>>> ignored and the only options available being 4:3.
>>>
>>> If it helps to see how good/bad this problem is, here's a link to the
>>> xorg.conf file that gets around the problems with my nVidia card and lets
>>> things display properly:
>>>
>>> http://pastebin.com/Eb70dVYV
>>>
>>> I'd really appreciate your best guess as to whether those xorg.conf
>>> changes
>>> may work with any graphics card, or if they are nVidia dependent.
>>>
>>> And while we are on the subject, how does Intel graphics on the
>>> motherboard
>>> compare to nVidia's for MythTV use?
>>>
>>> Looking forward to your thoughts,
>>> Damian
>>
>>
>> Well, I just replaced a failed nVidia system with an intel setup and
>> it was far from easy. All told the system was offline (for myth
>> purposes) for over a month. A big part of my problem was getting the
>> video modes to work correctly. I have an old SD CRT (480i only) and am
>> using an HDMI->S-video converter to get a signal to it. I had tried
>> earlier using a HDMI->component video but had a terrible time trying
>> to get an interlaced mode working. It sounds like your projector
>> understands progressive modes so maybe you'll have better luck. I
>> played around with the new (in 3.3 or 3.4) kernel ability to insert a
>> custom DSDT to specify the available modes (and thus override that
>> read from the video output device). I did get it to work, but it was
>> still better and simpler for me to downgrade my output type to
>> S-Video. As far as Myth's support of intel, I have VAAPI working fine
>> with low CPU usage. From what I've read on the list, several others
>> have tried and failed, but it wasn't all that difficult for me to get
>> it working; just a few key settings/libraries. The quality with isn't
>> fantastic but heck I'm still using a 480i display so obviously it
>> doesn't bother me much!
>>
>> So, I guess my advice is: Good luck! Most likely it will not be plug and
>> play.
>>
>> Karl
>>
>
> Thanks for that Karl, I'm glad I asked!
>
> If I play safe and go to one of the machines that has onboard nVidia
> graphics (and cross my finger that the display works), then those machines
> have:
>
> - Intel Core 2 Atom processors (rather than the Intel i3 iCore on the higher
> models) and
> - 1 TB 2.5" 3GB/s HD (rather than 1 TB 3.5" 6GB/s HD).
>
> Are those two items up to the task of an 'always on' home network server and
> running the main MuthTV FE/BE?
>
> Thanks
> Damian
>

Depends on your need for transcoding, commercial detection, HLS etc