[mythtv-users] HDHomeRun - Comcast shut off clear QAM

[Jay Ashworth]

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael T. Dean" <mtdean at thirdcontact.com>

> No, I mean, "VDPAU isn't guaranteed to work on all content, or with all
> applications". VDPAU works great in MythTV on my PCIe GeForce GT220
> (with CPU running in performance mode), but some content (such as that
> from my NBC affiliate) trips it up, making video playback/watching with
> VDPAU decode useless. And, since there's no way for me to tell MythTV
> "only use VDPAU if the content came from channels other than this one,"
> I need to use software decode (where /I/--or people smarter than me who
> work on ffmpeg and MythTV video decoders can change and fix the
> software). And, even if MythTV allowed me to only use VDPAU on content
> from certain channels, I'd /still/ need a good CPU that can decode the
> high-bitrate MPEG-2 in software--or else I couldn't watch Marvel's
> Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. So, while the Presentation portion of VDPAU is
> wonderful, the Decode portion leaves a lot to be desired.

Oh, my.  I had no *idea* VDPAU was that sloppy.  Crap, and I just bought
a new NV card.  <sigh>

> I'll admit that I don't care that VDPAU decode doesn't work on most
> Flash/Silverlight stuff out there because I use other systems (Xbox 360,
> PS3, ...) to watch my Netflix and Amazon Instant Prime, and already saw
> a cat video once, so I don't need to watch YouTube. :) That said,
> VDPAU decode doesn't work on all other stuff--even "supported" formats,
> such as 1080i MPEG2 can be encoded such that VDPAU can't handle them--so
> I don't want to be reliant on VDPAU since I can't fix it myself.

Got it. 

And, amazingly, only *fifty percent* of YouTube is cat videos.  There is,
for example, this Pepsi ad mashup I made the other day, combining a 2009
spot with much more appropriate (I thought :-) 1974 music:

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTR8C1YwmI

> > Well, yes, but does anyone think that NVidia can *remotely* downgrade
> > my installed VDPAU capable card so that certain things will stop
> > working?
> >
> > They're not exactly the same problem, are they?
> 
> No, and I haven't said that I expect any company to remove functionality
> from anything. I'm only saying that having a system that can do what
> you want it to do--both now, and in the future when your wants
> change/expand--is the right approach for me.

Well, you compared the VDPAU problem, I thought, to several similar issues
where remote-downgrade *is* in fact an issue...

> > Well, the Circle Of Hardware drifts in and out of the CPU -- and certainly,
> > 4 and 6 core AMD 5400s ought to have the CPU to decode HD MPEG2 on-chip,
> > especially if you can pin the decoder there... But dedicated hardware has
> > traditionally been a bit cheaper than the general purpose stuff, or
> > it wouldn't exist. Having both options is good.
> 
> Yes, and if you have a system with an nvidia video card that's VDPAU
> compatible /and/ a good CPU, you have both options. If you buy a system
> that can only decode the video you want to watch using VDPAU, you
> don't. You may have /had/ both options when you went to purchase, but
> you took away one of them when you decided to get the underpowered
> system that's reliant on VDPAU.

Yup.  And for some people, that's a compromise they have no choice but
to make.  As long as they know what they're getting into, I'm fine with
that.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Make Election Day a federal holiday: http://wh.gov/lBm94  100k sigs by 12/14

Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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