Sagetv + 7800GT w/vivo + pvr-150

[johnson636]

Ok, I ran up on a deal for a 7800GT for $300 which I'm seriously considering, but I have a question.

Originally I was going with a 6800GS and a pvr-500, which would amount to about $400. As we know, the pvr-500 is a dual tuner which allows you to watch one channel while recording another.

Now to my question. If I were to get the 7800GT w/vivo and a pvr-150, which would also come out to $400, would I be able to use this setup, along with sagetv, to watch a channel while record another.

Now I understand that cards with vivo use software encoding, but my intensions are to use the video-in feature of the 7800GT for watching tv while recording with the pvr-150. Will this work?

[stanger89]

SageTV is always recording, so there would be no way to say "Use 7800 only for live TV" and avoid encodng.

IMO, since it's "only" ~$60 difference between the 150 and the 500, I'd just get the 7800 and the 500 for $460. Actually at $300 for the 7800 it would only be about $430 with the 500.

Of course a couple other comments, will you be gaming? The 7800 won't be much benefit for only SD. Further both the 7800 and 6800 probably have fans, have you considered a 6600GT or 6800 with a passive cooler? Asus makes a 7800 with a passive cooler but it's about $400.

[johnson636]

Originally Posted by stanger89

SageTV is always recording, so there would be no way to say "Use 7800 only for live TV" and avoid encodng.

IMO, since it's "only" ~$60 difference between the 150 and the 500, I'd just get the 7800 and the 500 for $460. Actually at $300 for the 7800 it would only be about $430 with the 500.

Of course a couple other comments, will you be gaming? The 7800 won't be much benefit for only SD. Further both the 7800 and 6800 probably have fans, have you considered a 6600GT or 6800 with a passive cooler? Asus makes a 7800 with a passive cooler but it's about $400.

$60 difference..... where? What do you mean concerning the 7800GT and SD

SageTV is always recording, so there would be no way to say "Use 7800 only for live TV" and avoid encodng

.

So do you mean if I have sagtv running while Im watch tv, the space on my HDD is being taken up

Further both the 7800 and 6800 probably have fans, have you considered a 6600GT or 6800 with a passive cooler?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by johnson636

$60 difference..... where? What do you mean concerning the 7800GT and SD

At newegg, the 150 is about 65 and the 500 about 130. All I mean about SD is that the 7800 doesn't offer anything for SD not found on the 6600GT.

I just checked and you can get an eVGA 7800GT and a PVR 500 from newegg for 440.88 (shipping included). And there's a $20 rebate on the 7800GT so total is 420.88 after MIR.

So do you mean if I have sagtv running while Im watch tv, the space on my HDD is being taken up

Yes, like all PVRs, SageTV buffers Live TV to the HDD to facilitate timeshifting.

[johnson636]

Yes, like all PVRs, SageTV buffers Live TV to the HDD to facilitate timeshifting.

So whether I want to or not sagetv while record tv? So do I have to then find where sage saved the files then delete them?

The 7800 won't be much benefit for only SD. Further both the 7800 and 6800 probably have fans, have you considered a 6600GT or 6800 with a passive cooler?

Please elaborate

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by johnson636

So whether I want to or not sagetv while record tv? So do I have to then find where sage saved the files then delete them?

No, SageTV will either delete Live TV shortly after the show is over, or when space is needed for new recordings, depending on some settings. The v4.1 PDF manual in your SageTV directory has some comments on live TV starting on p. 20 (Quick Start section of chapter 2) and live TV cleanup is covered on p. 230 in Appendix C.

- Andy

[jkoutrouba]

When he says that the 7800 does not offer anything for SD, he means that you will not see a performance improvement over a lesser card because a lesser card is sufficient. In other words, don't waste your money if all you want is good SD playback. If you are planning to do some gaming, however, things are different.

[stanger89]

Yes, for media the 6600GT offers everything the 7800GT does. Hence no benefit to get the 7800GT over the 6600GT for media.