Real world HD-PVR system requirements

[popechild]

There's stuff scattered through a bunch of threads on the HD-PVR, but I'm having trouble deciphering exactly what kind of horsepower I'm going to need to make sure my system can handle it. And since I'm probably going to need an upgrade or two to make it work, might as well plan to make sure I can run two of them simultaneously since I plan on doing that down the road.

My server is a 1gb RAM XP MCE machine, with a socket 939 motherboard and an AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3500+ processor.

My assumption is that I need a processor upgrade. I'm trying not to turn it into a processor/motherboard/memory upgrade, but I know there aren't alot of socket 939 options for sale these days.

Other than wanting to support a couple of HD-PVRs, my system runs great, so the fewer tweaks needed the better. Can anyone suggest the cheapest, most straightforward upgrade path for me? If I can get away with just a faster, dual-core processor, what speed should I try to find?

What speeds are you guys successfully using for stutter-free recordings and playback?

Thanks!

[othy]

I'm recording from an HD-PVR on a system that is even less powerful than that and my CPU barely notices when it's recording, since all of the work is done by the HD-PVR.

Playback is another issue, of course. My system is a server (playback is on the HD extender) so I'll leave playback specifics to others. However, much is going to depend on the video card you're using. If you choose your vidcard wisely, it will handle the hard work of decoding.

What video card do you currently have?

BTW, I feel your Socket 939 pain. I'd like to upgrade my CPU, but pickings were pretty slim when I did a cursory search...

Tim

[Brent]

There's a thread of working HD-PVR setups you might want to check out here

[fyodor]

I'd consider just getting an HD extender. It can't really be much more expensive than any potential hardware upgrade, and you won't have to deal with upgrades, drivers, etc. You're also more or less guaranteed that Sage will address any future playback issues, whereas you might have quirks accompanying your particular combination of system, OS, video card, etc, that won't be fixed.

Originally Posted by popechild

There's stuff scattered through a bunch of threads on the HD-PVR, but I'm having trouble deciphering exactly what kind of horsepower I'm going to need to make sure my system can handle it. And since I'm probably going to need an upgrade or two to make it work, might as well plan to make sure I can run two of them simultaneously since I plan on doing that down the road.

My server is a 1gb RAM XP MCE machine, with a socket 939 motherboard and an AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3500+ processor.

My assumption is that I need a processor upgrade. I'm trying not to turn it into a processor/motherboard/memory upgrade, but I know there aren't alot of socket 939 options for sale these days.

Other than wanting to support a couple of HD-PVRs, my system runs great, so the fewer tweaks needed the better. Can anyone suggest the cheapest, most straightforward upgrade path for me? If I can get away with just a faster, dual-core processor, what speed should I try to find?

What speeds are you guys successfully using for stutter-free recordings and playback?

Thanks!

[popechild]

Originally Posted by fyodor

I'd consider just getting an HD extender. It can't really be much more expensive than any potential hardware upgrade, and you won't have to deal with upgrades, drivers, etc. You're also more or less guaranteed that Sage will address any future playback issues, whereas you might have quirks accompanying your particular combination of system, OS, video card, etc, that won't be fixed.

Good points. I actually do have an HD extender that I use upstairs, but my downstairs theater where my server is doesn't have one. I didn't go with a second extender because the server's right there in the media closet anyway and it works great so I didn't need it. Good point about the comparative cost of the upgrade, though I'm hoping if I can just spend $100 or so on a faster processor and keep everything else that that'd be all I'd have to spend.

In addition, when I did try the extender in my theater for kicks when I first bought it, I got lots of green sparkles through the hdmi. On the plasma upstairs I use it with component, so I don't know if it's just bad hdmi on the unit I got or what, but I'm a little concerned that I would have the same problem if I bought an additional extender. (Maybe it's because I've got a 30ft hdmi cable running to the projector? Although that's coming from my receiver and none of my other sources have the green sparkles problem...) Oh yeah, and the one I have still freezes every couple of days and needs a reboot.

Btw, I should've mentioned before that I've got the 8500gt video card.

[DOS64K]

I wish you the best in finding a better CPU for your 939. I've got the same setup as you at the moment (but with only a 3200 Venice) and was looking the other day for an upgrade but couldn't find anything on all of my usual hardware haunts.

I've managed to do decent HD-PVR playback with my server/client rig, but nothing to brag about. I recently upgraded the vid card to an HD3450 and that certainly helped. Recording hasn't been a problem at all, even with 2 HDHRs and the HD-PVR going at the same time.

But, I'm seriously considering a combo Sage/WHS server with HD100s for all of my clients. Considering the simplicity of the HD100s vice dealing with an HTPC, not to mention the cost savings, it makes sense for me. Your experience with the HD100 seems to have been sketchy and your HDMI run sounds like a good place to start looking.

[popechild]

I feel like I've seen some clips posted here and there that people have captured with their HD-PVRs, but can't seem to find them right now. Anyone have any links to good clips that should approximate the actual playback I'd get with the HD-PVR on my server?

[popechild]

Looks like it's possible to ebay an x2 3800+ or 4200+ for under $100. Think this would do the trick?

[Apap]

Originally Posted by popechild

Looks like it's possible to ebay an x2 3800+ or 4200+ for under $100. Think this would do the trick?

My system is running smooth with a 4200+ x2,2 gig ram,8600 gt.
It can play HDPVR recordings and serve to both client and HD 100 extender with no problem,but not to an MVP.

[popechild]

Originally Posted by Apap

My system is running smooth with a 4200+ x2,2 gig ram,8600 gt.
It can play HDPVR recordings and serve to both client and HD 100 extender with no problem,but not to an MVP.

Thanks. Good to know.

[SHS]

This my Box
Intel Pentium 4 478 2.8GHz processor (Hyper Threading)
Intel D865Peal
1GB 400MHz PC3200
Sapphire HD 3850 512MB GDDR3 AGP "Bad to Bone Fast"
2 Seagate 250GB IDE
Corsair TX650W "CMPSU-650TX"
Capture from Dishnetwork
The key thing is the Video card

[popechild]

Found some downloadable clips to try. As expected, they work great on the extender. Trying to check them out on the server, but currently getting playbackExceptions having to do with the audio decoding. Hopefully I can get that straightened out soon and get a feel for exactly how far from smooth my 3500+ / 8500gt combo will play.

Was thinking the other advantage to doing a significant processor upgrade while there are still a few (at least used) floating around out there is for BD drive potential. I've got a PS3, but eventually when more of the HTPC playback and ripping bugs/hassles get sorted out, I'd like the ability to get a BD drive and know I have the horsepower to run the various disks. Oh, and HD commercial skip processing. I've never fully implemented it because my machine doesn't like playing back HD and processing comskip stuff at the same time. Presumable a good x2 4200+ or so should help out with that as well. All in all, seems like a good $100 spend compared to another $250 extender at this point...

EDIT: Hmm... so I'm having some trouble with the audio rendering still. Any suggestions here?

[popechild]

Just wanted to post an update with my findings for anyone else in the same boat. My A64 3500+ can play back the clips flawlessly with only 5-10% cpu usage (in WMP or graphedit), presumably because the 8500gt is doing all the heavy lifting. So there shouldn't be any need for me to upgrade at all. The only concern I have is seeing so many reports that CPU utilization is so much higher with playback in Sage, and Sage is throwing an audio error on the clips, so I won't be able to test that completely until I get the unit. But assuming Sage gets the hardware acceleration thing straightened out, a 3500+/8500gt combo works great.

[phelme]

I suppose I'm dreaming thinking I'll ever get one client with an ATI 2400Pro to work. I've tried the latest Cyberlink and CoreAVC drivers with poor results using the TS samples that are out there (my HD-PVR is backordered). I need to try out ArcSoft next before I give up.

I'm kind of stuck with this one client because it's an Asus Pundit and only has lowly PCI slots for upgrading. The 2400Pro was the only low-profile PCI card I could find. I guess I'll try the built-in 6150 too, but the ATI has, in general, better picture quality.

I think I see an extender in my future.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by phelme

I suppose I'm dreaming thinking I'll ever get one client with an ATI 2400Pro to work. I've tried the latest Cyberlink and CoreAVC drivers with poor results using the TS samples that are out there (my HD-PVR is backordered). I need to try out ArcSoft next before I give up.

I'm kind of stuck with this one client because it's an Asus Pundit and only has lowly PCI slots for upgrading. The 2400Pro was the only low-profile PCI card I could find. I guess I'll try the built-in 6150 too, but the ATI has, in general, better picture quality.

I think I see an extender in my future.

The Arcsoft decoder should solve the audio problems, but whether your 3500+ can handle it is another question. I think you can download the trial version and test it.

But as others have suggested, get an HD extender. If you are getting green blocks through HDMI, try changing the resolution, like 1080i instead of 1080p. And is component an option? ALso, upgrade the firmware on the HD extender.

[mistergq]

I am using an AMD Dual Core processor. I did not buy the video card for the HD playback. I just need a video card and had a price point in mind.

The arcsoft decoder solved playback problems on my server. And with the dual core, there is minimal noticeable changein cpu usage.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by phelme

I suppose I'm dreaming thinking I'll ever get one client with an ATI 2400Pro to work. I've tried the latest Cyberlink and CoreAVC drivers with poor results using the TS samples that are out there (my HD-PVR is backordered). I need to try out ArcSoft next before I give up.

I'm kind of stuck with this one client because it's an Asus Pundit and only has lowly PCI slots for upgrading. The 2400Pro was the only low-profile PCI card I could find. I guess I'll try the built-in 6150 too, but the ATI has, in general, better picture quality.

I think I see an extender in my future.

Since your video card is PCI you will probably never have success playing video recordings from the HD-PVR. You would want your video coming thru an AGP or a PCI-E slot. And your built in 6150 won't handle it either. I have the next gen, 7050 PV\630a in one of my clients and play HD-PVR recordings perfect with the Arcsoft decoder.

Gerry

[phelme]

Well, interestingly enough, I think my PCI based ATI 2400 Pro will be able to handle it with two conditions: overclocking a bit with ATI Tool and running in Overlay mode, not VMR9.

I can already decode MPEG2 1080i videos, where de-interlacing is a chore, just fine with the setup as long as I run Overlay. Even overclocking the card about 25%, 1080i source files on VMR9 just aren't quite there. The same is turning out to be true for H.264 files produced by the HD-PVR. Though H.264 files are more dependent on the decoder used and CPU horsepower as well.

I'll be able to experiment more once my HD-PVR actually arrives. There aren't a wide variety of sample files out there to play with and I need the ArcSoft audio decoder that comes with the HD-PVR too.

If I can't reliably get it to work I'll see if I can replace the motherboard in the Pundit, though I'm not sure that's even possible. Then, probably a new Pundit or the like is in order.