Been out of the loop for a couple of years, I see we can now record over component

[AJ Bertelson]

Been a sageTV user for a long long time. I used to have a server client setup but I have now moved to a straight server(HTPC) setup. I had just about given up getting component inputs working for recording as I heard time and time again that it would be next to impossible and now we have that. My current setup consists of this

AXP 2100
512mb of ram
Asus nforce2
3 hauppage PVR-250's
radeon 9000

I doubt this is enough to playback HD content much less record it but I do have a opteron 2.0ghz single core with 1.5gigs of ram with a 7800gt. I would like to move back to a client server setup and I am thinking about using my opteron system as the server with the HD PVR.

Is it enough to power it and still be able to record with the PVR-250's? Do you need a dual core system like the hauppage page says? Could I even use the AXP system to record?

The server would just be in the basement and be a headless box.

[Clift]

Both of those should be good enough to capture/record.

For playback, the biggest bottleneck is getting a card that can support hardware decoding of H.264. Any of the ATi Radeon HD 26xx, 3xxx, and 4xxx cards can handle it. Like wise for NVIDIA 8500GT, 8600GT and 8600GTS. The 8800GTS I'm not sure about. I think your biggest hurdle here will be to find a good AGP card that can do that. I'm assuming AGP as your system seems a bit older and may not have PCIe.

[Chriscic]

You need next to nothing to record since the encoding chip in the HD-PVR does all the work. I'm using a 1.3ghz PIII on my WHS Sage Server and it works fine.

[AJ Bertelson]

Originally Posted by Chriscic

You need next to nothing to record since the encoding chip in the HD-PVR does all the work. I'm using a 1.3ghz PIII on my WHS Sage Server and it works fine.

Where can I get some HD files that would mimic what the HD PVR creates in size and bandwidth.

I tried some wm-hd files and they ran fine on the HTPC

[HelenWeathers]

There are some 1-2 min clips from HD PVR here:

http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...ad.php?t=36003

Posts #40(720) and #42(1080)

[AJ Bertelson]

Originally Posted by HelenWeathers

There are some 1-2 min clips from HD PVR here:

http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...ad.php?t=36003

Posts #40(720) and #42(1080)

Does sage 6.4 have the ability to play back TS files or do I need to do some codec searching?

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by AJ Bertelson

Does sage 6.4 have the ability to play back TS files or do I need to do some codec searching?

The HD PVR comes with ArcSoft software and codecs. Not sure if Sage will work without them. Anyone???

Download the 6.4 SageTV beta 21 day trial and see.

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by AJ Bertelson

Does sage 6.4 have the ability to play back TS files or do I need to do some codec searching?

You'll really need dual core at least for HD-PVR playback. I've tried it on a single core AMD 3800+ machine with an nVidia 8500GT card and it was pretty jerky. I put that same vid card in a 4200+ x2 machine, with the same amount of RAM and it worked perfectly.

Regarding codecs for the HD-PVR, it comes with ArcSoft Total Media Extreme for h.264 playback. That works just fine. Personally, I'm using the Cyberlink PDVD 7 package for h.264, but Arcsoft was fine.

[Clift]

Originally Posted by ghostlobster

You'll really need dual core at least for HD-PVR playback. I've tried it on a single core AMD 3800+ machine with an nVidia 8500GT card and it was pretty jerky. I put that same vid card in a 4200+ x2 machine, with the same amount of RAM and it worked perfectly.

Regarding codecs for the HD-PVR, it comes with ArcSoft Total Media Extreme for h.264 playback. That works just fine. Personally, I'm using the Cyberlink PDVD 7 package for h.264, but Arcsoft was fine.

I was getting buttery smooth playback with 10-15% CPU from an Athlon 3000+ (socket 939) using the CyberLink H.264 PDVD8 codec using an NVIDIA 8600GT card, with Purevideo HD (hardware acceleration).

[OldPCGUY]

Looking at your system I would upgrade your main memory to about 3Gig if possible and that's all.

You can buy an extender for $200 versus a good Video card that can run $100-$200.

Even with the upgraded memory and a new video card, I don't think anyone can guarantee perfect HD PLayback. I think the Sage Extender can do very good playback based on the reviews I have seen.

If you are looking to save money. I would get OTA HD. The Hauppauge 1800 Card works great for ATSC OTA HD. It truely is amazing.
Antenna.WEB will tell you about what type antenna you need.

Good Luck

Tony