Still have hardware questions...

[Biggen]

Still in the midst of running ethernet over my entire house. Been in the attic more times than I think the builders were...

Anyway, I am finishing up the infrastructure and am now turning my attention to the hardware. My goal is to have three HD300's running from a central dedicated SageTV server. It will only be running SageTV and nothing more. I also what to be able to rip and store DVD's and Blue Rays from this dedicated machine.

Orignally I was going to put in a Phenom II X2 which are $86 from newegg. But then I started looking at the Athlon II X2 which are $63 from newegg. Just wondering if I will see a real world difference between the two? Obviously, the Phenom is more powerful but it is also more expensive and draws more power.

If I am doing the occasional DVD and BlueRay ripping and playback from the SageTV server will the Athlon II X2 be enough? Secondly, how does SageTV handle DVD's and Bluerays. Can I pop a DVD or BlueRay in the machine, watch it from anywhere I have a HD300 setup, and then rip it later? Can SageTV even play BlueRays or do I need a standalone player like AnyDVd or something?

[Olias]

Originally Posted by Biggen

Orignally I was going to put in a Phenom II X2 which are $86 from newegg. But then I started looking at the Athlon II X2 which are $63 from newegg. Just wondering if I will see a real world difference between the two?

Either CPU should work if you're only streaming out to HD300s. But if you plan on using comskip, the faster cpu, the better.

If I am doing the occasional DVD and BlueRay ripping and playback from the SageTV server will the Athlon II X2 be enough?

Yep. The HD300's handle all the heavy lifting.

Secondly, how does SageTV handle DVD's and Bluerays. Can I pop a DVD or BlueRay in the machine, watch it from anywhere I have a HD300 setup, and then rip it later? Can SageTV even play BlueRays or do I need a standalone player like AnyDVd or something?

Yes, with caveats. You can set up your BD player on the server as a location for movies and just pop it in, and play it from the extenders. However, you must have something like AnyDVD HD on the server to allow the extenders to see the protected content on the DVD/BluRays.
DVD playback is excellent, BluRay playback "works" but is not like having a "real" BluRay player. Because the menuing for BluRays is actually a protected Java program, Sage can't run it. What you get is the playlist of the BluRay to pick from, with it automatically choosing the longest playlist. Sometimes that's the actual movie, sometimes it's a director's cut with narration.

[drewg]

Originally Posted by Biggen

Orignally I was going to put in a Phenom II X2 which are $86 from newegg

I'd go for an x4 over a Phenom X2, especially if you're planning to do playon or transcoding at the same time as comskip. I just updated from an older / slower x2 to an X4 635, and it was the best $99 I've ever spent.

Drew

[joe123]

Originally Posted by drewg

I'd go for an x4 over a Phenom X2, especially if you're planning to do playon or transcoding at the same time as comskip. I just updated from an older / slower x2 to an X4 635, and it was the best $99 I've ever spent.

Drew

I second that. I have PlayOn and when you have recordings, ShowAnalyzer and Playon going at once, even the fastest systems take a hit.

Does anyone know how far of an Ethernet cable you can have with SageTV HD300 and Server?

[95TBird]

Generally speaking 100 Meters is the limit (327 feet) for Cat5 cable or better for 100 Mbps connections.

[Biggen]

Originally Posted by Olias

Yes, with caveats. You can set up your BD player on the server as a location for movies and just pop it in, and play it from the extenders. However, you must have something like AnyDVD HD on the server to allow the extenders to see the protected content on the DVD/BluRays.
DVD playback is excellent, BluRay playback "works" but is not like having a "real" BluRay player. Because the menuing for BluRays is actually a protected Java program, Sage can't run it. What you get is the playlist of the BluRay to pick from, with it automatically choosing the longest playlist. Sometimes that's the actual movie, sometimes it's a director's cut with narration.

Ok, so is it better to rip the BluRays first and then play them? But like you said it gives you the play list to pick from and it selects the longest automatically. So if it does pick the director's cut, I can pick the correct playlist, yes?


@drewg
Ok, so I better put in a better CPU than an Athlon then. I really hadn't planned on messing with comskip. Is it that much better? I don't mind hitting the fast forward button...

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by Biggen

I really hadn't planned on messing with comskip. Is it that much better?

Comskip is pretty awesome, especially with shows recorded from a digital source. Shows recorded from an analog source still work in comskip, but the commercial detection is less crisp, IMHO.

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by Biggen

@drewg
Ok, so I better put in a better CPU than an Athlon then. I really hadn't planned on messing with comskip. Is it that much better? I don't mind hitting the fast forward button...

I disagree with this. An Athlon II is still a Phenom II derivative without the L3 cache. I use an Athlon II x4 and am still able to do real-time comskip on even h.264 (Comskip is single threaded so performance on the X2 or the X4 is the same). Therefore even with comskip, there is no reason to go Phenom II.

[SWKerr]

I have bought quite a few X3 processors for different builds. I have always been able to unlock the extra core but this will depend on your motherboards ability to do it. I like the value of the AMD Phenom II X3. At $90 for the unlocked Black version it is a good deal.

Even an X2 is really enough for comskip but if you are recording several shows at once and using Playon you might get behind on comskip but I doubt you would even notice.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by KeithAbbott

Comskip is pretty awesome, especially with shows recorded from a digital source.

If it was not for the Commercial detectoin ( ShowAnalyze and comskip ) I would not had a PVR system.

It's a no brainer - it's a must

[bastage]

Its a bit more cost wise, but in the long run the Athlon II x4 600e will be enough & it will end up saving you money over time since its only a 45w CPU. Unfortunitly you pay more for the extra energy savings up front though. Also since they run so cool you can run the CPU fan slower & thus less noise.