Freeview DVB-T compatible videocards.

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19 posts

Geek

Reply # 120526 2-Apr-2008 16:25
OK my first post on Geekzone... The results of my experimenting for the last month with NZ DVBT transmissions with respect to video cards are: The 7600GS has NO hardware decoding for H.264. The NVidia website leads you astray with this fact. The card supports Purevideo BUT NOT Purevideo HD. My CPU usage was 30-50% with a E6750 (2.6GHz Core2duo), recent motherboard and fast memory. Yes my system with the 7600GS and DVB Viewer would decode the broadcast with software decoding, but the result was quite jittery and annoying to watch.. After changing to an 8500GT today the difference is remarkable! The jittery video is gone and my CPU is down to 5-8% while watching TV3 which is apparently the worst channel at present due to the de-interlacing requirements. I second the idea to set up a list of video cards that have been 'actually' tested by members and not assumed to work because of (sometimes) misleading information on the net. My research was solely on NVidia cards that would support H.264 hardware decoding and my end conclusion was that only the 8xxx and 9xxx cards are fully capable. The exception (I thought) was the 8400 which didn't have the right graphics engine, but I see it seems to work for another member..

askelon

282 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 120553 2-Apr-2008 18:00
All the 8xxx and 9xxx cards are fully compatible with DVB-T, the only exception being the 8800GTS/GTX cards which are based on the gen1 core. I can vouch for the 8400GS as thats what Im using myself - there are in fact 2 versions of the 8400GS though, one being based on the 84 core, one on the 98 core. Get the 98 core based one if possible as that is the 3rd gen core as opposed to the 2nd gen which still works more than perfect for freeview! :)

hashbrown

124 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 120591 2-Apr-2008 20:18
This doc seems to be a good start, although it's getting a bit out of date. I haven't seen anyone in this thread recommending a card that doesn't have "H.264 Decode Acceleration with IDCT and CAVLC/CABAC" ticked. http://www.nvidia.com/docs/CP/11036/PureVideo_Product_Comparison.pdf

Mantis

17 posts

Geek

Reply # 120644 3-Apr-2008 01:48
Hi all, have just bought this card, an nVidia 8600 GT. http://c1com.co.nz/shop/step1.php?number=11461. Installed in 5 minutes and everything is working great. Getting about 10% usage watching TV3, a lot better than the noisy old X1800.

joker97

3917 posts

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Reply # 120832 3-Apr-2008 19:35
was just checking the ati website re my card ati radeon x1300 =- and it says it's h.264 capable. i can't confirm as do not have a tuner

Adamal

544 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 120852 3-Apr-2008 20:24
ATI HD3870 was using like 2% of my E8400. Confirmed working

huckster

92 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 122269 9-Apr-2008 10:40
fisher191: aether22: I've bit bullet and going for the 780G (GA-MA78GM-S2H) since as this is a HTPC mostly it will be well worth it, in fact even a Sempron 3200 processor is apparently enough but I'll go probably for a ATHLON64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHZ. The 780G is apparently very readily overclockable to boot. I am thinking about building an extender using this MB and would like to know how you find it performs. Steve (sbiddle) or anyone else with an opinion: any thoughts on this vs a good H264 video card (say 8500GT/8600GT)? Assuming it delivers the frame rate what else might be missing (e.g. good deinterlacing)? I've got a GA-MA78GM-S2H and put a BE2350 in it. After a few "what have I done" moments, using the Catalyst 8.3 drivers appears to have resolved horrible de-interlacing issues with TV3 (XP, MediaPortal, PowerDVD 7, DVB-T via a USB stick). Now it's looking good.

smbunn

90 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 122600 10-Apr-2008 16:55
I am running Media Portal on two computers using Nova S-500 DVB-T receiver. The first is a core 2 due E2400 CPU at 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, Asus P5VDC-MX motherboard with 8xAGP slot. It ran and decoded all channels including TV3 using an old Radeon 9550 card and a newer Radeon 9800 card with latest drivers. Both posted identical performance results and neither showed any less than 40% CPU on all channels but 90% on TV3. PowerDVD ultra h264 codec in use. All channels except TV3 are very clean, clear and good frame rates. So there is life in AGP after all! TV3 was a waste of time, maybe 5 frames per second so runs but visually annoying due to the distraction of low frame rate especially with motion. Looked to me like de-interlacing was killing it, I video edit and it reminded me of viewing DV footage which had incorrectly been set to use even frame first instead of odd. HD demo channel looked gorgeous and ran well, in fact it also stuck at about 40% CPU so same as the 576i channels even though its 720p. Had high Wife Acceptance Factor on the image on my 42" LCD. Mind you this is Sony's demo disk shot with the best possible cameras, lighting, (did I mention the cute models). Second computer has slightly faster core 2 duo at 1.86 Ghz, 2 GB Corsair Ram and PCI-e Nvidia 8600 GTS graphics card. Smooth as 4% to 8% CPU on all channels, excellent picture on TV3 and excellent sound out of my 5.1 sound system. Channel changes are slow, about 1 to 1.5 seconds but I can live with that. How fast are channel changes on the Zinwell?

sbiddle

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Reply # 122628 10-Apr-2008 18:18
smbunn: I am running Media Portal on two computers using Nova S-500 DVB-T receiver. The first is a core 2 due E2400 CPU at 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, Asus P5VDC-MX motherboard with 8xAGP slot. It ran and decoded all channels including TV3 using an old Radeon 9550 card and a newer Radeon 9800 card with latest drivers. Both posted identical performance results and neither showed any less than 40% CPU on all channels but 90% on TV3. PowerDVD ultra h264 codec in use. All channels except TV3 are very clean, clear and good frame rates. So there is life in AGP after all! Those results are faily typical for software based decoding and the video card not performing any hardware acceleration.. Sorry to say it but AGP is dead! Good to see your other system is working well, it seems pretty clear now that anything but a current series 8 or series 9 NVidia card simply won't handle our H.264 streams. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

mentalinc

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Reply # 122648 10-Apr-2008 19:48
sbiddle: Sorry to say it but AGP is dead! It might not be dead but you would be better investing in a new system: PowerColor's HD 3850 AGP http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6565&Itemid=40&limit=1&limitstart=0 I CAN NOT CONFIRM THIS WORKS! CPU: Intel 3770k\| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X \|MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB \| GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 \| Monitor: Dell 2007wfp \| TV capture: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 & Nova-S-Plus Software: Windows 8 Pro dvbviewer v4.9.6.20

walt12

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 122656 10-Apr-2008 20:15
For the purposes of H.264 hardware decoding AGP is dead. To be able to use an AGP card (and hence rely on software/CPU decoding) you need a recent Core dual or quad processor. Very hard to find a new motherboard these days that supports those CPUs and has an AGP slot. So you might as well throw the whole lot out and start again. The good news is the hardware required won't set you back much more than $800 assuming all you require is cpu, motherboard, video card, and DVB-T card (i.e. you have hdd, memory, case, peripherals to carry over).

mentalinc

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Reply # 122692 10-Apr-2008 21:49
walt12: For the purposes of H.264 hardware decoding AGP is dead. To be able to use an AGP card (and hence rely on software/CPU decoding) you need a recent Core dual or quad processor. Is there anyone that can test this? Surely if you have the GFX doing all the decoding the cpu could be a single core with very little clock e.g 1.6Ghz ish? would be interesting to know. CPU: Intel 3770k\| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X \|MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB \| GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 \| Monitor: Dell 2007wfp \| TV capture: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 & Nova-S-Plus Software: Windows 8 Pro dvbviewer v4.9.6.20

Etacovda

29 posts

Geek

Reply # 123092 12-Apr-2008 19:13
anyone using a 8400? the less i have to spend to get my box to h.264 compatiblity the better... what makes a card 'best for htpc use' as per the first page?

mentalinc

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Reply # 123097 12-Apr-2008 19:37
Etacovda: what makes a card 'best for htpc use' as per the first page? It has been tested and is known to work. They are low end cards with very little gaming ability. CPU: Intel 3770k\| RAM: F3-2400C10D-16GTX G.Skill Trident X \|MB: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H-WB \| GFX: GV-N660OC-2GD gv-n660oc-2gd GeForce GTX 660 \| Monitor: Dell 2007wfp \| TV capture: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 & Nova-S-Plus Software: Windows 8 Pro dvbviewer v4.9.6.20

sbiddle

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Reply # 123098 12-Apr-2008 19:39
Etacovda: anyone using a 8400? the less i have to spend to get my box to h.264 compatiblity the better... what makes a card 'best for htpc use' as per the first page? I wouldn't be very confident on an 8400 working. If you want to get decent H.264 DVB-T decoding you have to spend $$. End of story. There isn't really such a thing as a cheap PC for H.264 video. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

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