Interested in your comments about later versions of MediaPortal and 8xxx series Nvidia cards and 1080i rendering. I was under the impression that most FreeviewHD was 720p or 576i. Are there particular channels that you are seeing problems with the later versions of the software or is it a more general thing? I am still running 1.0.0.0 RC2 which was the latest thing about October last year butI had some fun with moving to 1.0.2 earlier in the year so I went back to the version that worked for me. My issues were to do with a client PC talking to the server PC, not display stuttering, but I have meant to have another go when I had the time. Your comments make me wonder if one of my PCs won't cope! :-)
I'd appreciate any further info you have on this..
Hopefully the 8200 motherboard I bought late last yuear will cope then. It seems to cope with Bluray playback as well as all the FreeviewHD currently so it would be annoying if it stopped just because of 'improvements' in MediaPortal.
marsman: So the 780G on board is not going to cut it for decoding Freeview?
The onboard video on my (Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H) 780g Vista-based HTPC does just fine decoding Freeview|HD, although I know that some people have experianced problems. I get the impression that some of those problems have been resolved by installing up-to-date releases of ATI Catalyst.
Avoiding a discrete video card is certainly a money saver, but importantly for most HTPCs it reduces power consumption and heat generation too - and that should mean a quieter PC.
What program are you using? MediaPortal? As I would be interested in trying freeview HD on just the 780g.
marsman: So the 780G on board is not going to cut it for decoding Freeview?
The onboard video on my (Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H) 780g Vista-based HTPC does just fine decoding Freeview|HD, although I know that some people have experianced problems. I get the impression that some of those problems have been resolved by installing up-to-date releases of ATI Catalyst.
Avoiding a discrete video card is certainly a money saver, but importantly for most HTPCs it reduces power consumption and heat generation too - and that should mean a quieter PC.
What program are you using? MediaPortal? As I would be interested in trying freeview HD on just the 780g.
I use GB-PVR, which happens to be developed in New Zealand. That has the advantage that the developer is very well-aware of the demands of NZ Freeview|HD.
Interested in your comments about later versions of MediaPortal and 8xxx series Nvidia cards and 1080i rendering. I was under the impression that most FreeviewHD was 720p or 576i. Are there particular channels that you are seeing problems with the later versions of the software or is it a more general thing? I am still running 1.0.0.0 RC2 which was the latest thing about October last year butI had some fun with moving to 1.0.2 earlier in the year so I went back to the version that worked for me. My issues were to do with a client PC talking to the server PC, not display stuttering, but I have meant to have another go when I had the time. Your comments make me wonder if one of my PCs won't cope! :-)
I'd appreciate any further info you have on this..
Cheers
You don't state what graphics you are running. As I said, anything below around 9400GT will struggle. But it is still an on-going issue within MP circles. A number of users aren't happy. I've said my piece that they shouldn't expect any further donations, which I had planned on doing. I thought about going back to GB-PVR but have invested considerable time into getting MP working how I like it, so will just stick with my status quo & decide when I upgrade which way to go. For now, I just want to enjoy the fruits of my labour. The main limitation I am experiencing is not being able to install the latest MP-TVSeries & Moving Pictures plugins: bummer.
You can upgrade to 1.0 final, if you can find it. Anything later causes the stuttering on 1080i content. It is only TV3 that is causing the problems: or is C4, as well? Can't remember.
Just saw your subsequent post. An 8200 definitely won't cope. It has to do with the way the 1080i content is rendered. Don't understand the techs, but anything below an Nvidia 9400GT won't work on Mediaportal after 1.0 final.
Sounds like I should stick with my old version of MP for now. I've got a 9500GT in the second PC which started life in the Main PC until I realised that the MediaPortal version I was using and FreeviewHD worked OK with the onboard. If necessary I'll have to put it back or get another one!
Ok, so I got everything and ended up for now using mediaportal 1.1.0 BETA 1 and Vista, (just waiting on a new UHF aerial, as the old one fell off the roof yesterday) now the only issue I have is that a test file from TV3 HD (I think I got it from here a year ago? of Boston Legal) which goes out of sync.
I'm using the 780g onboard for now but everything else plays so smooth, it would seem like a shame to put in a 9500gt, there is a little freezing but it is more the audio that plays up. I've played a 1080p mov trailer, a 720p wmv trailer and a 720p mkv all perfect.
Also I'm using PowerDVD 9, MPC HomeCinema and Catalyst 9.8 + all the latest drivers for the mobo.
Does anyone have any ideas as to why it would freeze?
Marsman The comments above from 1gkar suggest that your onboard will struggle with TV3 using Mediaportal later than 1.0. This certainly seems to be what you are seeing!!
Seems that you need to either go back to an earlier Mediaportal or splash out for the 9500GT or similar.
dklong: Marsman The comments above from 1gkar suggest that your onboard will struggle with TV3 using Mediaportal later than 1.0. This certainly seems to be what you are seeing!!
Seems that you need to either go back to an earlier Mediaportal or splash out for the 9500GT or similar.
Good luck.
Interested in these comments about nothing lower than a 9400 being able to handle 1080i on MediaPortal. I'm running a 8500GT to power my MediaPortal based HTPC to watch Freeview HD and its been working fine. Never stutters, never has. I only have a AMD X2 3600 CPU too. Currently running MediaPortal 1.0.2, waiting for the full release of 1.1.0 before making the jump.
I do have one minor niggly issue, that has recently come up. I dont think this is related to MediaPortal and the nVidia 8500GT but I'm happy to be corrected. I have the same problem that has been reported in another thread where the audio and video is a little out of sync. Didnt used to be and Im sure it has happened well after MP 1.0.2 was released. Its not really enough for me to bother putting in the effor to diagnose. Might have a go at it once 1.1.0 is out.
But back on thread track...my 8500GT handles the task adequately. If I were in the market today to build a new HTPC (its a shame the wife just dropped our first child and therefore we're down to one income) then I'd look at a 9x00 card, just cause its more current technology.
Ok, so I downgraded MediaPortal to 1.0.2 then downgraded the driver to catalyst 8.7 and now playback of the TV3 clip is near perfect.
The only reason I didn't get a graphics card was because the place I was going to get it from was out of stock, but now I think with a bit of tweaking this might just do.
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