Freeview DVB-T test channels now available in Wellington

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Freeview DVB-T test channels now available in Wellington

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#97802 1-Dec-2007 16:01

nzskater: To anyone looking to view HD (H.264) content without buying a GFX card that can decode it try CoreAVC. I had issues decoding 1080p x.264 content on my old P4 box that I use as a HTPC until I started using this. Is well worth it.
http://www.coreavc.com/

At this stage however PowerDVD is the only codec supported by GB-PVR. I also couldn't get my .ts files recorded from GB-PVR on the test channels to play back on another PC which had CoreAVC installed. As mentioned elsewhere VLC won't play back these files either.

walt12

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#97881 2-Dec-2007 10:41

Just an update after some testing using the BBC clip linked before, and a file kindly provided by sbiddle, and playback was successful, no stuttering with CPU usage <10%. Setup is Windows XP, 163.75 driver, 8600GTS, PowerDVD Ultra. Of course being XP, I cannot use the full benefits of the DVXA 2.0 renderer, but all else is as it should be. Bring on the test loops in Auckland ...

lchiu7

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#97884 2-Dec-2007 11:05

CPU used?

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#97979 3-Dec-2007 08:33

E6750, but you'd be able to get away with something much lower spec - the point is the decoding is being handled by the GPU. This only applies for 8400/8500/8600 series cards AFAIK (are there any AGP variants of these cards?), I suspect the 7xxx and 6xxx series cards are not supported, although it would be interesting if someone with particularly a 7600 card could test and report (because I think there is an AGP variant of the 7600 card).

lchiu7

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#97988 3-Dec-2007 09:46

I meant the processor you are using. Intel/AMD single/dual core etc.

Thanks

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#97989 3-Dec-2007 09:50

E6750 - 2.67GHz, Intel dual core 1333MHz FSB. I plan to use this box for plenty of media encoding, hence I built it reasonably higher-spec than you'd require for pure HTPC duty.

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#97990 3-Dec-2007 09:50

walt12: E6750, but you'd be able to get away with something much lower spec - the point is the decoding is being handled by the GPU. This only applies for 8400/8500/8600 series cards AFAIK (are there any AGP variants of these cards?), I suspect the 7xxx and 6xxx series cards are not supported, although it would be interesting if someone with particularly a 7600 card could test and report (because I think there is an AGP variant of the 7600 card).

From what I've read there is some special logic in the Cyberlink decoder that can bypass Window's dxva to provide some hardware acceleration of H.264 on XP, communicating directly with specific interfaces on the nvidia/ati drivers (rather than via dxva). For other decoders you'd probably need Vista + EVR so you can get the offical dvxa 2.0 support.

Also from what I've read, AGP versions of the nvidia cards do not have acceleration enabled in the drivers due to issues they were having. I certainly was unable to get any h.264 acceleration with my nvidia 7600GS AGP.

walt12

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#97993 3-Dec-2007 09:57

sub:
walt12: E6750, but you'd be able to get away with something much lower spec - the point is the decoding is being handled by the GPU. This only applies for 8400/8500/8600 series cards AFAIK (are there any AGP variants of these cards?), I suspect the 7xxx and 6xxx series cards are not supported, although it would be interesting if someone with particularly a 7600 card could test and report (because I think there is an AGP variant of the 7600 card).
From what I've read there is some special logic in the Cyberlink decoder that can bypass Window's dxva to provide some hardware acceleration of H.264 on XP, communicating directly with specific interfaces on the nvidia/ati drivers (rather than via dxva).

Yes, as sbiddle says previously, the Cyberlink decoder appears to deal directly with the hardware - Purevideo HD is bypassed.

Also from what I've read, AGP versions of the nvidia cards do not have acceleration enabled in the drivers due to issues they were having. I certainly was unable to get any h.264 acceleration with my nvidia 7600GS AGP.

I guess under Windows XP then, we have min spec of a G84/86 GPU + 163.75 drivers + PowerDVD for H.264 hardware decode.

lchiu7

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#98007 3-Dec-2007 11:26

I guess under Windows XP then, we have min spec of a G84/86 GPU + 163.75 drivers + PowerDVD for H.264 hardware decode.

Sounds promising. I built a machine just for PVR use so it's only a AMD 64 3600. If I can just get by with a new video card (I do have PCI-E on the MB) and PowerDVD, then that would be good. I guess a question for sub is, if you use gbpvr and try to do live TV, can gbpvr take advantage of the codecs in PowerDVD to either watch TV live or off the hard drive?

Larry

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#98010 3-Dec-2007 11:38

lchiu7:

I guess under Windows XP then, we have min spec of a G84/86 GPU + 163.75 drivers + PowerDVD for H.264 hardware decode.

Sounds promising. I built a machine just for PVR use so it's only a AMD 64 3600. If I can just get by with a new video card (I do have PCI-E on the MB) and PowerDVD, then that would be good. I guess a question for sub is, if you use gbpvr and try to do live TV, can gbpvr take advantage of the codecs in PowerDVD to either watch TV live or off the hard drive?

Larry

I viewed the HD content using both gb pvr and PowerDVD, so it doesn't seem to be a problem, but I'll let sub confirm that one.

sub

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#98014 3-Dec-2007 12:08

lchiu7:

I guess under Windows XP then, we have min spec of a G84/86 GPU + 163.75 drivers + PowerDVD for H.264 hardware decode.

Sounds promising. I built a machine just for PVR use so it's only a AMD 64 3600. If I can just get by with a new video card (I do have PCI-E on the MB) and PowerDVD, then that would be good. I guess a question for sub is, if you use gbpvr and try to do live TV, can gbpvr take advantage of the codecs in PowerDVD to either watch TV live or off the hard drive?

Larry

Yes, GB-PVR uses the Cyberlink h.264 decoder for live tv and and playing back recordings. I've only done it myself on Vista, but from what I've read you should also be able to take advantage of this on XP with an appropriate video card.

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#98166 4-Dec-2007 09:19

For those of you wanting to have accelerated h.264 with an AGP mb, it looks like Sapphire have a new 2600XT AGP card. It uses a bridge chip to allow the 2600XT to work on AGP.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=179&grp=2

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#98170 4-Dec-2007 10:03

rhysb: For those of you wanting to have accelerated h.264 with an AGP mb, it looks like Sapphire have a new 2600XT AGP card. It uses a bridge chip to allow the 2600XT to work on AGP.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=179&grp=2

Visiontek also have a few AGP model ATI 2x00c cards. Be warned though, ATI do not very often release drivers compatible with any AGP models of these 2x00 cards.

I finally got sick of the hassles and limitations that come with AGP and decided to upgrade my machine. I'm now running PCI-E.

lchiu7

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#98185 4-Dec-2007 11:52

rhysb: For those of you wanting to have accelerated h.264 with an AGP mb, it looks like Sapphire have a new 2600XT AGP card. It uses a bridge chip to allow the 2600XT to work on AGP.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=179&grp=2

I just checked my MB. Alas it seems it has a APG video slot so PCI-E is out of the question. Is the video card you mentioned?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102711

Since I plan to be in the US over Xmas might pick it up if will do H.264 acceleration under XP using the Cyberlink drivers

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

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#98192 4-Dec-2007 12:26

lchiu7: I just checked my MB. Alas it seems it has a APG video slot so PCI-E is out of the question. Is the video card you mentioned?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102711

Since I plan to be in the US over Xmas might pick it up if will do H.264 acceleration under XP using the Cyberlink drivers

Yeah that's the one. I can't vouch for how it goes though, as I have PCI-E in all my machines here.

On paper it should do h.264 with no worries as it has the UVD (Unified Video Decoder) which does all the HD acceleration stuff. In fact the 2600XT is only available as a PCI-E part so Sapphire use a bridge chip that allows it to work in an AGP slot. The problem with that is you have reduced bandwidth on AGP and it looks like you need specific AGP drivers, so you can't just download the latest drivers from ATI you have to wait for Sapphire to update them for you.

I would recommend that you try to source one locally if you can, incase it doesn't actually work as expected.

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