Need advice on a Graphics card to play Freeview HD

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Need advice on a Graphics card to play Freeview HD

paulthis

6 posts

Wannabe Geek

#95906 16-Jan-2012 16:51

Hey guys,

I recently purchased a new computer, its a quad core 3.6ghz with 8gb ram and an added Hauppauge 2210 tv card, it only has an onboard graphics card so obviously this doesnt play freeview hd, mkv's or even avi's very well.

So i need some advice on what kind of graphics card to install, it currently has a 350 watt power supply, i would prefer not to upgrade but i will if it will be beneficial, also have one pcie x16 and 2 pci slots free.

I'm running windows 7 and media center seems to have everything i need.

I won't be gaming on it so the card really only has to be able to play freeview hd and 1080p mkvs flawlessly.

I will be doing a little bit of recording but it will mainly just be watching freeview.

I've searched these forums for similar threads but most of them were fairly old so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#569542 16-Jan-2012 17:01

Any small video card will play Freeview these days. I recently got an ATI HD5450 (half height) very cheaply from Amazon and it plays amazingly well.

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Ultimate Geek

#569544 16-Jan-2012 17:11

Hi Paulthis

Could you please provide a little more information about what your specific components are; Cpu (I'm guessing this to be an amd fx 4100?) and Motherboard specifically, as most modern onboard graphics chipsets with up to date drivers I would expect to be sufficient for decoding hd video without trouble.

freitasm

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#569546 16-Jan-2012 17:13

Actually download GPU-Z and post the information here.

paulthis

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Wannabe Geek

#569558 16-Jan-2012 17:49

Thanks for the quick replies, I guess I'll just post a screenshot?

The motherboard is an ASRock N68-S3 FX, and the CPU is an AMD FX-4100.

Freeview is quite jumpy on HD and when first changing channels mainly.

freitasm

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#569584 16-Jan-2012 19:03

Thanks for the image... It doesn't seem like a great graphics really.

I currently have a "professional" desktop - Lenovo ThinkCentre. This one played Freeview ok, but with some perceptible drops or lag in HD transmissions. This is the built-in graphics adapter:

I then bought a Sapphire card from Amazon - about US$30, plus shipping (and yes, they ship these to New Zealand). The advantage is being half height, and fanless, so it uses less power (the ThinkCentre has a 240w PSU only). It's a lot nicer, no drops or lags when playing HD content, and I can even play some games (including Borderlands and L4D2):

Note that not all built-in graphics are bad - my laptop has a new Intel Graphics model and it's as fast as this Sapphire card, playing Freeview really well too.

paulthis

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Wannabe Geek

#569593 16-Jan-2012 19:17

So pretty much any half decent graphics card i could get would do the job? and the 350 watt power supply would be sufficient?
Also is it true that the fan-less cards are more prone to overheating? although i'm not too bothered about the sound of a fan really.

freitasm

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#569594 16-Jan-2012 19:18

Freeview only really requires hardware decoding for the HD part. It's not a demanding thing, like gaming. Any half decent one will do.

paulthis

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Wannabe Geek

#569595 16-Jan-2012 19:24

ok thanks alot for the help :)

PANiCnz

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#569615 16-Jan-2012 20:06

Anything entry level from Nvidia or ATI will do.

e.g. 4x00, 5x00, 6x00 from ATI or 2x0, 4x0, 5x0 from Nvidia.

If you check the vendor/manufactuers website for any model you are considering it should waffle on about hardware HD decoding.

Your current intergrated video chipset doesnt support HD decoding, its fairly long in the tooth. Nvidia hasn't made a chipset for the AMD platform in a long time. (motherboard manufactuers really shouldnt be allow to keep using the nForce 630a chipset).

paulthis

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Wannabe Geek

#569623 16-Jan-2012 20:24

Thanks for that PANiC, yeah i knew when i bought it that the graphics was rubbish so i didn't really mind too much cause i figure I'd have to end up getting a card.

freitasm

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#569625 16-Jan-2012 20:28

For comparison, the HD3000 builtin in my desktop (the first screenshot) barely plays Freeview|HD. My HTPC is a Dell Zino HD, with a HD45xx builtin. It plays Freeview|HD well. The new HD5450 card on my desktop plays it better, but it's no high end card.

So, yes, anything from HD5xxxx up should be better. The HD45xx will just do it.

And make sure you always have the latest drivers installed, regardless of which card you decide to buy. Download those from the manufacturer's web site, as the drivers in those CDs with cards are almost always old stuff...

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#569632 16-Jan-2012 20:46

I still much prefer nVidia over ATI for H.264 decoding. Despite many years of trying ATI still can't get close to decoding H.264 content as well as a cheap as chips 4 year old nVidia 8400.

Phexx

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Ultimate Geek

#569645 16-Jan-2012 21:02

I am thinking of doing a similar thing to you guys and I have a couple of questions. I thought I would post in here because it is a similar topic.

I am thinking about purchasing this: http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14695 and plugging in my DSE indoor antennae. This antenna currently gets me FreeviewHD. So, my questions:

1. Will I be able to receive FreeviewHD (emphasis on the HD)?
2. Same as above but with recording.
3. When I record, will it be "unlocked" and just an MP4 file?
4. Can I record in the background while doing other tasks?
5. (Just to make sure) Will it run on ma pc?

Intel 2500K
8gb DDr3
GTX560 Superclocked

sbiddle

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#569728 17-Jan-2012 06:19

Phexx: I am thinking of doing a similar thing to you guys and I have a couple of questions. I thought I would post in here because it is a similar topic.

I am thinking about purchasing this: http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/components/componentview.asp?partid=14695 and plugging in my DSE indoor antennae. This antenna currently gets me FreeviewHD. So, my questions:

1. Will I be able to receive FreeviewHD (emphasis on the HD)?
2. Same as above but with recording.
3. When I record, will it be "unlocked" and just an MP4 file?
4. Can I record in the background while doing other tasks?
5. (Just to make sure) Will it run on ma pc?

Intel 2500K
8gb DDr3
GTX560 Superclocked

1.Yes
2.Yes
3.No, but the format depends entirely on your TV app. The vast majority will record the .TS (ie the MPEG transport stream for that channel) - if you use Win 7 MCE it'll be .wtv
4.Yes
5.Yes

Phexx

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Ultimate Geek

#569736 17-Jan-2012 08:00

Awesome have you, or other used WMC? Do you recommend using it over included software?

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