Hardware MPEG decoding options

[crispy]

Hi folks,

I'm looking for some answers regarding playback of the MPEG files that BTV creates. Currently, I use a WinTVPVR250 for recording, and I play back through the TV output on my Radeon 9800. Overall, the quality is pretty decent.

Now, I'm interested in possibly adding hardware MPEG decoding, but I have some concerns about how the whole thing operates. I actually have a DXR3 decoder board, but it doesn't really work so well since you have to use a goofy passthough cable that prevents me from using the TV-out on my Radeon card. Ideally what I want is a solution that would still allow me to use my TV as the monitor for the PVR computer, yet also do hardware MPEG decoding.

Alternatively, I'd like to find a top-quality TV-output card that isn't my Radeon, as I think it's kind of overkill and I'd occasionally like to use it for playing games.

Ideas?

[V_D_O]

Many video cards have hardware-assisted MPEG2 decoding through supplied codecs. For example, my FX5200's InterVideo codecs (apparently, this is proper HW decoding, not HW-assisted) reduced the load on my CPU while watching from almost nothing to... well... even less than almost nothing. I'm sure your Radeon should be able to do so as well, just install the supplied DVD-playing app (at least, thats what contained my codec) and select the codec in BTV.

[Cayars]

Originally posted by crispy
Hi folks,

I'm looking for some answers regarding playback of the MPEG files that BTV creates. Currently, I use a WinTVPVR250 for recording, and I play back through the TV output on my Radeon 9800. Overall, the quality is pretty decent.

Now, I'm interested in possibly adding hardware MPEG decoding, but I have some concerns about how the whole thing operates. I actually have a DXR3 decoder board, but it doesn't really work so well since you have to use a goofy passthough cable that prevents me from using the TV-out on my Radeon card. Ideally what I want is a solution that would still allow me to use my TV as the monitor for the PVR computer, yet also do hardware MPEG decoding.

Alternatively, I'd like to find a top-quality TV-output card that isn't my Radeon, as I think it's kind of overkill and I'd occasionally like to use it for playing games.

Ideas?

Another option would be to pick up an MVP player. Change the "skin" to that of a BTV look (in the DEV forum). Now connect the MVP player to your TV or Home Theater System on another video/sound input.

So in effect you would have 2 connections to your TV (computer and MVP). You can easily setup recordings for BTV using the computer connection and then switch to the MVP input for movie playback. The advantage is an almost perfect picture from the MVP player without having to mess with it. You can then set the "desktop" on your computer's TV out to look good on the TV so you can read all the text well. For many standard TV people this will probably be 640x480.

This makes for a nice setup since you CAN have video folders on the MVP player. You can also setup BTV to record your different shows to video folders. So you gain quality on your output, you get folder support with folder password protection and best of all you dramatically lower your CPU usuage on the computer. I can be recording a show at very high bandwidths (8mb/sec) and playing back other high bandwidth shows with only 5 to 10% CPU usage with a great picture. The only thing the computer is really doing is reading and writing to disc since everything thing else is using a TRUE hardware encoder/decoder.

Just something to think about.

Carlo

[rpemb]

FYI
The WinTV PVR-350 has both hardware encoding and decoding.

[TomZ]

Yes a much discussed issue herein. The PVR-350 provides H/W decoding but BTV does not use it.

From what I can see, there are no immediate plans to change this and not a lot of pressure from us (the fourm) to do so, at least compared to other feature requests.

[honer123]

There was alot of presssure to get support for the PVR 350, but we got shot down. Hopefully that will change one day.

mikejaner

[crispy]

The way I understand it though is that the PVR350 uses a separate s-video output for it's MPEG playpack, so if you are controlling BTV through your TV (from from the 10-foot interface, via pc2tv output) then you would have to first start playback, then switch your TV (or reciever) to a different line to watch the output from the PVR, yeah?

That's what I'd ultimately like to avoid.

[Brett]

currently you can can not get the 350s svideo to output the bTV interface if thats what your asking?

-Brett

[genesis]

Shouldn't the overlay support of 3.5 fix the problems with the 350 though?