Video card

[doubledose]

I have my new motherboard and parts for a new system upgrade. I called XFX which I think is Nvidia and they recommemded this video card for a PVR setup. Is anyone using this card?? and if so what do you think of it. It is a XFX GeForce 7600 GS 256MB DDR2 HDMI
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...ductId=1092834

Thanks
Wayne

[tmar89]

I've been thinking about getting an XFX GeForce 7600 GT for HTPC and gaming. I'm also curious about what people think.

[cmcquistion]

The 7600 series is plenty of power for HTPC. A little overkill, even.

[GeorgeH]

I have an EVGA 7600GT. It seems reasonable.

For only $100 there is little reason to shop for a better/cheaper card.

[doubledose]

Thanks for the replys. One other question for everyone. My current video card is a 128 meg. Since I am builing a complete new system and going to a pci express video card, what would be the memory recommendation be 128 or 256 or 512 meg for hdtv 1080? The more the better I would guess, or is there a point where you cannot tell a difference?
Wayne

[cmcquistion]

The minimum I've used is 128 MB and I've had no problems.

Realistically, watching TV doesn't use very much video memory. The Video card's GPU and interface are much more important than the amount of physical memory it has.

[IDRick]

Interesting datapoint, see the thread below:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8&page=1&pp=30

The author recommends using the GeForce 8500, offloads HD video encoding from cpu.

[cmcquistion]

Originally Posted by IDRick

Interesting datapoint, see the thread below:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...8&page=1&pp=30

The author recommends using the GeForce 8500, offloads HD video encoding from cpu.

He's recommending that card specifically for high definition disc playback, it appears, because it supports HDCP.

[IDRick]

Originally Posted by cmcquistion

He's recommending that card specifically for high definition disc playback, it appears, because it supports HDCP.

Correct. I'm a newbie to this stuff... Isn't there an advantage to using this card when playing saved OTA HD programs on your computer? The 8500 can be purchased at the same pricing point (~$100 at Newegg).

In my case, I have a Hauppauge 1600 and have used their updated drivers to play HD in the clear QAM stations from my local cableco. My system can play the *live* HD streams fine but really stumbles (cpu 90 to 100%) when I attempt to play a saved HD program. System specs P4 2.4 Ghz 768 MB RDRAM XP pro SP2 ATI 9800 pro videocard. In my case, it probably would be advantageous to install a videocard that does the heavy lifting rather than the cpu. I'm hoping that the new ATI 2400 series cards (due in July) include an AGP version and that they produce excellent PQ.

Best,

Rick

[cmcquistion]

Originally Posted by IDRick

Correct. I'm a newbie to this stuff... Isn't there an advantage to using this card when playing saved OTA HD programs on your computer? The 8500 can be purchased at the same pricing point (~$100 at Newegg).

In my case, I have a Hauppauge 1600 and have used their updated drivers to play HD in the clear QAM stations from my local cableco. My system can play the *live* HD streams fine but really stumbles (cpu 90 to 100%) when I attempt to play a saved HD program. System specs P4 2.4 Ghz 768 MB RDRAM XP pro SP2 ATI 9800 pro videocard. In my case, it probably would be advantageous to install a videocard that does the heavy lifting rather than the cpu. I'm hoping that the new ATI 2400 series cards (due in July) include an AGP version and that they produce excellent PQ.

Best,

Rick

The lower level cards, like the 6000 series and 7000 series can do processing of HD streams, as well. The advantage of the 8000 series is HDCP compliance and the ability to decode VC-1, H.264 and other HD formats that are common in HD DVD and Blu Ray. This is different from OTA HD, which is a much simpler MPEG stream.

I'm curious about your current video card, though. I have a 9800 Pro in one of my BTV Link systems and it works great for HD content. What Codec are you using and what settings? You're not trying to use "3D Accellerated" mode are you? That causes problems for EVERYONE, even the really high-end cards. Try Overlay and try setting your Audio and Video decoder to the Snapstream Decoders. I bet that will take care of the high CPU usage.

[IDRick]

Originally Posted by cmcquistion

The lower level cards, like the 6000 series and 7000 series can do processing of HD streams, as well. The advantage of the 8000 series is HDCP compliance and the ability to decode VC-1, H.264 and other HD formats that are common in HD DVD and Blu Ray. This is different from OTA HD, which is a much simpler MPEG stream.

I'm curious about your current video card, though. I have a 9800 Pro in one of my BTV Link systems and it works great for HD content. What Codec are you using and what settings? You're not trying to use "3D Accellerated" mode are you? That causes problems for EVERYONE, even the really high-end cards. Try Overlay and try setting your Audio and Video decoder to the Snapstream Decoders. I bet that will take care of the high CPU usage.

Hi CMC,

Thanks for the info! I was confused and had assumed that all HD streams were equally taxing on cpu... :-)

I'm at work and can't check the settings. My 9800 really struggles playing saved HD programming on PowerDVD (version 6 something, came bundled with DVD burner). Cpu pegs out at 90 to 100% and video is very jerky. Windows Media Player 10 and DVix player can play the same files without causing jerkiness in the video but cpu is normally running at 50 to 75% utilization (occasional spikes to 100%).

Where do I check for 3D acceleration and overlay settings? Catalyst suite?

I have not yet purchased BTV. For my purposes, WinTV2000 is fine for the occasional recording of analog programming and watching on the computer monitor. I'll buy BTV when it supports recording clear QAM programming with the HVR 1600. The wife likes her cableco DVR and I'm happy to let her use it. If there's a DVR problem, it's on the cable co to get it fixed, not me to fix a computer based system.... :-) BTV would only be used to record/playback material in my computer room.

I have been researching videocards for a specific reason. I will be acquiring an older computer from work within the next month (P4, 2.53 Ghz, 512 MB ram, and very old Nvidia card MX 420. I was thinking that I would increase RAM to 1GB (max for this mobo) and drop in a new videocard. II would use this computer for video capture and display. What card would you suggest for this setup? If I purchase an Nvidia card, should I also purchase the Nvidia Purevideo decoder?


Thanks for your assistance!

Best,

Rick

[Zogg]

Originally Posted by cmcquistion

The lower level cards, like the 6000 series and 7000 series can do processing of HD streams, as well. The advantage of the 8000 series is HDCP compliance and the ability to decode VC-1, H.264 and other HD formats that are common in HD DVD and Blu Ray. This is different from OTA HD, which is a much simpler MPEG stream.

I'm curious about your current video card, though. I have a 9800 Pro in one of my BTV Link systems and it works great for HD content. What Codec are you using and what settings? You're not trying to use "3D Accellerated" mode are you? That causes problems for EVERYONE, even the really high-end cards. Try Overlay and try setting your Audio and Video decoder to the Snapstream Decoders. I bet that will take care of the high CPU usage.

I have to agree, I'm driving a 1080p display with an ATI 9660PRO and it works flawlessly. I doubt it's the 9800 Pro unless the board has a problem. Could be the 2.4GHz P4. I used to use a 1.8 overclocked to 2.4 (100 MHz FSB -> 133) and it worked but had high cpu usage as you described. I acquired a 2.8GHz P4 and the cpu util dropped quite a bit. As cmcquistion mentioned, make sure you aren't running in 3D Accel mode and try the default (not basic) SS decoders. Also make sure you don't have other processes running that are eating up your cpu.

Good luck,
Z

[cmcquistion]

Originally Posted by IDRick

Hi CMC,

Thanks for the info! I was confused and had assumed that all HD streams were equally taxing on cpu... :-)

I'm at work and can't check the settings. My 9800 really struggles playing saved HD programming on PowerDVD (version 6 something, came bundled with DVD burner). Cpu pegs out at 90 to 100% and video is very jerky. Windows Media Player 10 and DVix player can play the same files without causing jerkiness in the video but cpu is normally running at 50 to 75% utilization (occasional spikes to 100%).

Where do I check for 3D acceleration and overlay settings? Catalyst suite?

I have not yet purchased BTV. For my purposes, WinTV2000 is fine for the occasional recording of analog programming and watching on the computer monitor. I'll buy BTV when it supports recording clear QAM programming with the HVR 1600. The wife likes her cableco DVR and I'm happy to let her use it. If there's a DVR problem, it's on the cable co to get it fixed, not me to fix a computer based system.... :-) BTV would only be used to record/playback material in my computer room.

I have been researching videocards for a specific reason. I will be acquiring an older computer from work within the next month (P4, 2.53 Ghz, 512 MB ram, and very old Nvidia card MX 420. I was thinking that I would increase RAM to 1GB (max for this mobo) and drop in a new videocard. II would use this computer for video capture and display. What card would you suggest for this setup? If I purchase an Nvidia card, should I also purchase the Nvidia Purevideo decoder?


Thanks for your assistance!

Best,

Rick

Since you're not actually using Beyond TV, I can't really say what your problem is, but it probably has to do with the configuration of the video decoder. Most video decoders will let you configure them, somehow. You can go in and change their acceleration mode to hardware or software, in most cases, though they may use some different label for it. Make sure that the decoder is set to do hardware decoding and not (the occasional default) software decoding.

If you are buying a new video card for a different system, just make sure it meets the minimum hardware requirements that Snapstream publishes. I prefer Nvidia cards, myself. Since this system will have an AGP slot, most likely, I think an Nvidia 6200 (AGP, not TC or LE version) would be the absolute minimum. You don't need to use the Nvidia decoder, if you don't want. The default Snapstream decoder is actually pretty good. The Nvidia decoder offers more bells and whistles that you can tweak, like noise reduction, if the GPU supports it.

If your other computer is due for a video card upgrade, you may want to consider putting your 9800 Pro in the BTV box and getting a newer and better video card for your other machine. As I mentioned, before, the 9800 Pro should be fine for BTV.

If you're waiting for QAM support for the HVR-1600, you will never get your wish, I think. Snapstream doesn't have an tangible plans to support clear QAM recording on most tuners. The only exception to this is the HD HomeRun. Because of it's unique software architecture, they have enabled clear QAM recording with the HDHR, by basically using the HDHR software as an intermediary with BTV. It works quite well (I own one), but it is tricky to get everything set up, initially. If really want clear QAM recording with Beyond TV, the HDHR is the only supported device and is VERY likely to remain that way. Windows Vista Media Center, on the other hand, does support clear QAM recording, from what I've read, though I'm not sure if this is true for all QAM tuners or just the HD HomeRun.

[IDRick]

Thanks, CMC. Good info. Right now, I can only pick up 3 locals, 1 pbs, and Universal HD movie channel with my clear QAM tuner. Not sure if that is enough channels to justify $240 in additional expenses (HDHR + BTV). Supporting clear QAM on the 1600 would seem to be a natural for BTV since they bundle the 1600 with their digital cable package. The sales folks at my local CC were impressed when I told them about QAM support for the 1600. I think it will increase sales of this product. Wintv software is less than superb, opening the door for third party software like BTV. You're probably correct, but I'm hoping BTV sees advantages in supporting clear QAM on the 1600...

Best,

Rick

[doubledose]

Well after much checking and talking to tech services I have scratched the first video card XFX GeForce 7600 and have ordered a ati Radeon® X1650 Pro 512MB PCI Express card now. Thanks for the general comments about the cards
Wayne