From which Group do you belong!?

Hello,

Been going through the forum for some time now, and this thread has very useful information.
But regarding the groups, is there a chance you'll add a "wants to play 720p & 1080p 10bit" line? This feature will clearly be decisive choice for my HTPC, I know this is an early feature in XBMC, but I was hoping some of you have tested this.

Thx for any answers you guys will give

Definitely group 7.

I getting ready to dump satellite in favor of XBMC and a PVR option. I notice there is not a group that contains this combination. I am new to Linux, but very well versed in Windows. I figure the less I know about the OS, the less I will mess around and screw something up. I currently am running a trial of XBMCbuntu on a laptop and like what I see. Here are my plans. I greatly appreciate constructive feedback. My total budget needs to be less than $500.

ASUS EB1012PB0320, Add Crucial 2x1GB RAM (is 4GB really necessary?)
Run XBMCbuntu from USB
If that does not give us enough of our current content, I will add HDHomeRun and MythTV via MythBox.
I have a TeraStation NAS. The ASUS, HDHomeRun, and NAS will all be wired on the same gigabit switch.
High WAF is REQUIRED!
My TV is only 720p, so 1080p is not necessarily a factor.

Questions:
1. Will the ASUS be powerful enough to run XBMC and MythTV backend?
2. Can the MythTV database be on the NAS?
3. Is a HDD/SSD needed?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

Hi guys!

As of the groups I´m a 4, but surfing the web (and of course this great forum) for nearly 4 hours there is one question still unanswerd to me: Is there any benefit from an stronger grafics card in upscaling/deinterlacing sd/576p/dvd/....-content to 1080p?
And if so, what is your recomendation for a linux based system (especially if the power consumption is still of matter?)

Thank You for your experience and opinions,

musicaniac

P.S.: I´m using linux, if it´s of interest

(2012-07-22 23:12)musicaniac Wrote:  Hi guys!

As of the groups I´m a 4, but surfing the web (and of course this great forum) for nearly 4 hours there is one question still unanswerd to me: Is there any benefit from an stronger grafics card in upscaling/deinterlacing sd/576p/dvd/....-content to 1080p?
And if so, what is your recomendation for a linux based system (especially if the power consumption is still of matter?)

Under Windows there definitely should be, if all the functionality is exploited. Not sure about Linux. Under Windows, for instance, there's a limit depending on your GPU on what you can get out of advanced renderers such as MadVR (which is not compatible with XBMC, I know).

Can anyone let me know if it makes any sense to try and use my old hp pavilion amd athlon 64x2 4200+ a1710n case, psu, and DVD drive to build a decent htpc? I wanted to see about saving a few dollars. Interested in maybe doing amd a6 or a8 htpc build if anyone has suggestions? I believe it's a micro atx style case but no idea the psu power? The system as it sits is just horrible for video, dead slow with iTunes and horrible start up. It will be used for Internet browsing, downloading and streaming videos to 40 inch LCD. Let me know what u think or should I just get rid of the old parts and start fresh.

There's a new Giada Box: http://www.giadatech.com/index.php?app=p...show&id=78

(2012-08-13 00:56)Palmer Wrote:  Can anyone let me know if it makes any sense to try and use my old hp pavilion amd athlon 64x2 4200+ a1710n case, psu, and DVD drive to build a decent htpc? I wanted to see about saving a few dollars. Interested in maybe doing amd a6 or a8 htpc build if anyone has suggestions? I believe it's a micro atx style case but no idea the psu power? The system as it sits is just horrible for video, dead slow with iTunes and horrible start up. It will be used for Internet browsing, downloading and streaming videos to 40 inch LCD. Let me know what u think or should I just get rid of the old parts and start fresh.

If you'd like to use it just as a HTPC (if you install XBMCbuntu you could also use it to browse the net, otherwise I'd recommend OpenElec) it should be powerful enough.
All you need is a decent GPU (in case of nvidia it should be capable of VDPAU feature set "B" or higher => http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purevideo )

Just as an example, I am using my old 2 x 2,8 GHz Pentium with 1024 MB RAM & GeForce 9500 GT as an HTPC. CPU load never goes above 12 % on either core, even on 1080p playback. I am not using fancy audio settings though, I am downmixing everything to stereo. I guess you could use a much weaker machine for a decent experience.

And BTW: On Windows iTunes is slow no matter how old your machine is ;-)

ZBOX ID80 which group am i? please help

Ok i decided to use my old laptop too instead purchasing a box for now.

It's a HP pavilion dv2735la, here are the specs: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docum...3&sw_lang=

- The graphics chipset is a Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 - Tt says: HDTV 480i/p, 576i/p, 720i/p and 1080i/p display resolution support. Is there a way i can add a HDMI port if i take the mobo out? so i can connect it to my new TV with HDMI ports

- It works pretty well on Windows Professional 64bits, the only prob is the laptop has always gotten too hot. I would like to leave it in the case for now
What would you recommend to solve the heating problem leaving it in it's case?. Will a cooler like this one make any difference?

- I have a S_video to RCA cable to connect my old laptop to my old TV but it doesn't work very well so i'll get a VGA to RCA cable instead.

~ V