[cljrom]

So I've been researching what it would take to make my HTPC playback 1080p and from what I've read what I have just isn't good enough. All the 720p content plays back very nicely but I have the same problems that most user have with an BD rips that are 1080p encoded using x264 - dropped frames = choppy playback.

My setup is as follows (let me know if I'm leaving anything relevant out):

MoBo: Intel D945GNT
CPU: P4 3.2GHz Dual-core
RAM: 2GB (4x512MB) DDR2 667MHz
Video: ASUS nVidia GeForce EN6600 (256MB RAM)
XBMC: 8.10b2-hardy1 (from the http://ppa.launchpad.net/team-xbmc-hardy/ubuntu repo)

From what I've read my CPU isn't quite cutting it. The current MoBo I have will only work with P4, Pentium D and Celeron D processors.

Am I SOL with my MoBo + CPU combination? Should I consider upgrading the 2 if I want to be able to playback 90+% of the 1080 content available? If so what have people experimented with and is known to work?

Thanks,
--cljrom

[buker]

Is this pc can see mkv to 1080p?

amd x2 4850E a 2750mhz(oc)
gigabyte MA78GPM-DS2H ATI 3200
2 G RAM PC 800
HD 1tb

[jking2100]

OP here again...

Audio problems resolved with this thread:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...pulseaudio

I installed a old PCI sound blaster live 5.1 card and it works fantastic compared to the integrated audio of the Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H

I have noticed a great deal a performance improvements with Ubuntu 8.10's latest updates especially with the 2.6.27-7 kernel.

Overall 1080p with DTS at 14GB for the MKV plays back smooth. 720p easy as pie.

[tknice1]

OP here...

Well I setup my new MB and Proc... Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H with AMD 6000+

It runs fantastic, and plays 1080p perfect so far. I am looking for the killa sample to test but I am impatient and the torrent and rapidshare are excruciatingly slow.

Only problems are:

1. Integrate Sound Sucks Donkey Teste's, I am replacing with a Creative Labs card
2. Integrated Video is not well liked by Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid's Kernel 2.6.27.4 so I am using an NVidia 7600GS 256M until I decide to compile a custom kernel
3. No sound in Atlantis Beta2 for any video xvid, mkv (720 or 1080), ac3, DD, DD2 or DTS

I am going to assume 3 is related to the crappy integrated sound. If I still have problems with audio I will look into possibly pulseaudio problems, and/or intrepid 64bit problems. Audio works fine (with integrated audio) in all other forms but XBMC.

I will continue to test

JKing

Consider this HT Omega Striker 7.1 Sound Card instead. I was absolutely amazed at the sound quality. It flat out rocks. I used creative cards for many years before I found this company.

-Tom

[fArGo]

I'm looking to build a xbmc mediacenter pc, I want to be able to run video at 1080i, is this system going to have enough power?

CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5600+ AM2,1MBx2,2.8GHz
Memory 1 Kingston 1GB DDR2 800 (KVR800D2N5/1G)
Memory 2 Kingston 1GB DDR2 800 (KVR800D2N5/1G)
Motherboard ASUS M3A78-EMH HDMI (VGA&DVI,4DDR2,Hybrid CF,HDMI)
Video Sapphire Radeon HD 3450 512MB GDDR2 DVI-I VGA TV-OUT
Audio Onboard Audio
Network Card Onboard Network Card
Case Antec New Solution NSK1300 MicroATX Cube Case with 300W

I'll probably run a stripped down version of xp, so i'm not using alot of ram. I'll probably add a large harddrive and blu-ray drive later. Any help would be appreciated.

Looks ok to me...

[eQUIV]

Looks ok to me...

Ok cool. Thanks. I'm also wondering if a graphics card is helpful at all with 1080 video? This computer is going to be exclusively for XBMC, I hear that XBMC puts all the load on the CPU, so is a videocard even necessary?

[Deepsearch]

Integrated gpu will do just fine. I've just built an htpc with gigabyte GA-MA78G-DS3H motherboard. No problems so far with gpu.

[eQUIV]

I've also been eyeballing this Acer Aspire X1200-E1651A, here's the specs...

# 2.5Ghz AMD Athlon X2 4850e Processor
# 3GB DDR2 SDRAM (expandable to 4GB)
# 640GB SATA hard disk drive (7200RPM)
# Supermulti drive DVD-Dual Drive (DVD+/-RW), DVD-RAM
# NVIDIA Geforce 9300GE add on graphics adapter (256MB Dedicated VRAM)
# Integrated Gigabit LAN
# PS/2 keyboard and mouse
# Embedded high-definition audio with 5.1-channel audio support
# Front ports: Multi in 1 card reader, 5 USB 2.0 ports, High-definition headphone and microphone jacks, IEEE 1394 port (4-pin); Rear ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, 5 audio ports, Ethernet (RJ-45) port, D-Sub VGA port, HDMI port, eSATA port
# Windows Vista Home Premium
# Software included: McAfee® Internet Security Suite 2008 (60 day trial), Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, Acer Arcade Live, NTI CD-Maker™ Gold, Microsoft Works, Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (60-day trial), Acer Empowering Software
# 1-Year Limited Warranty.

Do you think this will handle 1080p or is the processor not quite up to par? And with this first final release of XBMC now out, does anyone know if this new build supports any kind of GPU acceleration yet?

[Matt Devo]

I
Do you think this will handle 1080p or is the processor not quite up to par? And with this first final release of XBMC now out, does anyone know if this new build supports any kind of GPU acceleration yet?

it will handle most 1080p, but may drop some frames on very high bitrate content (killa sampla).

no GPU acceleration for video decoding in Atlantis (8.10). I wouldn't expect to see it in the next release either, since Nvidia just released a beta driver w/minimal GPU decode assist, and it only works on newer 8x/9x GPUs

[Evanrich]

it will handle most 1080p, but may drop some frames on very high bitrate content (killa sampla).

no GPU acceleration for video decoding in Atlantis (8.10). I wouldn't expect to see it in the next release either, since Nvidia just released a beta driver w/minimal GPU decode assist, and it only works on newer 8x/9x GPUs

Define what you think would be high bitrate.... are you saying it'll play up to say, 12Mb/sec mkv's?

[Matt Devo]

Define what you think would be high bitrate.... are you saying it'll play up to say, 12Mb/sec mkv's?

I'd expect zero problems with any downloaded bluray rips, which typically peak at under 20Mb/sec. I'm talking about x.264 at 30-40Mb/sec sustained, like the 'killa sampla' file that's been posted on here.

[Evanrich]

I've also been eyeballing this Acer Aspire X1200-E1651A, here's the specs...




Do you think this will handle 1080p or is the processor not quite up to par? And with this first final release of XBMC now out, does anyone know if this new build supports any kind of GPU acceleration yet?

I was looking at getting that as well, but from reviews i've seen, it has high cpu usage on 1080p content, and thats using hardware acceleration... though now some people say the CPU can handle it ok...I dont know, I'm waiting for more responses on CPUs people are using with XBMC to make a decisions on what processor to go with.

[eQUIV]

I was looking at getting that as well, but from reviews i've seen, it has high cpu usage on 1080p content, and thats using hardware acceleration... though now some people say the CPU can handle it ok...I dont know, I'm waiting for more responses on CPUs people are using with XBMC to make a decisions on what processor to go with.

hmmm, Yah well I work at an electronics store. So what I might do one day on my break is just install XBMC on it, hook it up to a 46" sharp aquos and play the killa sample on it a few times and see how it runs.

[majorspawn]

I just finished my setup

1.Windows Vista Ultimate
2.HDMI V1.3 Male to Male Cable 1.8m
3.Corsair TWIN3X2048-1333C9DHX 2GB (2x XMS3 1GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz)
4.ASUS P5K64-WS S775,P35,FSB1333,DDR3,4xPCIEx16,RAID
5.Zalman CNPS9500 AT Ultra Quiet Copper CPU Cooler Intel LGA775
6.Zalman HD160 PLUS BLACK HTPC ATX case, VFD display, Remote Controller
7.E8500 CPU (go with this processor its future proof)
8.Seagate 320GB Sata II drive
9.Zalman 600Watt PSU (quiet)
10. D-link NAS 343 with 4TB Storage (Samsung Echo Green Drives, low power consumption)
11. EAH3850 Video card (5.1 surround via HDMI)
12. Netgear 8 port gigabit switch
13. Lots of Cat 6 cable (streaming over gigabit network helps heaps)

result = awesome!
1080p playback hitting only about 30-40% CPU usage in full screen

this is where I got my idea from, will throw in a capture card later for PVR functionality via Vista Media Center
http://www.zatznotfunny.com/category/htpc/

[chepnut]

I am running this processor

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz

I can play most 1080p mkv's except the planet earth ones, they all have a skip every so often. Also the "killa sample" I get a lot of stuttering and dropped frames.