[MagicT]

Hi guys

first of all thank you for that great little piece of software and the good support on the board.

I want to build a HTPC for my living room and after several days of reading I am still unsure about a couple of points. My HTPC will make use of Linux and be based around some kind of Nvidia GPU for HD playback. Therefore my choice so far is an Ion system with some kind of Atom CPU.

Now the problematic part.
1. Despite HD playback I want to use XBMC for viewing pictures. These coming directly from my DSLR @ 12Mpx are handled quite well on my workstation with XBMC. Trying the same on my Atom N270 netbook, causes a delay of about 3 seconds between two photographs. That is too much for me. I guess this delay is caused by the CPU an maybe the newer dual core Atoms will perform better? (Or better choose a different platform?)

2. I still did not completely understand the differences between all the GPUs and their featuers concerning image quality and hardware decoding. What I understand is the following: In windows, all ATI, Intel and Nvidia offer gpu based decoding via the DXVA2 interface, while on Linux there is really only VDPAU for appropriate Nvidia cards. Is there a big difference between DXVA2 and VDPAU concerning image quality/hardware decoding? Since I will stick to VDPAU is there a difference in-between Nvidia ION/ GT210/GT220 and GT430 concerning hardware decoding only. I know the GT430 supports 3D but that is of minor importance to me.

Would be great if you could shed some light on these topics.

[poofyhairguy]

I guess this delay is caused by the CPU an maybe the newer dual core Atoms will perform better?

I wouldn't be surprised if the delay is the difference in speeds between a cheap netbook HD and a nice desktop HD. Netbook HDs are literally the slowest and cheapest things they can throw in there, which is why I always recommend barebones systems where you can add your own SSD.

Plus any decent ION system is dual core, which is twice as fast as that netbook CPU. If it really worries you, upload a few pics and let the community report the results.

Is there a big difference between DXVA2 and VDPAU concerning image quality/hardware decoding?

No. One of Nvidia's big things is a mostly unified driver between platforms. The acceleration architecture is the same for Linux as Windows- there are just different hooks. That is why Nvidia rolled out a near stable VDPAU when other vendors didn't have any support.

Honestly, in XBMC VDPAU rendering is actually a little bit ahead as XBMC can't play interlaced content in DXVA in Dharma. This is a sofware issue though, not a hardware one.

[MagicT]

Changing my netbook HDD with a decent SSD was about the first thing I did. You can truly tell the difference. So, no I dont' think that is the problem. I uploaded a couple of pics and it would be nice if someone could test them on an atom based XBMC.

I understand the major VDPAU difference between Ion 1 and Ion 2/G210 is the ability to decode MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile. Now, I don't know if this is a nice to have feature or not.
Additionally the GT220 offers better deinterlacing capabilities. Again, I don't know if XBMC makes use of it and if it really improves image quality of interlaced content. Would be nice to get a hint on those points as well.

[poofyhairguy]

Changing my netbook HDD with a decent SSD was about the first thing I did. You can truly tell the difference. So, no I dont' think that is the problem. I uploaded a couple of pics and it would be nice if someone could test them on an atom based XBMC.

I tested the pics with my dual core Atom and it struggled. Maybe looks towards something with more CPU, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042X8...H0XQW7VQ5P

That combines Nvidia graphics with a faster AMD CPU.

I understand the major VDPAU difference between Ion 1 and Ion 2/G210 is the ability to decode MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile. Now, I don't know if this is a nice to have feature or not.

That is not enabled in XBMC anyway due to driver issues.

Additionally the GT220 offers better deinterlacing capabilities. Again, I don't know if XBMC makes use of it and if it really improves image quality of interlaced content. Would be nice to get a hint on those points as well.

That matters if you are wanting to watch live TV. If you do want Live TV, a better GPU is recommended. In that case, look to build a system with a GT430 GPU (as the GT220 is basically dead).

[MagicT]

I tested the pics with my dual core Atom and it struggled. Maybe looks towards something with more CPU, like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...GNDAH0XQW7VQ5P

That combines Nvidia graphics with a faster AMD CPU.

Thank you for trying! This is an interesting combination you are proposing. Haven't read about that one before. Unfortunately it's not available in my home country. I will try either a Zotac IONITX-P with an CULV Intel Celeron CPU and 1gen Ion GPU or an entrance level AMD Athlon X2 with dedicated Geforce GT430 then.

That matters if you are wanting to watch live TV. If you do want Live TV, a better GPU is recommended. In that case, look to build a system with a GT430 GPU (as the GT220 is basically dead).

Not right now, but I keep a close look on the PVR-testing2 branch. I might eventually combine that with a VDR DVB stream server for live TV. What's the disadvantage when using G210 with interlaced content? Does this also apply to 1080i movie content?

[poofyhairguy]

What's the disadvantage when using G210 with interlaced content? Does this also apply to 1080i movie content?

A GT210 (or ION anything) will only be able to do basic de-interlacing which is a lower quality. It works, just not as good.

As far as 1080i movie content that is REALLY rare to find disks with 1080i VC1, and honestly I don't think XBMC can play those files anyway.

[MagicT]

As far as 1080i movie content that is REALLY rare to find disks with 1080i VC1, and honestly I don't think XBMC can play those files anyway.

I believe I own a BBC documentation encoded in 1080i. I am gonna try that on my new system and report the result.

Alright, then I am gonna stick to the Zotac board, combine it with a decent SSD and a picoPSU and build everything inside a nice Lian Li case. My configuration (please comment):

• Zotac IONITX-P-E with Dual CULV Celeron @1200MHZ
  
• 40 GB Intel SSD
  
• 120W PicoPSU with 60W, 12V external power supply
  
• 2 GB DDR3 RAM
  
• Lian Li PC-Q07B
  
• HP IR Receiver?
  

[poofyhairguy]

I love it all....

[MagicT]

Thanks Poofy! I am gonna trust you on that one. Quite excited to see a couple of your builds in the thread you mentioned somewhere else.

[poofyhairguy]

Quite excited to see a couple of your builds in the thread you mentioned somewhere else.

The only reason its not there yet is I need to swap GPUs in my main two HTPCs, and I need the wife to not be using both to do that. But my wife is a XBMC junkie, so I am waiting for her to go visit her folks!

[MagicT]

I can perfectly imagine her to get addicted. The experience with XBMC and a HDTV a simply amazing - cannot imagine how I survived withough