jignesh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: >i've been reading through the posts on this mailing list, and i'm about to >buy a FusionHDTV5 Gold Plus card. > >Background: >my primary goal to purchase this card would be to plug it into an old >linux server (P-III 850Mhz 512MB RAM) that i have running, currently >acting as a file/ssh/ftp/mail server. The server currently sits in the >garage with nothing but power connected to it (and network access through >802.11b). > >Ideally, I would like to utilize the same box for a poor man's solution to >HTPC. What I imagine doing is buying the card, throwing it in there, and >moving the system into the house and hiding it behind the TV set. I would >be wanting a decent 1080i signal for the TV (which doesn't have any other >real choices except for component-in for HD, so i'm not really sure how i >am going to connect the damn PC to the TV). My cable does stream >unencrypted QAM that I've picked up using a set-top-box in the past. > > >Concerns: >Besides the CPU being 850Mhz, the system doesn't have an AGP port on it >either, and I currently have an old Vodoo Banshee 16MB PCI video card in >there. i may have access to other cards (need to look through my junk), >but i think most of them are AGP, AFAIK. > >what you guys think? can i pull it off? suggestions? comments? I'm >really eager to try this out and see how it goes. > >thanks in advance for your input. > I think you might be okay if all you were doing on this machine would be recording. However, the machine that you describe just wont have enough power to decode and display a 1080i stream. DViCO's windows driver allows for DxVA acceleration using the FusionHDTV card in conjunction with an ATI Video board, and it claims to do the job well on a pIII about the same speed as your machine. Unfortunately, there is no such animal as DxVA in linux, thus, your machine will not be able to handle it. Mac Michaels, the author of the frontend driver for the FusionHDTV ATSC devices, has himself stated that he cannot watch a steady stream on his pIV at 1080i resolution. OTOH, he had good experiences with 720p and 480i. I have been testing various DVB cards on my pIV box, Hyperthreading 3.06 GHz, with no problems... But I am not sure what the minimum processor is to be able to decode a steady 1080i ts in linux. About interfacing with your television.... Just pick up a new video board. Get one with a DVI output.... They usually sell the newer cards nowadays with both VGA and DVI outputs. There are converters from DVI to component video available at all sorts of stored... Radio Shack is the first to come to mind. MicroCenter is another good one. (google microcenter -- this is a great place for gadgets and connectors, etc) I hope this info helps. -Michael Krufky
