In <004b01c74640$882cd800$6b01010a@REDMOUNTAIN01>, Patrick Mackin wrote: > >Also generic video cards are increasingly coming with video decoding > >features, and HDTVs can be connected straight to a PC without the need > >for a horrible scaler or special screen mode. Although not all the > >decoding features are available to Linux, dedicated decoder/TV-out cards > >are looking quite obsolete, and DVB card manufacturers are bound to > >respond to that. > > > Not to get too off-topic, but I disagree. In north america, from surveying > posts on several bulletin boards, vdr usage seems to be 90%+ with FF cards > (typically the Nexus-S). Is that HD-capable? HDTV seems quite common in NA, but currently in the UK there are very few HD channels, only available through overpriced subscriptions. It looks unlikely that there'll be any FTA/FTV HD until at least after the analogue terrestrial switch-off in 2012. > There's actually the perception with many in NA > that vdr doesn't work with budget cards! And while more PCs are adding the > built-in functions a FF card provides (Digital audio out, Coax or S-video > out, adequate processing power for decoding) everything seems to be moving > to mpeg-4. If the Nexus-S requires replacement for HD/MPEG4 I wouldn't be surprised if its successor doesn't feature a decoder. The latest graphics cards support MPEG4 too, including H.264. Someone posted about a new DVB card which does have an MPEG4 decoder recently, but pointed out that it's only a reference design, not a production model. And it's PCI-E, so it doesn't look like the manufacturers are very keen to support old PCs. > I know from working regularly with Xvid / mpeg4 files that they > require a lot more processing power, and many pcs are older machines > dedicated to running vdr, not top of the line full fledged 4 ghz systems. I haven't noticed a big difference, although I've only encountered MPEG4 part 2 (DivX etc), usually at lower resolutions than DVB/DVD, as opposed to HD H.264. > I've never regretted owning my FF card, and would look for a FF mpeg4 card > if I was in the market. Plus, they always seem the simplest to configure > and use with most software, not to mention not requiring a computer monitor > to run vdr on FF :) Well that was one of my points too. Connecting a typical HDTV to a PC is pretty much the same as connecting a monitor, not like all the headaches involved in getting a decent PAL or NTSC signal from a standard graphics card. -- TH * http://www.realh.co.uk
