On Friday 09 December 2005 02:09, Todd Ignasiak wrote: > In the U.S., HDTV is broadcast as MPEG2. The articles I have read > about HDTV in Europe have said MPEG4 (probably H.264 / MPEG4.10 / AVC) > will be used. H.264 takes much more CPU horsepower to decode. A > 3GHz P4 may not ave the horsepower to decode it. > > On 12/8/05, Steve Adeff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On Thursday 08 December 2005 13:19, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > Well seeing as HDTV looks to be coming to the UK next year > > > ( http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/01/telewest_goes_live_with_hdtv/ > > > ) and we're looking at buying a new HDTV 'ready' TV[1] (1080i) I'm > > > planning to get HDTV playback set up on my myth box. Only problem is I > > > don't know where to start! > > > > wait till HDTV becomes available before buying a TV. The States are just > > beginning to see 1080p sets hit the market, by the time you get HDTV in > > the UK I'm sure they'll be there as well, and the prices for HDTV's will > > drop in general. No reason to get it now if you won't really be able to > > use it and the prices will go down. > > > > > I'm currently running a P4 2.8GHz with 1Gb, twin Nova-T's and a 128Mb > > > AGP Nvidia MX440 with the TV out of composite (AV) at 1024x768 and > > > running SuSE 10.0/mythtv 18.1 Disk space is er plenty (2TB+ if need be) > > > > I'd suggest upgrading the video card to a 6xxx series NVidia GPU. Most > > support component output that will let you use 1080i, or if you do end up > > with a 1080p you will be able to set your resolution to 1920x1080 and > > output via the HDMI port. Again, wait and see where the market is when > > its time. > > > > > I've got a few questions that some of our US cousins might be able to > > > help me with :-) > > > > Your being too kind, I prefer bastard children ;-) > > > > > 1) How is HDTV connected? Looking at the specs for the TV we're > > > thinking of there's Composite (AV), Y/C (S-Video), ANT (RF), Component > > > (Y/Pb/Pr) and SCART (which you don't have in the US). > > > What type is used for HDTV (or doesn't it matter)? > > > > Component and DVI/HDMI. SCART, S-Video, and Composite don't have the > > bandwidth availability for HDTV over the wires used. > > Component is an analog method (basically a modified S-Video for higher > > bandwidth. I still maintain S-Video with higher bandwidth abilities would > > be better than component but I digress...). > > HDMI/DVI is "digital". HDMI is the best. Basically, the more HDMI inputs > > the better. > > Oh, and Firewire. Some HDTV's will have firewire inputs. relatively > > useless for connecting a computer right now, but great for some cable > > boxes and DVHS decks. > > > > > 2) Will the MX440 be powerful enough or will I need a newer card? > > > > see above. > > > > > 3) Am I likely to need more processing power (I've got a 3GHz P4 in > > > another box I could swap over if need be but would I need more than > > > that). > > > > the 2.8 should be fine. Wait till the time comes and see if the cost of a > > faster CPU is worth it. > > > > > 4) Are my existing recordings going to look awful (PAL 768x576). > > > > yes. most SD material looks bad on HDTV even when its all digital. My dad > > has a 50" Sony Grand Wega III (oh. my. god. is it nice....jealous) and > > with his SD cable channels it looks ok considering the source, and > > possibly better than a 50" SD TV would, but once you get used to HDTV > > you'll consider it pretty poor... > > > > > 5) Am I just wasting my time? Seeing as the recordings (for probably at > > > _least_ 8 months until HDTV actually gets here) would still be in SDTV > > > would I even notice any difference? > > > > Wait till HDTV gets there then look into it again. > > > > > I'm assuming that HDTV recording is going to need a HDTV compatible > > > tuner card and even assuming they put HDTV out on the freeview channels > > > the Nova-T's just won't cut it but I'm hoping the new box would have a > > > firewire out or by that time there would be a UK HDTV card. > > > > The European TV technology is so drastically different than the States > > your best bet is to wait and see how they plan on doing things. > > > > > [1] One of these > > > http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/television/crt/ws32z308paxxeu.asp > > > > www.avsforum.com > > don't buy home theatre equipment without first referencing this forum. > > They're a bunch of perfectionists, but they understand budgets. I usually > > just post similar to: > > "I've got $xx to spend on a Yyyyy. What are some of my best options?" and > > you'll get good responses of models to look into. > > > > > Thanks > > > > > > Druid > > > > hope this helps. > > > > -- > > Steve
ah, yet another reason to wait and see.... Maybe by then there will also be a TV-Out card with onboard MPEG4 support as well... who knows... I do know 5C will still suck though! -- Steve _______________________________________________ mythtv-users mailing list [email protected] http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
