X800XT pictured.
- Thread starter Waltar
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MuFu said:Ha! The yellow connector *is* for audio. Hooks up to a "vintage" RT chip on the back, lol.
I can't wait for the all-singing, all-dancing, HDMI-equipped AIW version now either.
But the question is, will it break into a song and dance number at random times while using it?
Like I said, the XT PE has VIVO capabilities. They are using the original Rage Theater apparently (cheap as chips!).
The fact that they've done another great job of keeping the PCB compact and tidy bodes pretty well for another awesome AIW solution (possibly with an offboard HDTV DC though).
The fact that they've done another great job of keeping the PCB compact and tidy bodes pretty well for another awesome AIW solution (possibly with an offboard HDTV DC though).
I agree with you on that...although I like the idea of a separate HDTV tuner also for those of us that can't afford to upgrade this generation (no job and the student loans bills are headed my way soon). What I would like to see more than anything else at this point in time would be component in. Unfortunately I don't think this could be used for capturing due to the massive amounts of data it would entail but at least then you could display HDTV from a cable box on your computer.MuFu said:Well it'd be nice if they can integrate HDTV functionality onto the board instead. Their AIW design ethos seems to have been "same form factor; same clocks" for a while now. Have faith.
You are correct about that. From the ATI Website:MuFu said:
Composite, S-Video, and Component (including High Definition) video inputs
An ideal HDTV HTPC card solution would have:
1) HDMI output (can be converted to DVI and Component via adapter or breakout box)
2) HDMI input
3) Firewire/1394 input
4) coax input
Why? Because some people have home theater equipment which can output video over 1394, others have HDMI/DVI output, and still others have Component. Until the market moves over to HDMI/1394 totally (and A/V receivers start supporting HDMI switching), you need to deal with both analog and digital inputs.
I'd probably just put HDMI/1394 I/O on the card, and move everything else onto an external breakout box line Creative's LineDrive.
Since HDTV is already compressed with MPEG-2, not much is required to capture it, except lots of HD space (a typical 2hr 720p sequence will use 16gigabytes of space, due to 17Mbps/s MPEG-2 bitrate) To make a PVR, you'll need to transcode to MPEG-4/H.264 or something with a lower bitrate. I'm skeptical of non-HW solutions to do this acceptable. Using the CPU to do it, if even possible to keep up realtime transcoding + playback on the same device, will stress a high-end box to its limits.
1) HDMI output (can be converted to DVI and Component via adapter or breakout box)
2) HDMI input
3) Firewire/1394 input
4) coax input
Why? Because some people have home theater equipment which can output video over 1394, others have HDMI/DVI output, and still others have Component. Until the market moves over to HDMI/1394 totally (and A/V receivers start supporting HDMI switching), you need to deal with both analog and digital inputs.
I'd probably just put HDMI/1394 I/O on the card, and move everything else onto an external breakout box line Creative's LineDrive.
Since HDTV is already compressed with MPEG-2, not much is required to capture it, except lots of HD space (a typical 2hr 720p sequence will use 16gigabytes of space, due to 17Mbps/s MPEG-2 bitrate) To make a PVR, you'll need to transcode to MPEG-4/H.264 or something with a lower bitrate. I'm skeptical of non-HW solutions to do this acceptable. Using the CPU to do it, if even possible to keep up realtime transcoding + playback on the same device, will stress a high-end box to its limits.
That would be an ideal solution from the input/output perspective. I am really confused about your last paragraph through regarding HDTV. Yes it is compressed already but the problem comes into play when you capture it. Capturing through compnonent in is all analog and as such would need a really hefty system to handle not only the compression but the I/O requirements. HDMI is great too...but capturing that is impractical also as you are dealing with a DVI signal that is uncompressed so once again you have the same problems as with component in. HDTV over FireWire is possible as that transmits in MPEG2 so you would have no problems there but then again you also need an outboard system to tune the signal and send it (cause god knows they won't all send to comps). Coax is an entirely different beast from the HDTV standpoint too. If you are talking about OTA material then that isn't an issue... If you are talking about HDTV from a cable feed then you need a card that supports either QAM (which is only good for some feeds) or CableCard. Either way HDTV is going through some huge growing pains with regards to the PC.DemoCoder said:
One other thing...you mentioned HDMI and FireWire together almost like they have parts that are the same. Last I had checked HDMI had a line/lines for DVI, Multi-Channel Audio, and a Control Line for the different systems to communicate on.
I'm talking about what it takes to build a capture card. If ATI, for example, builds a tuner which can just grab the raw ATSC Mpeg-2 stream from OTA and stash it to the HD, then all you need is the ability to handle streaming 18mbps/s to the harddrive. Thus, there are no real CPU limitations if you can just pull the ATSC digital signals out of the air and store them for playback.
But not everyone wants recompressed MPEG-2. Most home theater enthusiasts who capture Satellite/Cable will opt for a combo-tuner/PVR like the DirectTivo, which offers much higher quality than a stand alone TiVo unit.
The reason why you want IEEE1394 is that this is the standard used by set-top boxes and HDTV Tuners to stream the raw compressed MPEG-2 signal to appliances like DVHS which can record HDTV.
Thus, the ideal HDTV card would feature 1394 input. But it also needs HDMI/Coax in, because not everyone has a tuner with 1394 output. Yes, in the case of HDMI/Coax in, you'd have to have a tuner and do capture/encode.
A dedicated 500gb PVR unit can store roughly 50 hrs of non-recompressed HDTV (original 18mbps stream), which is about what the new DirectTV HD-Tivo can do. Most HTPC users will probably opt for raw storage for recent shows, but convert to MPEG-4/H.264 of older shows, OR, they will use 1394 output to record to a DVHS, or burn a DVD.
But not everyone wants recompressed MPEG-2. Most home theater enthusiasts who capture Satellite/Cable will opt for a combo-tuner/PVR like the DirectTivo, which offers much higher quality than a stand alone TiVo unit.
The reason why you want IEEE1394 is that this is the standard used by set-top boxes and HDTV Tuners to stream the raw compressed MPEG-2 signal to appliances like DVHS which can record HDTV.
Thus, the ideal HDTV card would feature 1394 input. But it also needs HDMI/Coax in, because not everyone has a tuner with 1394 output. Yes, in the case of HDMI/Coax in, you'd have to have a tuner and do capture/encode.
A dedicated 500gb PVR unit can store roughly 50 hrs of non-recompressed HDTV (original 18mbps stream), which is about what the new DirectTV HD-Tivo can do. Most HTPC users will probably opt for raw storage for recent shows, but convert to MPEG-4/H.264 of older shows, OR, they will use 1394 output to record to a DVHS, or burn a DVD.
Thanks for clearing that up some for me. I understand what you were getting at now. Oh and this should interest you... Looks like we won't see a true HDMI interface from NV anytime soon.DemoCoder said:
List of HDMI Adopters
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