Lowest Spec MP PVR? :)

2004-12-20, 12:30

I think I've cracked the lowest specs you can get MP to be useable with on.

My Prototype PVR uses:
EPIA MII-1000
256MB RAM
7200rpm 60GB HDD
Netgear 802.11g WiFi

Software load is pretty light, decided to give windows MCE 2005 a whirl, might as well abuse works MSDN subscription

I had to disable a lot of the animations and the like, also the media player system couldn't really cope so I replaced both the video player and DVD player with dedicated applications.

The TV stuff needs some fine tuning as even with the PVR-350 it's still dropping frames, although at the momment I've set the remote control up to bin MP and fire up WinTV2000 using some of the less used buttons.

Hopefully as the MP project continues I'll be able to eek the last bit of power out of the Epia and use more of the internal functionality.

All in all a good bit of software.

2005-01-19, 23:41

We got a good working system with the following specs:

- EPIA MII-10000 (1Ghz with MPEG2 decoder onboard)
- Samsung 1604sv @ 5400rpm/160Gb
- 512Mb mem
- Hauppauge pvr150MCE with the MCE remote (USA model)

To use the hardware decoding correctly you have to install the Intervideo decoder, just install windvd. All your problems will be fixed.

We can timeshift, record TV @ dvd quality (modify the default hauppauge setting ;-)), play all movies. As perfect flawless video setting we use OVERLAY.

As a case we used the Silverstone LC-02 and cut some hole in it. The fan on the motherboard is replaces by a Zallmancooler and the PSEfan runs on 5 volt. Our system turned out to be completely silent.

We tested the temperature on our EPIA using cpuburn and using the most performance eating mediaportal features: Start a TV-recording AND play some music AND starting a slideshow with effects ;-)

If you have any problems configuring the EPIA-M please contact us.

Good luck all!

LastMar · 2005-02-22, 05:58

We've got you both beat. 700MHz celery, 384mb of PC66 RAM, GeForce4 MX. We do not use the TV function, although we had limited success with it in the past. Everything else works great, even though the program takes forever to load....

Oh yea, and we've got a 'Cuda 7200.7 with 120GB of storage thrown in for good measure.

This system is definitely a Frankenstein.... It's made from bits and pieces of several factory-built PC's. Until this morning, even the case was made from parts of 2 old HP cases.

2005-02-22, 08:55

PIII 733
512MB
80GB HDD
PVR-350

Works great!

SOL

LastMar · 2005-02-27, 01:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by SOL

PIII 733
512MB
80GB HDD
PVR-350

Works great!

SOL

I assume from the PVR-350 that TV works well too.....

We haven't actually tried using the TV functions since we switched the HTPC over to Windows XP..... we had been running on 2K to conserve memory beforehand.....

xanex · 2005-07-15, 22:47

mines running on a PIII 800 with 256mb of ram

miseryshining · 2005-08-15, 03:05

PIII 500@575
500MB PC100@115 RAM
pinnacle PCTV pro
RADEON 8500le
6.4GB 5200 HDD
120GB 7200 HDD for recording

recording tv works fine as long as i don't watch XVID encoded movies at the same time (it gets out of sync). I can watch recorded tv at the same time though. everything else works PERFECT! I'm really impressed with mediaportal.

mattoid · 2006-01-11, 20:13

Badsector
could you go into a bit more detail for me about the hardware decoding please? I have a VIA C3M266 mobo, a bit like a microATX version of the Epia M. Do the other codecs not support hardware decoding?

1200 celery
c3m266 mobo
NVTV tuner
cheap black box
crappy 6GB hard drive (will take an image off it when done)

setup not finised yet, but so far I agree with what people are saying; it all runs great on this level of hardware until you get to the tv stuff, where it can struggle a bit.
I read a post from a guy who wants to write a 'lite' version of MP for just these kind of projects. what do you think? 8)

minton · 2006-10-25, 10:57

Hi there,

Can you confirm what operating system you were using to get this up and runing?

I have exactly the same setup, but have XP media Center installed and its a bit crap for playback and TV viewing!

Where can I get hold of the intervideo drivers?

Also is this running within media Portal or just the WinTv 2000 application?

cheers

mitnon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anonymous

We got a good working system with the following specs:

- EPIA MII-10000 (1Ghz with MPEG2 decoder onboard)
- Samsung 1604sv @ 5400rpm/160Gb
- 512Mb mem
- Hauppauge pvr150MCE with the MCE remote (USA model)

To use the hardware decoding correctly you have to install the Intervideo decoder, just install windvd. All your problems will be fixed.

We can timeshift, record TV @ dvd quality (modify the default hauppauge setting ;-)), play all movies. As perfect flawless video setting we use OVERLAY.

As a case we used the Silverstone LC-02 and cut some hole in it. The fan on the motherboard is replaces by a Zallmancooler and the PSEfan runs on 5 volt. Our system turned out to be completely silent.

We tested the temperature on our EPIA using cpuburn and using the most performance eating mediaportal features: Start a TV-recording AND play some music AND starting a slideshow with effects ;-)

If you have any problems configuring the EPIA-M please contact us.

Good luck all!

Jimi · 2006-10-26, 01:18

You realise that was well over a year ago when he posted that? Infact it was getting on near two years.

2004-12-20, 12:30	#1 (permalink)
sarah_t_s Guest Posts: n/a	Lowest Spec MP PVR? :) I think I've cracked the lowest specs you can get MP to be useable with on. My Prototype PVR uses: EPIA MII-1000 256MB RAM 7200rpm 60GB HDD Netgear 802.11g WiFi Software load is pretty light, decided to give windows MCE 2005 a whirl, might as well abuse works MSDN subscription I had to disable a lot of the animations and the like, also the media player system couldn't really cope so I replaced both the video player and DVD player with dedicated applications. The TV stuff needs some fine tuning as even with the PVR-350 it's still dropping frames, although at the momment I've set the remote control up to bin MP and fire up WinTV2000 using some of the less used buttons. Hopefully as the MP project continues I'll be able to eek the last bit of power out of the Epia and use more of the internal functionality. All in all a good bit of software.

2005-02-22, 05:58	#3 (permalink)
LastMar Portal Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 74 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	We've got you both beat. 700MHz celery, 384mb of PC66 RAM, GeForce4 MX. We do not use the TV function, although we had limited success with it in the past. Everything else works great, even though the program takes forever to load.... Oh yea, and we've got a 'Cuda 7200.7 with 120GB of storage thrown in for good measure. This system is definitely a Frankenstein.... It's made from bits and pieces of several factory-built PC's. Until this morning, even the case was made from parts of 2 old HP cases. __________________ ~mar. Recording PC: Abit AN7, Athlon XP 3000+ 400FSB, 512MB PC3200, AIW 9800Pro, dual 21" CRTs, XP Pro SP2, ATI MMC, MediaPortal For viewing: Celeron 700, 384MB PC133, GeForce4 MX connected to TV, WinXP, MediaPortal

2006-01-11, 20:13	#8 (permalink)
mattoid Portal Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: UK Posts: 28 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	windvd Badsector could you go into a bit more detail for me about the hardware decoding please? I have a VIA C3M266 mobo, a bit like a microATX version of the Epia M. Do the other codecs not support hardware decoding? 1200 celery c3m266 mobo NVTV tuner cheap black box crappy 6GB hard drive (will take an image off it when done) setup not finised yet, but so far I agree with what people are saying; it all runs great on this level of hardware until you get to the tv stuff, where it can struggle a bit. I read a post from a guy who wants to write a 'lite' version of MP for just these kind of projects. what do you think? 8) __________________ VIA C3M266, Celeron 1.2, 512DDR, NVidia NVTV, Â£10 black box

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2005-01-19, 23:41	#2 (permalink)
Anonymous Guest Posts: n/a	We got a good working system with the following specs: - EPIA MII-10000 (1Ghz with MPEG2 decoder onboard) - Samsung 1604sv @ 5400rpm/160Gb - 512Mb mem - Hauppauge pvr150MCE with the MCE remote (USA model) To use the hardware decoding correctly you have to install the Intervideo decoder, just install windvd. All your problems will be fixed. We can timeshift, record TV @ dvd quality (modify the default hauppauge setting ;-)), play all movies. As perfect flawless video setting we use OVERLAY. As a case we used the Silverstone LC-02 and cut some hole in it. The fan on the motherboard is replaces by a Zallmancooler and the PSEfan runs on 5 volt. Our system turned out to be completely silent. We tested the temperature on our EPIA using cpuburn and using the most performance eating mediaportal features: Start a TV-recording AND play some music AND starting a slideshow with effects ;-) If you have any problems configuring the EPIA-M please contact us. Good luck all!

2005-02-22, 08:55	#4 (permalink)
Anonymous Guest Posts: n/a	PIII 733 512MB 80GB HDD PVR-350 Works great! SOL

2005-07-15, 22:47	#6 (permalink)
xanex Portal Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: South Africa Posts: 6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	mines running on a PIII 800 with 256mb of ram

2005-08-15, 03:05	#7 (permalink)
miseryshining Portal User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	PIII 500@575 500MB PC100@115 RAM pinnacle PCTV pro RADEON 8500le 6.4GB 5200 HDD 120GB 7200 HDD for recording recording tv works fine as long as i don't watch XVID encoded movies at the same time (it gets out of sync). I can watch recorded tv at the same time though. everything else works PERFECT! I'm really impressed with mediaportal.

2006-10-26, 01:18	#10 (permalink)
Jimi Portal Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Age: 26 Posts: 23 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Country: My System	You realise that was well over a year ago when he posted that? Infact it was getting on near two years.