Freesat Setup (1 Viewer)

[eetaylog]

So im a long time MP user and have a very stable setup with:

XP Pro (SP3)
MP1.0.1
DivX7 & CoreAVC codecs
-----------------------
AMD X2 2.8GHz CPU
4Gb RAM (only 3.2Gb used under XP 32-bit though)
3x1Tb HDD
Hauppauge NovaT-500 TV card
GeForce 7600+ GFX card

...im looking at moving over to using a Freesat card now though, and have got my eye on the Hauppauge Nova-S2, but am a bit of a noob when it comes to DVB-S cards, so have a few questions...

• I have a dish installed outside my house and have the cable ready to use in my living room, is it just a case of hooking the cable up to the Nova-S2 card, or does it need some kind of decoder inbetween?

• Is there a dual DVB-S card available, or is it better to just run the single Nova-S2 alongside my current dual terrestrial card (i do have a spare PCI slot, so this is an option)?

• Is my system likely to be able to handle the HD signal?

• Is MP reliable for recieving Freesat?

Any pointers muchly appreciated

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

* I have a dish installed outside my house and have the cable ready to use in my living room, is it just a case of hooking the cable up to the Nova-S2 card, or does it need some kind of decoder inbetween?

That I can answer, Freesat requires no decoder.

The 7600gs may well cause a problem, think about a 9400\9500gt, or ATI 4550 like this one which I consider a bargain for what it is and under 25watt used.

 

[Spragleknas]

I hooked up with FreeSat myself, so I'll give these Q a go:

* I have a dish installed outside my house and have the cable ready to use in my living room, is it just a case of hooking the cable up to the Nova-S2 card, or does it need some kind of decoder inbetween?
- Nope

* Is there a dual DVB-S card available, or is it better to just run the single Nova-S2 alongside my current dual terrestrial card (i do have a spare PCI slot, so this is an option)?
- Not that I have seen. You should be able to handle more than one channel at once, though. Some limitations apply, but I can't remember these ATM

* Is my system likely to be able to handle the HD signal?
- I think your gfx will struggle with DXVA @ HD, so your CPU will struggle. I'd recommend that you buy a cheap, new gfx if you are having probs with HD.

* Is MP reliable for recieving Freesat?
- I'd say yes. I had some problemsm, but I was receiving them in Norway with only 85 cm dish - hand tuned D) - so I had some issues. Giving it a new try soon w/more effort in finetuning. PS: DVB-EPG is somewhat special for FreeSat (find post by DJBlu). I only used WebEPG.

HTH

EDIT: BEATEN!!!!

 

[eetaylog]

Thanks for the quick replies, your answers have really helped, especially the heads up regarding my gfx card. Im in 2 minds whether im going to have problems with it because i have no problems playing hi-def .mkv files through it, but im getting an internal bluray player for christmas so will put my system through its paces when i install that.

 

[SpudR]

Check my system specs - I have the 7600GS with NO issues!

 

[Spragleknas]

I still don't think the 7600 can do DXVA@HD - but you can (as I staded in prev post) ofc let the CPU do the work

 

[SitheSly]

Just for more info based on my experience.

I have a 780G mobo with onboard ATI hd3200.

It can handle MKV 1080P (basically Bluray / Hd-dvd rips), Bluray discs, HD-dvd discs, dvd's etc...

But live hd interlaced TV broadcasts are a no go, judder and dropped frames everywhere, upgrading from a dual core to a quad core Phemon did not solve it, just ordered an Ati hd 4550 gfx card to solve.

Cheers
Si

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

HD support did not arrive until the 8xxx series of Nvidia cards, but that was only a partial implementation unless you had a high end card, then of course the 9xxx series arrived with full support for HD decoding by the gpu.

If I play a 720HD film on my daughters 6600gt, the cpu runs at 90%, so it would never run a 1080 movie of any description, even my 7900 struggles with 1080 clips and passes most of the decoding onto the cpu's

Thats why I suggested one of the newer cards, no HD playback problems, less power and heat, but none of the above are capable of playing new games, but may cope with the older ones.

Regards and apologies to Spragleknas for beating him to it

 

[eetaylog]

So which Nvidia card would you recommend bearing in mind that i need it to be passive if possible (im guessing one of the 9 series cards, but which manufacturer would you recommend)?

Is the ATI 4550 that sitheSly has ordered any good?

 

[Spragleknas]

HD support did not arrive until the 8xxx series of Nvidia cards, but that was only a partial implementation unless you had a high end card, then of course the 9xxx series arrived with full support for HD decoding by the gpu.

Actully, I believe that the top 8-series did not have DXVA for HD etc., but the mid-series did. I think nVidias oppinion was that if your computer had a hi-end gfx, it had a hi-end CPU, so no ofload was needed

Regards and apologies to Spragleknas for beating him to it

No prob, mate!


eetaylog: For nVidia, Gt220 should be a OK choice, but I think the 240 has even better video handling ... can't remeber why atm.