MPEG2 encoder. Why? (1 Viewer)

[marco2357]

MediaPortal Version: Release Candidate V1.0.0.0 RC1

My USB TV stick seems to have a software encoder. I don't know what this actually means because the bundled MediaCenter works easily and also ChrisTV works like a charm. But for MediaPortal this means that I need a MPEG encoder (it won't find any channels otherwise). So I'm using the InterVideo Video Encoder (MainConcept MPEG and CyberLink MPEG Video Encoder do not work).

So my questions:
- What is the MPEG encoder needed for? For the streaming from the server to the clients?
- Will there ever be another solution or is there one already (MediaPortal is the only software I know having this dependency)?

My problem is that I have a single seat installation and the Laptop I use has no chance at all to manage that load. After about 10 seconds of 100% CPU usage, the Preview (MediaServer Configuration) crashes/stops. The same in MediaPortal itself. When I connect with MPlayer, it hangs after about 3 seconds (probably the same problem).

If there won't be a usable solution soon, I might buy an USB TV adapter that supports hardware MPEG encoding. But I have one concern: What is the channel switching time for such cards in MediaPortal?
My experiences are that MediaPortal easily needs up to 5 seconds (while ChrisTV is ready in about half a second). Will this be better if hardware MPEG encoding is supported? Otherwise this is an absolutely no-go criteria for watching TV with MediaPortal.

Thanks for your time...

 

[Paranoid Delusion]

MediaCenter works easily and also ChrisTV works like a charm

Neither are DX9, so there CPU\GPU is low.

Add MP is DX9 + software mpeg2 card, CPU goes through roof, which affects running DX9 applications, on low\mid end systems (new mb's with the latest gpu's are far superior than there predecessors), thats why at least a 2.8Ghz processor required, as per here.

Supported TVCards/Analog Software Encoding - MediaPortal Wiki Documentation