User experience with AMD 780G and MediaPortal (4 Viewers)

[jo16v]

I had the same problem with HDTV and DXA enabled. If I disable DXA then it works fine.
(PDVD8 / MP RC3 / XP SP3 / PDVD8 Ultra + Latest Patch)

Defeats the whole point of the HD3200 though! When it works TV3 is so much better (I have a slowish CPU - Save the Planet and all that). Sigh. Am just waiting for the Mrs to complain.

Did you get the same problem with the older builds of PDVD8?

 

[huckster2]

Did you get the same problem with the older builds of PDVD8?

My main DVXA issue has been getting it working with the h.264 encoded 576i channels here in NZ (the green screen issue). The latest PowerDVD patch was the first I'd got to do that. I was software decoding before. I had tried a few combinations before this - 7, 7.3 and 8 unpatched and possibly an earlier 8 patch with no success. According to a few threads here and on Geekzone: technology news, blogs, forums, looping is a problem that has been experienced here with PowerDVD. I can see this could become annoying.... Happens with Live TV as well as live TV recordings. Only seems to be the one 1080i channel.

Damn thing doesn't DXVA after a suspend.....

 

[kiwijunglist]

I only tried PDVD8 Ultra with builds greater than 2000. Interestingly i don't get the looping error in vista only occurs in XP. Also found that the newer versions of catalyst worked better than the older versions. Havn't tried PDVD7.3 so can't comment on that.

 

[zilexa]

I am building my htpc (780G based) and now looking to install mediaportal. I wanted to know if MP supports hardware accelerated video playback. In this thread a few people are having trouble but all of you guys write about Powerdvd! Confusing... or do you guys use Powerdvd because Mediaportal doesn't support DXVA?

 

[huckster2]

I am building my htpc (780G based) and now looking to install mediaportal. I wanted to know if MP supports hardware accelerated video playback. In this thread a few people are having trouble but all of you guys write about Powerdvd! Confusing... or do you guys use Powerdvd because Mediaportal doesn't support DXVA?

You need a codec to decode signals. Media Portal has one for MPEG-2 but not for h.264. Only some codecs support DXVA. PowerDVD is one that does. ArcSoft may do too. Both cost $$. Then there are others such as ffmpeg and MPC-HC which don't cost $$ but may not do DXVA.

Read the install requriements.... GeneralRequirements - MediaPortal Manual Documentation

 

[globaldonkey]

Did read a blurb on anandtech the other day when they were previewing the 4350.

AnandTech: MSI R4350 - First Look

The NVIDIA GF8200 (AMD processor based) still offers the best CPU utilization rates, slightly better than its Intel based cousin, the NVIDIA GF9300. Those users with a GF8200/9300 based board really have no reason to upgrade to this card since 8-channel LPCM audio output is already included plus proper support for 1080p/24Hz playback. Speaking of 1080p/24Hz playback capabilities, the latest ATI driver set (8.10 Hotfix) for the card provides better support now. However, we still experienced lip-sync problems and occasional stutters. Still not perfect like the NVIDIA solutions, but AMD is far ahead of Intel in this regard. We just hope AMD can get 1080p/24Hz working correctly (100%) in the near future.

Those HTPC users with AMD based chipsets (690G, 780G, 790GX) should seriously consider upgrading to the 4350 chipset for the additional media features. A side bonus is improved casual gaming performance and Surround View (multi-monitor) support. This chipset does not offer Hybrid Crossfire support on the 780G/790GX boards.

Intel HTPC users with the G35 chipset would be advised to upgrade to the HD4350. Although not shown in today's results, CPU utilization drops from 73% to 29% and casual gaming suddenly becomes a reality on this platform. G45 users already have full hardware accelerated BD playback and 8-channel LPCM output so the decision to spend additional funds is difficult. General application and casual gaming performance will improve with the HD4350, but the biggest reason to switch would be driver and BD playback application support in our opinion.

Well that certainly was my G35 experience. Maybe not quite as high CPU (about 50% on 1080p), but annoying performance with MPEG-2 HDTV (go figure..... Intel is supposed to have better MPEG-2 HA capabilities than the ATI / NVIDIA). Based on what KRA (OP) said in a recent post (ie he went with a 4650 from the 780G), I really think it is more the integrated chipsets that are the problem. Even the entry level ATI 3450 added to my G35 board solved my MPEG-2 HDTV issues, and dropped CPU on h.264 with PDVD 8 to under 10%.

My next HTPC won't use an integrated GPU, I think.

 

[jo16v]

I only tried PDVD8 Ultra with builds greater than 2000. Interestingly i don't get the looping error in vista only occurs in XP. Also found that the newer versions of catalyst worked better than the older versions. Havn't tried PDVD7.3 so can't comment on that.

I was only able to get hardware acceleration on interlaced h.264 with all the builds of PDVD8 that I tried, I could only get progressive acceleration with PDVD 7.3 but neither worked for VC-1- I have read that 7.3 works a little better with XP. Apparently VC-1 acceleration used to work on XP but it was broken after 8.3 Catalyst.

 

[S.O.P]

I'm thinking the same way.

My needs are simple. Just need a nice, full-featured matx board with optical out and a choice of video card that handles 1080i and has HDMI video out.


I've managed to breath life back into my current board, turns out, for some reason, it won't run 2 sticks of RAM any more. Only 1 stick, in either slot and I tested both sticks in both slots. I get high CPU usage as I have Interlacing set to best though.

 

[jo16v]

You need a codec to decode signals. Media Portal has one for MPEG-2 but not for h.264. Only some codecs support DXVA. PowerDVD is one that does. ArcSoft may do too. Both cost $$. Then there are others such as ffmpeg and MPC-HC which don't cost $$ but may not do DXVA.

Read the install requriements.... GeneralRequirements - MediaPortal Manual Documentation

MPC Video Decoder should do DXVA for h.264/AVC and VC-1 although personally I haven't got it to work in MP at all but quite a few others have so it's more likely an issue with my installation. You can download the latest builds of MPC-HC and the standalone filters (codecs) here, discussion about MPC-HC here. The MPC decoder doesn't currently work for h.264 TV but it is hoped that will change soon.

 

[kiwijunglist]

I am building my htpc (780G based) and now looking to install mediaportal. I wanted to know if MP supports hardware accelerated video playback. In this thread a few people are having trouble but all of you guys write about Powerdvd! Confusing... or do you guys use Powerdvd because Mediaportal doesn't support DXVA?

HDTV uses H264 which is a type of compression. You need an h264 codec to decode the signal. Mediaportal doesn't enclude an h264 codec. Some of the options are;

1. PowerDVD - Does hardware acceleration, cost $$$
2. Arcsoft - Apparently does hardware acceleration, cost $$$
3. CoreAVC - Very good at software decoding, small cost
4. FFDShow - Does software decoding, free
5. Mediaplayer Classic Home Cinema (MPC-HC) - Doesn't work with live TV in mediaportal, only works with movie files, does hardware acceleration, free
6. Cyberlink Powercinema - Comes free with some videocards, Some people report that it can be modded to do hardware acceleration