[mythtvnz] Video card for a diskless frontend?

[Criggie]

Stuart Whelan wrote:
> I am looking for advice on what is desirable in a video card for a front
> end. The TV I am driving is a 32" widescreen CRT, which only takes S-Video
> or Composite.

So you need a card that has S Video out.  Many do but not all.  Some
support composite via a break-out adapter generally included in the box.

Are you sure those ports work on your TV?  I've seen some where the
feature is not completely implemented.

Modern TVs often have VGA or DVI or even HDMI ports.  Bosses new Sony has
a 100 Mbit ethernet port!


> The motherboard is it going on has a PCI-e16 slot.

Good.   AGP is dead and PCI isn't cost effective.  No need to choose a
dual-port model - that feature is irrelevant (unless you want to put TV
over two screens (with a block in the middle))

> This card will only every be a mythtv card, no gaming functionality
> required. I lean heavily towards the Nvidia range, but only because that
is all I have every owned. When looking at the card, what do I need to
take into account? Is the amount of memory on the card important for
myth?

Yes and no - if doing VDPAU you need 512 MB ram.  Some people claim to
have it working in 256 MB but since you're buying new, stick with the
recommended.

> Do I need to go for DDR3 vs DDR2 memory? Does Mythtv push the card that
> hard?

No - shouldn't make any difference.

> Is there a specific generation of card that will give me something the
> previous ones do not?

Yes - if you want to decode High Definition recordings, then a NVidia 9400
or higher is recommended.

If you just want standard definition (analogue) then any old card should
be fine.  I was doing SD on a frontend with an intel onboard graphics
adapter fine.

Final thought is heat - there's been some discussion of substrate and
thermal issues with NVidia implementations.  Either don't spend a lot, or
make sure your case cooling is up to scratch.



-- 
Criggie

http://criggie.dyndns.org/