Blu-ray Media Center

[engineersruntheworld]

Hey, I'm in the process of building a media center center that handles blu-ray and HD-DVD movies. I'm curious, is the decoding of blu-ray movies more processor dependent or video card dependent? For example, if I get a super powerful video card and paired it with a moderate P4, what kind of performance am I going to get? If anyone who has already done something similar could reply with their hardware setup (video card, processor, ram, and operating system) along with an overview of how well it performs when watching HD movies, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

[un4gvn94538]

ive read on the nvidia site that the card handles some of the processing. check out the site

[Obiit]

Depends on your budget but it's best to mix and match. A decent card will offload the video processing leaving the CPU to do the rest.

I've run a P4 2.6 with an ATI 2400Pro and that played Blu-ray fine (but only in stereo). Note:- that card has problems with MPEG2 but is fine with the rest of the Video codecs

I have both an ATI 2600XT and an ATI 3450 and they play blu-ray fine on either an Athlon 64 3800+ or an Intel Core2Duo 2.2 (both using 2 gig of ram) while decoding all HD audio codecs.

It's up to you in the end but read up on the cards as un4gvn94538 said. I can recommend the ATI's.

Oh and if it's for a living room installation it may be worth looking at quiet or silent components.

HTH

P.S.

If you want to use Vista (spawn of the devil) then you will need more RAM than XP.

[engineersruntheworld]

I agree about Vista being the spawn of the devil and will stay away from it at all costs. A Linux based solution would be ideal, but right now if I'm not mistaken it has really shoddy Blu-Ray and HD-DVD support. I have an extra XP install I'll probably end up resorting to that for now.

[dpomp]

go to woot.com

[engineersruntheworld]

Wow, thats an amazing deal.

[Barnum]

Originally Posted by engineersruntheworld

I agree about Vista being the spawn of the devil and will stay away from it at all costs. A Linux based solution would be ideal, but right now if I'm not mistaken it has really shoddy Blu-Ray and HD-DVD support. I have an extra XP install I'll probably end up resorting to that for now.

Here we go again with the I hate Vista crap. Vista is an excellent OS when run on the proper hardware. Running it on your celeron with 512 meg of ram no wonder there is a problem.

You can use either XP or Vista with media center extension and all will be good. If you really want to save some bucks look into the newest offerings from AMD. Their new 780 chipset is designed with media center PCs in mind. The 790 chipset is a step up but twice the cost. I would also go with nothing less then a dual core running at 2.4 gig or higher. Like I said the 780 chipset with a better CPU will not need an upgraded video card the one onboard is designed for HD.

Buy with caution the one on Woot today. Gateway has not made a quality pc in years. Not to mention its a refurb.

[maxmcleod]

look at my setup, i have a moderate processor and a simple video card
mobo, processor and video card total cost was 200 bucks...
and it plays blurays perfectly...

i wouldn't drop to a p4, i would stick with dual core at least

[Obiit]

Originally Posted by Barnum

Vista is an excellent OS when run on the proper hardware.

That is correct BUT the vast majority of people DON'T have the proper hardware (and i mean anything before Vista was released isn't the proper hardware) hence their dislike for the OS. Even Steve Ballmer says it is a work in progress - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04...ta_incomplete/ .

Oh and a celeron with 512 meg of RAM is within specification for Vista http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...uirements.mspx .

Anyhow back to the matter in hand - engineersruntheworld you are correct as there is no Linux blu-ray solution. They do not have the licenses to decode the encryption methods used in HD. So you are stuck with Windows - either XP or Vista. If your getting a brand new PC then Vista will work fine but make sure you have extra ram budgeted in the spec. If your getting an older PC XP is the best bet.

[trshaw]

Originally Posted by engineersruntheworld

Hey, I'm in the process of building a media center center that handles blu-ray and HD-DVD movies. I'm curious, is the decoding of blu-ray movies more processor dependent or video card dependent? For example, if I get a super powerful video card and paired it with a moderate P4, what kind of performance am I going to get? If anyone who has already done something similar could reply with their hardware setup (video card, processor, ram, and operating system) along with an overview of how well it performs when watching HD movies, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

Depends, from my limited experience AVC/MPG4 movies are VERY processor intensive, VC-1 require very little processor power.

I'm running a p4 3Ghz OC to about 20%, with a LG-GGC -H20L Daul BD/HD drive on a vista 32 system with max ram (4gig seen as 3.5 or so) and a 8500gts vid card.

I can play VC-1 effortlessly no noticeable stutters/stalls or blotches in either HD or BD format.

Playing MPG4 however, is a different story, some movies will run 8-10 minutes before picture becomes distorted and unwatchable, others will stutter and make it difficult to watch (again either format).

Vid cards say they have hardware acceleration, but what good is it if none of the software seems to use it. Do yourself a favor, get a Good solid dual core processor and a decent vid card (8500+ or equivalent). Why take chances of having to upgrade/rebuild sooner..