Set top GBPVR client machine project

[gazoo]

Some more review stuff

I will try to put this together in the documentation section and make it a nice continuous read if and when I ever get the chance.

Ahanix MCE303 Case:
----------------------

This is a very nice case. Sturdy, good looking, comes with lots of extras.

Things I like:
1) uATX form factor
2) Uses REGULAR ATX power supply. This is very nice, no need to scrounge around for a small one.
3) Comes with irtrans VFD 2X16 display. I don't think this is the iMON one since I couldn't get the drivers going.
4) Comes with irtrans remote receiver
5) Comes with the MCE looking remote control with the color buttons. It says it uses the RC6 Philips protocol endorsed by Microsoft.
6) Comes with a card reader. I think it's a 5 slot reader with one usb front connector on a hydraulic opening front compartment.
7) Includes everything you'll need to put your mobo in there: screws, connectors, etc.
8) Spacious internally
9) Nice looking - looks like an actual component on the front view
10) Exhaust fan included.
11) Remote control power button emulates an actual front panel power button push (this is hardwired - can't be HIP'd or evetghost'd away). This means you can bring this thing in and out of either power down or sleep modes without getting up out of couch if you like. The ir receiver unit is wired into the mobo power wire harness.
12) Feels sturdy.
13) Decent ventilation if you're not going to transcode + play crysis 24/7. My setup runs cold. The hottest thing on the board is one of the bridges (can't remember, north or south.)

Things I DON't like:
1) EXPENSIVE. This is a relative thing. It really isn't anymore or less than any of the other HTPC cases with VFDs out there ($150-$190)
2) DVD interface button is flimsy and falls off if you don't snuggle up your drive to the front of the case.
3) The distributor charges more for black than silver.
4) The length and depth dimensions are longer than everything in my entertainment center other than the surround receiver. Height is good ~4 inches.
5) Heavy. 10 lbs+ without anything in it. This is what makes it feel sturdy, but also detracts from it - so it's a plus and a minus.
6) No room to add any cards whatsoever unless you use a riser card system or some kind of interface port extension. Again, many of these cases are like this. No problem with this setup since I am using this for a client and the mobo has integrated graphics.

[mkenyon2]

For a client box... this looks nice. You'ld need to add a better video card.
http://www.leadertechusa.com/product_ove...AD787#spec

Also need to be a reseller.

[pBS]

nice, should do HD with Overlay as-is...
only 1 pci slot tho so expansion is a problem..

i've been looking for nice small cases forever...found a couple workable ones but the 'shoebox' style that use mATX MB always seemed to have best features..
[like 9"x9"x13"] as they can fit all slots and have normal PS and drives..
but they don't fit any racks, that's for sure..excellent breathing tho..
[and SUPER quiet]

i stuffed mine into a old vcr...fits rack perfectly.. installed my own VFD[2x20] where the original one was...had to uncase the power supply but wasn't hard..

i found a script you might want that sets a bunch of params for HD2xxx and HD3xxx cards...worked nicely for me...[sets dxva,accell. etc]
should work on the MB graphics also..
http://home.comcast.net/~exdeus/ati-hd2x00/

[gazoo]

Thanks for that. Do you know if these tweaks make big improvements? I'm really curious but it's too late at night to try now.

[pBS]

yea, on mine it enabled vmr9 finally...but also pointed me to the locations of the enhancements and why it's so hard to get them set...
the uvd and dxva options are Very driver-version dependent..
they keep changing locations, settings datatypes,etc...no wonder half the drivers don't work...
some drivers i was able to get detail and edge enhancement working with settings visible in CCC as well.. but on other versions it's moved to a completely different place...and on some it shows,some it doesn't...
[i think it's the CCC getting to complicated for itself...lol]

but they did set the important stuff...
still, my EVR was, and still is flawless...but SD sure looks better now on both evr and vmr9.. [and vmr9 is a lot smoother now]
i have a feeling a touch more tweaking is needed but it's not far off..
[i'm using cat 8.3 btw]

[pBS]

here's a nice tool to check your dxva capabilities and codecs...
http://bluesky23.hp.infoseek.co.jp/DXVAChecker_1510.zip
docs are in japanese but it's in english and pretty self explanatory..

click the button to load a file and it will tell you which codecs can play it with which hardware acceleration features..

very usefull info..

[gazoo]

Ok, I'm not understanding this at all.

I used that app and I got some strange readings.

First of all, when I was previously saying I was getting some %, it was for BOTH cores. So if I was getting 50%, that was really 0 on one and 100 on the other.

Ok, back to this dvxa checking app.

It says that I'm getting acceleration on avivo (dxva), but only on vmr9 and not on evr. I verify this when I play a file and it says processor device:adaptive device. What's strange is, when I play back on vmr9 custom on gbpvr, it's hosed up (stops every 5 seconds - which I thought I had fixed) and won't play right. However, it plays back on evr in gbpvr no problem at 43% (which is 1 core almost maxed out). This is the only codec that is playing back 1080i at 60 FPS. Still can't figure out why avivo plays fine on evr in gbpvr but won't even play on this app.

Ok, now cybervideo. Says it supports vmr9 and evr dxva. It's playing back at 30FPS. On EVR, it's worse than avivo at 55%. It plays back fine on vmr9 custom, but at like 65%.

The other weird thing is when I use overlay, CPU is at like 12% for a 1080i file! :eek: :confused: How is that possible? Or is the quality of the video somehow degraded in overlay?

The other thing I was thinking is that vmr9 custom is not the same vmr9 that this app is referring to. It may be vmr9 FSE. I'm thinking this could be it because the avivo plays back with no weirdness on fse. However, I can't check the cpu usage on fse because I can't see the taskbar.

This whole things feels like black magic or some kind of art form. Does anyone have a grip on all these things such as dxva, overlay/vmr/evr modes, frame rates, etc.??

[gazoo]

Even more weirdness...

Overlay mode is not doing the 12% thing anymore. It's back looking like EVR at 43%+

Something is really screwed up around here.

[stustunz]

i ran it on my laptop all went fine
thought i would try it on HTPC and it crashed the machine twice

[gazoo]

Ok last test of the night..It's waay too late.

After reboot i was able to get the system to do 12% CPU on a 1080i file again on overlay. It seems that the only way to get it to do this is using avivo on overlay AND if you switch out of avivo and try another codec the going back to avivo won't do it anymore unless you reboot.

I kept AVIVO with a 1080i file and tried the various modes and this is what I got (this is both cpus averaged together):

Overlay 12%
VMR9 Custom: wouldn't work right, kept stopping every 5 seconds
EVR: 43%
VMR9 FSE: I had alot trouble because you can't see the task bar, but it was peering through blinking in out a little and it seemed to be around 38%

Some of this weird behaviour I attribute to the new motherboard with the early drivers (like the avivo problem in vmr9 custom). however, I really want to know how I can get 12% on a 1080i video. What is overlay mode and why is it THAT much better? Is this the only mode that's actually taking advantage of acceleration?