Intel Atom

[VanFear]

Has Any one used an Intel Atom Based System as a GB-PVR client?

ie http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...6813121342


To be paired with a video card with s-vid out of course.

[ilovejedd]

I was playing around with an Atom build last weekend. Using the dual-core version D945GCLF2/Atom 330, though.

This version has a built-in TV-out (S-Video) but I haven't tested it. The PC is currently connected via VGA to a Samsung 22" LCD monitor with a resolution of 1680x1050.

Running Windows Vista Ultimate w/SP1 and GB-PVR 1.2.13, the test video (Smallville 8.07 Identity - CW/1080i MPEG2 ATSC/HDHomeRun) kept going out of sync 25% into the file no matter what renderer I used. Everytime the OSD was brought up during HD video playback in GB-PVR, the video slowed to a crawl. Codecs tested were the free MPC MPEG2 Decoder (downloaded from freecodecs) and the built-in Microsoft MPEG2 Decoder. I haven't slimmed down the Vista install, nor have I disabled any unnecessary services, yet. Hyperthreading was turned on. Playback of the same test video was perfect using Windows Media Center. No anti-virus software installed.

I plan on testing it with Windows XP during Thanksgiving weekend. I reckon it should fare better than Vista.

System Specifications:
Apex DW-100 w/60W DC-DC PSU
Intel D945GCLF2 945GC/Atom 330
Kingston 2GB DDR2 800 CL5
Seagate Momentus 5400.4 250GB
Samsung Slim DVD Burner SN-S082H

From current test results, if you only need a pure playback machine/GB-PVR extender, the Popcorn Hour (or similar NMT devices) seems to be a much better proposition. I didn't build the Atom-based PC for use as a GB-PVR client. I was just having fun testing it. If this was built for the aforementioned purpose, I likely would have regretted the decision as the money would have been better spent on a Popcorn Hour + Harmony Remote.

[fe2o3]

i'm waiting for someone to release an atom board using the us15w chipset. it has much lower power consumption and accelerated hd playback. hopefully i'm not waiting forever.