What puts load on the comp?

[Gavinmh]

After reading the article that DenGuru put on their website about GB PVR I have become very much interested in this program, and I'm sure you guys have been having an influx of forum members since the article was published, so sorry for all of these incomming questions that I'm sure have been posted a million times.

My main question is what will be putting the load on the computer that requires relatively *new* hardware to run? Is it the recording, the converting, the streaming, etc?

Also, what are the common plugins that go along with the basic GBPVR and what do they give you beyond the basic download?

How many capture cards do you guys run and how many shows can each card record? I am guessing now that this depends on the card.... lets assume a Hauppage (sp?) 150.

I guess I don't really understand what goes on between the live TV and the computer, it gets saved in a format that then needs to be edited for commercials and then needs to be compressed or put into yet another format? Could someone please explain more?

Lastly the question you all dread... minimum specs. I was thinking about a small, no frills, PVR for my TV that could record 2 shows at once but be very basic and would be dedicated as an HTPC but wouldn't be a TOTAL dog when it came to speed. I understand RAM is always good, and processor speed as well... I'm trying to keep it kinda cheap but willing to spend the nessesary, any ideas?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my post and hopefully respond, I hope to go ahead with this project and then maybe later help the next noobie who comes along!

[sub]

My main question is what will be putting the load on the computer that requires relatively *new* hardware to run? Is it the recording, the converting, the streaming, etc?

Playing back video requires the most CPU power. The GDI+ library used for generating all GB-PVRs screens and graphics also needs quite a bit of CPU grunt. See minimum recommended spec below.

How many capture cards do you guys run and how many shows can each card record? I am guessing now that this depends on the card.... lets assume a Hauppage (sp?) 150.

There are some people here with five or so cards. These cards have onboard MPEG-2 encoder hardware, so this'll barely make a dent on the amount of CPU used. Recording isnt usually a bottleneck.

Lastly the question you all dread... minimum specs. I was thinking about a small, no frills, PVR for my TV that could record 2 shows at once but be very basic and would be dedicated as an HTPC but wouldn't be a TOTAL dog when it came to speed. I understand RAM is always good, and processor speed as well... I'm trying to keep it kinda cheap but willing to spend the nessesary, any ideas?

1GHz PIII class CPU with 512MB of RAM. Faster CPU if you intend it to also use MVP clients.

[djtaylor]

Playing back video requires the most CPU power. The GDI+ library used for generating all GB-PVRs screens and graphics also needs quite a bit of CPU grunt. See minimum recommended spec below.

Unless you're playing them back out to MVP's in which case there's virtually no load whatsoever.

Just thought that was worth a mention as for me and i'm sure others, the great bit about gbpvr is the support for the Hauppauge MVP such that the noisy, multi hard disk, multi-fan box can sit screaming away in my office while the noiseless, wife compatible MVP's sit next to the TV's.

David.

[Gavinmh]

1GHz PIII class CPU with 512MB of RAM. Faster CPU if you intend it to also use MVP clients.

I have seen people talk about MVP clients, but I do not know what they are, could you please enlighten me?

[stefan]

It's a small device from Hauppauge that connects to your gbpvr computer over ethernet (LAN), and then to a TV through scart or composite. So, you can use GBPVR at any TV in your house (as long as you have ethernet there )

[sub]

Playing back video requires the most CPU power. The GDI+ library used for generating all GB-PVRs screens and graphics also needs quite a bit of CPU grunt. See minimum recommended spec below.

Unless you're playing them back out to MVP's in which case there's virtually no load whatsoever.

This comment is only half right. If you'd only quoted the first sentence you would have been correct. The second sentence is still true even if you're using an MVP. More so infact.

As I said in the first post, the minimum spec is 1GHz PIII class CPU with 512MB of RAM. Faster CPU if you intend it to also use MVP clients, otherwise you'll be surprised just how slow and crappy the menus and nagivating the app are.