What Issues are there in Running GBPVR in Vista-64 and Windows7-64?

[LewE]

I am getting close to buying a new computer which will be used for GBPPVR recording as well as general desktop applications. My preferences would be to stay with a 32-bit version of Windows but the computer makers seem to be only offering Vista in 64-bit versions. I would stick with a 32 bit version of XP except Microsoft has signalled the end of its support. For most programs, that would not be an issue but with Windows we have seen that new patches for security issues are issued regularly. I am afraid that starting with a new XP computer now would quickly leave me vulnerable during the expected lifetime of this computer (at least 4 years).

I would also like to avoid Vista and go straight to Windows 7 so I know that this means waiting until at least the Fall to buy the computer unless I can get one with a free upgrade to Windows7 once it is available. As far as I can tell, unlike Vista which had many driver compatibility problems when it came out, Windows 7 doesn't/won't be having the same level of incompatibilities.

I am interested in a Core 2 duo (that's the best version I can figure from the information about the multi-core processors). Although I don't expect to have software that is written to multitask the individual program, I am hoping that this will let two separate processes run simultaneously (such as comskip processing a program once it has been recorded while I am running a desktop application such as a compiler without them seriously impacting each other or XMLTV running and not locking up the whole computer while it runs - which currently happens in XP where it uses 100% cpu until it finishes).

It seems that when a multi-core processor is included, the computer makers automatically include 64-bit Windows since the processor can support 64-bit.

I know there are a bunch of threads touching on this subject and I have looked through them but most of the information seems several months old (an eternity when we are dealing with a migration from 32-bit to 64-bit computing) and I thought a new thread could be used to assemble all the current knowledge about this topic.

Most of the negative comments about 64-bit windows seem to be about device drivers so I assume that buying a new computer with the OS installed should cover the basic video and other hardware issues. The only other hardware it will be interfacing with will be my router, DSL modem and capture cards. I will be installing several Hauppauge capture cards (a 1600 and either a 150, 350, or both depending on how many PCI slots I can get. If I can only get two PCI slots I will use the 1600 and a 500 to get a total of 3 NTSC and 1 QAM channel for recording) for a combination of capturing NTSC analog signals and QAM channels.

A couple questions to get started:

• I have seen some comments about some software won't run in 64-bit Windows. Are these situations only due to problems with hardware drivers or are there other issues about 32 bit programs running in the 64-bit environment?
  
  
  
• Is GBPVR compatible with Vista-64?
  
  
  
• Which Hauppauge cards are supported by GBPVR in 64-bit environment?
  
  
  
• How much problem will software decoders be?
  
  
  
• Are there known issues in supporting MediaMVP and Popcornhour A100 units?
  

[pcostanza]

I have a HVR2250 and HDHR in a W7 32 bit system and the HVR1600 and HDHR in a W7 64 bit system. Both run fine with the exception of some QAM issues with the Hauppauge devices.
During the W7 beta I decided, for the first time, to try x64. Though I build my systems, if you go to any big box store or online, you'll be seeing more and more x64 offered. It's about to come of age IMO. What you should do is decide what programs you need to use regularly and make sure they work in the x64 environment. Some older programs do not. There's always the dual boot option and run 2 versions on 1 system but with W7 prices probably being steep, that's a personal call. W7 installs with just about any driver you need which is a big difference from when Vista came out.
I've not used my PH A110 with x64 so I can't say how that works out but can say that my nVidia Pure decoders work fine in x64.

[LewE]

I have a HVR2250 and HDHR in a W7 32 bit system and the HVR1600 and HDHR in a W7 64 bit system. Both run fine with the exception of some QAM issues with the Hauppauge devices.

I assume this is due to the drivers.

During the W7 beta I decided, for the first time, to try x64. Though I build my systems, if you go to any big box store or online, you'll be seeing more and more x64 offered. It's about to come of age IMO.

Like I said, if you go with a multi-core processor, 64-bit is the only OS offered.

What you should do is decide what programs you need to use regularly and make sure they work in the x64 environment. Some older programs do not.

This is what I don't understand. Why wouldn't a 32 bit program run in the 64-bit environment? If the program doesn't interact directly with any hardware, what would cause it to fail?

Also, how can I find this out without first buying and installing 64-bit windows. It seems I have to commit first and then it is too late to do anything about it unless I have an extra PC hanging around that I can try out the W7 RC in.

[pcostanza]

Some 32 bit programs run just fine in x64 and some need to be run in XP compatibility (so a friend says) but I'm relatively sure the next Windows OS will not be available in 32bit flavors. I've just about decided that when W7 is finally released, I'm going to 64. I've some friends who won't install 32 and some that won't use anything other than 64. I understand your concern but since W7 RC1 is going to run until June of 2010 on machines, why not install it, try and and see how it works for you.

[LewE]

Some 32 bit programs run just fine in x64 and some need to be run in XP compatibility (so a friend says) but I'm relatively sure the next Windows OS will not be available in 32bit flavors. I've just about decided that when W7 is finally released, I'm going to 64. I've some friends who won't install 32 and some that won't use anything other than 64. I understand your concern but since W7 RC1 is going to run until June of 2010 on machines, why not install it, try and and see how it works for you.

I'd be willing to try that but.... How can I do that in my PC (a Dell Dimension 3000 with a 2.8GHz Pentium 4) that I use for day to day use?

I see a lot of mention about dual boot but how do I do that? Don't I need to repartition my C: drive to make the extra partition? How do I do that without wiping out everything currently on the c: drive?

UPDATE: Since your post, I've been doing some research about what it would take to partition my c: drive without losing what's on it. Once I work up the courage and set aside several days to recover from any mishap, I will try partitioning and running Win7 in the second partition. I'll also have to move a bunch of files fromthe c: drive to make enough room. RIght now, that seems to be the biggest hurdle.

Update2: I am back to having this be a paper search rather than a hands-on experiment on my PC. I just saw Microsoft's updated minimum requirements for Windows 7:

[COLOR="Blue"][INDENT]The updated requirements have changed little since the Windows 7 beta, and they are almost identical to those of Windows Vista - but when Windows 7 is released, we will be three years down the road. Without further ado:

* 1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
* 1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
* 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
* DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver[/INDENT][/COLOR]

I don't have 2GB of RAM and am not sure I can free up 20GB of space on my c: drive for a second partition.

[dalabera]

I wish I had gathered some advise before making my purchase. So let me give you mine.
All depends on your budget. I decided to go low entry and at the end I will have to spend more because the results I'm getting and not what I have in mind. Intel or AMD, just make sure you get dualcore with a lot of horsepower.
In regards to the tuner, I bought a hvr-1600 and I'm completely dissastified. It's very sensitive to low cable signal and the analog quality is just terrible.
I'm using XP 32bit, because as the consensus don't like Vista. By going to x64to could get better performance on most applications, but I don't know if this could help on the video quality.
Based on my readings on the forums I see a lot of people using gygabyte motherboards with ATI. I got the an nvidia mobo wich looks great and some apps like powerdvd have purevideo accelaration, but I would have to get my hands on a gygabyte board to test it and compare. I got an Asus and althought it works it have some things that really complicated my config.

Cheers

I'd be willing to try that but.... How can I do that in my PC (a Dell Dimension 3000 with a 2.8GHz Pentium 4) that I use for day to day use?

[BigMoose]

GBPVR runs perfectly fine in Vista x64. I'm running it with a Hauppauge HVR 1100 (only use the DVB-T not the analog part) and a Skystar 2 DVB-S card. I occationally get BSODs from the ATI drivers but I've not tried anything more recent than 8.11.

I prefer Vista over XP for GBPVR due to EVR. 32/64 makes no difference at all as far as I can tell.

[LewE]

I wish I had gathered some advise before making my purchase. So let me give you mine.

Thanks. I'm trying to do as much planning as possible. Since the desired operating system (Windows 7) won't be around for a while it is easy to hold back and not jump into buying the first thing I come across. I would normally avoid going with Rev 1.0 of a Windows OS but with XP at the end of its supported lifetime and Vista not being an acceptable choice for me, I am pretty much caught between the rock and the hard place. Most early reviews of the Windows 7 betas have been pretty much positive. They frequently use a comparison to Vista to show how much better it is.

All depends on your budget. I decided to go low entry and at the end I will have to spend more because the results I'm getting and not what I have in mind.

My budget is about $1,000. I was thinking of building my own from components (haven't done that since a 10MHz 286 was considered a speed demon) but I've convinced myself that the best way to avoid a lot of incomatibility problems is to get a system from a vendor like Dell, with the operating system installed.

In regards to the tuner, I bought a hvr-1600 and I'm completely dissastified. It's very sensitive to low cable signal and the analog quality is just terrible.

I have a 1600 and am happy with the analog quality. My cable company doesn't yet have QAM service. It's supposed to be sometime soon according to them.

Based on my readings on the forums I see a lot of people using gygabyte motherboards with ATI. I got the an nvidia mobo wich looks great and some apps like powerdvd have purevideo accelaration, but I would have to get my hands on a gygabyte board to test it and compare. I got an Asus and althought it works it have some things that really complicated my config.

Cheers

I'm planning on getting 4GB of RAM. I currently have 1.25GB and figure with 2 processors I would want at least twice that.

I'm planning on getting a c: drive about 250-300GB and another internal drive of 1TB. This will be used for storing GBPVR recorded programs. I will use two USB drives I have now (250GB and 500GB) for data drives.

[LewE]

During the W7 beta I decided, for the first time, to try x64. Though I build my systems, if you go to any big box store or online, you'll be seeing more and more x64 offered. It's about to come of age IMO. What you should do is decide what programs you need to use regularly and make sure they work in the x64 environment. Some older programs do not. There's always the dual boot option and run 2 versions on 1 system but with W7 prices probably being steep, that's a personal call.

I read that you should have 16GB on the boot disk to install Windows 7. Do you know if this is the minimum ot just barely fit the operating system or is it big enough to actually try some stuff out with W7?

I've been housecleaning my c: drive and can get it down to 30.8GB free space. I'd like to leave 15GB free space in the XP partition (which is what I had before I deleted/moved a bunch of files). That leaves just about 16GB for Win7. Will that be enough for a partition to experiment with Win7?

[whurlston]

The only thing you need to do when running GBPVR with a 64 bit OS is to remember to install the 32 bit version of any decoders you want to use. Other than that, no issues.