Hauppauge HD-PVR 2 Hardware Encoding.

[edumetz16]

I have a Hauppauge HD-PVR 2 Plus capture card with hardware encoding. How can I make sure that it is working correctly in NextPVR. I can playback video and capture, but it seems as it is not using incorporated hardware encoding because CPU usage is very high.

Thanks

[sub]

It will be using the hardware encoder on this device. The device only outputs encoded data.

Recording with this device typically wont use much CPU, since it's just really moving already encoded data to disk.

Playback of this type of file (with H.264 video) can be hard on older / weaker CPUs. This is probably what you're seeing. With a video card that supports H.264 playback acceleration, and an appropriate decoder, the CPU requirements for this are reduced.

Live TV is a combination of the two activities. ie, recording and playing back at the same time.

[edumetz16]

It will be using the hardware encoder on this device. The device only outputs encoded data.

Recording with this device typically wont use much CPU, since it's just really moving already encoded data to disk.

Playback of this type of file (with H.264 video) can be hard on older / weaker CPUs. This is probably what you're seeing. With a video card that supports H.264 playback acceleration, and an appropriate decoder, the CPU requirements for this are reduced.

Live TV is a combination of the two activities. ie, recording and playing back at the same time.

This can´t be my issue since I am using an i7 2600k. This CPU comes with an Intel GPU with QuickSync for both hardware encoding and decoding of H.264. One detail is that I am actually playing back through a VirtualMachine, but the hardware is being virtualized, so that should not be an issue either.

If there is no other way in which this capture card will encode then I might be doing something wrong, any ideas?

[sub]

This can´t be my issue since I am using an i7 2600k. This CPU comes with an Intel GPU with QuickSync for both hardware encoding and decoding of H.264. One detail is that I am actually playing back through a VirtualMachine, but the hardware is being virtualized, so that should not be an issue either.

If there is no other way in which this capture card will encode then I might be doing something wrong, any ideas?

You should try to prove the facts to yourself, so you can understand where your problem is. ie, separate the two side of live tv, by doing a recording (not watching it while recording), and see how much CPU is being used. Next try playing that recording, and see how much CPU is being used.

My understanding is that virtual machines will normally not be able to access hardware acceleration features, like Intel QuickSync, so will be doing the decoding using the CPU. Couple this with the fact that's decoding H.264 video is a CPU intensive activity, and you've got the overheads of running in a VM, I wouldn't be surprised if playback of this type of video is struggling in your environment. This isn't a NextPVR issue, but rather the environment you're trying to run in.

[edumetz16]

You should try to prove the facts to yourself, so you can understand where your problem is. ie, separate the two side of live tv, by doing a recording (not watching it while recording), and see how much CPU is being used. Next try playing that recording, and see how much CPU is being used.

My understanding is that virtual machines will normally not be able to access hardware acceleration features, like Intel QuickSync, so will be doing the decoding using the CPU. Couple this with the fact that's decoding H.264 video is a CPU intensive activity, and you've got the overheads of running in a VM, I wouldn't be surprised if playback of this type of video is struggling in your environment. This isn't a NextPVR issue, but rather the environment you're trying to run in.

Thanks for your answer. I will try that. But regarding NextPVR, is there a way I can run 4 instances of the software at once? This is why I am using a VM, but maybe there is a way to do this with NextPVR client. I have 4 Hauppauge HD-PVR 2 cards that capture 4 TV channels and I want to watch them simultaneously. Is this possible without going through a VM?

Thanks in advance.

[sub]

You can run "nextpvr.exe -multi" to run multiple instances of the front end.

That's an odd thing to need though. Remember, NextPVR can't be used for commercial uses.

[edumetz16]

Ok, I didn't know that. This is being used for journalists to watch multiple TV channels. Is there a commercial alternative?

[sub]

If you PM me a description of your intended use, we can discuss.