VIA / ITX for MVP Server

[vitesse pilot]

Hi,

I just wanted to poll people and see if anybody was using a VIA ITX board / C3 processor for a MVP server. I want something that I can leave on 24/7 and locate in a enclosed space, therefore low-heat and low-power seem to be key here.

Is anybody using these boards for MVP ? . Are there any problems ? Which one would be recommended ( which allows a responsive / usable system ).

Thanks in advance , Vit.

[wrocky]

I thought long and hard about using a VIA ITX board for my MVP server and in the end, I decieded against it. One of the primary factors was that in order to use the DivX capabilities of the MVP, hauppauge specs a minimum 1.8Ghz machine to transcode Divx files to you MVP. See:

http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/...iamvp.html

The other consideration was expandability for HD space and putting a PVR card in the machine. In my case, I went with a Dell dimension 2400 due to it's low cost, low power and it runs relatively quiet. It draws 65 Watts of power and I run it 24x7. Power was measured using a Kill-A-Watt.

Not exactly the reply you may have been hoping for, but some other factors to consider.

Wrocky

[markm]

I think part it of depends on what you plan to do with GBPVR.

If you're simply using it to serve up mpeg files to an MVP, and basic PVR with a Hauppage hardware mpeg card, I think it would be fine.

My GBPVR "server" is an OLD P3/800 with 640M and a PVR250. Disk space comes from my Linux server. I have no problems with the setup.

If you're not transcoding, you can get by with less CPU, but don't skimp on memory. GBPVR with a few good plugins eats up a fair amount of memory.

[vitesse pilot]

Thanks for the replies. I plan to use this as a GBPVR recording / TV machine using Twinhan DVB-T cards. These don't seem to need that much horsepower ( I had it running with a Duron 800 ). I'm happy with raw MPEG2 format for storage, so no transcoding required. However, I read that the remote gets a little sluggish with MVP if the machine is not up to the job, so I'm trying to gauge other peoples experiences.

[markm]

I've used my MVP against both my P3/800 and my P4/2.6 and I can't say I noticed a difference in remote performance.

[sub]

The menus would probably be acceptable with the newer Via SP13000 board, a little sluggish with the M10000, and very sluggish with the ME6000.

Displaying the menus via the MVP requires more CPU than just displaying on the local PC.

[PegasusWar]

I use a VIA M10000 for recording tv and serving one mvp. It works quit well. The menus aren't the fastest and if I use the mvp the cpu goes up to 60% but it works.
The only problem I see is playing mp3 files with jukebox or with my music. Quit often it slows down the playback which I cannot understand because playing internet radio streams (128KB) works without problems. I have reencoded some files from 196 VBR to 128 and tried to play them but they have the same problems.

There seams to be some differences between playing mp3 files and internet radio streams. Are the mp3 files reencoded?