Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend

Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded

tim at ashmans

Jun 4, 2009, 7:11 PM

Post #1 of 9 (1454 views)
Permalink

Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend

Ok, so I'm new to myth but loving it so far. I've got a separate backend with
to pchdtv5500 cards and the recording is going great. I've got another PC
running the a mythfrontend and it works great. It is like a 3g, loads of
memory, etc.

Now my problem, I purchased an artigo a1000 mini itx kit. This thing has a
via something or other cpu and 1g of memory. Now I installed minimyth on a
usb stick and successfully can boot the machine, browse the recorded shows,
etc.

However when I try and either watch TV or a recorded show it is too jerky. It
isn't a frame dropping kinda jerky, it is like 1 second of perfect video and
audio, then a hard freeze for about 1/2 second, then 1sec good, 1/2 sec
freeze, etc.

What I am wondering is what would cause this problem? the minimyth loads
entirely in ram, the board is suppose to have hardware support for decoding
and when it works for the 1 second it looks very good.

Any ideas on how to configure this board, or is it just not fast enough.

thanks

tim

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

nick.rout at gmail

Jun 4, 2009, 7:16 PM

Post #2 of 9 (1381 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:11 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> Ok, so I'm new to myth but loving it so far. I've got a separate backend with
> to pchdtv5500 cards and the recording is going great. I've got another PC
> running the a mythfrontend and it works great. It is like a 3g, loads of
> memory, etc.
>
> Now my problem, I purchased an artigo a1000 mini itx kit. This thing has a
> via something or other cpu and 1g of memory. Now I installed minimyth on a
> usb stick and successfully can boot the machine, browse the recorded shows,
> etc.
>
> However when I try and either watch TV or a recorded show it is too jerky. It
> isn't a frame dropping kinda jerky, it is like 1 second of perfect video and
> audio, then a hard freeze for about 1/2 second, then 1sec good, 1/2 sec
> freeze, etc.
>
> What I am wondering is what would cause this problem? the minimyth loads
> entirely in ram, the board is suppose to have hardware support for decoding
> and when it works for the 1 second it looks very good.
>
> Any ideas on how to configure this board, or is it just not fast enough.
>
> thanks
>
> tim

Is it SD or HD material?
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

tim at ashmans

Jun 4, 2009, 7:21 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1382 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:16:28 pm Nick Rout wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:11 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> > Ok, so I'm new to myth but loving it so far. I've got a separate backend
> > with to pchdtv5500 cards and the recording is going great. I've got
> > another PC running the a mythfrontend and it works great. It is like a
> > 3g, loads of memory, etc.
> >
> > Now my problem, I purchased an artigo a1000 mini itx kit. This thing
> > has a via something or other cpu and 1g of memory. Now I installed
> > minimyth on a usb stick and successfully can boot the machine, browse the
> > recorded shows, etc.
> >
> > However when I try and either watch TV or a recorded show it is too
> > jerky. It isn't a frame dropping kinda jerky, it is like 1 second of
> > perfect video and audio, then a hard freeze for about 1/2 second, then
> > 1sec good, 1/2 sec freeze, etc.
> >
> > What I am wondering is what would cause this problem? the minimyth loads
> > entirely in ram, the board is suppose to have hardware support for
> > decoding and when it works for the 1 second it looks very good.
> >
> > Any ideas on how to configure this board, or is it just not fast enough.
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > tim
>
> Is it SD or HD material?

Well, I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. The cards are digital cards,
I'm recording off of the over the air signal, some of the channels do HD but
some of the shows I'm recording are old ones that are 4x3 when I watch them,
others are 16x9, I tried both of them and the same thing happens with both.

I believe my default recording is the highest possible so I thought that I
might have to set the transcoding or initial recording to a lower resolution
but being new to myth I'm not quite sure how to do that.

If you can tell me how to setup a recording to a really low res, I'll record
something and test it to see if that makes a difference.

thanks again for all your help.

tim

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

nick.rout at gmail

Jun 4, 2009, 7:23 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1378 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:21 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:16:28 pm Nick Rout wrote:
>> On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:11 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
>> > Ok, so I'm new to myth but loving it so far. I've got a separate backend
>> > with to pchdtv5500 cards and the recording is going great. I've got
>> > another PC running the a mythfrontend and it works great. It is like a
>> > 3g, loads of memory, etc.
>> >
>> > Now my problem, I purchased an artigo a1000 mini itx kit. This thing
>> > has a via something or other cpu and 1g of memory. Now I installed
>> > minimyth on a usb stick and successfully can boot the machine, browse the
>> > recorded shows, etc.
>> >
>> > However when I try and either watch TV or a recorded show it is too
>> > jerky. It isn't a frame dropping kinda jerky, it is like 1 second of
>> > perfect video and audio, then a hard freeze for about 1/2 second, then
>> > 1sec good, 1/2 sec freeze, etc.
>> >
>> > What I am wondering is what would cause this problem? the minimyth loads
>> > entirely in ram, the board is suppose to have hardware support for
>> > decoding and when it works for the 1 second it looks very good.
>> >
>> > Any ideas on how to configure this board, or is it just not fast enough.
>> >
>> > thanks
>> >
>> > tim
>>
>> Is it SD or HD material?
>
> Well, I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. The cards are digital cards,
> I'm recording off of the over the air signal, some of the channels do HD but
> some of the shows I'm recording are old ones that are 4x3 when I watch them,
> others are 16x9, I tried both of them and the same thing happens with both.
>
> I believe my default recording is the highest possible so I thought that I
> might have to set the transcoding or initial recording to a lower resolution
> but being new to myth I'm not quite sure how to do that.
>
> If you can tell me how to setup a recording to a really low res, I'll record
> something and test it to see if that makes a difference.
>
> thanks again for all your help.
>
> tim

get into the command lime and take a look at the output from

ffmpeg -i filename

where filename is one of the mythtv recorded files.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

tim at ashmans

Jun 4, 2009, 7:32 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1387 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:23:38 pm Nick Rout wrote:
> On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:21 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> > On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:16:28 pm Nick Rout wrote:
> >> On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 2:11 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> >> > Ok, so I'm new to myth but loving it so far. I've got a separate
> >> > backend with to pchdtv5500 cards and the recording is going great.
> >> > I've got another PC running the a mythfrontend and it works great.
> >> > It is like a 3g, loads of memory, etc.
> >> >
> >> > Now my problem, I purchased an artigo a1000 mini itx kit. This thing
> >> > has a via something or other cpu and 1g of memory. Now I installed
> >> > minimyth on a usb stick and successfully can boot the machine, browse
> >> > the recorded shows, etc.
> >> >
> >> > However when I try and either watch TV or a recorded show it is too
> >> > jerky. It isn't a frame dropping kinda jerky, it is like 1 second of
> >> > perfect video and audio, then a hard freeze for about 1/2 second, then
> >> > 1sec good, 1/2 sec freeze, etc.
> >> >
> >> > What I am wondering is what would cause this problem? the minimyth
> >> > loads entirely in ram, the board is suppose to have hardware support
> >> > for decoding and when it works for the 1 second it looks very good.
> >> >
> >> > Any ideas on how to configure this board, or is it just not fast
> >> > enough.
> >> >
> >> > thanks
> >> >
> >> > tim
> >>
> >> Is it SD or HD material?
> >
> > Well, I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. The cards are digital
> > cards, I'm recording off of the over the air signal, some of the channels
> > do HD but some of the shows I'm recording are old ones that are 4x3 when
> > I watch them, others are 16x9, I tried both of them and the same thing
> > happens with both.
> >
> > I believe my default recording is the highest possible so I thought that
> > I might have to set the transcoding or initial recording to a lower
> > resolution but being new to myth I'm not quite sure how to do that.
> >
> > If you can tell me how to setup a recording to a really low res, I'll
> > record something and test it to see if that makes a difference.
> >
> > thanks again for all your help.
> >
> > tim
>
> get into the command lime and take a look at the output from
>
> ffmpeg -i filename
>
> where filename is one of the mythtv recorded files.

here it is

ffmpeg -i 1221_20090601210000.mpg
FFmpeg version 0.5, Copyright (c) 2000-2009 Fabrice Bellard, et al.

configuration: --shlibdir=/usr/lib64 --prefix=/usr --mandir=/usr/share/man --libdir=/usr/lib64 --enable-shared --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libvorbis --enable-libtheora --enable-libspeex --enable-libfaad --enable-libfaac --enable-libxvid --enable-swscale --enable-postproc --enable-gpl --enable-vhook --enable-x11grab --enable-libschroedinger --enable-libdirac --enable-libgsm --enable-libx264 --enable-libamr-nb --enable-libamr-wb --enable-libdc1394 --enable-nonfree --enable-pthreads --enable-vdpau
libavutil 49.15. 0 / 49.15. 0
libavcodec 52.20. 0 / 52.20. 0
libavformat 52.31. 0 / 52.31. 0
libavdevice 52. 1. 0 / 52. 1. 0
libswscale 0. 7. 1 / 0. 7. 1
libpostproc 51. 2. 0 / 51. 2. 0
built on May 14 2009 12:37:32, gcc: 4.3.1 20080507 (prerelease)
[gcc-4_3-branch revision 135036]

Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 119.88
(120000/1001) -> 59.94 (60000/1001)
Input #0, mpegts, from '1221_20090601210000.mpg':
Duration: 00:59:56.27, start: 18675.751356, bitrate: 11124 kb/s
Program 1
Stream #0.0[0x31]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 1280x720 [PAR 1:1 DAR
16:9], 19392 kb/s, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 119.88 tbc
Stream #0.1[0x34](eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

travis at tabbal

Jun 4, 2009, 7:35 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1385 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:

>
> Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 119.88
> (120000/1001) -> 59.94 (60000/1001)
> Input #0, mpegts, from '1221_20090601210000.mpg':
> Duration: 00:59:56.27, start: 18675.751356, bitrate: 11124 kb/s
> Program 1
> Stream #0.0[0x31]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 1280x720 [PAR 1:1 DAR
> 16:9], 19392 kb/s, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 119.88 tbc
> Stream #0.1[0x34](eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
>

Looks like a 720p recording. That machine isn't powerful enough to handle
decoding them in software. XvMC might help, if you can get it to work. You
could also try a PCI based VDPAU capable card.

tim at ashmans

Jun 4, 2009, 7:46 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1388 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:35:24 pm Travis Tabbal wrote:
> On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
> > Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 119.88
> > (120000/1001) -> 59.94 (60000/1001)
> > Input #0, mpegts, from '1221_20090601210000.mpg':
> > Duration: 00:59:56.27, start: 18675.751356, bitrate: 11124 kb/s
> > Program 1
> > Stream #0.0[0x31]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 1280x720 [PAR 1:1 DAR
> > 16:9], 19392 kb/s, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 119.88 tbc
> > Stream #0.1[0x34](eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
>
> Looks like a 720p recording. That machine isn't powerful enough to handle
> decoding them in software. XvMC might help, if you can get it to work. You
> could also try a PCI based VDPAU capable card.

thank you. Is there a way to either transcode it down so I can try watching a
lower res with this device or can I record it at a lower rate to being with?

tim

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

owen.townend at gmail

Jun 4, 2009, 8:38 PM

Post #8 of 9 (1366 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

2009/6/5 Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans>:
> On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:35:24 pm Travis Tabbal wrote:
>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
>> > Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 119.88
>> > (120000/1001) -> 59.94 (60000/1001)
>> > Input #0, mpegts, from '1221_20090601210000.mpg':
>> > Duration: 00:59:56.27, start: 18675.751356, bitrate: 11124 kb/s
>> > Program 1
>> > Stream #0.0[0x31]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 1280x720 [PAR 1:1 DAR
>> > 16:9], 19392 kb/s, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 119.88 tbc
>> > Stream #0.1[0x34](eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
>>
>> Looks like a 720p recording. That machine isn't powerful enough to handle
>> decoding them in software. XvMC might help, if you can get it to work. You
>> could also try a PCI based VDPAU capable card.
>
> thank you. Is there a way to either transcode it down so I can try watching a
> lower res with this device or can I record it at a lower rate to being with?
>
> tim

Hey,
Myth does its actual recordings by basically dumping the stream to disk.
The only way therefore to record at a lower res would be to choose a
lower res channel. Some stations will have an SD and HD channel
showing the same content. This would be good if this is to be the only
front end.

Another option would be to transcode your recordings as a user job
to a lower resolution. This would also be more disk-space efficient.
I use mythnuv2mkv[0][1] for this task but there are other options available.

cheers,
Owen.

[0] http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Mythnuv2mkv
[1] http://web.aanet.com.au/~auric/?q=node/6
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

tjharris at weaselworkz

Jul 19, 2009, 9:33 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1116 views)
Permalink

Re: Using Artigo A1000 as Myth Frontend [In reply to]

On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 8:38 PM, Owen Townend<owen.townend [at] gmail> wrote:
> 2009/6/5 Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans>:
>> On Thursday 04 June 2009 07:35:24 pm Travis Tabbal wrote:
>>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 8:32 PM, Tim Ashman <tim [at] ashmans> wrote:
>>> > Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 119.88
>>> > (120000/1001) -> 59.94 (60000/1001)
>>> > Input #0, mpegts, from '1221_20090601210000.mpg':
>>> > Duration: 00:59:56.27, start: 18675.751356, bitrate: 11124 kb/s
>>> > Program 1
>>> > Stream #0.0[0x31]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 1280x720 [PAR 1:1 DAR
>>> > 16:9], 19392 kb/s, 59.94 tbr, 90k tbn, 119.88 tbc
>>> > Stream #0.1[0x34](eng): Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 192 kb/s
>>>
>>> Looks like a 720p recording. That machine isn't powerful enough to handle
>>> decoding them in software. XvMC might help, if you can get it to work. You
>>> could also try a PCI based VDPAU capable card.
>>
>> thank you. Is there a way to either transcode it down so I can try watching a
>> lower res with this device or can I record it at a lower rate to being with?
>>
>> tim
>
> Hey,
> Myth does its actual recordings by basically dumping the stream to disk.
> The only way therefore to record at a lower res would be to choose a
> lower res channel. Some stations will have an SD and HD channel
> showing the same content. This would be good if this is to be the only
> front end.
>
> Another option would be to transcode your recordings as a user job
> to a lower resolution. This would also be more disk-space efficient.
> I use mythnuv2mkv[0][1] for this task but there are other options available.

I noticed Fry's selling these things, and thought it would make an
excellent myth frontend. It has a VIA VX800 chipset, which has a VIA
Chrome9 HC3 IGP. So, this may be able to use the VIA XvMC support,
if it gets the right driver support. Without enabling the hardware
acceleration, this thing is way too slow to decode HD material. But,
it makes a nice storage device.
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

Index | Next | Previous | View Threaded

Interested in having your list archived? Contact lists@gossamer-threads.com