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New video+audio card for MythTV [SOLVED]
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depontius
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:04 pm    Post subject: New video+audio card for MythTV [SOLVED] Reply with quote

We stepped into the 21st century yesterday, with a new flat-panel TV replacing our venerable CRT.

I think it's time to get a new video card to drive video+audio over HDMI to the new TV, but I'm not sure what to get.

I have a (standard def) cable box and a mythfrontend machine feeding it, and I reconnected the cables as best I could. Unfortunately, that's not very good. The TV has only two pairs of audio input jacks, but one pair is dedicated to the component video input, and the other pair is shared between VGA, composite, and audio-less HDMI. My mythfrontend was driving component video to the old TV, but now I'm driving VGA+audio to the new. The cable box can drive RF, composite, or sVideo, which means that my best way into the new TV would be composite, except that the audio jacks are in use by the mythfrontend, hence I'm using RF.

Plan A - Get a new video card that includes an audio section, driving it all over HDMI. Then I can use that for the mythfrontend, send the cable box in over composite+audio, and split the RF, sending it to the cable box and directly to the RF in of the TV. That way I can receive ClearQAM HDTV.

I want video and audio on the graphics card, because I currently don't have good audio otherwise. My onboard audio does have SPDIF, but its volume has always been too soft, so I've got it turned off and have been using a separate sound card that does not have SPDIF. From what I understand, SPDIF is the only way to feed standard audio into a video card for HDMI. In the good old days, the nVidia 8400GS (which I currently have) was an obvious choice for applications like the, as was the GT210. But neither offers built-in audio, and I understand it takes a newer card yet. But so far I haven't found any nVidia cards this side of $100 that will do the job, though perhaps I haven't looked well, yet.

I'm also disregarding ATI, though I generally have a preference for them because their OSS drivers are generally better. I'm under the impression that the nVidia binary driver + VDPAU is just the best way to go for a mythfrontend.

Can anyone make suggestions?

Plan B - Get rid of the mythfrontend machine, and get one of those little appliance-things that will do the same job. I'm under the impression that if UPNP is activated in the mythbackend machine, then those appliances can play its recordings, though they can't set up new recordings.

Plan C - Get rid of all of it, and just get a DVR from Comcast.

As I said, any advice welcome.

EDIT

I've ordered an ASUS GT-610-SL. It looks like the new go-to for HTPC - it's fanless, has on-board audio, vdpau, and all of that. It's also under $50. The heatsink does take up a second slot, though, and I suspect it's not much good for gaming.
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