Live TV - video options

Help with tuners from ATI, Hauppauge, AverMedia and more.
waynec42

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Live TV - video options

#1

Post by waynec42 » Thu Apr 17, 2014 4:50 am

Hi,

My motherboard is the GA-MA69GM-S2H. It has Integrated ATI Radeon X1250-based graphics. I'm using the HDMI out for Audio and Video. I have the Catalyst Software installed. My monitor is Full HD 42" Panasonic Plasma.

Can anyone advise the best options for getting the best picture for live TV (or any video for that matter). I'm finding that during live tv playback (mostly on HD channels), it starts out ok, but after a few minutes the video becomes jerky.

Any advice greatly appareciated.

Thanks,
Wayne.

barnabas1969

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#2

Post by barnabas1969 » Thu Apr 17, 2014 1:32 pm

I don't think the X1250 is powerful enough for full motion HD in Media Center. It has very low performance ratings. The Radeon HD 6450 works. So does the nVidia GT 430.

If you have room for a low-profile video card in your case, I recommend the one linked below. The price on NewEgg is currently $44.99 plus $5.39 for shipping. There is a $10 mail-in rebate too. It will fit in a low-profile case, or a full size case (comes with both brackets).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814121439

miracleed

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#3

Post by miracleed » Fri Apr 18, 2014 11:04 pm

to echo barnabas1969 I use that graphics card as well and am very happy with it.

The Asus ATI Radeon HD6450 that is.

barnabas1969

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#4

Post by barnabas1969 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 2:25 am

They often go on sale too. The current price of $44.99 is the highest I've seen it for a while. Search around for the best price.

Mike88

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#5

Post by Mike88 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 7:08 am

This one sometimes goes on sale. I got it for $15 after rebate. It has a fan, but for $15 I gave it a try & it solved my problem.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814127584

sbaeder

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#6

Post by sbaeder » Sat Apr 19, 2014 3:29 pm

Make 100% sure it is not the 29/59 bug (i.e. double check that), and make sure to turn OFF all of the AMD processing functionality, since that also makes a difference...You didn't say what power of processor your are using...Or network bandwitdh (if your using a networked tuner, etc.)

In other words, Don't "assume" it is the power of the graphics card without making sure you limit what it is being asked to do...

barnabas1969

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#7

Post by barnabas1969 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 11:57 pm

@sbaeder: The graphics adapter listed by the OP is so under-powered, that I doubt any setting he changes will help... regardless of whether or not he is experiencing the 29/59 issue. In the benchmark tests, his graphics adapter scores less than 10% of what the GT-430 scores. That's pretty pathetic, considering that the GT-430 is a very low-power graphics adapter.

sbaeder

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#8

Post by sbaeder » Sun Apr 20, 2014 6:37 pm

you may be right, but want to be sure he covers all the bases...surpisingly, display of video isn't that heavy duty of a task...it's more about the decoding and bandwith (processor and network) that leads to studdering...*BUT* I totally agree that it could be the vidoe card, and that if the video card is "weak", that the processor may also be way under powered...

waynec42

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#9

Post by waynec42 » Fri May 02, 2014 6:16 am

sbaeder wrote:Make 100% sure it is not the 29/59 bug (i.e. double check that), and make sure to turn OFF all of the AMD processing functionality, since that also makes a difference...You didn't say what power of processor your are using...Or network bandwitdh (if your using a networked tuner, etc.)

In other words, Don't "assume" it is the power of the graphics card without making sure you limit what it is being asked to do...
Thanks for the replies and suggestions.

The processor is AMD2 and I've got 2GB RAM installed. I previously had WMC working fine until the motherboard died so I bought the one in question thinking that because it had HDMI out that it would do video ok, but obviously it's not that simple. Video is a bit of a mystery to me I'm afraid when it comes to codecs etc...I was also previously using Win7 32bit. I have 64bit installed now. Would this cause a problem?

How do I check and fix the 29/59 bug and also, how do I go about turning OFF AMD processing functionality?

Thanks.

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Crash2009

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#10

Post by Crash2009 » Fri May 02, 2014 12:42 pm

It might be helpful if we could see what you are working with. Could you run Speccy and post a screenshot? http://www.piriform.com/speccy

barnabas1969

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#11

Post by barnabas1969 » Fri May 02, 2014 1:33 pm

Just spend the 45 bucks and be done with it.

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mcewinter

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#12

Post by mcewinter » Fri May 02, 2014 1:41 pm

Anything less than x4200HD in the world of ATI is insufficient for MC.

sbaeder

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#13

Post by sbaeder » Fri May 02, 2014 7:36 pm

waynec42 wrote: The processor is AMD2 and I've got 2GB RAM installed. I previously had WMC working fine until the motherboard died so I bought the one in question thinking that because it had HDMI out that it would do video ok, but obviously it's not that simple. Video is a bit of a mystery to me I'm afraid when it comes to codecs etc...I was also previously using Win7 32bit. I have 64bit installed now. Would this cause a problem?

How do I check and fix the 29/59 bug and also, how do I go about turning OFF AMD processing functionality?

Thanks.
there are lots of posts here on the 29/59 issue...just search around...on the video processing itself, go into the Catalyst control center and just turn OFF all the video processing stuff...don't need them and they can mess up TV. If you THINK you want one, AFTER you get a good solid signal, then turn them on one by one to see if they help (or cause issues).

32 vs. 64 is NOT going to be an issue, and tell us EXACTLY what processor and Motherboard you have.

by the way - saying just buy a video card is NOT the anser, since he may already have a better graphics engine in his processor. If he still sets all the video processing on - or has the 29/59 bug, then he is screwed!...

one other thing. I set the HDMI output on my TV to 720P even though it can do 1080i, since the 1080i (for me) drops it down to 30 Hx, and not 60Hz. So even check things like that, and keep plugging away at it!

barnabas1969

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#14

Post by barnabas1969 » Fri May 02, 2014 8:47 pm

Don't confuse the guy. His video card can't handle the task. Get a new video card.

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mcewinter

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#15

Post by mcewinter » Fri May 02, 2014 8:56 pm

^Agree. There is no doubt that his current graphics adapter is not up to task.

mdavej

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#16

Post by mdavej » Sat May 03, 2014 4:09 am

There's an HD 5450 on newegg right now for $13 shipped.

waynec42

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#17

Post by waynec42 » Sat May 03, 2014 10:21 am

Crash2009 wrote:It might be helpful if we could see what you are working with. Could you run Speccy and post a screenshot? http://www.piriform.com/speccy
https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ul8azdwtdajhhg/Untitled.png Image

barnabas1969

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#18

Post by barnabas1969 » Sat May 03, 2014 12:53 pm

OK, so you need a new video card. Buy one. It appears that you have 1GB of RAM allocated to the on-board graphics now. When you install the new graphics card, make sure to disable the on-board graphics in BIOS so that all of your RAM is available to the operating system.

waynec42

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#19

Post by waynec42 » Sun May 04, 2014 5:57 am

barnabas1969 wrote:OK, so you need a new video card. Buy one. It appears that you have 1GB of RAM allocated to the on-board graphics now. When you install the new graphics card, make sure to disable the on-board graphics in BIOS so that all of your RAM is available to the operating system.
Ok, thanks.

Can I get any brand or does it have to be the ASUS card?

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#20

Post by mdavej » Sun May 04, 2014 2:41 pm

I just posted a cheap card that will work fine if you have a PCIe slot. Any brand is ok.

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