Just started playing around with XBMC on Windows XP, currently running on:
Core2Duo Q6600 Quad Core CPU
2 GB DDR3 RAM
ASUS P5G43T-M Pro Motherboard (X4500 Intel GPU)
And I've noticed I'm running into a few issues with 1080p playback... Mainly just skipping frames. Initially I figured I'd need to get a video card, as the integrated Intel GPU can't handle it, but I figure the quad core CPU should also be picking up some of the slack from the GPU's shortcomings... Yet running the Killa Sample it's dropping/skipping frames like mad, yet the CPU never exceeds 35% utilization. I was right about go buy a GT220 or GT210 (is there any difference between these two concerning 1080p playback?) and figured I would come check here with the experts before I waste my money. This computer is going to be a 100% dedicated HTPC, so the only concern is HD video playback.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Should also mention I am running xbmc-r35567-Dharma_rc2 for Windows... In the event that it helps any...
You need Windows 7 to enable hardware acceleration (dxva2), the X4500 is good enough. The nvidia cards would also need Win7.
If you don't want/can't go with Win7, try the dsplayer branch of xbmc. It is unstable at the moment, but it can do hw-accel (dxva1) under XP.
edit: oops, I was confused, xbmc can't use the X4500 for dxva. It's the X4500HD that has some capabilities. So you'll need a video card.
you absolutely should go with Win7 .....
and you should go with one of these GFX cards:
-------------------------------------------------
GeForce GTX 460
GeForce GTS 450
GeForce GT 440
GeForce GT 430
Why?
because they allow "Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio/Master Audio bitstreams"
If sound is important to you
i know it is for me
Thanks for your prompt replies! I guess I'm wondering if this means there is no way I can get this working properly with XP? I am mostly left wondering because while playing the killa sample I noticed a couple hundred dropped frames, yet my CPU usage never went over 35% utilization. Is there a way I could force it to use the CPU to 100%, or is it likely an issue with memory or something else?
Even running the live Dharma RC2, I was trying to play Iron Man 2 at 1080p, and it was running noticeable smoother than it was in Windows, but I was still getting dropped frames with the CPU usage only at 8-15% at most...
I would much rather run XBMC off a live installation, as I really prefer the look and feel of the whole boot process and the fact that it's not Windows. But ran into issues with the remote control and display (from my Antec Remote Fusion Black case - spent the better part of the last 2 days playing around with the configurations and trolling the XBMC Linux and Ubuntu forums and still counldn't get the LCD to work or even be able to just turn it off) ...
I have Windows 7 I bought for my other computer that didn't end up getting used, but I guess I would need to figure out a way to not only boot straight into XBMC but also change the Windows 7 boot screen and logon screen, and from what I've been reading so far today it doesn't seem too easy to do.
Sorry for the crazy long winded semi-pointless response, I am fully commited to getting XBMC to work one way or another, I just want to do it with the least amount of comprimises as possible... So far Win 7 has given me ~1 minute boot times, which for a dedicated HTPC seems way too long for me. I'll keep trolling these forums and others to try and find a way to increase the boot time and change the boot screen and so on... But figure if in the meantime someone knows how and would like to post a link to get me going in the right direction it would be really appreciated.
Again, sorry for the wall of text, and thank you very much for the quick responses and help! It's appreciated!
edit: I just noticed the VCPU usage and found the dropped frames occur when it hits 100% which makes perfect sense. Is there a way to make the CPU take over or take some of the load when the GPU is overloaded?
DaMizZa Wrote:I guess I'm wondering if this means there is no way I can get this working properly with XP?
Yeah basically, as XP lacks DXVA support.
Quote:I am mostly left wondering because while playing the killa sample I noticed a couple hundred dropped frames, yet my CPU usage never went over 35% utilization. Is there a way I could force it to use the CPU to 100%, or is it likely an issue with memory or something else?
The reason is because the killa sample is very weird. If it makes you feel better VERY little stuff is encoded like it is.
Quote:Even running the live Dharma RC2, I was trying to play Iron Man 2 at 1080p, and it was running noticeable smoother than it was in Windows, but I was still getting dropped frames with the CPU usage only at 8-15% at most...
Intel GPUs are the definition of terrible.
Quote:I have Windows 7 I bought for my other computer that didn't end up getting used, but I guess I would need to figure out a way to not only boot straight into XBMC but also change the Windows 7 boot screen and logon screen, and from what I've been reading so far today it doesn't seem too easy to do.
http://wiki.xbmc.org/index.php?title=HOW...as_a_shell)
Quote:So far Win 7 has given me ~1 minute boot times, which for a dedicated HTPC seems way too long for me.
Easiest way to fix that? Get a SSD as a boot drive before you install Windows 7. It will boot in under 30 secs then- HDs are very primitive compared to SSDs....
Booting the OS is the 2006 way of doing things, Sleep mode is 2010
. It`s 20 times faster than any OS running any SSD. 1 second to get the HTPC running, even from a standard HDD, let alone an SSD.