will this rig play 720p? using Linux?

bkdude · 11-12-2008, 07:21 PM

I have a rig that i put together using parts bought from yard sales, RAM from ebay, and a HD scrapped from a dead laptop, and this is what it equates to:

KT4V MSI motherboard
Athlon 2600+ XP (I believe it runs at ~2ghz)
Sapphire x1600 Pro
2 Gb DDR 333 RAM
40 GB Toshiba HD
Onboard sound
Cheap DVD player
500 watt JPAC PSU
Havent put an OS on it yet.

I was wondering if all this could play 720p movies smoothly using a streamline distro of Linux or XP. I know the CPU alone will have problems doing this, but if I can find some software using video card hardware acceleration, I'm positive it will be able to do this. I'll be using a 7-pin s-video YPbPr cable to deliver the signal to my TV

I don't have any experience using Linux, but I'm willing to learn.

Any help will be greatly appreciated

(Even if this dosen't work, I could still play standard res things, since thats what most of my Anime is composed of :p)

bkdude · 11-15-2008, 12:51 AM

Well, I have the whole computer setup, and it works alright (haven't tried 720p but xp installed w/o problem) but I noticed theres no blue output -_-

Im going to see if I can fix this...

SpaceTraveler · 11-23-2008, 12:07 PM

hey dude,
You're not going to get HD video out of s-video from the video card. See if your HDTV has a 15-pin computer input. If it does, you can buy a computer monitor cord, both ends have to be 15-pin male.

Does this video card have DVI? Does your TV have HDMI inputs? You can buy a DVI-to-HDMI cable from most local retailers (much cheaper online).

As for playing HD video in Linux, I have no experience with that

bkdude · 11-24-2008, 05:12 PM

Standard S-video does not offer HD, but 7-pin offers Component, which goes up to 1080i.

Even then, the cable didn't work very well (no blue output), so I bought a DVI to Component adapter, and it works.

(for clarification, Component uses YPbPr, and appears as three Composite cables colored red, green, and blue. YPbPr is a converted variant of RGB used in many HDTVs)

I tried playing a 720p movie using that configuration using XP and media player classic home cinema, and it worked well for about 10 minutes, but I began getting bad visual lag.

I'm going to try some other programs in the meantime to see if they work...

11-12-2008, 07:21 PM	#1 (permalink)
bkdude Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 40 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x86 My System	will this rig play 720p? using Linux? I have a rig that i put together using parts bought from yard sales, RAM from ebay, and a HD scrapped from a dead laptop, and this is what it equates to: KT4V MSI motherboard Athlon 2600+ XP (I believe it runs at ~2ghz) Sapphire x1600 Pro 2 Gb DDR 333 RAM 40 GB Toshiba HD Onboard sound Cheap DVD player 500 watt JPAC PSU Havent put an OS on it yet. I was wondering if all this could play 720p movies smoothly using a streamline distro of Linux or XP. I know the CPU alone will have problems doing this, but if I can find some software using video card hardware acceleration, I'm positive it will be able to do this. I'll be using a 7-pin s-video YPbPr cable to deliver the signal to my TV I don't have any experience using Linux, but I'm willing to learn. Any help will be greatly appreciated (Even if this dosen't work, I could still play standard res things, since thats what most of my Anime is composed of :p) Last edited by bkdude; 11-12-2008 at 07:28 PM.

11-15-2008, 12:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
bkdude Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 40 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x86 My System	Re: will this rig play 720p? using Linux? Well, I have the whole computer setup, and it works alright (haven't tried 720p but xp installed w/o problem) but I noticed theres no blue output -_- Im going to see if I can fix this...

11-23-2008, 12:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
SpaceTraveler Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 19 OS: Server 2003 My System	Re: will this rig play 720p? using Linux? hey dude, You're not going to get HD video out of s-video from the video card. See if your HDTV has a 15-pin computer input. If it does, you can buy a computer monitor cord, both ends have to be 15-pin male. Does this video card have DVI? Does your TV have HDMI inputs? You can buy a DVI-to-HDMI cable from most local retailers (much cheaper online). As for playing HD video in Linux, I have no experience with that

11-24-2008, 05:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
bkdude Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 40 OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x86 My System	Re: will this rig play 720p? using Linux? Standard S-video does not offer HD, but 7-pin offers Component, which goes up to 1080i. Even then, the cable didn't work very well (no blue output), so I bought a DVI to Component adapter, and it works. (for clarification, Component uses YPbPr, and appears as three Composite cables colored red, green, and blue. YPbPr is a converted variant of RGB used in many HDTVs) I tried playing a 720p movie using that configuration using XP and media player classic home cinema, and it worked well for about 10 minutes, but I began getting bad visual lag. I'm going to try some other programs in the meantime to see if they work...