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[quote]The H.264 Codec is pretty CPU intensive and can bring an older system to its knees. There are a couple of ways around this. The first is to upgrade your CPU. You will want at a minimum a fast C2D or Phenom CPU to play back the files and even then you are looking at greater then 50% CPU usage. Though fine for singular file playback, other tasks such as concurrent recordings may cause speed issues.[/quote]
Really? The h.246 codec is pretty CPU intensive, but this device maxes out at 13mbit. BluRay goes up to 40mbit. I bet you my HTPC that a midrange Athlon X2 could handle it as well. This is a hardware encoder as well, so it should use minimal CPU to record and the only CPU load would be on playback. I know you try to err on being conservative, but lets not force everyone to go out and buy a phenom or fast C2D yet. I do highly recommend an ATI 3540 though.
Update: A new HD clip made at the Cebit show from HD satellite this 80MB file
ftp://ftp.shspvr.com/download/moive_clip/hd_pvr_clip/hcw_hd_pvr2_1080i_h264.ts
This clip will not play on my laptop with FFDshow. A core2duo 1.5 with GMA 950 notebook graphics. CPU is at 65% so I suspect it might be my graphics just sucks. You can’t expect much for a $500 notebook.
Update 2: With PowerDVD Ultra the clip plays fine on my modest machine. This is proof that any modern dual core machine should be able to handle these clips.
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