DirecTV2PC - Graphics Card Driver Update??

[codton]

I'm trying to connect to DirecTV2PC. I downloaded it and when it scanned my computer, it says that I have trouble in 2 areas:

GPU (Hardware Acceleration):No Hardware Decoder Detected
Screen Capture Protection: No

I went to FAQ and it recommends updating my graphics card driver or modifying my driver settings. I'm not sure what to do...

How do I update this?? Is it free or will it cost me? I have Windows Vista SP2.

Can I run the application without these updates?


Thanks!

 

[harshness]

You cannot fix the absence of hardware acceleration with software. You may be able to suffer along with choppy or stop and go playback, but it isn't going to be a very happy experience.

I'm guessing that any system that doesn't have hardware acceleration probably can't enable capture protection as it can't tell who or what is writing to the hardware. Capture protection is a show-stopper as DIRECTV must be able to assure it's content providers that they aren't enabling their customers to make digital copies of their content.

 

[codton]

So I'm out of luck?

I have Directv2pc installed and when I go to play any content, it says that I can't because of the graphics card. I need a new card?

 

[harshness]

Yes.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

It wouldn't hurt to upgrade your graphics card driver before purchasing a new card. The manufacturer's website may have a download area (usually listed under support).

I upgraded my built-in graphics with an inexpensive ($20 after rebate) PCI-E card using a Radeon 3450 chip and it works fine for Directv2PC.

 

[codton]

I purchased a GEForce 8400GS graphincs card with 512mb from Dell.com. It cost $39.99 (+tax) after mail-in rebate. My current card is integrated into the motherboard, so I'm just assuming I plug the new card in, install the drivers, and I'm good to go. Should arrive by Thursday.

If anyone out there knows if I should do something else, please let me know!

Thanks to all responders!

 

[jcrandall]

I purchased a GEForce 8400GS graphincs card with 512mb from Dell.com. It cost $39.99 (+tax) after mail-in rebate. My current card is integrated into the motherboard, so I'm just assuming I plug the new card in, install the drivers, and I'm good to go. Should arrive by Thursday.

If anyone out there knows if I should do something else, please let me know!

Thanks to all responders!

Pretty much, remember to move your monitor cable connection to the one on the new card.

 

[codton]

Pretty much, remember to move your monitor cable connection to the one on the new card.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to being able to play my DVR on the computer. Will it broadcast HD-recorded shows in HD on the computer? The new card supports it, but I'm guessing it's up to the monitor??

 

[Bob Nielsen]

You will probably need to go into the BIOS and disable the built-in graphics.

 

[codton]

BIOS? How do you do that?

 

[codton]

Just got some information from a tech friend about BIOS. Apparently pressing the F2 key before startup will get me into BIOS where I can disable the existing graphics card before installing the new one.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

BIOS? How do you do that?

The first screen which pops up when you boot the computer normally has a line indicating how to access the BIOS. Typically it is the Escape key or possibly F10, depending on the manufacturer.

 

[codton]

Installed the new GEforce 8400GS card and now DirecTV2PC works. However, I can't watch any HD video from my DVR. The video is very choppy and the computer freezes. I assume it's because my monitor isn't HD? The SD video works fine.

Also, I notice my computer is a little slower with the new card. The PNY tech thought it might be because of a lower power supply (300W). It's not terrible, just slower than usual, and a little bit choppy.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

I'm not familiar with that card, but suspect that it doesn't do hardware decoding of the video so this is performed by your CPU. This usually works pretty well with a ~3 GHz processor or just about any dual-core computers.

 

[harshness]

Also, I notice my computer is a little slower with the new card. The PNY tech thought it might be because of a lower power supply (300W). It's not terrible, just slower than usual, and a little bit choppy.

The 8400GS consumes up to 71 watts according to nVidia. Add a fan and you're easily up to 75 watts. Did you connect the power lead to the display card? If you have a single core machine, you might make it, but 300W is not particularly robust with modern display cards gobbling power the way they are.

Choppy can be not enough horsepower or not enough network bandwidth. I'm leaning towards network bandwidth being a problem.

 

[codton]

I have a dual-core processor with 2GB of ram. The card uses 512mb, not sure it that's an issue. My computer started freezing up when playing video that I had from my own HD camcorder!

In the end, I uninstalled it and the drivers and I'm returning it to Dell. Unless there's something else simple out there that is HDCP capable, I guess I'll live without TV2PC. It isn't worth the problems it is creating elsewhere, because I have a very efficient, fast computer.

Plus, if I can't play the HD video anyway (which I record most in), then it definitely isn't worth it.

I guess I don't understand the intricacies of video cards enough...

Thanks to all responders. This is a great satellite forum.

 

[schneid]

HDCP is pain and is does take a multi-core CPU, and HDCP capable video card, and an HDCP display to pull off HD DirecTV2PC.

The best test I found to see if your box measures up is Cyberlinks BD Advisor. It checks for Blu-Ray capability. If you pass that you should be able to handle everything. If you don't have a BD drive you will obviously flunk that part of the test but you can ignore that.

 

[Lkr]

do you have the GPU accelerated beta version of DirecTV2PC? If not, that is another issue. Also, do you have the latest nvidia drivers? that can also cause problems as GeForce 8 cards will need the latest drivers:
NVIDIA DRIVERS 196.21 WHQL