[mythtv-users] FE Motherboard: DG45FC

Adam Skinner kingmoffa at gmail.com
Wed Oct 1 09:50:19 UTC 2008


> >> Adam Skinner wrote:
> >>> This is a mini itx board from intel supporting lots of new
> >> processors
> >>> and has hdmi out.
> >> I have this board, and am trying to set it up as a Myth frontend
> >> using 
> >> minimyth.
> >>
> >>> As its intel , who are a bit nicer with their open source views -
> >> does
> >>> anyone know if audio over hdmi will work with this board?
> >> It's hard to say, as I haven't got that far yet.  Lots of other
> >> issues 
> >> like having to compile a new Fedora 9 kernel with the e1000e driver
> >> from 
> >> the latest available kernel to get networking to work...  Will be
> >> fixed 
> >> in Fedora 10 / Ubuntu 8.10.  I am hopeful based on some initial
> >> research 
> >> about the intel hda alsa driver, but time will tell.
> >>
> >> Additionally, there are bugs being worked out in the video driver,
> >> and 
> >> it is fairly easy to crash X at the moment, though I hope that
> >> changes 
> >> relatively soon.
> >>
> >>> There is another question, that may/may not be specific to this
> >> board.
> >>> It doesn't have a proper RS232 serial port - which I use for lirc.
> I
> >>> would like one. It has a serial port header, so does this mean I
> can
> >> get
> >>> an adaptor/cable that will work with it and turn it into a proper
> >> serial
> >>> port?? I cannot use a usb->serial adaptor as lirc doesn't like
> >> them. 
> >>
> >> I've ordered a low profile motherboard header -> backplane, though
> I 
> >> don't know if it will work or not yet.  It's a Supermicro
> >> CBL-0010-LP, 
> >> which was hard to find in stock online anywhere.  However, there is
> a 
> >> chance that the pins are not wired correctly.  If that turns out to
> >> be 
> >> the case, I'll simply cut the connector and replace it with an
> RJ-45 
> >> jack to match the connector used with the IRA-3.
> >>
> >>> Any other thoughts about this bit of kit welcome. I need a new
> quiet
> >>> small FE - eee box was tempting but no serial and hdmi.  Same
> >> problem
> >>> with mac mini. Dell studio hybrid has hdmi,  but that isn't a
> cheap
> >> bit
> >>> of kit. 
> >> I have a goal of having an HD capable frontend available for when
> the 
> >> HD-PVR-1212 becomes supported, either .22 or a .21 fixes branch.  I
> >> have 
> >> 4gb of ram and a 3Ghz Core2Duo and was initially hopeful for
> blu-ray 
> >> playback.
> >>
> >> While I see many people posting that playback of HD-PVR recording
> >> works 
> >> great, I do not feel totally confident that a 3Ghz Core2Duo is
> >> capable 
> >> of HD PVR playback...  I've tried the 7/10/13mbit streams available
> >> on 
> >> bittorrent and both the 10 and 13 mbit streams require the 
> >> noskiploopfilter parameter to play back at full speed.  But then
> >> again, 
> >> it could be related to the early development of G45 support in the
> >> intel 
> >> drivers.
> >>
> >> Another note is that there is very little legacy ports on this 
> >> motherboard...  No VGA out (in case you want to hook up to a CRT
> for 
> >> installation for example, no PS/2 ports, and as you've noted, no
> >> serial) 
> >>   That being said, I currently have it hooked up to a 65"
> Mitsubishi 
> >> through HDMI and it looks fantastic and the TV recognizes 1080p.
> >>
> >> I have the stock heatsink and fan, plus the stock fans in the case,
> >> and 
> >> it is EXTREMELY quiet compared to my other frontends...
> >>
> >> Anthony
> >>
> > Thanks for the feedback Anthony. 
> > 
> > The lack of vga and ps2 ports are not a problem for me.
> > 
> > I didn't think networking would be an issue - but from what you say
> it
> > sounds like its fixed. I wasn't planning on running an old distro on
> > it. 
> 
> An old distro is all currently released distros though.  As far as I 
> know, no distro using the correct kernel will be available until 
> sometime next month at the earliest (ubuntu 8.10.)  Otherwise, I am
> sure 
> the "trick" I used for Fedora 9 would work with all of the other
> distros 
> as well.
> 
> I haven't been table to test HDMI audio output, but I can tell you
> that 
> HDMI is listed in the aplay -L list of devices.  I'll get to testing 
> this soon, after I can recompile and test the X11 driver.
> 
> > What case did you fit this board in and more importantly what did
> you do
> > for a PSU? 
> > I've never built a mini-itx box before and I know a lot of people
> like
> > to use DC/AC converters and laptop power bricks. My electrical
> knowledge
> > isn't so great and I am going to need some advice from someone in
> the
> > know.
> 
> I opted to get an IN-WIN BM639 for two reasons:
> 1.  It was on the list of cases at intel that were "certified" for
> this 
> motherboard.
> 2.  It accepts a full sized optical drive.  Once the system looks
> more 
> stable, I plan to add a blu-ray drive.  A standard blu-ray is < $150.
> A 
> slim blu-ray drive is MUCH more expensive.
> 
> It has a built-in 120w power supply.  The case fan is a large 80mm
> fan, 
> unusual for mini-itx cases.  The power supply does have a tiny 40mm
> fan, 
> but I haven't been able to hear it.
> 
> I'm quite pleased with the level of sound coming from the case...
> This 
> will be the 4th active front-end, and using stock components, it is
> as 
> quiet as one of my fully ATX desktop frontend systems where all of
> the 
> components were chosen for quietness.  I think the hard drive
> (temporary 
> until I can get minimyth fully working, at which point I will switch
> to 
> either network boot or USB key, though in my testing, I really like
> the 
> USB key, it is booting very quickly) is the loudest component
> currently.
> 
> > I was hoping the G45 wouldn't have many problems being an intel
> chip. Oh
> > well I am sure they will be sorted in time. Does this chip do
> hardware
> > acceleration of HD video formats and if so, any chance linux will
> have
> > it? 
> 
> More testing to do, but supposedly a fix has been checked in, I just 
> need to get the source and recompile.
> 
> This chip is supposed to support hardware accelerated playback of all 
> blu-ray formats and most everything else.  How long it takes to get 
> support in Linux is a different question.  I am hopeful that
> something 
> will become available, I just don't know how far off it is.  VA API 
> seems to have stalled, and I'm reading that people are extending XvMC
> to 
> support HD formats as a stop-gap measure until VA API can be
> completed.


Thanks for the feedback. You mentioned


> I opted to get an IN-WIN BM639 for two reasons:
> 1.  It was on the list of cases at intel that were "certified" for
this 
> motherboard.

Could you please tell me the url for this certified list.

Thanks



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