[mythtv-users] Mac Mini Video Acceleration Question (h.264)
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org
Mon Aug 24 00:58:14 UTC 2009
On Sunday 23 August 2009 18:40:34 Dennis Cartier wrote:
>
> Recently while I was pondering how a WDTV could be made to be a Myth
> frontend, it occurred to me that if it could become a slave that accepted
> content over the network while forwarding the IR remote keystrokes back out
> to the controlling frontend, all the while exposing a simple network
> interface for the master frontend to provide direction through it could get
> around the limited resources that the WDTV is saddled with.
Specifically which limited resources are the bottleneck? I wanting to try
getting a frontend to run on a Myka, which seems to have a Sigma chip:
# cat /proc/cpuinfo
system type : Sigma Designs TangoX
processor : 0
cpu model : MIPS 4KEc V6.9
Initial BogoMIPS : 291.84
wait instruction : yes
microsecond timers : yes
tlb_entries : 32
extra interrupt vector : yes
hardware watchpoint : yes
ASEs implemented : mips16
VCED exceptions : not available
VCEI exceptions : not available
System bus frequency : 198000000 Hz
CPU frequency : 297000000 Hz
DSP frequency : 297000000 Hz
The OS is on a hard drive, so no having to fool around with building and
flashing images. They even encourage development.
The Sigma-type hardware playback method seems better to me than coaxing a chip
designed for high-power 3D games into just playing back video. The only
drawback might be a codec coming along the Sigma can't deal with, but that
would likely have a long enough lead time to not be a problem, and the chips
are cheap anyway.
Having a Myth frontend that was more of a UPnP server than a video driver
could allow multiple slave frontends similar to what you describe.
I think you are on the right track, and things like the Netfilix Roku box
might also be candidates.
--
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org
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