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+---- Thread: Is software decoding OK? (/showthread.php?tid=198778)
Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-27
I think this 2.3GHz quad-core SoC ARM board should be capable of decoding 1080p in software smoothly:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813190005
Can I do that in xbmc and not worry about GPU support?
BTW, that fan is easily replaceable with a heatsink:
http://elinux.org/Jetson/Jetson_TK1_Power#Replacing_the_fan_with_a_heatsink
RE: Is software decoding OK? - Ned Scott - 2014-06-28
It will do both hardware and software decoding. What you've linked to there is pretty much the Cadillac of Android SoCs :D
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
Very cool, and it costs less than my Pandaboard ES + power supply.
Which drivers for that board can xbmc use for hardware decoding?
In case there are issues with the drivers, xbmc will function in software mode without GPU assistance?
RE: Is software decoding OK? - FernetMenta - 2014-06-28
Not so sure. In benchmarks they compare Tegra3 to Intel D525 and you won't do any 1080 decoding on a D525. Also note that the Jetson Kit lacks support for vdpau. Means there is no hw decoding support. As long as you are not interested in writing you own hw decoder with the provided SDK, you won't have much fun with XBMC and this kit.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
Can't I just stick to 720p if necessary?
RE: Is software decoding OK? - FernetMenta - 2014-06-28
Sure, you can also stick to just playing music
Seriously, what do you want to do with this board? I doubt that you would be able to get XBMC running using Linux. Afaik the Android dev pack for K1 was released this months. It won't be a trivial task getting XBMC to run using Android either.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
Why shouldn't I be able to get xbmc running using Linux? Support for this board is in the mainline kernel and then I can install Gentoo and then xbmc. Admittedly, I'm running into a problem getting it to run on my Pandaboard ES but I figured it was a Pandaboard issue:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=198654
RE: Is software decoding OK? - FernetMenta - 2014-06-28
I may be wrong but in order to make use of the GPU you depend on "Linux For Tegra". I doubt that a Linux distro like Gentoo can leverage any of the graphics features of K1.
Even if you can get either egl or opengl work, you have a $200 board without hw decoding. Resulting performance would be below Raspberry Pi which is at $40.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
I wouldn't be buying the board for its GPU, I would be buying for its CPU. Hardware decoding was a hassle with the DVD decoder boards from a million years ago, but faster CPUs eventually rendered them unnecessary. Then the same thing happened with GPU decoding and Blu-Ray/1080p on AMD64. The same thing will happen with ARM and I'm wondering if this is it.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
Does xbmc require egl or opengl? I want to make sure I don't run into the same problem with the TK1 that I have with the Pandaboard.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - FernetMenta - 2014-06-28
I agree that a more powerful CPU does not harm. In my living room system I have an Intel 1820T. It is less than $50 and can easily decode Hi10P or high quality deinterlacing. Sorry, but I can't think of any reason why someone would want an ARM board for $200 because of the CPU.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - FernetMenta - 2014-06-28
(2014-06-28, 19:13)xbmcreallyrocks Wrote: Does xbmc require egl or opengl?
OpenGL only in combination with X11. Without X11 egl
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-28
(2014-06-28, 19:14)FernetMenta Wrote: I agree that a more powerful CPU does not harm. In my living room system I have an Intel 1820T. It is less than $50 and can easily decode Hi10P or high quality deinterlacing. Sorry, but I can't think of any reason why someone would want an ARM board for $200 because of the CPU.
Is it fanless and 5" x 5"?
http://elinux.org/Jetson/Jetson_TK1_Power#Replacing_the_fan_with_a_heatsink
RE: Is software decoding OK? - fritsch - 2014-06-28
Yes it is - that's the problem ...
Case + board + 1820T + memory < 200 dollar and fanless.
RE: Is software decoding OK? - xbmcreallyrocks - 2014-06-29
If x86/amd64 systems have really gotten that small and cool and retained their speed then I'm very interested. I Googled but I can't find much info about the 1820T. Is it SoC? I found this G1820 Haswell Dual-Core 2.7GHz CPU but people are talking about using 1 or 2 fans:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116974
Which board or CPU do you have that works fanless?
Quote:Case + board + 1820T + memory < 200 dollar and fanless.It's worth at least mentioning that the TK1 has 16GB storage onboard.