Linux XBMCBuntu Mac Mini 2011
#1
Hi guys,

I've been using xvmc since the Xbox 1 version and I love the software. I bought a Mac Mini only to find out that under OSX xbmc is not capable of adjusting the refresh rate to the one of the video.

After using XBMC eden for some time under windows 7, I decided to try XBMCbuntu to have a more stable media center, not disturbed by underlying applications.

So here is the status of my system :
- Installation from scratch of XBMCbuntu, only partition on the system
- Everything went great and after a reboot I'm facing the xbmc home screen
- I managed to get the sound working after some time by using custom output and the command CARD=Generic. HDMI audio is working fine
- Vertical sync is enabled

And now my problems :
- When browsing in the video library, CPU usage is really high (100% on one of the cores) and the fans are really noisy
- When playing video with VAAPI activated, I don't get dropped frames but the video is displayed in a really weird manner : It's almost as if video frames where displayed both times. It's not the tearing that I get if I deactivate V-Sync, it's more as if frames where displayed in 1-2-1-3-2-3-4-3-5 etc... Dunno how to explain it, sorry.

The hardware in my mac mini is this one :
2.5 Intel dual-core i5/ 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM (PC3-10600)/500 GB HD/No Optical Drive/AMD Radeon HD 6630/Thunderbolt/AirPort & Bluetooth Built-in

I'm a linux newbie so if I need to update something, please give details about what I have to do cause I wouldn't know where to begin! Wink

Thanks a lot to anyone who will be able to help me!
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#2
(2012-07-22, 03:15)ludodivx Wrote: I bought a Mac Mini only to find out that under OSX xbmc is not capable of adjusting the refresh rate to the one of the video.

But it is.
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#3
Quote:When playing video with VAAPI activated, I don't get dropped frames but the video is displayed in a really weird manner : It's almost as if video frames where displayed both times. It's not the tearing that I get if I deactivate V-Sync, it's more as if frames where displayed in 1-2-1-3-2-3-4-3-5 etc... Dunno how to explain it, sorry.

That's why we started to support XvBA directly:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=116996
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#4
(2012-07-22, 10:36)toiva Wrote:
(2012-07-22, 03:15)ludodivx Wrote: I bought a Mac Mini only to find out that under OSX xbmc is not capable of adjusting the refresh rate to the one of the video.

But it is.

Really? Cause when I check that option my screen doesn't go blank for a few seconds to change the refresh rate like it does in windows or linux.

(2012-07-22, 10:47)FernetMenta Wrote:
Quote:When playing video with VAAPI activated, I don't get dropped frames but the video is displayed in a really weird manner : It's almost as if video frames where displayed both times. It's not the tearing that I get if I deactivate V-Sync, it's more as if frames where displayed in 1-2-1-3-2-3-4-3-5 etc... Dunno how to explain it, sorry.

That's why we started to support XvBA directly:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=116996

Yeah. I saw that post but since I'm a big newbie, I didn't manage to install ATI drivers. I got a problem of a missing package, due to the system being 64bits and fglrx never could be installed. It blocked my system on the xbmc logo after rebooting each time.

I managed to solve this problem by installing a version of xbmcbuntu based on "pre frodo", from xbmcfreaks and everything worked out of the box, even if I still have the 100% cpu usage while the system creates thumbnails in menus.

The last problem I have remaining, don't know if it's due to my version being a beta is that when I try to play a video, sometimes it only plays in background by default, and sometimes it plays fine on the screen. Really don't know why, if someone has an idea, I take it Wink

Thanks a lot for your answers, I really appreciate it!
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#5
Don't know if this helps, but I've been having an excellent time with my mac mini 2011 w/ windows 7.

I first tried using ubuntu but it turned into a gaint headache of problems w/ stuff not working and a lot of performance issues. I guess due to drivers.

Anyway, i'd recommend windows 7 as the os of choice for the mac mini.
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#6
if you used one xbmcfreaks's xvba builds, then your xbmc version is really old. You need to update it with:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
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