AMD investigating desires from the HTPC community
#1
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1119391

I think this could be a real chance at getting something close to a "XBMC recommended motherboard". Maybe they would even be interested in some sort of seal of quality.

Obviously good driver support for both Linux and Windows should be mandatory.
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#2
ashlar Wrote:http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1119391

I think this could be a real chance at getting something close to a "XBMC recommended motherboard". Maybe they would even be interested in some sort of seal of quality.

Obviously good driver support for both Linux and Windows should be mandatory.

Nice find!
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#3
I'm sure it's just the cynic in me that's in need of some serious caffeine, but I don't see this amounting to much. First, it's not an official thing. The dude works for AMD; he doesn't speak for them in any official capacity. There's fair number of industry tech types that post in those forums. And he posts a "what ya like to see" post that's pretty common in those parts.

Even if he's the start of an AMD initiative, I'm not sure how it would help to ask such a question. The params of a "good" HTPC is already well-known; it's not like it's a new concept. Asking a bunch of hardcore HTPC'ers about what they want is actually counterproductive, as most of them will want features that emphasize ultimate quality, and hang the cost. But any consumer product is indeed all about cost, and the compromises that need to be made to reach each specific price point.

But all of this aside, I can't see how it figures into XBMC. XBMC, by its stated goal of platform portability, doesn't take advantage of platform-specific features: no-GPU-support (for now at least) is an obvious example.

Going to get some coffee.

PS: Just read about Hulu dropping the hammer on Boxee, and all the boo-hooing that's caused. No surprise there. May be the best HTPC feature AMD could hope to implement is a license agreement with content providers to allow peeps to watch online vids in AMD STBs.
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#4
ashlar Wrote:I think this could be a real chance at getting something close to a "XBMC recommended motherboard".

Image

If the Nvidia hardware acceleration bugs are fixed (which I think they will be), Nvidia ION would have to be the ideal motherboard for XBMC. Small, powerful, and hopefully reasonably cheap.
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#5
TomJensen Wrote:But all of this aside, I can't see how it figures into XBMC. XBMC, by its stated goal of platform portability, doesn't take advantage of platform-specific features: no-GPU-support (for now at least) is an obvious example.
GPU support is already up and working under Linux. In any case, I think it's a chance to ask for features that we deem relevant. Everything else, official XBMC platform, etc., etc. it's just me voicing thoughts.

Although platform portability is one thing, recommended hardware is a different proposition (and one that developers are not avoiding).
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#6
"Small, powerful, and hopefully reasonably cheap."

Well, the Ion is nice, but it'd be a stretch to call it powerful, unless by that you mean "fast enough to run 1080p." The Atom 330 by itself already does that, actually, if you use CoreAVC in XP, XBMC aside.

The obvious draw with the Ion is the teeny weeny size (pico-ITX) of the ref design. It's already been reported that commercial products will be larger, as daughterboards are expensive, as are the 6- or 8-layer boards used. Common sense would point to the mini-ITX form factor for nettops.

Not sure about cheap either, knowing Nvidia's history. The first ones out of the gate will be barebones and complete boxes, and $250-300 will probably be the typical price point for a BB. So, bean-counter me is thinking...Zotec $50, E5200 $66, Morex 3670 $80...just about the same price, plus I get a overclockable C2D to boot. Somebody wake me when I can get an Ion board by itself for around $100. I think what'll happen is that Intel will update its 330 mITX board to include the new chipset. As long as it has HDMI and price stays the same, I'll probably get that instead.

Actually, what would excite more than the Ion board itself is if somebody would put out some SMALL mini-ITX cases w/ ext PS that are reasonably cheap and quiet.

Tom "Mr Killjoy" Jensen
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#7
This seems to indicate a $500 pricetag for the Ion:

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/..._Area.html
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#8
TomJensen Wrote:Actually, what would excite more than the Ion board itself is if somebody would put out some SMALL mini-ITX cases w/ ext PS that are reasonably cheap and quiet.

And doesn't look like ass!
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#9
Yeah that little Ion looks like a cool idea, but the box package they have it in looks well like a box with plugs on the front and back. I want my box to look slick and clean. Unless of course that box is screwed to the back of an entertainment center and all you have is a power button showing and a remote reciever then its all good. Wink
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#10
kizer Wrote:Yeah that little Ion looks like a cool idea, but the box package they have it in looks well like a box with plugs on the front and back. I want my box to look slick and clean. Unless of course that box is screwed to the back of an entertainment center and all you have is a power button showing and a remote reciever then its all good. Wink

Yeah, I'm just going to Velcro the ION to the back of my TV. Nerd
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#11
The geekery in me came out when watching the above vid link. Seeing the Nvidia dude fingering that board gives me the willies. I'm like, dude wheres ur ESD strap! Anyway, I'd be much better persuaded if it were a nice babe with plenty of cleavage and may be some legs showing. Asians or white chicks, I'm not particular. I just don't want some dude telling me what I want for new toys. These Nvid peeps have got a thing or two to learn about marketing.
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#12
Big Grin 
johnny2 Wrote:Image

If the Nvidia hardware acceleration bugs are fixed (which I think they will be), Nvidia ION would have to be the ideal motherboard for XBMC. Small, powerful, and hopefully reasonably cheap.

Personally I feel the pico ITX ion platform is genius, however it would be more interesting for me as an XBMC user who runs XBMC under LINUX to see a different processor on the boards (preferably they would just put a CPU socket and heat sync retention clip), I mean the ION will be great for netbooks and even ultralow power PCs running windows with apps that support GPU accelerated decoding of HD video, but to the best of my knowledge XBMC is not one of those apps yet. However I feel the Pico ITX platform has promise at least to satisfy my needs, personally I would like to see some motherboards released around this form factor but supporting better CPUs so that XBMC could be used more effectively, perhaps one that supports AMD’s AM2 low power Athlon 64 x2s or Intel’s core 2 duos. I feel nvidia’s minimalistic approach would be great for x86-64 set-top box media centers.

Personally this is what I would want

1. Pico ITX form factor (or something smaller than micro ATX)

2. Integrated video with GPU accelerated HD decoding support (so when the software is capable of taking advantage of it, it will be there)

2a. HDMI with audio support

3. X number of SATA2 ports (personally I would only need one to hook up a 16GB SSD)

4. Optical out

5. Socketed CPU (any AMD or Intel just needs to be capable of decoding 1080P with out GPU acceleration for the time being)

6. 2 Dimm slots (support for 4GB ram)

7. X number of USB ports (for me it would not be important, just would hook up a thumb drive occasionally)

8. Integrated Windows Media Center compatible IR receiver (the newest spec)

9. Gigabit LAN

Personally I feel any expansion slots would be unnecessary considering everything listed above would fit my needs but they could probably add an Express card slot for those who want to add wireless or what not.

Slice

P.S. it is interesting to note that boards with the above specs could be used for multiple things, anything from a small home server or NAS box to a high-end Linux router if an additional LAN port were provided. A board like this would be an enthusiasts’ wet dream because of the massive amounts of flexibility and small form factor it would offer.
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