[mythtv-users] Re:Front end choice: Mac Mini versus VIA EPIA. Mac OSX remote control?

[Nick]

On 8/31/05, Todd Ignasiak <ignasiak at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 8/31/05, Nick <knowledgejunkie at gmail.com> wrote:
> > On 8/31/05, Todd Ignasiak <ignasiak at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > I have a Mac Mini, and I think it's great.   The form factor is
> > > unbeatable, and I don't think I could make a Mini-ITX box for near the
> > > same price.   I use mine for all the Apple Apps (iTunes, iMovie, iDVD,
> > > etc.) and general Unix functions.   But, not for MythTV.
> > >
> > > I use MythTV for HD material, which makes the Mini a no-go.   The
> > > 1.42GHz CPU in mine is not fast enough to decode/display HDTV
> > > material.    The mini's ATI Radeon video hardware does have support
> > > for MPEG2 acceleration, unfortunately Apple has chosen not to open an
> > > API into this functionality.   So, HD is out of reach for the Mini.
> >
> > I'd be amazed if the hardware didn't have MPEG2 acceleration/iDCT
> > support (I'd think all ATI cards for the past several years have had
> > this in hardware). Whether or not it is implemented in their driver is
> > another story.
> 
> Yeah,  that's what I said.   The Mini, and most other Macs have video
> chips that support iDCT offload.   Unfortunately, Apple does not allow
> access to that hardware via any standard API.

Sorry about misreading that. It's a shame that Apple do this, but
that's the price of proprietary systems and total control I guess.

Nick