[mythtv-users] HD thin client?

[Justin The Cynical]

Tom Flair wrote:
> On Jan 29, 2008 8:36 PM, Mitch Gore <mitchell.gore at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> On Jan 29, 2008 8:32 PM, Anthony Giggins <seven at seven.dorksville.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS3656381487.html
>>>
>>> would these be fast enough to be a silent diskless HD mythtv frontend
>>> maybe with an Nvidia card in the PCIe expansion module?
>>>
>>> or is an AMD Sempron 2100+ clocked at 1GHz not enough power to cut the
>>> mustard?
>>>
>>
>>
>> I doubt it would work even with XvMC.
>>
>> I once had a AMD 1800 running as a FE and with XvMC it barely played HD
>> and that is clocked at 1.5Ghz
>>
>>
>>
> I have a Sempron 2300+ 1.5Ghz using xvmc that plays back HD decently.  It
> stutters if I try to bring up the OSD, but otherwise it is acceptable.

What everyone so far seems to be over looking is:

"provides hardware acceleration for 2D, 3D, MPEG, and WMV9"

...and...

"One change made by HP is the shift from Neoware's homegrown NeoLinux 
distribution to the Linux-2.6-based Debian Etch (4.0)."

So, if the drivers they are using on Debian work, and work well enough, 
to accelerate the listed codecs, it's quite possible that they would 
have the grunt needed to play back HD.  The audio output looks to suck 
(1 headphone/line-out on the back) according to the HP page.

Remember, the FiireStation used for LinuxMCE can playback HD content 
using a lowly 15 watt Via 1.5 Ghz CPU.