[mythtv-users] Mac Mini and Broadcom Crystal HD PCI Express mini-card

[Jarod Wilson]

On Thu, Dec 31, 2009 at 08:12:48PM -0700, Brian Wood wrote:
> On Thursday 31 December 2009 07:01:55 pm Jarod Wilson wrote:
> 
> > 
> > Think laptops, netbooks and small form-factor systems. I have one in an
> > older x86 Mac Mini with Intel graphics and one in a ThinkPad T61 with Intel
> > graphics. Two others are in boxes with vdpau-capable video cards, but I
> > have the option to NOT have to use the binary-only nVidia blob if I so
> > choose on those systems. That'd be another benefit to some: no need for
> > binary-only drivers. The Broadcom bits are now 100% open-source (save of
> > course the firmware, but that's pretty much industry standard).
> > 
> 
> Hadn't realized it was totally OSS, that's good news, mostly because it 
> probably means faster development, but I guess we'll see.

I should have a kernel driver and library git tree up on git.kernel.org
sometime before the end of the weekend, then will start prepping the
driver to submit for inclusion in the upstream kernel.

> The fact that something is "Industry Standard" does not make it right or 
> desirable. At one time it was "Industry Standard" to have a 20% mortality of 
> employees, or run trains with no brakes :-)
> 
> The firmware is useless without purchasing the hardware, so who cares? Are they 
> worried about competitors learning from the source code? The more usable your 
> product the more you will sell, or so I would think.

Well, there are some, er, "legal" issues, that need to be masked by
firmware in this case... Such as the Blu-Ray decryption bits (which
aren't actually enabled in the distributed firmware, nor can the linux
driver take advantage of them at this time, iirc). I say "legal" because
its of course DMCA/DRM malarkey...

What I meant was that its common to see hardware with an open driver
that still relies on binary-only firmware to hide some sort of
functionality as required by stupid laws, a company's IP lawyers, or
what have you.

> I wish you wouldn't refer  to Intel-era Macs as "older", that would make me... 
> :-( Anything with an x86 chip is a "newer" Mac :-)

Heh. "Older", in that it isn't the current Mac Mini with nVidia graphics.
I still have a couple of PowerPC Macs kicking around... :)

> But re-purposing"older" laptops is a good thought, too bad most of the ones I 
> have are truly "older".
> 
> The really "older" ones won't have mini-PCIe or x1 slots, any ideas on how to 
> use the XtalHD unit in an "older" PIII machine, for example? Say with a 700 
> Mhz. CPU?

Don't have a clue what the XtalHD is, and a quick google fails me... I
keep entertaining the idea of getting a PCI VDPAU-capable card to play
with in a few of my own oldish machines, which include a pair of PIII
boxes that are mostly just collecting dust right now...

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com