[mythtv-users] IPad and mythtv.

[Jean-Yves Avenard]

Hi

On 24 May 2010 13:12, Christopher Kerr <mythtv at theseekerr.com> wrote:
>
> He's kinda right about this - hardware accelerated MPEG2 would make
> life a lot easier.

MPEG2 has never been a very processor intensive operation...

And remember that the iPad is only 768 pixels high

> a) is a 1GHz ARM chip fast enough to decode MPEG2 in software?

My PIII at 1GHz is sufficient to play most of the MPEG2 content I
have, the A8 used in the iPad is a much faster beast.

> b) Would a software codec pass Apple's quality control?

why not?
If you're referring to Flash, Apple's T&C forbids the use of
interpreter and the ability for an application to execute external
code.

It's not about the "codec" as such...

> Apple's development terms would likely make DISTRIBUTING ffmpeg a
> challenge, although I'm sure it's technically quite possible.

I haven't seen anything related to the use of GPL component in Apple
standard terms & conditions...

> I think what he means is "transcoding 1080i material is slow, because
> you have to do both the decoding and encoding in software". He's right
> - since it takes a hefty dual core machine just to decode such
> material in software, that means you need a hefty quad to be able to
> decode + encode in real time.

That's not what he said, but it doesn't matter...

>
> That said, real time transcoding of SD material is easy - which is
> great here in Australia, since there's so little true HD content
> anyway.

I can stream converted content to my iPad using Air Video and their
java server on my 2.4GHz C2D without seeing the CPU moving much...

Not everyone has (or care) for a HD-PVR, and the ability to play those
has certainly never been a *must have* to make a mythtv frontend.

I'm fairly confident I could wrap a native mythtv frontend on the iPad
if I decided to do it, and without hurting the Apple T&Cs no-no... And
even if it did, the beauty of their SDK is that I can install whatever
I feel or wish on my own iPhone/iPad when it's for my own use...
Not everything has to be available on their AppStore.

If only people thought outside the box a bit more often..