[mythtv-users] Raspberry Pi now ships with 512MB RAM

[Michael T. Dean]

On 10/16/2012 04:35 PM, Jay Ashworth wrote:
> From: "Michael T. Dean"
>> +1 ... You can't consider your frontend low-power when it relies on an
>> extremely-power-hungry backend running all the time.
> I rarely disagree with you, Mike, but I'll make an exception here. :-)
>
> You can if your backend is supporting 10 or 12 $35 front ends all around
> your house.  And I think "extremely power hungry" was a bit of a strawman,
> anyway.  ;-)

The post I quoted and agreed with (that you've cut out) was one that 
said it's not a good idea to have a huge backend transcoding every 
single recording from MPEG-2 (or whatever) to H.264 just so you can use 
an RPi frontend with its built-in hardware H.264 decoder.  At that 
point, you /must/ consider some portion of that backend power usage as 
frontend power usage because the only reason for the transcoding is to 
allow the use of a poor-choice of frontend.  Granted, it's even worse 
idea when you can get an MPEG-2 license for the RPi for a couple bucks, 
but the point is that when the backend is constantly running at 100% to 
do a slower-than-realtime transcode of all content to H.264 just so you 
can use an inappropriately-chosen frontend system that can't play back 
"normal" content, you shouldn't be considering that frontend to be low 
power.

And, yes, a system that's transcoding everything to H.264 (versus 
storing it in its native recording format) does make for an extremely 
power hungry system.

Mike