[mythtv-users] android sticks

[Joseph Fry]

>> > Has anyone tried to use anandroid stick to just play back recorded TV? I
>> > don't know if they have sufficient video hw acceleration for 1080i mpg2.
>>
>> Welcome back from outer space where I assume you must have been for the
>> last couple of weeks :D See the threads related to ARM and Raspberry Pi -
>> been discussed to death and there are several significant problems to be
>> overcome, the scale of which varies with the device specs :
>> 1) Many of the ARM devices have limited codec support so may not have
>> codecs for required formats
>> 2) The API for the video system may not be documented, or may only be
>> documented to poeple who can sign an NDA
>> 3) The devices often have relatively small memories
>> 4) They pretty well all have relatively low CPU power
>> 5) ARM is where I recall "PC"s being up until a lot of standardisation in
>> the early 80s. Thus it's not like "it's a PC, it'll run i386", it's a case
>> of having to build a system specific to a hardware device - with knowledge
>> of where they've hidden all the I/O devices etc.
>>
>> *Some* ARM devices wil be capable of running a Myth frontend, and there's
>> some debate as to where the line lies between "not good enough" and
>> "acceptable". However it'll need someone to have enough of an itch that they
>> sit down and do all the dev work to use the video systems etc.
> An Android stick != Rasberry Pi.
>
> The listings of products like the following advertise all the required
> codecs with 1 GB DDR3, but they conveniently leave out resolutions, so I was
> looking for personal experience from someone that has tried using this PC
> sticks, not just proliferated hearsay.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/MK808-Android-Rockchip-RK3066-Cortex-A9/dp/B009OX22B4
>
> I'm an embedded engineer that is all too familiar with PCs, ARM, differences
> between Cortex A8 and Cortex A9, understand that not even all A9s are
> created equal, it all depends on their peripheral set, graphics engine, and
> acceleration they have included.

Top posting corrected (careful)

The Rasberry PI is often cited simply because it is the most open of
the available sticks.

There is an Android 'frontend' being worked on, however it's not 100%.

While many other Android media player sticks exist, many of them
cannot have android easily replaced with a regular Linux distro... and
even if you can, often no open drivers (or hardware specifications)
exist for the critical components (media, sound, network).

I suspect that an embedded engineer like yourself could, after filling
out the appropriate NDA's, build an excellent frontend machine with
one of those.  However I don't know that you would be allowed to
distribute it without paying license fees.  At least I believe that is
the major difficulty with these devices.

However I would love to see some enterprising engineer buy some cheap
ARM HDMI stick computers and get a solid frontend on them and resell
them for under $100.  I know I would buy a couple.