[mythtv-users] Thoughts on this pico pc?

[Andrew Theurer]

On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 5:39 AM, Mark Perkins <perkins1724 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>> On 5 Feb 2015, at 8:09 am, "Nick Rout" <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 5, 2015 at 10:15 AM, Nick Rout <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Mon, Jan 5, 2015 at 9:45 AM, Dave MythTV <dave.mythtv at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 12:10 PM, Karl Newman <newmank1 at asme.org> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 1:11 AM, Joseph Fry <joe at thefrys.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Sun, Jan 4, 2015 at 3:57 AM, Joseph Fry <joe at thefrys.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://www.gearbest.com/tv-box/pp_134110.html?currency=USD&gclid=CjwKEAiA5qOlBRDAn8K5qen65joSJADRvlbqblHfMdGK5RZZOy1bOh6wGTsO04j-6sa044K4ZvviBxoCpgLw_wcB
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Apparently there is an 8% off + free shipping code on RetailMeNot... but
>>>>>>> since this only charges at ship, I'm not sure if it will actually work and I
>>>>>>> read that they have a $5 "local return" option so you don't need to ship
>>>>>>> overseas in the event of a dud... didn't see how to request it though.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> So overall, for $93, it may be a great frontend?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Before I pull the trigger, I wanted folks who have tried mythtv on a Bay
>>>>>>> Trail SOC to chime in... I like the idea of the stick in another thread, but
>>>>>>> without LAN adapter, I think I would rather just tape this on the back of
>>>>>>> the TV and have reliable bandwidth for any media I want to play.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Found another site that gave me coupon code "PipoX7LM" that brings the
>>>>>> price down to $89.98.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Geek Buying has it at $97, and they don't say its a preorder... might be
>>>>>> a safer bet?  They have local return option for $2.99 during checkout, and
>>>>>> 3-5 day shipping via DHL is only $10.
>>>>>> http://www.geekbuying.com/item/PIPO-X7-Windows-8-1-Smart-Mini-PC-TV-Box-Media-Player-2G-RAM-32G-ROM-Intel-3736F-1-8GHz-Quad-Core---Silver-339668.html
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I really want to order a couple... but would love to hear your thoughts!

I finally got mine.  Installation was a pain.  It only will boot from
32-bit UEFI, so that makes installing 64-bit linux a little tricky.  I
was able to install "fedlet", a modified Fedora after about 4
attempts.  I had to enable just 1 core to get it to complete.

The wired network is also total crap.  It uses a chipset which is
known to be quite bad (dm9601).  So far I've had no success in getting
it to work.  As far as I can tell, Linux can't find the wireless
device.  I am not sure if I'll continue to try to get this to work or
drop it.

>>>>> The ECS Liva that has been discussed actively on this list in the last few
>>>>> weeks is also a Bay Trail based system. It's very similar to this one,
>>>>> except this one appears to be a quad core 3736F which is a step up from the
>>>>> dual core N2807 in the Liva. It also has 2 more USB ports which is important
>>>>> to some people, but they look like they are all USB 2.0. It appears to have
>>>>> 32 GB flash in addition to the MicroSD slot. The power appears to be
>>>>> somewhat higher, though (12V 2A compared to 5V 3A) but that could be
>>>>> primarily to support the additional USB ports. It's missing a VGA output if
>>>>> that's important to you.
>>>>>
>>>>> In short, it should work. You might have to do some research & work to get
>>>>> the WiFi operational (assuming there's a linux driver). Be aware that you
>>>>> may not have luck with the Bluetooth, though.
>>>>>
>>>>> Karl
>>>>
>>>> I'm not sure I would say the quad-core Z3736F is a step up from the
>>>> N2807....  The PassMark CPU benchmark averages for the N2807 are 925
>>>> multi-threaded and 444 single-threaded, and for the Z3736F are 982
>>>> multi-threaded but only 368 single-threaded.   The Z3736F also has a lower
>>>> maximum graphics frequency (646 vs 750 MHz).   TDP is within 0.1W (higher
>>>> for the Z3736F), so no gains there.   So which processor is better may
>>>> depend entirely on the task...
>>>>
>>>> One thing is for sure - these low power x86 mini PCs are popping up
>>>> everywhere!    These next few years should be interesting!
>>>
>>> Isn't the problem the lack of audio drivers for linux? That is
>>> certainly the case for other Z3736 SOC based machines like the
>>> Meegopad Stick computer.
>>
>>
>> You guys might also be interested in this
>>
>> http://news.softpedia.com/news/Petition-Started-for-Intel-Atom-Bay-Trail-Tablets-64-bit-and-Linux-Support-458872.shtml
>> _______________________________________________
>
> In theory that can be worked around. Precisely how varies a bit from device to device. It is one of the issues I am working through on a Teclast x98 Air 3G (Bay Trail) tablet at the moment.
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