[mythtv-users] PS3 to come with full Linux

[Ivan Kowalenko]

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On May 16, 2006, at 11.01, Brian Wood wrote:
> On May 16, 2006, at 9:32 AM, Jeff Coffler wrote:
>> On Tuesday, May 16, 2006 8:12 AM, Brian Wood wrote:
>>
>>> From what I've read these things are going to be pretty expensive,
>>> even if it could run a frontend, at $500 to $600 there are certainly
>>> much cheaper alternatives.

Is there word if Sony is holding the PS3 at $500/$600 indefinitely?  
I've heard economists complain and say that the X360 should have been  
that much when it first came out (due to supply), and then drop when  
the supply is more readily available. If Sony is planning to hold the  
PS3 at $500/$600 for a while, then this whole threat could be moot,  
and the PS3 could go the way of the Saturn, Jaguar, and the 3D0.

>> Is there?  Depends on what the box can do.
>>
>> I use an Xbox as a Myth frontend, and while it's inexpensive, it's
>> also pretty limited.  At regular playback, CPU appears to be around
>> 80%.  If I do something funny (like picture in picture, say), then  
>> the Xbox skips
>> and drops frames left, right, and center.  Clearly, it has no  
>> chance of
>> being able to do anything that approaches HD.

That is, until someone figures out how to make some good drivers for  
the XBox's video chipset, so we can finally harness that GPU. But,  
given that he PS3, X360, and the Wii are the wave of the future,  
there's going to be a little more attention on those machines (not to  
say there won't be development for what we have now).

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if it's possible to develop  
an XvMC-like layer to run on DirectX/Win32? If that's possible,  
someone could write a Myth front end in XBox native XBE code, and  
utilize the GPU for XvMC functions. The XBox advertised it was  
capable of HDTV (though use of that was few and far between, and  
probably only 720p), so we know the graphics chipset will output to  
that resolution. If that can be done, it might be possible to get to  
a point where we could at least have a 720p Myth Front end.

>> I wouldn't mind a box that could do HD.  Any suggestions of an
>> inexpensive box that can do that?

FX5200 costs around $50, give or take, right? Say, about $250-$300  
for a bare-bones system (with RAM included), $120 for a good hard  
disk, and $20 for a FireWire card (we're assuming we're doing HD  
cable capture). Add that up, and it's still not $600. Close, but not  
there. It's even less if we don't need that big of a hard disk  
(assuming, that is, storage is elsewhere, or this is just a front end).

>> I'm not sure if the new Mac Mini can do HD or not.  But it's around
>> $600, I think.  Building your own hardware (if you get the  
>> hardware specs
>> right, and if it's quiet enough - I haven't looked into this  
>> option yet) is
>> about the same, I believe.

Actually, the Mini is closer to $500. Theoretically, it's capable of  
HD, but people are still working on it. The old PPC Minis were pretty  
good, but there seem to be a couple stumbling blocks on the Intel Minis.

> I admit I was only thinking about SD, and there are obviously cheaper
> alternatives for that. You can buy an entire laptop that includes a
> 14" display that will make a good SD F/E for under $300 (Inspiron
> 7500s are going for $275 or so).

Or an XBox for $129, used. $20 for a remote, $10 for a memory card  
(or an USB->XBox adapter for use with a USB Memory Stick), a $5 for  
MechAssault, and you've got it made in the shade.

> For HD I'm not so sure, if the PS-3 can do that and do it well it
> might be a practical alternative cost-wise.

Sony is hyping that the PS3 can do HD, and I'm willing to be they  
aren't going to bar and X modelines that run in HD. If people can get  
at the GPU, and figure out how to do something like XVMC, it  
shouldn't be that hard. Of course, all this proprietary/slightly- 
modified-just-enough-to-make-things-annoying-or-difficult hardware,  
it would take some time.
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