[mythtv-users] frontend, what works?

[Joe Hickey]

On Mon, Mar 7, 2011 at 4:07 PM, Andre <mythtv-list at dinkum.org.uk> wrote:
>
> On 7 Mar 2011, at 19:49, Alex Tomlins wrote:
>>>
>> I came across this Ion system that comes with a Celeron CPU instead of an Atom:
>>
>> http://www.zotac.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=100083
>>
>> Having said that, I'm not sure how much of a set up from an Atom that celeron is.
>
> http://www.anandtech.com/show/3869/zotac-ionitxpe-can-intels-culv-processors-reinvigorate-interest-in-nvidias-ion
>
> These guys seem pretty uninspired against bottom end i3's with the significant exception of Linux HTPC applications.
>
> There's also a proper pcie slot for when you realise the ION graphics aren't up to the job.
>
> Andre

Just out of curiosity (sort of along the lines of this thread, maybe a
little OT) ... I'm seeing Zacate-based ITX boards start to appear,
like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130568

Intriguing, as the processor seems much more potent than the atom and
pretty power efficient from the reviews I've read.  But of course,
it's tied to the ATI chipset, and adding a discrete graphics option
would seriously deduct from the power efficiency.  I've also seen
periodic updates that the open source radeon driver has gotten some
support from the folks at AMD in the past few months...

So: has anyone tried using a Zacate as an FE?  Is the processor
capable of typical OTA 1080i MPEG2 software decode and is HD video
playback on radeon as bad as it used to be?