[mythtv-users] Time to move to an HDMI stick for FEs?

[Matt Emmott]

On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 5:49 PM, Nick Rout <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 10:54 AM, Thomas Mashos <thomas at mashos.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 1:35 PM, Nick Rout <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Has anyone received this stick yet? I ordered on 20 October, was told
> >> it would be shipped at the end of that month. I have since then been
> >> put off a number of times with the last promise being a firm one that
> >> it would ship on 15 December via DHL.
> >>
> >> On 15 December (yesterday) I get a message that it is stil not
> >> available or shipped: "I am sorry it is still delayed now. And the
> >> producing department still not lead the mass production now. So so so
> >> sorry."
> >>
> >> I am not even sure what that means. I cannot fathom whether
> >> manufacturing has even started.
> >>
> >> These crooks have 375 orders, some for more than one unit. At US$110 a
> >> pop, that is a significant wad of cash they have in exchange for ...
> >> nothing!
> >>
> >> To cap it off the current price has gone UP to US$118.
> >>
> >> In case it is not clear, I ordered from the page in the OP in this
> >> thread, ie
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sell-Mini-PC-with-both-Android-Windows-8-system/2044898752.html
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On Wed, Nov 12, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Nick Rout <nick.rout at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> On Tue, Nov 11, 2014 at 9:01 PM, Xander <lexvictory at yahoo.com.au>
> wrote:
> >>>> On Sunday, 9 November 2014, 13:49, Joseph Fry <joe at thefrys.com>
> wrote:
> >>>>>>> > So I came across this article at Neowin.net regarding a Windows
> 8 HDMI stick:
> http://www.neowin.net/news/intel-bay-trail-based-usb-stick-capable-of-running-windows-81-goes-on-sale
> >>>>>>> >
> >>>>>>> > In addition to the Windows stick, it mentions that both
> Microsoft and Mozilla are coming out with ChromeCast-style sticks of their
> own. I started to wonder... Is it time to throw away the dream of the $99
> FE and look to devices like these instead? They would be low power, easy to
> setup and maintain (well, to plug into the tv), and cheaper than an entire
> computer.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> The standard response to such queries - which are very common
> these days - is :
> >>>>>>> While some of these may be able to play some of the media type,
> they generally have a number of downsides. The biggest of these is that to
> work, someone has to write the frontend to run on that platform.
> >>>>>>> After that, there are often restrictions on decoding (closed
> libraries, limited stream type support).
> >>>>>>> And then there are often significant restrictions - eg small
> memory sizes.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> So yes, for some of them it is probably possible to port the
> frontend. But it's going to take someone with the skills, knowledge, time,
> and most importantly desire to do it.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>> Not using the Myth Frontend means not getting the Myth user
> experience.
> >>>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>Your standard response doesn't really work here - the device is an
> >>>>>>Intel IA processor (ok, it's in the Atom family but will run the x86
> code
> >>>>>>without modification) and has Intel HD graphics (VAAPI)
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>Here is a link to the datasheet for the processor
> >>>>>>
> https://www-ssl.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/atom/atom-z36xxx-z37xxx-datasheet-vol-1.html
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>The data sheet for this processor states:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>- Full HW acceleration for decode of H.264, MPEG2, MVC, VC-1, VP8,
> MJPEG
> >>>>>- Full HW acceleration for encode of H.264, MPEG2, MVC
> >>>>>The decode I knew about.  The encode is interesting for transcoding
> and streaming MPEG2 content.  Does ffmpeg have any support for this?
> >>>>>
> >>>>>No... the only open source transcoder I have found for VAAPI that I
> am aware of is gstreamer.... but it's broken at the moment.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Assuming the Windows version is the standard x86 variety could you
> not just use the windows version of Myth FE? I imagine the HW decoding
> stuff would hook into DXVA, which is compiled into the MythWindows builds I
> do.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Sorry if formatting of message is munted; using webmail.
> >>>> ______
> >>>
> >>> I have been hassling the vendor to ship, and he has now put shipping
> >>> off to the 25th. However to appease my grumpiness he is DHLing instead
> >>> of china-snail-mail-post.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> _________________________________________
> >>>> mythtv-users mailing list
> >>>> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> >>>> http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >>>> http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
> >>>> MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> mythtv-users mailing list
> >> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> >> http://lists.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >> http://wiki.mythtv.org/Mailing_List_etiquette
> >> MythTV Forums: https://forum.mythtv.org
> >
> >
> > I have not received mine yet, but I did get notification on Nov 18th
> > that mine shipped.
>
> That's another of their tricks. Aliexpress has a system whereby if the
> order isn't shipped within a certain time, the order is automatically
> cancelled by the system. So they marked them all as shipped to avoid
> automatic cancellation. It was a lie (in my case anyway). This from
> the seller on 8 December:
>
> "And in order to keep your order from closed automatically by
> aliexpress,we just prefulfill a Chinese tracking,and the tracking
> information will be updated in this week."
> _______________________________________________
>
>
That's weird, mine is listed as processing, and I have a big "cancel order"
button. Shortly after ordering the unit the seller contacted me and said
I'd need to extend processing time because the device would be delayed.
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