Nvidia npdate path for early adopters with ATI video

[bedge]

WooHoo!

That's exactly what's needed.

Thanks for listening.

-Bruce

[JoeBorn]

that program is fine, send an email to beta@neurostechnology.com if you want to upgrade and we'll get it done.

[gregalbagel]

The board used in the nVidia LINK is the Asus M3N78-VM.  It appears that the GeForce 8200 on that board is not available as a discrete card.

Is there another discrete video card that would work instead?

I have a version 1 Link. I updated the os to reuglar Ubuntu 9.10 and it has been much easier to network it with a Mac I use for everything but watching video. But the tearing on the video still bugs me. I'd like better video quality: is updating the motherboard the only way? Can a separate, more compatible video card be installed to boost video performance?

thanks,
Dave

[ChadV]

Any nVidia card should work that is supported by the Linux device drivers.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/linux_display_ia32_190.53.html

[acarr]

Given that NVIDIA 8000 series cards are available locally for C$45, is there any particular reason for me to upgrade the motherboard for $60? Yes, the cheap board solution is just that, but it's a lot less work and downtime for me. While I don't mind setting up the motherboard, a PCI-e board is a lot easier.

So, my question, primarily for Joe Born is "Why are we going through a significantly larger effort than the bare minimum?"

I have not seen any major artifacts running 720p stuff on my 720p TV, but I have had problems with 1080p content. Mostly stuttering more than tearing, but it is still unwatchable when it does it. A quick transcode and I'm off to the races... No, it's not network related. It's on a local drive in the box.

Anyway, I have to justify electronics to a greater power, so some details on why are welcome.

Angus.

[ChadV]

acarr:

The primary reason to upgrade the whole motherboard is that with different hardware from the Neuros-approved solutions, there's no guarantee that future versions of the firmware would work on a FrankenLINK.  If you're comfortable with that, and sure that the nVidia video chip will solve your ills, then pitch the C$45 solution to the greater power. 

And just so you know, Flash video even on the nVidia models suffers from tearing and stuttering at 1080p, though local playback does tend to be smoother, and 720p flash is smoother.  Flash under Linux just doesn't use any acceleration outside what the framebuffer offers.

The trade-in program should be available through the store soon...  Maybe even this week, if that's the route you choose to go.

[acarr]

Thank you for the response. I'm thinking about it one way or the other.

I will certainly keep my nose in the wind to see if I can rustle up a test part from someone.

Since my link is already a Frankenlink (hard drive, running Ubuntu something directly), the monoculture needed is already broken.

Cheers,
Angus.

[brianbehlendorf]

Tip for the 1080p mkv viewers - on other HTPC hardware (an Atom 330 with Intel 945G video)  I found that using mplayer with the " -lavdopts skiploopfilter=all" mitigated 99% of the tearing & delays I was seeing.  I couldn't see how to set the same option in totem, and haven't tried with VLC.  I'd love to know if that makes the Link 1.2 with nVidia usable for such content.

More importantly I'd really like to watch Hulu and HD Youtube without stuttering - does that work at all on the new hardware?  Any chance of getting there with software?  I suppose not til Adobe releases a decent plugin that knows how to do hardware accel, or gnash gets there first.

Brian

[greyback]

Some stuff in this guide is quite old, but maybe you could try the Flash optimisations?
http://lovinglinux.megabyet.net/?page_id=220#Flash--Optimization-1
-G

[MBG0001]

Any update on the mother board upgrade program? 

[ChadV]

Any update on the mother board upgrade program? 

The supplier for the nVidia motherboard has discontinued the model, so there is a hardware v1.4 revision imminent.  We would change suppliers, but it appears this is a chipset supply issue.

[pwillarney]

Any update on the mother board upgrade program? 

The supplier for the nVidia motherboard has discontinued the model, so there is a hardware v1.4 revision imminent.  We would change suppliers, but it appears this is a chipset supply issue.

I've got an ATI Link, and I remember there was some talk about getting a video card selected that would work to bump an ATI link to nVidia video.  Is that still being discussed?  Is the motherboard swap program still going on for us early adopters?  I saw this note saying the nVidia mb being used has been discontinued, so I wondered.    In either case, I'm ready to bump my Link to nVidia video so I can use the current link image.  Could someone tell me what my options are, and how to proceed?  Thanks a bunch!

== Philip

[ChadV]

We're digging out of the backlog of new orders, then will proceed with getting the upgrade program back on its feet.  (You can yell at me for the nVidia one being MIA... I got 90% of the work done and then....  Oooh, shiny!  ....  >.> )

[twobits]

The primary issue with the ATi chipset is that it is an ATi chipset.  The Linux drivers do not perform as ATi had promised, and that is what is causing most of the non-flash performance issues.  (Flash is much better, but not perfect, on nVidia.)  So while yes, that video card would work well with the LINK board, it would not improve your performance much since it uses the same driver base.

However, the ATi should be able to handle Blu-Ray playback...  What drive are you using, and what playback software?  It appears that there's only one or two programs available (PowerDVD has the most chatter) for Linux that handle Blu-Ray without questionable legality.

Tested with both the current link software release, but I've also tried ubuntu 9.10 with:
0 10:13:02 tv@tv  ~
0 %> dpkg -l |grep fgl
ii  fglrx-amdcccle                        2:8.660-0ubuntu4                                       Catalyst Control Center for the ATI graphics accelerator
ii  fglrx-kernel-source                   2:8.660-0ubuntu4                                       Kernel module source for the ATI graphics accelerators
ii  fglrx-modaliases                      2:8.660-0ubuntu4                                       Identifiers supported by the ATI graphics driver
ii  xorg-driver-fglrx                     2:8.660-0ubuntu4                                       Video driver for the ATI graphics accelerators
0 10:13:07 tv@tv  ~

same result.

As for the source, any mkv encoded blue-ray video. File props attached to this post.

I stumbled across this forum while researching how to set
up a 786g chipset for video playback.  A lot of the information
seems to the same for the 780g the link seems to use.

For video playback , you seem to be using the wrong driver.

You don't want to use the fglrx driver except for 3d or using
the XvBA backend, which it does not seem the link is doing.


YOu should switch to the x11-driver-ati,  though this does not work right
without also changing the device section of your x11.config to add the line

Option "VideoOverlay" "on"


you may also want

Driver "radeon"
Option "AccelMethod" "EXA"


Another interesting alternative is the broadcom crystal hd card,  which also had a joint press
release with adobe about flash supporting it.   So maybe an OEM version could be licenced
that used it.