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Message
From: darth<darth_x0@h...>
Date: Tue Mar 9 17:14:15 CET 2004
Subject: [openppc] Re: low cost ppc stb4linux
I dislike the phrase STB, it should be 'digital media box' because the new
TV/monitor screens are FLAT! Its imposible to set a box on the top of these
things! ;)
>
> You're a bit behind the times. The Teron-Mini is rock solid and is in an
> excellent form factor for a set top box. YDL 3.0 runs fantastic on the
> machine and OS4 is availalbe to early developers interested in checking
out
I like the mini-ITX form factor itself. But as for the Teron mini, I'm not
sure its design suits a set top box. You still need to add the other
components such as tuner & other I/O options. In some ways it makes more
sense to develop dedicated hardware from the ground up as one unified board
for this purpose. ;)
Maybe email Terrasoft and see how/if they are planning to support YDL 3.0 on
the Teron-Mini. It would be interesting to see a press release on their
website either way. ;)
http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/realworld/oem/
As for OS4, there are developers currently doing beta testing of OS4, but
many parts of it are not finished/bug tested and so on. It is not completed
& tested for use as a consumer operating system, or ready for use in STB.
> the software. There is nothing faulty with the Articia Northbridge in the
> Teron-Mini.
>
Whatever the case, Mai Logic appears to be evasive or uncooperative towards
operating system developers by not providing documentation on how to develop
for the ArticiaS effectively.
Several companies have spent thousands of $$$ evaluating the ArticiaS,
buying chipsets and evaluation boards.
It shows poor product planning and leadership from Mai Logic to not provide
concise and accurate documentation on how to implement the ArticiaS properly
and effectively. As a company, your job is to work with your customers to
find the solutions they need in your products. (That said, the consus going
around is that the ArticiaS is defective/faulty, etc. )
Besides, a PPC N.B. chip that is limited to PC133 ram and AGP graphics will
appear 'old hat' in a few months when the new chipsets for PowerPC, PCI
Express, start appearing. OK.. these could be delayed.. but they are still
coming! And of course, with these new chipsets will come new players onto
this market with their own PowerPC mini-ITX boards. ;)
And as a musician, I do not like the audio chip used in the Teron mini. I
had a PC motherboard if an earlier version of that chip onboard and it was
terrible.. clipping, distortion, and bad windows98 drivers! A better
solution would be a DSP (motorola even) on board, because DSPs can be
programmed to do several kinds of tasks, including audio processing, but a
sound chip by itself is just limited to audio. ;)
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