[ubuntuf4n]

Same question over here, ...which of these have the better upscaling capabilities ?

[GJones]

Hi all,
I have a popcorn hour 100 and I'm testing XBMC with a Zotac ion motherboard.

It's only my impression or the video are better on popcorn?
The upscaling seems to work better.

XBMC is the windows version.

Someone else have done other tests?

Thanks.

Just for comparison purposes, try XBMC Live on the Zotac. The Live (Linux) version has better video support on a standard install. Comparing a dedicated box to an install on top of Windows is a bit misleading.

[poofyhairguy]

I bet a Popcorn hour has better out of the box support. Since it is basically a Blu Ray player without a Blu Ray drive, it has dedicated hardware meant just for the purpose of playing/upscaling video.

An ION box's Nvidia GPU is far more powerful than what a Popcorn Hours has, but it is a more general device (aka its GPU also plays games, renders Aero, etc.). So to get maximum effectiveness out of an ION box takes tweaking.

With that said I run XBMC Live on mine plus this tweaking and I get results that blow away my real Blu Ray player (which is probably a good comparison to a Popcorn Hour).

[ubuntuf4n]

poofyhairguy, is it also possible to do that tweaking with a windows machine?

[BORIStheBLADE]

I had a PCH for over a year and went to a Revo running XBMC last month.

If there is a difference its barely noticeable on my 48" tv.

[poofyhairguy]

poofyhairguy, is it also possible to do that tweaking with a windows machine?

Hmmm....I must admit I don't currently have a Windows 7 install going to check this, but I have always used the settings in the Advanced Nvidia Control Panel. I always tweak my digital vibrance, sharpness, and often gamma for Windows HTPC installs.

[saratoga]

Since it is basically a Blu Ray player without a Blu Ray drive, it has dedicated hardware meant just for the purpose of playing/upscaling video.

So does the Ion. Thats why you can't just buy any Atom system. You need the dedicated hardware just for the purpose of playing and upscaling video.

[gunny75]

Just for comparison purposes, try XBMC Live on the Zotac. The Live (Linux) version has better video support on a standard install. Comparing a dedicated box to an install on top of Windows is a bit misleading.

I'll try the live version and post the results.

[moonwhaler]

I actually had an A110 for about a year, but the lack of customizing, polished UI and broken support of some video content (which must have been some sort of error with the libs) led me to XBMC (which I already used on my XBOX) and some dedicated HW: Zotac ION-A, Linux (installed from LIVE!).

I would never (!) go back. Not even for money. ;-)

[gunny75]

I actually had an A110 for about a year, but the lack of customizing, polished UI and broken support of some video content (which must have been some sort of error with the libs) led me to XBMC (which I already used on my XBOX) and some dedicated HW: Zotac ION-A, Linux (installed from LIVE!).

I would never (!) go back. Not even for money. ;-)

Oh yes!
That's why i'm trying xbmc.
What do you think about upscaling of xbmc?
Xbmc Live or Windows?

[poofyhairguy]

So does the Ion. Thats why you can't just buy any Atom system. You need the dedicated hardware just for the purpose of playing and upscaling video.

Not quite the same.

The ION is a real GPU. The programable shaders can be used to decode x264 just as easily as they can be used to play Half Life 2 or to run Compiz. An ION box is a real computer.

A Popcorn Hour is a decoder chip surrounded by the minimum needed to give it an interface. It can't run a real OS, nor can it use the dedicated hardware to do anything but decode x264.

It is true that Atoms combined with Intel GPUs don't have enough umph to decode x264, but I would consider adding the ION more a GPU upgrade than adding "dedicated hardware." There are plenty of people with ION nettops not using them for media centers, but instead using them as regular desktops.

The closest thing in XBMCland to a Popcorn Hour (until the XBMC Popcorn Hour port is released) is when we add a Broadcom Crystal card (which is basically a Blu Ray decoder chip) to something like an AppleTV...

[waldo22]

A Popcorn Hour is a decoder chip surrounded by the minimum needed to give it an interface. It can't run a real OS, nor can it use the dedicated hardware to do anything but decode x264.

I know what you mean, but I wouldn't say that's really accurate re: "can't run a real OS".

The early Sigma chips were ARM, the newer ones are MIPS.

They can run Linux just fine, they just don't have a real GPU. 2D content can run quite happily on the latest Sigma boxes.

[saratoga]

Not quite the same.

The ION is a real GPU.

Ion is a CPU + GPU + video decoder DSP + rescaler. Not just a GPU.

The programable shaders can be used to decode x264 just as easily as they can be used to play Half Life 2 or to run Compiz. An ION box is a real computer.

Not in XBMC.

It can't run a real OS,

It runs linux, which is real enough to run on my Ion system.

nor can it use the dedicated hardware to do anything but decode x264.

Because the hardware H264 decoder on my Ion can decode Divx? I'd love to know how...

It is true that Atoms combined with Intel GPUs don't have enough umph to decode x264, but I would consider adding the ION more a GPU upgrade than adding "dedicated hardware."

You consider adding dedicated hardware not adding dedicated hardware. Great.

[poofyhairguy]

I know what you mean, but I wouldn't say that's really accurate re: "can't run a real OS".

The early Sigma chips were ARM, the newer ones are MIPS.

They can run Linux just fine, they just don't have a real GPU. 2D content can run quite happily on the latest Sigma boxes.

I stand corrected. I forget that almost anything can run Linux with some effort.

I guess the correct thing to say is that "you can't use the decoding hardware in a real OS," which is an accurate statement- at least until we learn more about the mysterious XBMC Popcorn hour port!

[Sparkygeezer]

I believe there is someone currently putting together XBMC for the Popcorn... its currently in beta test...