Which XBMC / driver version is regarded as the most stable? I've ordered the newer BCM970015 card.
Also I see a lot on here talking about running Linux on the ATV instead of the std OS - is that now required? I was really hoping to run std ATV functionality but with XBMC there for videos only.
Cheers!
Monty
crystalhd-for-osx-3.6.0 is required for bcm70015
atv(linux) is much, much more responsive than atv(osx).
davilla Wrote:crystalhd-for-osx-3.6.0 is required for bcm70015
atv(linux) is much, much more responsive than atv(osx).
Hmmm .. slightly gutting to hear that. I already have one ATV running XBMC (prob an older version, never updated it since I hacked the box a while back) and the interface is OK but it doesn't have a crystal HD card ... it's only hooked up to a small TV and needs to be wireless on the network front so I never bothered.
I already have an Asus Revo running Linux and XBMC but I really wanted to put an ATV in it's place so wife could have easy access to music / photos etc.. which never really worked that well with XBMC - not friendly to sync up iTunes / iPhoto libraries .. unless I missed something??
Should I just pony up the extra $$$ for a Mac Mini??
Cheers!
Monty
davilla Wrote:crystalhd-for-osx-3.6.0 is required for bcm70015
atv(linux) is much, much more responsive than atv(osx).
Hmm, that's disappointing... Should I give up on atvOS and move to linux on a USB disk?
Just installed a bcm70015 last night. Upgraded to Dharma beta and CrystalHD driver r156 from the launcher menu. I get the CrystalHD option in settings menu but acceleration is clearly not working. ATV hangs a fair bit when trying to reboot too.
Previous stable release (sans CrystalHD) was perfect for DVD image playback. Not so good now :-
Are you guys still working on the ATV version for CrystalHD? Just want to check I am not missing something before I start posting debug logs.
Post some debug logs. Assuming you have everything setup, you should be getting very good, if not perfect, playback of h.264 HD content and similar to your old setup for SD (no SD uses the crystalhd card, only HD).
If you have any upscalers turned on, that'll slow it down. A simple "o" or "i" (can't remember which) brings up the info panel during playback. You should see CHD... along the video playback line if it's using that renderer.
truth of the matter is that the native ATV OS will do fine with 720p content (assuming you have CrystalHD card + driver installed). 1080p content (depending on how it's authored/ripped may stutter).
For me, that was not enough. I wanted 1080p output (not just 720p) and wanted to watch 1080p content flawlessly. So I dual-boot (with a USB flash drive) acting as my switcher, but ubuntu installed on the internal drive. I will boot into Linux (w the flash drive attached) whenever I want to stream 1080p mkvs off my NAS) and I will boot into native ATV (without the flash drive attached) whenever I want to rent something from iTunes or stream from content I purchased on my computer.
It's the most flexible... but the responsiveness of Ubuntu + XBMC has given my appletv new legs and one in which I am now buying and configuring a 2nd, and maybe a third... It's got the best footprint and best media center solution IMHO.
dan1son Wrote:Post some debug logs. Assuming you have everything setup, you should be getting very good, if not perfect, playback of h.264 HD content and similar to your old setup for SD (no SD uses the crystalhd card, only HD).
If you have any upscalers turned on, that'll slow it down. A simple "o" or "i" (can't remember which) brings up the info panel during playback. You should see CHD... along the video playback line if it's using that renderer.
OK, been reading through my logs... CrystalHD is showing up and looks like it is happy...
DVDVideoCodecCrystalHD: Opened Broadcom Crystal HD Codec
DEBUG: FactoryCodec - Video: chd-h264 - Opened
However:
1. I have ATV screen res set to 1080p, but xbmc only allows 720p, if this is a limitation I might as well move over to linux now... (I was sure previous release xbmc allowed 1080p?? )
2. How do you do key-presses? I only have a ATV remote... "o" brings up the info panel on the windows version...
The files I am testing are:
- straight BR rip using vc1 codec, ~25GB .mkv file, plays at ~3fps, although CrystalHD show up OK in the logs
- BR rips using h264, ~8GB file, plays at ~20 fps with the odd glitch, again CrystalHD seems ok from the logs
I will post a clean log once I try a few more things.
Thanks for your help
dan1son Wrote:Post some debug logs. Assuming you have everything setup, you should be getting very good, if not perfect, playback of h.264 HD content and similar to your old setup for SD (no SD uses the crystalhd card, only HD).
If you have any upscalers turned on, that'll slow it down. A simple "o" or "i" (can't remember which) brings up the info panel during playback. You should see CHD... along the video playback line if it's using that renderer.
Here's a log:
http://pastebin.com/SDzpPqB1
Steps to create this:
1. start XBMC from Launcher
2. navigate to directory, play "Baraka.mkv"
- file says it's playing but nothing on screen
3. hit menu to stop play, then play same file again.
- bit of a pause then file plays, but at ~3fps
So in summary, I had two goes at playing this file, first one did nothing, second try played but without accelleration.
The above file plays perfectly on a Windows PC with Dharma Beta1.
Any ideas?
720p display res is a know issue under atv(osx).
1080p VC1 playback under atv(osx), just not going to cut. Don't have the CPU resources even with crystalhd. Install a atv(linux) setup and this will playback.
davilla Wrote:720p display res is a know issue under atv(osx).
1080p VC1 playback under atv(osx), just not going to cut. Don't have the CPU resources even with crystalhd. Install a atv(linux) setup and this will playback.
OK, i get the message :-)
followed the tutorial to install linux, crystal 3.0.6 and Dharma beta1. Had some trouble with X windows not liking my LCD, but eventually got it going.
It is snappier in the gui, but i get faster s/w rendering (~12fps, 100%CPU) than I do with CrystalHD (still ~3fps, 30% CPU) !??!!? This is for a full 25MB 1080p .mkv file
Is it possible my Broadcom card is broken?
Where do the log files get stored on the linux version?
slowbart Wrote:OK, i get the message :-)
followed the tutorial to install linux, crystal 3.0.6 and Dharma beta1. Had some trouble with X windows not liking my LCD, but eventually got it going.
It is snappier in the gui, but i get faster s/w rendering (~12fps, 100%CPU) than I do with CrystalHD (still ~3fps, 30% CPU) !??!!? This is for a full 25MB 1080p .mkv file
Is it possible my Broadcom card is broken?
Where do the log files get stored on the linux version?
in home dir, .xbmc/temp/xbmc/log
davilla Wrote:in home dir, .xbmc/temp/xbmc/log
Logfile here:
http://pastebin.com/q0f606pv
This is several attempts to run 1080p .mkv rip, some with CrystalHD enabled, some with software. The on-screen display shows:
- vcodec: chd-vc1, ~3fps, ~30% CPU, no drops.
or
- vcodec: ff-vc1, ~12fps, ~100% CPU, lots of drops.
So it looks like performance is worse with the crystalHD enabled...
FYI I don't have the sound configured properly yet, hopefully that is not causing the problem?
slowbart Wrote:Logfile here:
http://pastebin.com/q0f606pv
This is several attempts to run 1080p .mkv rip, some with CrystalHD enabled, some with software. The on-screen display shows:
- vcodec: chd-vc1, ~3fps, ~30% CPU, no drops.
or
- vcodec: ff-vc1, ~12fps, ~100% CPU, lots of drops.
So it looks like performance is worse with the crystalHD enabled...
FYI I don't have the sound configured properly yet, hopefully that is not causing the problem?
"ERROR: Creating a Null Audio Renderer, Check your audio settings as this should not happen"
This should not happen
Fixed the audio now.
The few 1080p files I have are compressed to ~8MB and they play fine.
Still can't play 1080p vc1 bluray rip, but maybe I am asking too much of the little atv?.
Need to try some more files...
slowbart Wrote:Fixed the audio now.
The few 1080p files I have are compressed to ~8MB and they play fine.
Still can't play 1080p vc1 bluray rip, but maybe I am asking too much of the little atv?.
Need to try some more files...
I think it's not your liitle ATV's fault.
VC1 bluray rips do also cause problems on my mac mini 2010 (independently from the 10.6.3 / 10.6.4 issues).
VC1 seems to be indigestible.
Chris