BetaPlayer, Now With Preliminary 2700G VGA Support

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=59008&page=1&pp=25' target='_blank'>http://www.aximsite.com/boards/show...08&page=1&pp=25</a><br /><br /></div><i>"I'am working on Intel 2700G support for BetaPlayer. I'am not ready to release a new unstable version yet, but you can try out and beta test the first preliminary version. At the moment the code supporing Intel 2700G is in a separate closed-source plugin. Install the plugin after you installed the player."</i><br /><br />Picard, the author of BetaPlayer, has been hard at work on Dell X50v accelerated playback, and the results look promising -- the X50v is capable of producing 40+ FPS, which in a word, is awesome. And this is just a preliminary version!

[Toshi]

it is insane what he has been able to accomplish. The x50v spanks ALL PPC now in video. THe 2700g is humbling

[kozak]

Can someone please post the intel2700g.setup file. Picard had to take it down due to license issues, but I NEED IT.

Edited by Moderator JR.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Can someone please post the intel2700g.setup file. Picard had to take it down due to license issues, but I NEED IT.


If he had to remove it due to licensing issues, then it should not be posted here either.

Thanks.

[Marcel_Proust]

will this also work for the e830?

[ADBrown]

Can someone please post the intel2700g.setup file. Picard had to take it down due to license issues, but I NEED IT.


If he had to remove it due to licensing issues, then it should not be posted here either.

He did not have to remove it, and the 'licensing issue' is nonsense. The PocketTV people complained that he was creating a closed-source plugin for a GPL program. To avoid any confusion, he took down the plugin until the matter was clarified.

Kozak, check your PMs.

[ADBrown]

will this also work for the e830?

No. The e830 doesn't have a 2700G. Only the Axim X50v does.

[R K]

He did not have to remove it, and the 'licensing issue' is nonsense. The PocketTV people complained that he was creating a closed-source plugin for a GPL program. To avoid any confusion, he took down the plugin until the matter was clarified.

I don't understand that. The PocketTV folks take active roles in the BetaPlayer forums but I guess they also do some back-stabbing at every chance they get.

[ADBrown]

I don't understand that. The PocketTV folks take active roles in the BetaPlayer forums but I guess they also do some back-stabbing at every chance they get.

Well, that's certainly the way the folks at Aximsite seem to have taken the PTV crew's commentary.

As for the licensing issue, the license used for BetaPlayer itself (the Gnu Public License) requires that all source code of BetaPlayer be open. The Non-Disclosure Agreement that Picard had to agree to to get the 2700G development information requires that the code to the plugin stay closed. The licensing question is whether the GPL on BetaPlayer would extend to the 2700G plugin. There's no real threat to Picard or BetaPlayer, just a legal technicality. I suspect that the GPL does not extend to the plugin, because that would cause untold havoc for existing GPL programs that use closed plugins, and closed programs that use GPL plugins.

[Janak Parekh]

I suspect that the GPL does not extend to the plugin, because that would cause untold havoc for existing GPL programs that use closed plugins, and closed programs that use GPL plugins.
I'm sure Picard will figure it out, but the rule-of-thumb, if I remember correctly, is that if it's a dynamic run-time linking (i.e., not statically compiled against the library) is okay. The XFree86 folks have certainly taken advantage of this with their DRI driver interface that third parties like nVidia and ATI use. I'm not a GPL expert, though, so he really should contact one. ;)

--janak

[GroovBird]

will this also work for the e830?

You should check out BetaPlayer anyhow, because I suspect the Toshiba has an ATI graphics chip, which is also accelerated.

I downloaded it yesterday and installed it on my hx4700, and couldn't have been happier with it. It beats PocketMVP and PocketTV, imho.

[Adrian Knack]

I'm sorry if anyone missed the boat for the 2700g plug-in here on pocket pc thoughts. I know Picard doesn't mind if the plgug-in is circulated. I could post it here or give it to a moderator to post if anyone needs it. Provided it is OK with the moderators of this forum. Let me know.

Cheers
Adrian

[wocket]

will this also work for the e830?

You should check out BetaPlayer anyhow, because I suspect the Toshiba has an ATI graphics chip, which is also accelerated.

I downloaded it yesterday and installed it on my hx4700, and couldn't have been happier with it. It beats PocketMVP and PocketTV, imho.

No the Tosh 830 has no ATI. Toshiba did'nt use it in their 830 for some reason.

[Jonathon Watkins]

No the Tosh 830 has no ATI. Toshiba did'nt use it in their 830 for some reason.

Hmm, I thought I read that it did have the ATI accelerator, but Firstloox chart (http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm) says it does not.

[ADBrown]

No the Tosh 830 has no ATI. Toshiba did'nt use it in their 830 for some reason.

Hmm, I thought I read that it did have the ATI accelerator, but Firstloox chart (http://www.firstloox.org/VGAppc.htm) says it does not.

The original e800 had the ATI chip, but they took it out of the e830.

[DanielTS]

Some BetaPlayer benchmark results with the 640*480 video file (http://www.exceed.hu/~picard/samples/RL_XQ_640x480_1500_128.avi) of the BetaPlayer site (Original Speed 100%, Original Frame Rate 24.00) :

1st : Dell X50v (CPU PXA270 wMMX 624 MHz, Intel 2700G chip) : Average Speed 180.03%, Bench. (http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=59008&amp;page=2&amp;pp=25) Frame Rate 43.21

2nd : HP hx4700 (CPU PXA270 wMMX 624 MHz, ATI 3220 chip) : Average Speed 158.18%, Bench. (http://www.ppccool.com/index.php?showtopic=2206&amp;st=20) Frame Rate 37.97

3rd : Toshiba e830 (CPU PXA270 wMMx 520 MHz, no graphics co-processor) : Avg Speed 136.24%, Bench. (http://www.ppccool.com/index.php?showtopic=2206&amp;st=0) Fr Rate 32.70

4th : Toshiba e800 (CPU PXA263 400 MHz, ATI 3220 chip): Average Speed 127.12%, Bench. (http://www.ppccool.com/index.php?showtopic=2206&amp;st=0)Frame Rate 30.51

5th : Toshiba e830 (CPU PXA270 (without wMMx) 520 MHz, no co-processor) : Avg Speed 78.96%, Bench. (http://www.ppccool.com/index.php?showtopic=2013&amp;st=20) Fr Rate 18.95

[DanielTS]

Dell X50v "block diagram" :

http://www.ppccool.com/uploads/post-7-1085044451.gif

Interesting VGA-out video playback feature :
"... in mirror mode the 2700G drives the VGA output and the PXA270 cpu drives the X50v LCD. The OS and every program uses the 2700G to display things, but there is a background thread which copies the 2700G framebuffer to the PXA270's framebuffer (part of system memory) in cycle. This can be slow, this is why the LCD update rate is very slow. If you turn off the LCD (power+record button) the background copying thread stops (and programs work with normal speed) ..."
(Picard) [post#184]
http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=59008&amp;page=8&amp;pp=25

X50v's CPU block diagram :

http://www.intel.com/design/pca/images/bd_pxa27x.gif