On Wednesday 23 July 2003 08:23, abower@thebowery.co.uk wrote:
there is linux DVD playback hardware http://dxr3.sourceforge.net/index.html it appears to have moved on a bit since I last looked. Of course you could always get a 2 x pci card riser and slap that into a mini-itx box to get a hardware dvd decoder and something else.
Adam PS I have never used or seen a dxr3, so they could in all reality be crap.
I have one sitting in my machine right here. The Creative dxr3 and the Sigma Hollywood plus are the same thing (I have the hollywood)
Works well under Xine (and actually probably anything else as it sits in /dev and you can just stream mpeg to it)
The output is as good as any low/mid range DVD player I have seen.
However, So far I have been unable to get the sound output working in Linux. Sound will come from the PC speakers fine, but not the audio out on the hollywood that's plugged into my TV. I think the drivers are supposed to support sound so it's probably just me.
The great thing is that because most of the hard work is done by the card's RISC chip there is almost nothing I can do to the PC that will cause the video to skip or stutter.
If you do decide to install one here is an important tip.
Bin the VGA loopthrough ! it's only needed to play back DVD's on the monitor (which is pointless as my machine can do that pretty well anyway). It screws up your screen clarity (if like me you run at a respectable resolution) and intermittently it turns off your screen at boot.
I must admit since moving my PC out of the living room the only thing I use it for is watching Region 1 DVD's on a big screen (As my Living room DVD player needs an expensive mod chip to accomplish this)