<lkcl>
ssvb: i was the person who helped *reverse-engineer* the fel-boot stuff.
<lkcl>
ssvb: H3 is not designed for low-power. and is not very good
<lkcl>
ssvb: i know why i ruled it out: it's a cut-down "TV" processor. it doesn't have RGB/TTL - it has HDMI and CVBS.
<lkcl>
ssvb: so is automatically off the list
<ssvb>
lkcl: still you don't seem to be not up to date with the current FEL boot support
<ssvb>
H3 is at least better than A20, if you run it at a similar CPU clock frequency
isacdaavid has quit [Quit: isacdaavid]
<ssvb>
there are many H3 overheating reports on the Internet related to early Orange Pi software, but the root cause is that somebody somehow decided that using 1.5GHz overclocking and heavy overvolting is a great idea
<ssvb>
if EOMA-68 does not benefit from SATA, I don't see what is the point using the old A20 SoC
<lkcl>
ssvb: i still can't use it. the specification for EOMA68 requires - and this is mandatory - a minimum of 15-bit RGB/TTL @ 1366x768.
<ssvb>
is MIPI DSI not a good choice? It needs fewer pins
<lkcl>
so it would be necessary to find a converter IC - to convert that *analog* composite video output into RGB/TTL
<lkcl>
MIPI, the patented and cartelled interface?? NO.
<lkcl>
EOMA68 is designed to go into hand-held devices all the way down to 320x240.
<lkcl>
if you look at the cost of RGB/TTL LCDs in those sorts of sizes, they're peanuts. like... $2.50 in volume, or less.
<lkcl>
if you have to add a $2 to $2.50 MIPI-to-RGB/TTL converter IC....
<lkcl>
but if you have a $25 LCD and you have to add a $1 RGB/TTL-to-LVDS or a $2 RGB/TTL-to-MIPI converter IC, it's not such a bad proposition, is it?
<ssvb>
lkcl: indeed, display output on H3 seems to be pretty much limited
<lkcl>
ssvb: i could use an HDMI-to-RGB/TTL converter IC but they're *over $5*, they require DDR2 RAM (!!!) and they're license-restricted and usually require a 50k MOQ
<lkcl>
ssvb: the reason is, they can be used directly to bypass DeCSS / DRM.
<lkcl>
whoops
<lkcl>
the A83 is out because it uses PowerVR
<lkcl>
A80's out because it uses... PowerVR
<lkcl>
A33's out because... the RGB/TTL output is restricted to 1200x800...
<lkcl>
A31's out because it uses.... PowerVR
<lkcl>
it's an absolute fucking nuisance that *EVERY* single processor that we *COULD* use has a restriction of 1280x800... *OR* they have PowerVR... and i will *not* endorse imgtec, they've caused far too many problems.
<lkcl>
R8: can't tell yet, they don't actually say...
<lkcl>
R8 looks like they *might* actually do a decent resolution...
<lkcl>
ssvb: so can you see why the A20 is literally the top processor that we can use right now
<lkcl>
bizarre, huh?
<ssvb>
but R8 is way too slow for a laptop
<lkcl>
ssvb: at around $12 retail in mass-volume for an EOMA68-R8 Computer Card, would you care? :)
<lkcl>
ssvb: at those kinds of estimated price-points, i'd get one just for a laugh, and then put it to use somewhere where 16-bit-wide DDR3 memory interfaces wouldn't matter so much
<lkcl>
the other processor i'm looking at is the octa-core samsung that's just come out, it's used in the nanopi3
<arossdotme>
arr but it uses mplayer1 when theres new and improved mpv
<arossdotme>
hmm gnome videos now has quite a good interface for a media center application come to think of it
<arossdotme>
i think... i should try it out some more
<arossdotme>
(:/)
<lkcl>
kodi - don't know
<lkcl>
what is it?
<orly_owl>
the new xbmc
<ssvb>
arossdotme: if you don't mind proprietary 3d drivers, then there are some Kodi builds that work
<ssvb>
of course, unofficial Kodi builds
<ssvb>
but if you just need a GUI frontend for the hardware accelerated mplayer/mpv, then this one is is reasonably good and fully open source - http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/
Emulatorman has quit [Ping timeout: 240 seconds]
<lkcl>
ssvb: cedrus works, cedrus works!
<lkcl>
ssvb: who's the main developers behind cedrus again?
<ssvb>
lkcl: Jens Kuske (jemk) started it and has done most of the work
<ssvb>
yes, it works at least since 2013 and there was a talk at FOSDEM about it at that time
<ssvb>
one of the problems is that Kodi developers keep making a lot of stink about the Allwinner's proprietary blobs, while stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the existence of the open source reverse engineered driver, despite having been informed about it multiple times :-(
<mattl>
lkcl: i'm not sure that answers my question -- is a complex target a phrase I should know?
<lkcl>
mattl: basically the answer is, we'll have to see.
<mattl>
klys: but there's no indiegogo style "you get the money you raised" regardless?
<mattl>
lkcl: ^^
<lkcl>
mattl: i'll have to assess it and work out if it's possible, because (if you read the update) you'll see that there's a whopping TWENTY to one differential on the computer card vs laptop
<lkcl>
mattl: it's not a fixed campaign, and it's not a "you get the money regardless" either
<lkcl>
mattl: i'll have to make an assessment
<mattl>
huh, okay.
<mattl>
well, i'm down for a card :)
<lkcl>
mattl: like i said - it's *too complex* to fit into either category, because of the massive differential in the devices pledge levels
<lkcl>
mattl: :)
<lkcl>
ssvb: well... understandable but not useful.
<C-Keen>
I should order another computer card...
<C-Keen>
just in case
<lkcl>
C-Keen: anything helps... including letting people know.
<lkcl>
C-Keen: if you're on any form of social media the #tag is #eoma68
<C-Keen>
A lot of my tinkering friends are fed up with the hundreds of small dev boards they already have and don't use...
<lkcl>
C-Keen: yyep, i have at least 4 to 5 i've discarded - this is *not* "just another small dev board".
<C-Keen>
lkcl: *I* am aware of this and it needs constant explaining to others. They are used to some throw away gadget culture it seems
<lkcl>
C-Keen: it's one that has resale value, tell them that it can be repurposed as a freedombox or sold to someone who runs a mesh network or an ultra-low-power co-located hosting service
<C-Keen>
lkcl: on another note, if I do order another round of card and housing, do I need to pay another 10 bucks for the shipping?
<lkcl>
C-Keen: yehhh....
<lkcl>
C-Keen: *sigh* yeeeess, you dooo, because we're doing the shipping by weight not by volume (air-freight). plus what doesn't end up (if there is in fact anything left) being used, we definitely need it
<C-Keen>
lkcl: alright
<lkcl>
C-Keen: joshua and chris know a lot more about this than i do, but there are some really stupidly disproportionate administrative and handling charges involved.
<lkcl>
C-Keen: chris gets charged GBP 16 *per item* that goes out of the UK mail-order place he uses!
<lkcl>
C-Keen: which is nuts!
<C-Keen>
lkcl: you guys have found the place with the highest shipping rates within the EU, congrats ;)
<lkcl>
C-Keen: yyyyah... don't remind me... :)
<rellla>
lkcl: have you noticed armbian btw?
<lkcl>
rellla: heard of it
<rellla>
Just in case you need another "distribution" to run... Though its an adapted debian...
<lkcl>
rellla: yeah, i figured having debian is enough - the list of distros is pretty full as it is, and i want to add Sugar and FreeBSD as well...
<C-Keen>
ok, got a second device. Maybe I will find some time porting OpenBSD to it, they already have a WIP A10 port...
<lkcl>
C-Keen: previously i've just used cubieboard2 and it's kinda worked
<C-Keen>
lkcl: that's another BSD than the one I have been referring to
<C-Keen>
lkcl: but yeah, OpenBSD also targeted the cubieboard
<lkcl>
C-Keen: ohhh yeahyeahyeah, OpenBSD. i remember.
<lkcl>
C-Keen: ohh. it was you who emailed me :)
<C-Keen>
lkcl: Did I?
<lkcl>
C-Keen: yay you took it over the $60k mark, yippeee! congratulations :)
<lkcl>
C-Keen: maybe it wasn't you, somebody else emailed me about OpenBSD
<lkcl>
alright, i have a radio interview possibly later today, would like to rest before that
<lkcl>
ttyl, keep asking qns tho i have irc logs
<C-Keen>
lkcl: I see, nope, not this time then. I do use OpenBSD for all my computation stuff atm and I am still sad, that for the embedded stuff in my household I have to resort to Linux... (no, I don't want to start an OS war, Linux is just fine)
<C-Keen>
lkcl: take care!
isacdaavid has quit [Quit: isacdaavid]
OmegaPhil has quit [Remote host closed the connection]
OmegaPhil has joined #arm-netbook
OmegaPhil has quit [Changing host]
OmegaPhil has joined #arm-netbook
<arossdotme>
ssvb, yea i do mind the non-free drivers :( smplayer is more of a desktop player than a media centre type of player. which is what i would like
<ssvb>
arossdotme: well, in this case there are two possible options: 1) implement a new player with the necessary features without relying on 3d drivers or 2) implement free 3d drivers
<arossdotme>
aww now theres a dilemma! what to do...