View Full Version : [LINUX] Acer Aspire Revo (NVIDIA Ion) with XBMC for Linux performance and stability?
How well will Ubuntu with XBMC or XBMC Live run on an Acer Aspire Revo?
Acer Aspire Revo Specifications:
Processor: Intel Atom 230 1.6GHz
Memory: 2GB
HD Capacity: 160GB
Display: None
Graphics Card: NVIDIA ION
Optical Drive: None
Operating System: Vista Home Premium
Networking: Wireless 802.11b/g, Ethernet LAN 10/100
Four-in-one card reader, supporting:
MultiMediaCard (MMC)
Secure Digital (SD) Card
xD-Picture Card
Memory Stick
Ports:
VGA D-sub
HDMI
eSATA
6x USB2.0
Headphone Jack
Microphone Jack
more info:
http://www.gadgets-club.com/acer-aspire-revo-the-new-home-media-center-and-gaming-device/
http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,682684/Nvidia-Ion-hands-on-test-What-is-the-Ion-nettop-Acer-Aspire-Revo-capable-of/Reviews/
http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/04/acer_aspire_rev.html
I have no experience with the mentioned system, but looking at the specs I can say the following:
It comes with a Geforce 9400M chipset (Ion graphics chip). The 9400 chip can handle every video format supported by vdpau.. Yes even 1080p.
This system is equipped with an Atom N230, 1.6 GHz, single-core CPU and two gigabyte RAM. So when you're playing a video not supported by vdpau then the picture changes. In this case you will be able to play at max 720p videos. The CPU is way to slow to play 1080p.
A side note: VDPAU is basicly the nvideo hardware accelerated video decoder.
I have no experience with the mentioned system, but looking at the specs I can say the following:
It comes with a Geforce 9400M chipset (Ion graphics chip). The 9400 chip can handle every video format supported by vdpau.. Yes even 1080p.
This system is equipped with an Atom N230, 1.6 GHz, single-core CPU and two gigabyte RAM. So when you're playing a video not supported by vdpau then the picture changes. In this case you will be able to play at max 720p videos. The CPU is way to slow to play 1080p.
A side note: VDPAU is basicly the nvideo hardware accelerated video decoder.
Atom N230, 1.6 GHz will die with most 720p using software decode, this is the single core atom not the dual core 330.
AshsToAshs
2009-04-29, 20:46
Atom N230, 1.6 GHz will die with most 720p using software decode, this is the single core atom not the dual core 330.
Most people are interested in the Aspire Revo because it has an Nvidia 9400 in it, which can play 1080p content very well as long as your using VDPAU.
But, as this device has yet to be released on the market yet, we cannot be sure how well it plays anything.
-Ash-
According to the reviews, this really needs to have dual core atom ( 330 ) for it to shine in higher resolutions.
See here for review http://hothardware.com/printarticle.aspx?articleid=1309
According to the reviews, this really needs to have dual core atom ( 330 ) for it to shine in higher resolutions.
See here for review http://hothardware.com/printarticle.aspx?articleid=1309
Not really, if you read the review they say it plays HD video like a champ when it is able to offload the video decoding to the GPU, which to me sounds like it would be an awesome little box with VDPAU enabled.
-Bahndit
Not really, if you read the review they say it plays HD video like a champ when it is able to offload the video decoding to the GPU, which to me sounds like it would be an awesome little box with VDPAU enabled.
-Bahndit
The Acer Aspire Revo finished a hair behind the NVIDIA Ion reference platform in our Left 4 Dead tests, when the two systems are equipped with the same processor. As you can see though, with a dual-core Atom powering the Ion reference platform, L4D performance jumps much higher. It seems the single-core Atom just doesn't have enough oomph to let the Ion graphics processor spread its wings here.
AshsToAshs
2009-04-29, 23:58
Engadget review:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/a...rerevo-review/
"Video playback is the real winner here, with accelerated 1080p video in all sorts of flavors. Unfortunately, you have to know what you're doing. For instance, a 1080p QuickTime movie plays nice and accelerated in PowerDVD, but horribly in actual QuickTime, since it's not GPU-accelerated."
-Ash-
winterdog
2009-04-30, 17:38
I was intersted to find out if the the xbmc 9.4 would use VDPAU. Which in my limited undestanding would let it work like a champ
fasteddy
2009-04-30, 18:33
I think the point here is that if you attempt to play a non-VDPAU capable 720p video, you're out of luck. Meanwhile, those of us not using the single core atom platform never notice this, because most modern processors have no trouble with 720p when VDPAU is not enabled.
Whats the big deal? Turn on VDPAU and profit. Yes, yes, I am your saviour. All hail me.
TREX6662k5
2009-05-01, 00:28
Nvidia really turned the tables round on hw acc in OSes.
Looking at DXVA's list, its hardly appealing. Either I shell out £££ for Win/Power DVD, or Core AVC (which isn't really a proper solution) or the free but far from complete MPC-HC
VDAPU is looking far more attractive.
Whats the big deal? Turn on VDPAU and profit. Yes, yes, I am your saviour. All hail me.
Hail, Lord motd2k. You bringeth HD goodness where it twas' not capable before. We thank thee from the bottom of our now less empty wallets. :grin::nod:
-Will
Hallo, i have an Revo and have to say that 1080p didnt play very well atm. I run 19616 on several PCs with P5N7A-VM Mobos and the work a lot better :( The strange part is that VDR with xine works also on the Revo almost perfect.
I played also already with the bios settings (HT on/off).
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48496 ..
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=48496 ..
What does that have to do with the discussion here? We're talking about Linux here.
Ah I though we were talking about Acer AspireRevo ....
I found out that when i start it windowed and switch than via "\" to fullscreen it works much better. Looks like there are the same problems as with the 8200 mobos ?
freddyflinty
2009-05-02, 17:25
Hallo, i have an Revo and have to say that 1080p didnt play very well atm. I run 19616 on several PCs with P5N7A-VM Mobos and the work a lot better :( The strange part is that VDR with xine works also on the Revo almost perfect.
I played also already with the bios settings (HT on/off).
MrDVD, could you please check if the Revo has digital audio output from the headphone jack (like the Mac Mini does..)? Might be in the documentation that came with it our if you have the equipment, could just check I guess.
Thanks!
kaandorp
2009-05-04, 16:09
This system is equipped with an Atom N230, 1.6 GHz, single-core CPU and two gigabyte RAM. So when you're playing a video not supported by vdpau then the picture changes. In this case you will be able to play at max 720p videos. The CPU is way to slow to play 1080p.
Ok. So as long as you're running VDPAU you're safe. Are there any reasons not to run VDPAU? What kind of video's are not supported by VDPAU?
To me this Nvidia Ion platform sounds like a dream come true. Low-power usage 1080p XBMC! Because of the low power consumption you can probably leave the system running 24x7, so no boot times as well. And with the standard hardware it will be easier to fix XBMC issues and get everything to work as more and more XBMC people will use it.
Will this stay a dream? Or will it become reality in the near feature...
Gamester17
2009-05-04, 17:49
Does the Acer AspireRevo really offer dedicating 512MB RAM to the graphics? in BIOS? ???
...if not then you will not be able to playback high-bitrate 1080p Blu-ray disc backups.
If it only allows to dedicate 256MB or less to the GPU then it won't playback all 1080p.
Does the Acer AspireRevo really offer dedicating 512MB RAM to the graphics? in BIOS? ???
...if not then you will not be able to playback high-bitrate 1080p Blu-ray disc backups.
If it only allows to dedicate 256MB or less to the GPU then it won't playback all 1080p.
Yes the Revo offer 32,64,128,256 and 512MB @ the Bios.
The Problem with play mkv's looks for me atm more XBMC related as the same files play fine via xineliboutput(vdr plugin) and the gnome-mplayer.
Thats not strictly true, thats like comparing apples and oranges. They have a significantly lower rendering overhead.
Well i dont know the programming background, but for me as enduser i can only count the result and this is atm:
1. no way to play an 720p or 1080p under ubuntu 9.04 with vdpau inside xbmc (alll the 100% cpu load)
2. same files play fine under xineliboutput (8-15% cpu load)
But realy strange is that i also cant play this files with mplayer commandline but the play fine inside gnome-mplayer (both time set -vo vdpau)
I also tested diff nvidia drivers (180.53 and 185.18.04) and with and without composite.
Are you changing the render to VDPAU when you are playing the video ? Default is auto ..
Yes i did, as this auto never worked for me (also not on other PCs)
Gamester17
2009-05-05, 11:15
Auto is not suppose to work right now, YOU MUST SET IT MANUALLY TO "VDPAU"(!), see:
http://xbmc.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/xbmc/branches/9.04_Babylon-linux-osx-win32/XBMC/known_issues.txt*) VDPAU is still a new and experimental feature. It is disabled by default and
will NOT be selected if renderer is set to 'Auto', it must be set manually.
Ensure that the latest drivers from NVidia are installed. As of this writing,
>180.44 is sufficient. It is known that certain subtitles may not be displayed
when VDPAU is enabled.
100% CPU usage sounds more like the composite extension not being disabled, or vsync not being enabled. Its certainly not normal.
1. no way to play an 720p or 1080p under ubuntu 9.04 with vdpau inside xbmc (alll the 100% cpu load)
2. same files play fine under xineliboutput (8-15% cpu load)
But realy strange is that i also cant play this files with mplayer commandline but the play fine inside gnome-mplayer (both time set -vo vdpau)
I also tested diff nvidia drivers (180.53 and 185.18.04) and with and without composite.
But there must be something wrong. There are people having success with xbmc on aspire revo out there:
http://translate.google.de/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftbhl.blogspot.com%2F2009% 2F05%2Fund-wieder-der-acer-revo-xbmc-revisited.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=de&ie=UTF-8
And I've seen XBMC with vdpau on another box with 9400 GeForce and Core2Duo, which had about 5 % CPU usage while playing 1080p mkv with high bitrate. Of course the atom 220 is far slower, but not by factor >20. Same with difference to xine...
There must be something wrong with your setup. Have you tried the live DVD?
edit:
Have a look at the comments from:
http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftbhl.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Face r-aspire-revo-und-windows-7-match.html&sl=de&tl=en&history_state0=
They say, that they used the 9.04 live DVD, the only change was setting HDMI as audio output device. They report to run 1080p with 20% CPU usage which sounds more reasonable to me than 100%.
freddyflinty
2009-05-05, 15:44
It just occurred to me that those of us without HDMI receivers could potentially use a USB SPDIF adapter. Then HDMI/DVI for video and SPDIF for audio with the Revo is within reach.
This box could become the "de facto" XBMC machine and XBMC Live could have some settings for it... *crossing fingers*
Gamester17
2009-05-05, 16:29
This box could become the "de facto" XBMC machine and XBMC Live could have some settings for it... *crossing fingers*IMHO a 'de facto' reference box for XBMC would have to come with built-in SPDIF as well as a built-in IR-reciever for the remote.
...but don't worry, NVIDIA have promised that at least 40 Atom-based ION platforms will be released before the end of 2009:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/12024/asrock_and_pegatron_nv_ion_systems_go_on_display/index.html
During a recent press conference in Taipei, NVIDIA commented to Chinese press that it expected to have 40 of its Intel Atom CPU based ION platforms on the market by the end of the year.
The report says that there will be a mixture of single-core Atom 230 and dual-core Atom 330 systems available and we will probably end up seeing many of them during Computex Taipei, which is held during early June.
http://images.tweaktown.com/imagebank/news_nvion330tpe-01a_full.png
During the conference, NVIDIA and its partners showed off some new ION designs.
Acer has already started selling its Aspire Revo ION nettop and if we are to believe what we are told, we can expect many more from various manufacturers soon.
http://images.tweaktown.com/imagebank/news_nvion330tpe-02a_full.png
ASRock and Pegatron displayed one ION system each, both pictured above. ASRock came up with the highly creative name of ION 330, but it's most likely still a work in progress.
Pegatron is calling its ION system the Cape 7, but it is probably just a codename and will likely be an OEM / ODM design, which other companies will badge and sell in the channel.
You can read more over at HKEPC (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hkepc.com%2F2833&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8), translated from Chinese to English via Google.
:;):
It just occurred to me that those of us without HDMI receivers could potentially use a USB SPDIF adapter. Then HDMI/DVI for video and SPDIF for audio with the Revo is within reach.
This box could become the "de facto" XBMC machine and XBMC Live could have some settings for it... *crossing fingers*
nvm see Gamester17 post above
But there must be something wrong. There are people having success with xbmc on aspire revo out there:
http://translate.google.de/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftbhl.blogspot.com%2F2009% 2F05%2Fund-wieder-der-acer-revo-xbmc-revisited.html&sl=de&tl=en&hl=de&ie=UTF-8
And I've seen XBMC with vdpau on another box with 9400 GeForce and Core2Duo, which had about 5 % CPU usage while playing 1080p mkv with high bitrate. Of course the atom 220 is far slower, but not by factor >20. Same with difference to xine...
There must be something wrong with your setup. Have you tried the live DVD?
edit:
Have a look at the comments from:
http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftbhl.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Face r-aspire-revo-und-windows-7-match.html&sl=de&tl=en&history_state0=
They say, that they used the 9.04 live DVD, the only change was setting HDMI as audio output device. They report to run 1080p with 20% CPU usage which sounds more reasonable to me than 100%.
Thx for the link, i tested today the new Windows 7 beta with MPC-HC and this combi play the mkv's just fine with maybe 20% cpu load. I will test later the Live CD to be sure.
@motd2k - composite was off for sure (xorg.conf and inside gnome visual effects)
Then what about Vsync?
There's no way this system should be hitting 100% with VDPAU enabled.
Played a bit more. The livecd works perfect and the only diff i can see is that the run it with the default alsa, nvidia 180.44 and in standalone mode.
Maybe i have tomorrow the time to test it with xubuntu.
@motd2k - vsync was also enabled, i checked this as i installed my own iso again.
sudo apt-get purge pulseaudio might help
xbmc working well on the revo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaqcImfnnwU 1080p and dolby:)
AllanMar
2009-05-07, 19:25
Been desperately waiting to be able to buy one of these. Considered waiting for a dual core version, but im too impatient.
Has anyone heard anything about when this will be released in US/Canada? I had heard May 5th mentioned, but it doesn't seem like that's the case.
Gamester17
2009-05-07, 23:32
Does the Acer AspireRevo really offer dedicating 512MB RAM to the graphics? in BIOS? ???
...if not then you will not be able to playback high-bitrate 1080p Blu-ray disc backups.
If it only allows to dedicate 256MB or less to the GPU then it won't playback all 1080p.
Yes the Revo offer 32,64,128,256 and 512MB @ the Bios.Is that on the model that comes with 1GB RAM or the model that comes with 2GB RAM?
I am wondering if 2GB is required to enable 512MB for the graphics in the BIOS?
I suspect that the BIOS will only let you assign 256MB if the machine only has 1GB RAM total?
If someone here only has the 2GB RAM model could you try removing one RAM module and check the BIOS when you only have 1GB RAM installed?
???
Its the model with 2GB RAM. I installed now XUbuntu 9.04 and there it play now also fine. I realy dont know why it want run on Ubuntu for me.
needmorstuff
2009-05-09, 23:18
this is all very promising... I think I am fortunate to be have been happy with my xbox one up to now. with the advent of HD I have been searching for a new player.. I was again contemplating one of the popcorn hour type players.. but remembered that the 6 or so i tried before never did what they said on the tin. Roll up xbmc! "it just works"
if a platform like the revo £155 can play the big HD stuff then we have hit nirvana! if not then I am sure the Nvidia ION with the Atom 330 will do it - be it on a new apple tv or another revo type system.. in any case I thnk in the next few months we will have all we need (if the revo hasn't already done it)
A big thanks to the community in general - especially the developers who do this for no other reason that to give US the platform we desire.
the ion 330 is on asrock's website. http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp
the ion 330 is on asrock's website. http://www.asrock.com/nettop/spec/ION%20330.asp
this one has room for blue ray player(currently DVD is installed) and SPDIF output, nice :) but still missing built in remote
Steve_McQueen
2009-05-12, 18:56
this one has room for blue ray player(currently DVD is installed) and SPDIF output, nice :) but still missing built in remote
Now that would be really sad. That would mean you'll have to walk over to the computer or use some long stick. A receiver would do. :;):
We are getting closer but I'm yet to be convinced on the designs so far for ION (this one is way better then Revo). Hopefully one of the 40+ versions has a gorgeous htpc design. :grin:
needmorstuff
2009-05-13, 00:57
Now that would be really sad. That would mean you'll have to walk over to the computer or use some long stick. A receiver would do. :;):
We are getting closer but I'm yet to be convinced on the designs so far for ION (this one is way better then Revo). Hopefully one of the 40+ versions has a gorgeous htpc design. :grin:
It should be better - It is twice the price.
If the GPU does all the work - why do you want atom 330?
If you are using XBMC surely like me all your content is on a NAS?
Seems like the revo at £150 is superb.. if it does 1080p respectably.
Where did you get that info that it will be twice the price ?
Ps, CPU is used alot more than GPU so it is always good idea to have faster cpu ..
slicemaster
2009-05-13, 02:17
It should be better - It is twice the price.
If the GPU does all the work - why do you want atom 330?
If you are using XBMC surely like me all your content is on a NAS?
Seems like the revo at £150 is superb.. if it does 1080p respectably.
Personally I think the optical drive would be nice to have for the future when XBMC gets the ability to rip DVDs directly from inside XBMC, but for now it will be convenient for DVD playback. Additionally the additional size makes it easier for you to modify internal components such as hard drive, memory, etc. as for the reason I want a dual core atom over the regular single core is because it will perform better with demanding skins like aeon.
Personally I would take this over the REVO but I hope the addition of fans doesn’t make it auditable.
Steve_McQueen
2009-05-13, 10:27
It should be better - It is twice the price.
If the GPU does all the work - why do you want atom 330?
If you are using XBMC surely like me all your content is on a NAS?
Seems like the revo at £150 is superb.. if it does 1080p respectably.
When I mean better I actually just meant the case-design. I Think the Revo has a very cheap-toy look, that doesn't fit a HI-FI setup.
I'm not sure the rock looks much better! (infact i'd go so far as to say that it looks like a really shit $25 PC case)
Steve_McQueen
2009-05-13, 13:37
I'm not sure the rock looks much better! (infact i'd go so far as to say that it looks like a really shit $25 PC case)
It does indeed, witch says more about my distaste for the Revo design then the asrock. One would hope at least one out of the forty expected versions is well designed, but given the same ratio on standard PC cases I fear we might not.
TREX6662k5
2009-05-13, 18:36
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=53#ION-ITX-A-may-2009-bundle
This looks good (not the case itself) but its lacking a remote control.
Or
http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=52#9300-ITX
If you want something with a little more power
BTW even with the 330's flash video is still unplayable.
I also prefer the Revo case (or the bundle above) to Asrock's mainly because I can hide it behind the tv really easily.
Anyone know if the Revo controller is BT or IR? Nevermind (im stupid), it's Bluetooth.
needmorstuff
2009-05-13, 19:10
Where did you get that info that it will be twice the price ?
Ps, CPU is used alot more than GPU so it is always good idea to have faster cpu ..
google...
base revo £150
base asrock £300
I was under the impression that with the vdp thing enabled the cpu utilisation was very low as it harensses the power of the GPU (could be wrong)
Faster isn't always better.. if there is a recognised platform that the developers work to that can do the job and is cheap then I say - yes! if 1080p can be decoded with a revo then why have a quad core xeon with 8gb of ram (to use a silly example)
slicemaster
2009-05-13, 20:32
BTW even with the 330's flash video is still unplayable.
I also prefer the Revo case (or the bundle above) to Asrock's mainly because I can hide it behind the tv really easily.
i am not sure what you mean by this. my brother has an Asus eeepc netbook with a single core atom and he is a frequent user of youtube and i have not heard any complaints from him. however if by flash video you meam high resolution then perhaps this is true. basically i would just like some more data on what you mean by "flash video is unplayable"
Slice
TREX6662k5
2009-05-13, 20:53
I mean both SD & HD resolutions.
eg, 480 to 1080
Anyone tried the Revo? I have the Revo at home installed with XBMC 9.04 Live.
The only thing that doesn't work is audio over HDMI. Anyone over here have a revo combined with XBMC Live with audio over hdmi working?
Dont have hdmi tested with the XBMC Live but under xubuntu with an XBMC from svn and there it works via hdmi. All you have to change is System - Audio Hardware from default to hdmi.
Thanks I'll try this later today.
I tried several 1080p video's and they do not all play well.
For example this 1080p version of Big Buck Bunny doesn't have any problems on 1080p:
http://mirrorblender.top-ix.org/peach/bigbuckbunny_movies/big_buck_bunny_1080p_h264.mov
While this version of the Matrix (MKV) stutters:
The.Matrix.1.1999.1080p.Bluray.DTS.VC1.Remux-SHiTSoNy
Maybe it's related to it's big size (14Gb) but with 30% CPU utilization it shouldn't be a problem. Anyone has a clue?
Maybe it's the storage the bottleneck... have you tried from an other media or from network ?
or increasing you buffer size in favorite video player ?
Maybe it's the storage the bottleneck... have you tried from an other media or from network ?
or increasing you buffer size in favorite video player ?
XBMC Live uses the default DVDPlayer. Is there a way to increase the buffer or is it configured with a default, static buffer size?
AllanMar
2009-05-15, 14:52
Have you allocated 512mb of ram for the IGP in BIOS?
Have you allocated 512mb of ram for the IGP in BIOS?
Good one! No not yet, will try this first. Is it true that they removed the cache options from the menu? Is there any other way to configure this. I'm also going to set the TripleBuffer to "True" (xorg.conf).
Well, I must say I am very impressed with the Ion platform (Acer Revo) so far. Works like a charm with everything I've tried. The video decoding never uses more than 1% cpu on any clip using vdpau. Running Ubuntu Jaunty and XBMC from svn together with vdr-sxfe.
needmorstuff
2009-05-16, 13:50
Well, I must say I am very impressed with the Ion platform (Acer Revo) so far. Works like a charm with everything I've tried. The video decoding never uses more than 1% cpu on any clip using vdpau. Running Ubuntu Jaunty and XBMC from svn together with vdr-sxfe.
great news! how much ram do you have in the revo? (what model did you get - specs) I am considering getting the base model that comes with linux and 1gb of ram and 8gb ssd as it is only £150 in the uk. The next model up has 2gb - vista and a large hard drive.. the only thing that I would want on the base model is extra memory..
how fast does it boot?
what is the nic speed?
can you stream HD 1080p off of a NAS?
Well, I bought the only spec that was available in Sweden. It has 2GB RAM and unfortunately I had to pay for a 160GB hdd and Windows, none of the will ever be used since I boot linux off the network. I don't care about boot times since it's always on and since I don't use the hdd I run every clip (including 30Mbps of "killa") from my VDR/NFS server through cheap 100Mb switches.
FlappySocks
2009-05-16, 21:06
What about a digital audio output? Availabe via the HDMI output? I want to get the 1Gb model too.
needmorstuff
2009-05-16, 21:50
Excellent news on the NAS streaming "killa" exactly what I wanted to hear.. I will get the 1gb model and upgrade to 2gb and run linux also..
the audio over HDMI is another excellent question I! I wait with baited breath on the answer.
Yes, the only digital audio output available is through hdmi but that's ok with me for the moment.
FlappySocks
2009-05-17, 00:46
Just ordered the 1Gb version. What else do I need?...just need an IR receiver I think.
needmorstuff
2009-05-17, 15:28
Just ordered the 1Gb version. What else do I need?...just need an IR receiver I think.
another 1gb of ram.. fom what I have read you need at least 2gb to be able to allocate 512mb to the GPU.
fomr the pics at bit-tech.net it looks as though it takes 2 x sodimm's - only question is does the 1gb version come with 1 x 1gb or 2 x 512mb?
This how the Revo looks mounted on the back of my LCD, together with a USB DVD player. HDD, WLAN card and top cover are removed since I don't need any of them. As you can see, the performance figures while playing "killa" are quite impressive, don't you think?
http://www.minhembio.com/magho
Yes I know, I will tidy up the cable routing! But with only two (AC power and ethernet) cables running to the TV that's not a very difficult job.
/Magnus H
needmorstuff
2009-05-17, 17:08
This how the Revo looks mounted on the back of my LCD, together with a USB DVD player. HDD, WLAN card and top cover are removed since I don't need any of them. As you can see, the performance figures while playing "killa" are quite impressive, don't you think?
http://www.minhembio.com/magho
Yes I know, I will tidy up the cable routing! But with only two (AC power and ethernet) cables running to the TV that's not a very difficult job.
/Magnus H
great job! can you tell me the model number (or speed rating etc.) of the ram please? so I can check prices for the upgrade from 1gb to 2gb
Well, the only problem with mounting the board on the back side of my TV is that it's not very accessible..... This it what dmidecode says anyway:
Handle 0x0010, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000E
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 2048 MHz (0.5 ns)
Manufacturer: Nanya
Serial Number: 15703265
Asset Tag: None
Part Number: NT1GT64UH8D0FN-AD
Handle 0x0012, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x000E
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM2
Bank Locator: BANK2
Type: DDR2
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: 2048 MHz (0.5 ns)
Manufacturer: Nanya
Serial Number: 16705271
Asset Tag: None
Part Number: NT1GT64UH8D0FN-AD
So it's obviously two 1GB DDR2 dimms, but I don't get what the speed figures mean.
eddietop
2009-05-17, 17:30
another 1gb of ram.. fom what I have read you need at least 2gb to be able to allocate 512mb to the GPU.
fomr the pics at bit-tech.net it looks as though it takes 2 x sodimm's - only question is does the 1gb version come with 1 x 1gb or 2 x 512mb?
Would like to know answer to this also, as my Revo turns up next week. I'm thinking it's probably a single 1gb stick in the base model, but need to confirm it.
According to Google, that P/N is a 667MHz DDR2.
FlappySocks
2009-05-17, 19:58
I would have thought 512Mb should be enough for the OS, X & XBMC.
needmorstuff
2009-05-17, 21:05
I would have thought 512Mb should be enough for the OS, X & XBMC.
someone reported that the 512mb for gpu doesnt present itself as an option until you have 2gb present in the system.. but TBH I suppose we will have to wait for a report on that fact.
permagnus
2009-05-18, 14:50
Can someone confirm that this will run xbmc fine with the 1gb version? Or if it's possible to upgrade the 1gb model with more memory.
medicineuk
2009-05-20, 02:58
magho - how is flash playback on the Revo from what I have read it sounds like HD content should playback fine but full screen HD flash video will jump.
Unfortunately, Flash video playback was a real trial for the Revo. Hulu played fine at low-res inside a window, but when we went fullscreen it got all choppy. YouTube was surprisingly even worse, not managing a full frame rate at even low quality.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/acer-aspirerevo-review/
Maybe this is only the case when your running windows vista. Would be great if someone could confirm that full screen flash runs smoothly under linux.
limaunion
2009-05-20, 03:40
Hi! does anyone know if the Acer Revo is already available in the US or when it will be released ? I want to buy one of them right NOW but it seems that's only available in the UK :(
TIA
LU.
magho - how is flash playback on the Revo from what I have read it sounds like HD content should playback fine but full screen HD flash video will jump.
Well, I haven't tried but since you can't play Flash video using vdpau it's pretty obvious it won't work.
medicineuk
2009-05-20, 11:04
Well, I haven't tried but since you can't play Flash video using vdpau it's pretty obvious it won't work.
have you tried standard def flash video fullscreen?
permagnus
2009-05-20, 11:34
Grrr, Just tried to order to 1gb model from play.com but it's out of stock :( Guess I will either have to pay extra for the windows version or wait for it to get back in stock.
Grrr, Just tried to order to 1gb model from play.com but it's out of stock :( Guess I will either have to pay extra for the windows version or wait for it to get back in stock.
try here
http://www.pconestopshop.com/products.asp?partno=92.G1DYZ.UF0
or here
http://www.simplyacer.com/Product/id/625111
permagnus
2009-05-20, 13:42
Thanks, to bad they don't have free shipping within EU (I live in sweden)
I am experiencing jerky playback with the Revo and 1080p mkv files. VDPAU is enabled, and XBMC tells med that there are no dropped frames during playback, even though it really looks like its dropping a lot. CPU usage is around 20%.
Im using the Revo with 2gb ram, 512 dedicated to GPU in BIOS. Experiencing the same problem with both XBMC live and XBMC under a regular Ubuntu installation.
Anyone having the same problem, or have any idea what could be wrong? 720p seems to play without any hickups.
A friend of mine has one and it seems to be fine on all of the 1080p content he has. What bitrate is the content, where is it being played from, log, etc....
Im not at home ATM, so not able to create any log files right now.
The content im using is mkv files with 10-20mbit/sec played over the network from a file server. It works great on my other self-build mediacenter, so the network should not be the bottleneck.
Hi,
this is a nice article about the platform.
http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/13498/40/1/0/
What bothers me is the fan noise that is reportedly loud. Damn.
A question to anybody owning the HW; what is your experience about fan noise while playing 720p or 1080p?
I am experiencing jerky playback with the Revo and 1080p mkv files. VDPAU is enabled, and XBMC tells med that there are no dropped frames during playback, even though it really looks like its dropping a lot. CPU usage is around 20%.
Im using the Revo with 2gb ram, 512 dedicated to GPU in BIOS. Experiencing the same problem with both XBMC live and XBMC under a regular Ubuntu installation.
Anyone having the same problem, or have any idea what could be wrong? 720p seems to play without any hickups.
Yes, I'm having the same issue. Don't have a solution yet...
Hi, did you ppl run an alsa update? I think my Revo dont like this alsa 1.19 as without it, it works much better.
lalamite
2009-05-22, 00:11
Hi,
i just installed the xbmc final rls on a sd card of my acer revo.
Works fine but i'm not able to connect to my network neither via lan or wlan.
Have i missed some special settings that lan / wlan will work with my revo using xbmc live?
cheers
Hi, did you ppl run an alsa update? I think my Revo dont like this alsa 1.19 as without it, it works much better.
So it works better with 1.0.20 ? Or are you using an older version?
Gonna try this tonight.
Just upgraded to 1.0.20. Still the same hickups in playback.
Just for the record, i'm experiencing the same trouble with playback of mkv 1080p files in windows with MPC-HC hardware playback.
Tried to youtube the problem, but it's pretty hard to illustrate with my canon ixus...
I run at the moment the one the come with xubuntu 9.04 and didnt update like the say in the tutorial for the P5N7A-VM to Alsa 1.0.19. +40mbit m2ts are still a problem but "normal" 1080p mkvs play much better without this update. (at last for me)
Sinnocence
2009-05-24, 09:14
For those of you who have already taken the Revo plunge, do you think it's worth going with the Revo now or maybe waiting a little for a 'better' ion box to come out? A few of you have said 1080p playback is fine, but did you have any other criticisms of the Revo?
Also, how straight forward was the linux/xbmc deployment? How was the driver/hardware support? Do you think you're gonna have to keep a keyboard handy for a while? ;)
Thanks for any/all help.
How can i show Mediainfo and CPU load by playing a video? in never found a key for that?! I have a revo + usb spdif since yesterday and iam really happy about it!
How can i show Mediainfo and CPU load by playing a video? in never found a key for that?! I have a revo + usb spdif since yesterday and iam really happy about it!
Press "o".
yes thanks i see it in the wiki, i only look at the global keys, not no that there was more than that:-)
lalamite
2009-05-24, 15:03
I'm absolutely happy with my revo.
See here the cpu usage on watching 1080p h.264 mkv's (absolutely smooth)
http://www.revouser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=30
Justed wanted you to know that I fixed my problems with 1080p. It works flawless! Also the Matrix 40gb 1080p full hd shines. All I have done is that I switched the video memory in the bios from auto to 512mb fixed. The audio also works now. I changed the output to hdmi. I'm still experiencing some issues with DTS playback but may this is related to my Panasonic screen with reverts the signal back to my surround sound system.
lalamite
2009-05-24, 19:19
@developer
Please give us an update of the xbmc live version with temperature regulated fancontrol.
Nevertheless. Absolut perfect media center which works great! Good job
It seems it is safe to assume that with gfx processing that the majority of 1080p mkvs with play smoothly most of the time. This is sufficient for my needs I think.
My biggest concern now is the in between. How are things like menus in HD and plugins etc etc. Has anyone run into any problems with tasks that ARE forced to the single core Atom?
Thanks everyone for the reports so far. It has been a big help in my buying decision.
Hmm... definitely good news. Still I'd rather wait for something that is fanless or less noisy.
I am finally getting excited that there is something viable to replace my xbox1's that will be smaller quieter and support HD.
Having used XBMC on xbox for so long now, there are a couple of questions that immediately spring to mind about the ION platform.
Can they be powered on and off by remote?
Do they support PXE booting?
Support WOL?
Support suspend to disk with wake up by remote?
Anyone measured the power used in idle and under load?
Is there anything useful that the WLAN socket could be used for, if you don't need WLAN?
Having a quick think about this, to use one of these systems as a replacement for XBOX it is all going to come down to the functionality of using the remote for me. I did get a couple of Linksys DMA-1000's to have a look at using them and I just had one look at the remote and gave up on that idea.
Cheers, Des.
stogiesam88
2009-05-26, 17:15
This is great news to hear... been waiting for a viable htpc with HD to replace the xbox. Thanks to all who took the plunge!
kadiblov
2009-05-26, 18:27
Folks,
I´ve been following these threads for a while. I use XBMC for a long time in my XBOX1, but since HD I had to buy a PopCorn Hour (PCH A-110) device. It works fine, but isn´t as flexible (multi-codecs support built in) and nice as XBMC interface, skins, etc...???
Thus, I´m definitely waiting a little more for NVIDIA ION based alternatives for IR or Bluetooth power-on to have a consistent hardware platform for further XBMC deployments, scripts & Plug-ins. :cool:
Thinking out loud here...even the Bluetooth Wiimote could fulfill most of control requirements, right ? Could be an alternative for those who have Wii.
Cheers and a special thanks to the Dev Team. Hope my two donations were definitely a good investment support for you :D
Kadiblov
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
I can confirm that 256mb is max allocation for the GPU if you have a total of 1gb ram.
FlappySocks
2009-05-26, 19:11
I can confirm that 256mb is max allocation for the GPU if you have a total of 1gb ram.
Doh. Still, buying extra ram is cheaper than the 2gb version.
limaunion
2009-05-27, 02:00
unfourtunately it seems that it hasn't been released in the US yet... does anyone have some some information about this ?
it really reads like this machine is a HD capaable xbox replacement,
will "all" HD Content play at 1080?
I see that there is no spdif out, how can I get the audio to my AV-Receiver?
Is the XBMC Linux plug and play or do I have to configure some stuff like HDMI by myself?
ToonDoom
2009-05-27, 13:55
Justed wanted you to know that I fixed my problems with 1080p. It works flawless! Also the Matrix 40gb 1080p full hd shines. All I have done is that I switched the video memory in the bios from auto to 512mb fixed. The audio also works now. I changed the output to hdmi. I'm still experiencing some issues with DTS playback but may this is related to my Panasonic screen with reverts the signal back to my surround sound system.
I cannot get any audio at all through hdmi. Can you tell me what settings you changed?
I have set:
Audio output - digital
audio output device - default
passthrough out put - hdmi
I cannot get any audio at all through hdmi. Can you tell me what settings you changed?
I have set:
Audio output - digital
audio output device - default
passthrough out put - hdmi
Try to set audio output device also to - hdmi
ToonDoom
2009-05-27, 15:41
Try to set audio output device also to - hdmi
Changed that to hdmi and still no sound. I am getting no sound for anything, music, xbmc nav, or any movies :(
ToonDoom
2009-05-27, 15:50
Changed that to hdmi and still no sound. I am getting no sound for anything, music, xbmc nav, or any movies :(
Looks like this it is my amp. If I connect direct to the TV I am getting sound. Through the amp I get nothing. Getting there....
Blade_0815
2009-05-27, 17:37
Perhaps your Amp can only handle the picture and sound must go through spdif/coax... what model is it?
ToonDoom
2009-05-27, 18:39
Perhaps your Amp can only handle the picture and sound must go through spdif/coax... what model is it?
It is an Onkyo 505. I though the same so checked with windows. I can get sound through the hdmi with windows. The amp says it is getting a pcm signal. With the linux/live the amp says nosignal.
I havce tried adding the following to /etc/asound.conf
pcm.!default hdmi:NVidia
pcm.iec958 hdmi:NVidia
Still no sound.
It is an Onkyo 505. I though the same so checked with windows. I can get sound through the hdmi with windows. The amp says it is getting a pcm signal. With the linux/live the amp says nosignal.
I havce tried adding the following to /etc/asound.conf
pcm.!default hdmi:NVidia
pcm.iec958 hdmi:NVidia
Still no sound.
I'm afraid i think you may be out of luck.... iirc the Onkyo 505 does not support audio over hdmi, it only supports video. You need to use a seperate audio feed, be it spdif or something else.
I'm afraid i think you may be out of luck.... iirc the Onkyo 505 does not support audio over hdmi, it only supports video. You need to use a seperate audio feed, be it spdif or something else.
I'm not sure if this is right... I'm pretty sure this amp has a HDMI repeater although I could be mistaken.
It is an Onkyo 505. I though the same so checked with windows. I can get sound through the hdmi with windows. The amp says it is getting a pcm signal. With the linux/live the amp says nosignal.
I havce tried adding the following to /etc/asound.conf
pcm.!default hdmi:NVidia
pcm.iec958 hdmi:NVidia
Still no sound.
Based on the above test it seems audio is working via HDMI when Windows is the O/S. Although there is no mention of Video or if XBMC was being run at the time.
@ToonDoom
did you update alsa to the latest and greatest ? there is a script that will do the job for you, if it still doesn't work please open new thread
@everybody else
can we please stay on topic
thx
Probably have to tick the IEC958 in the Volume Control options box.
how the revo perform with a external blu-ray drive???
Other websites have reviewed the revo using an external blu-ray drive and found movies to playback fine. Bottom line, so long as a task is GPU accelerated by the 9400m you should not have issues.
does usually the xbmc use the GPU to accelerate videos from blu-ray and video files like mkv????
stogiesam88
2009-05-29, 03:06
does usually the xbmc use the GPU to accelerate videos from blu-ray and video files like mkv????
I'm not sure on the specifics, but basically xbmc can take advantage only of nvidia graphics cards (because they released the drivers or something). It is referred to as vdpau.
Also, just to double check- this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500029) is basically the same thing that is in the acer and would work just the same for building your own, right? The n330 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500030) is only $30 more. I'm thinking it might be safer to go with it to avoid the occasional hickup.
I'm still having some issues with choppy video's (1080p). When I look at the xbmc.log file I can see this:
09:49:17 T:2860473232 M:1294643200 DEBUG: FileCurl::Open(0xaa7f406c)
09:49:17 T:2860473232 M:1294151680 DEBUG: FillBuffer: curl failed with code 3
09:49:17 T:2860473232 M:1294151680 ERROR: CFileCurl::CReadState::Open, didn't get any data from stream.
09:49:17 T:2860473232 M:1294151680 DEBUG: FileCurl::Close(0xaa7f406c)
09:49:17 T:2860473232 M:1294151680 NOTICE: AudioScrobbler: Unable to handshake: sleeping...
09:50:45 T:2227174288 M:1294229504 DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuty - was:2181548028.386029, should be:2181558032.728127, error:10004.342097
Anyone?
guardian_de
2009-05-31, 09:07
How about the fan utilization/noise?
Currently I use a Mac Mini running Ubuntu as my HTPC but I cannot use XBMC since the fan runs all the time being annoyingly audible even when XBMC is idle.
Is this also the case with the Revo?
Is there any UK shop who has the revo 1gb version in stock that also ships to Germany? I can't find one...
A little OT, but i heard it's not possible to have electronics (at least computers) shipped from the UK to Germany.
Starstream
2009-05-31, 21:08
Acer Outlet (http://www.aceroutlet.com/PRD_ProductDetail.aspx?cid=850&prodid=4028&Product=Aspire-Revo-R3600---1gb---8gb-SSD---Linux---No-Monitor---Intel) ship to EU, though the 1GB Revo is only available for pre-order.
It seems for the 1GB Revo whatever small batches that shipped have sold out, only the more expensive 2GB version is in stock.
The Acer SKU for the 1GB Revo is 92.G1DYZ.UF0 if you want to try searching for it.
Edit: Amazon UK say 1GB Revo stock due in on 6th of June so I'd keep an eye out on various online stores that day or after just in case they are right.
Thanks Starstream. Seems like I'll have to wait until it ships out again.
AcerOutlet charges 40 pounds for shipping to germany :eek:
Perhaps the reason the 1GB model is so hard to find is because it will be refreshed very shortly:
"However, an Acer staffer told Register Hardware the 8GB SSD will be replaced with a 160GB HDD once the initial stock of 8GB machines has been sold. The HDD-fitted Linux boxes will also be priced at £149, he said"
I certainly think a 160GB HDD is a better option to the 8GB SSD.
Now if only it had 2GB of RAM by as standard....
evilhomeruk
2009-06-01, 15:32
I'd prefer it without the mechanical HDD - it's going to add noise, albeit a tiny amount, whereas the SSD is silent. Surely ppl who buy a Revo aren't planning to store their media on it? If so, 160Gb isn't enough by far.
I'd prefer it without the mechanical HDD - it's going to add noise, albeit a tiny amount, whereas the SSD is silent. Surely ppl who buy a Revo aren't planning to store their media on it? If so, 160Gb isn't enough by far.
True. I was looking forward to the SSD edition, since i have all my files on an NAS in the basement. Too bad i wont get one :oo:
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-01, 17:01
taking into account the low speed of these low-cost low-capacity netbook SSDs, you might be best off booting from an SDHC card. I'm booting XBMC live from an 8GB SDHC, works like a charm. also, the 160GB hitachi hard disk is VERY silent. only thing you'll hear is the fan. and as long as you can't run the revo fanless, it makes no sense to go for an SSD option.
and please bear in mind that 1GB RAM is really not much memory as the GPU needs at least 256MB from the system RAM, leaving your operating system with well under 1GB.
the ideal option for me really was to have 2GB model with win7 on the hard disk and XBMC live on an SDHC card. I can simply unplug the card when rebooting and the revo goes into win7.
I'd prefer it without the mechanical HDD - it's going to add noise, albeit a tiny amount, whereas the SSD is silent. Surely ppl who buy a Revo aren't planning to store their media on it? If so, 160Gb isn't enough by far.
I put a 160GB HDD into my orginal XBOX with XBMC and I never really had an issue with the capacity. I admit at some point I started deleting stuff to make room but in all honesty I only tend to watch videos once so the only files that never got deleted were music and pictures.... and maybe Bleach. :rolleyes:
This morning I installed the latest Nvidia stable drivers. A lot of my video playback issues are solved! The only thing I see are some CDVDPlayerAudio messages in the xbmc.log
Which audio settings are you using?
My Revo is directly connected to my Panasonic 42" Plasma screen. No receiver in between. The settings I'm using:
Audio output (digital) => Digital
- Dolby Digital (AC3) capable receiver => OFF
- DTS Capable Receiver => OFF
Audio output device => hdmi
Passthrough output device => hdmi
Downmix multichannel audio to stereo => ON
I'm seeing this kind of messages in the xbmc.log:
DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuty - was:238412850.645869, should be:238422854.526368, error:10003.880500
DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuty - was:400481182.018368, should be:400491195.602409, error:10013.584040
DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuty - was:558328136.549409, should be:558338486.035271, error:10349.485863
DEBUG: CDVDPlayerAudio:: Discontinuty - was:720139945.686271, should be:720149947.045293, error:10001.359022
What do you use?
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-04, 20:47
did anybody try out the new BIOS versions from Acer?
in their international support directory, under Desktops -> Aspire -> R3600 (internal name of the Revo) there's 2 new BIOS versions right now:
BIOS Acer BIOS for Linux R01.A1L 779.6 KB 2009/06/02
and
Download BIOS Acer BIOS R01.A1 805.4 KB 2009/06/02
frankly I have NO idea what the special thing is about the Linux BIOS (some speculate it's without SLIC), but as the previously posted (and removed) BIOS versions killed HDMI Audio (besides some other annoyances) and I had to go back to A0, I'm not into testing right now. also, the idiots from Acer don't document their BIOS revisions, so it's trial and error.
pumkinut
2009-06-04, 23:53
I just really wish someone would start selling them in the US. I'm about to take the plunge and get the Zotac ION 330 board, but the Revo would be much cheaper.
limaunion
2009-06-05, 04:25
I just really wish someone would start selling them in the US. I'm about to take the plunge and get the Zotac ION 330 board, but the Revo would be much cheaper.
+1
In the UK it's been released more than a month ago and still no news for the US market... I don't understand what's going on, it's a pity, but I'll wait for it.
+1
In the UK it's been released more than a month ago and still no news for the US market... I don't understand what's going on, it's a pity, but I'll wait for it.
There has also not been any further news on the N330 model. To be on the safe side I am going for the dual core model (just in case I need some extra CPU horsepower).
Its really hard not to order the existing model. I am so very eager to try and get my bluetooth dongle working and use my PS3 remote to control XBMC.
onesojourner
2009-06-06, 18:21
Has any one tried the build your own route? with something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500029
I prefer to have a self contained system. This board will support up to 4.5G with the seagate 1.5 drives or 6 if you went with the 2g WD drives.
pumkinut
2009-06-06, 18:46
I'd rather go with the A-U (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027) model as it comes with laptop power supply so you can have a little more room in your case for cooling since it's a passive cooling system.
To be honest I'm really torn between something like the Revo and building my own, since I've seen no timeline whatsoever about a US release of the Revo.
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-07, 15:37
just a quick note about the revo:
as of today, my stuttering/buffering problems are gone. 720p MKVs with DTS or AC3 passthrough over HDMI play perfect. the problem is, I don't know exactly what I did to make them disappear.
prior with the live distribution, I had these buffering problems no matter if I assigned 256 or 512MB VRAM, so I tried installing XBMCbuntu with newest nvidia drivers according to the how-to, still the same jerky playback. today I flashed the newest BIOS revision P06 and directly set the vram to 512MB. HDMI audio in windows still worked (was broken in previous BIOS revisions, see my other post) and I booted into my XBMCbuntu installation, started a 720p MKV and lo and behold! perfect playback!
I'm not sure what exactly caused the buffering messages to disappear, but I guess that prior to the new BIOS revision, maybe the 512MB setting was ignored by XBMC/linux/the nvidia driver/whatever. later on I will switch back to Auto/256MB and see if the buffering messages are coming back (I'd bet on it), but for now I'm really glad everything finally works as it is supposed to. the only thing left is that .m2ts files are a little out of sync and dropping some frames in spite of the CPU load being very low.
one last remark: as windows with haali and MPC HC can run HD MKVs smoothly with "only" 256MB VRAM assigned, I think XBMC should also be able to do so... now if I only could get windows to passthrough DTS via HDMI... ;)
Witch nvidia driver you had before and now ?
For the 180.xx driver you need <videoplayer>
<strictbinding>false</strictbinding>
</videoplayer>inside advancedsettings.xml
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-08, 15:12
that's interesting, I never came across this setting. do you mean that by setting strictbinding to false, HD videos will also run with only 256MB VRAM assigned, or is this just a driver-related problem and no matter what the setting, I need to assign 512MB to the GPU? btw I had choppy playback ("buffering...") with 180.xx
Dont think this will help you with the mem you assigned. But now its clear why you had choppy playback with the 180.xx driver :) (aslong you didnt have this strictbinding we know it at last)
JUICESIX90
2009-06-14, 13:14
Has anyone managed to get wireless working using xbmc live?
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-14, 13:23
Has anyone managed to get wireless working using xbmc live?
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52304
if you need wireless working in XBMC, you have to go the XBMCbuntu route
JUICESIX90
2009-06-14, 14:31
Ah, thanks.
l.capriotti
2009-06-15, 10:41
or configure it manually as described here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=202834) ...
JUICESIX90
2009-06-15, 15:05
Thanks, I had tried that but I can't get past step 1:
1. Verify that your network device ("wlan0"?) is working & your wireless network is detected:
Quote:
iwconfig
Quote:
sudo iwlist scan
I get -bash: iwconfig: command not found
Pete_London
2009-06-15, 17:35
Where did you get the latest firmware update from?
Pete
JUICESIX90
2009-06-15, 17:44
Are you asking me? if you are I didn't even know there was a firmware update for the revo...???
Pete_London
2009-06-15, 19:22
Sorry, no.. I was asking Hannes the Hun....
Pete
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-15, 19:51
and here's the hun! :D
it's kinda hard to find and impossible to direct link, so here's the how-to:
1. go to the international acer support site
2. choose desktops, aspire, R3600 (that's the Revo)
3. select BIOS, get Bios revision R01.A1 it's actually revision P06 rom in the zip file as some versions previously were borked and deleted from the support site (we still don't know what's so special about the linux release, maybe splashtop and SSD related stuff)
4. ???
5. PROFIT!
again, as the support idiots from acer don't give change logs (and only provide a horrible OEM flash tool from AMI), we have no idea what exactly was changed, but the broken HDMI from the previous versions definitely is gone. everything works as it is supposed to be, but that also was the case with the initial release A0 ;)
Thanks, I had tried that but I can't get past step 1:
1. Verify that your network device ("wlan0"?) is working & your wireless network is detected:
Quote:
iwconfig
Quote:
sudo iwlist scan
I get -bash: iwconfig: command not found
make sure that you have 'wireless-tools' installed.
JUICESIX90
2009-06-15, 22:26
How do you do that?
Thanks for your help.
Edit: I take it it's one of these? http://packages.ubuntu.com/dapper/wireless-tools
How would I go about installing it on the Revo.
Hello,
I've just sold my HTPC, cause i couldn't get XBMC to work with the receiver i have, witch doesn't have HDMI on it. (old hardware/mobo)
I have to have to sound over an optical cable. I'm about to buy an Acer Revo R3600, but the only question i have... will the sound over optical work with a cable like this :
http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/micro/indetail.aspx when i'm going to use Unix and XBMC.... ?
Does anyone have any experience with this?
Does anyone have a website witch ships the Revo 8GB version to the Netherlands? (Play.com doesn't ship computers to NL)
Thanks in advance!
and here's the hun! :D
it's kinda hard to find and impossible to direct link, so here's the how-to:
1. go to the international acer support site
2. choose desktops, aspire, R3600 (that's the Revo)
3. select BIOS, get Bios revision R01.A1 it's actually revision P06 rom in the zip file as some versions previously were borked and deleted from the support site (we still don't know what's so special about the linux release, maybe splashtop and SSD related stuff)
4. ???
5. PROFIT!
again, as the support idiots from acer don't give change logs (and only provide a horrible OEM flash tool from AMI), we have no idea what exactly was changed, but the broken HDMI from the previous versions definitely is gone. everything works as it is supposed to be, but that also was the case with the initial release A0 ;)
Hi,
from what I've seen in the archives, the difference is only that the linux one is design to be flash from a "dos" floppy/usb key.
The other one is design to be flash directly from Windows...
Regards,
Typhoe
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-16, 13:25
I dunno, somebody from the revousers forum stated that the rom files are not identical
I just grabbed a cheap no name VIA card with SPDIF and wired up a coaxial output to it, works fine. When it comes to digital, the device does not matter, it can be cheap as chips and stuck together with chewing gum, the quality will be the same.
You can get adapters for optical to coax, and the other way around from ebay and the like, they are cheap enough too, just use that.
I just grabbed a cheap no name VIA card with SPDIF and wired up a coaxial output to it, works fine. When it comes to digital, the device does not matter, it can be cheap as chips and stuck together with chewing gum, the quality will be the same.
You can get adapters for optical to coax, and the other way around from ebay and the like, they are cheap enough too, just use that.
For who was your comment? ???
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-16, 15:08
well, it was you who asked about external USB soundcards with SPDIF out ;)
well, it was you who asked about external USB soundcards with SPDIF out ;)
Sorry, i was a little confused, but i think i get it now. But does the solution from http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/micro/indetail.aspx work with the Unix/XBMC setup?
Do you think that's expensive 30 dollars?
So if i understand correctly you have found a cheap no name VIA card(that's the usb stick?) with spdif... and the you connected the spdif with coax to the receiver? ... that's what you say???
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-16, 19:20
when you have optical in on your receiver, you can go directly from the USB audio plug, else you use an ebay adapter. all of these cheapo plugs use more or less the same chips (i.e. VIA, c-media etc.) which should be fully supported by ALSA.
so yes, you stick this audio usb plug in your revo, ALSA/XBMC will detect it, you select digital audio, and that's it. never understood why acer didn't include an SPDIF into the revo anyways....
JUICESIX90
2009-06-17, 12:14
Thanks, I had tried that but I can't get past step 1:
1. Verify that your network device ("wlan0"?) is working & your wireless network is detected:
Quote:
iwconfig
Quote:
sudo iwlist scan
I get -bash: iwconfig: command not found
Any help me put with this?
Without a wireless connection I'm having to connect via ethernet cable running half the length of my house. I just want wireless to be able to grab cover art etc.
Cheers
when you have optical in on your receiver, you can go directly from the USB audio plug, else you use an ebay adapter. all of these cheapo plugs use more or less the same chips (i.e. VIA, c-media etc.) which should be fully supported by ALSA.
so yes, you stick this audio usb plug in your revo, ALSA/XBMC will detect it, you select digital audio, and that's it. never understood why acer didn't include an SPDIF into the revo anyways....
Ok cool, sounds easy. Thanks!
Any help me put with this?
Without a wireless connection I'm having to connect via ethernet cable running half the length of my house. I just want wireless to be able to grab cover art etc.
Cheers
I already answered your question. If you don't know how to install packages in Ubuntu, then take a look at the documentation.
JUICESIX90
2009-06-17, 17:56
I already answered your question. If you don't know how to install packages in Ubuntu, then take a look at the documentation.
You did, yes. But I don't have Ubuntu installed (or if it is then it came shipped with the Revo) therein lies the problem.
According to l.capriotti on the previous page I don't need to but the guide he linked me too doesn't work for me, I get -bash: iwconfig: command not found on step 1
Now I'm a complete novice regarding Linux so it's quite possible i'm missing something very obvious here. I just need someone to tell me what that is.:;):
I want to control the Acer Revo's Fan. I'm trying to get this thing working on my Revo:
http://www.piie.net/index.php?section=acerhdf
When I look the dmesg I can see this:
[ 4628.496309] acerhdf: version: 0.4.0-3 compiledate: Jun 17 2009 20:03:32
[ 4628.496319] acerhdf: biosvendor:Acer
[ 4628.496323] acerhdf: biosversion:P01-A0
[ 4628.496327] acerhdf: biosrelease:03/20/2009
[ 4628.496332] acerhdf: biosproduct:Aspire R3600
[ 4628.496336] acerhdf: no Aspire One hardware found
Maybe with a little help we can get this thing to work!
I changed the .c file and removed the check for the Acer One:
I'm a bit further now:
[ 5769.086792] acerhdf: version: 0.4.0-3 compiledate: Jun 17 2009 20:22:25
[ 5769.086801] acerhdf: biosvendor:Acer
[ 5769.086806] acerhdf: biosversion:P01-A0
[ 5769.086810] acerhdf: biosrelease:03/20/2009
[ 5769.086814] acerhdf: biosproduct:Aspire R3600
[ 5769.086819] acerhdf: bios version: P01-A0 forced
[ 5769.086823] acerhdf: kernelmode disabled
[ 5769.086827] acerhdf: for more information read:
[ 5769.086831] acerhdf: http://piie.net/files/acerhdf_README.txt
[ 5769.086870] IP: [<f7de80cb>] acerhdf_init+0xcb/0x218 [acerhdf]
[ 5769.086925] Modules linked in: acerhdf(+) bridge stp bnep lirc_mceusb2 lirc_dev video output input_polldev snd_hda_codec_nvhdmi snd_hda_codec_realtek snd_hda_intel snd_hda_codec arc4 ecb snd_hwdep snd_pcm_oss snd_mixer_oss snd_pcm ath5k snd_seq_oss snd_seq_midi_event snd_seq nvidia(P) snd_timer snd_seq_device mac80211 agpgart psmouse led_class snd pcspkr serio_raw shpchp soundcore cfg80211 snd_page_alloc forcedeth isofs fbcon tileblit font bitblit softcursor nls_iso8859_1 nls_cp437 vfat fat squashfs unionfs usb_storage usbhid nfs lockd nfs_acl sunrpc asix usbnet mii
[ 5769.087059] EIP is at acerhdf_init+0xcb/0x218 [acerhdf]
[ 5769.087188] [<f7de8000>] ? acerhdf_init+0x0/0x218 [acerhdf]
[ 5769.087532] EIP: [<f7de80cb>] acerhdf_init+0xcb/0x218 [acerhdf] SS:ESP 0068:f0c6de00
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-17, 21:50
i'm missing something very obvious here. I just need someone to tell me what that is.:;):
when you have XBMC live installed, you have ubuntu. make yourself familiar with package installation via the terminal, or do yourself a favor and go the XBMCbuntu route. the how-to is good, and this way you'll learn a lot of the underlying linux system which will help you immensely when you encounter problems or want to do advanced configuration.
JUICESIX90
2009-06-20, 02:25
when you have XBMC live installed, you have ubuntu. make yourself familiar with package installation via the terminal, or do yourself a favor and go the XBMCbuntu route. the how-to is good, and this way you'll learn a lot of the underlying linux system which will help you immensely when you encounter problems or want to do advanced configuration.
On your advice I had a look at the 'how-to' guide and I've managed to get wireless tools installed, here's what I've done so far...
1) Went to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WiFiHowTo
2) From the command line typed: 1) sudo apt-get install wireless-tools
3) Typed ispci: reveals my wireless is using a Atheros chipset
4) Typed iwconfig: got the following back...
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wmaster0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr: off Fragment thr=2352 B
Power Management: off
Link Quality: 0 Signal level: 0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid: 0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries: 0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
Am I right in thinking it has recognised my wireless card...or, not?
On the plus side I've got further than I had before.
I'm going to keep going on this but if anyone has any advice i'd appreciate it, thanks.
On your advice I had a look at the 'how-to' guide and I've managed to get wireless tools installed, here's what I've done so far...
1) Went to https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/WiFiHowTo
2) From the command line typed: 1) sudo apt-get install wireless-tools
3) Typed ispci: reveals my wireless is using a Atheros chipset
4) Typed iwconfig: got the following back...
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wmaster0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr: off Fragment thr=2352 B
Power Management: off
Link Quality: 0 Signal level: 0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid: 0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries: 0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
Am I right in thinking it has recognised my wireless card...or, not?
On the plus side I've got further than I had before.
I'm going to keep going on this but if anyone has any advice i'd appreciate it, thanks.
I have wireless working but I needed to upgrade to 2.6.30:
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-headers-2.6.30-020630_2.6.30-020630_all.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-headers-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-image-2.6.30-020630-generic_2.6.30-020630_i386.deb
wget http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/v2.6.30/linux-source-2.6.30_2.6.30-020630_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux*.dep
sudo reboot
Wifi has Tx-Power=20 dBm
(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$ iwconfig
lo no wireless extensions.
eth0 no wireless extensions.
wmaster0 no wireless extensions.
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:""
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=20 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality:0 Signal level:0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
pan0 no wireless extensions.
After this you should be able to use your wifi within XBMC. Point to wlan0 for this!
or do:
iwlist wlan0 scanning
sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode managed
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 - Address: 00:1C:B3:AD:CB:DE
Channel:7
Frequency:2.442 GHz (Channel 7)
Quality=41/70 Signal level=-69 dBm
Encryption key:on
ESSID:"AirPort Extreme"
Bit Rates:1 Mb/s; 2 Mb/s; 5.5 Mb/s; 6 Mb/s; 9 Mb/s
11 Mb/s; 12 Mb/s; 18 Mb/s
Bit Rates:24 Mb/s; 36 Mb/s; 48 Mb/s; 54 Mb/s
Mode:Master
Extra:tsf=0000001f80452180
Extra: Last beacon: 6860ms ago
IE: Unknown: 000F416972506F72742045787472656D65
IE: Unknown: 010882848B0C12961824
sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid "AirPort Extreme"
etc, see this site for more info: http://wme.cs.kent.edu/kkaraden/mobile_server/
JUICESIX90
2009-06-20, 22:02
deleted post
JUICESIX90
2009-06-20, 22:51
Still no joy...
Downloaded & installed everything listed (how do you check that?) there were no errors anyway. Rebooted, went back into terminal after reboot, typed iwconfig things have changed a little (juice is the essid of my wireless router)
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:"juice"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
Tx-Power=0 dBm
Retry min limit:7 RTS thr: off Fragment thr=2352 B
Power Management: off
Link Quality: 0 Signal level: 0 Noise level:0
Rx invalid nwid: 0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries: 0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
Nether of these commands work:
iwlist wlan0 scanning
no scan results
sudo iwconfig wlan0 mode managed
Error for wireless request "set mode" (8B06) :
SET failed on device wlan ; No such device
:sad:
Incedently I can get Tx-Power=20 dBm if I type sudo ifconfig wlan0 up but I have to do that after each reboot.
...but I have to do that after each reboot.
Then you should add that line to your local (/etc/init.d/),
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RcLocalHowto
so; sudo nano /etc/init.d/local , add the following two lines:
#!/bin/sh
ifconfig wlan0 up
save the file,
sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/local
sudo update-rc.d local defaults 80
reboot.
For checking if you have the latest kernel version type; uname -a
JUICESIX90
2009-06-21, 12:50
Then you should add that line to your local (/etc/init.d/),
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RcLocalHowto
so; sudo nano /etc/init.d/local , add the following two lines:
#!/bin/sh
ifconfig wlan0 up
save the file,
sudo chmod +x /etc/init.d/local
sudo update-rc.d local defaults 80
reboot.
For checking if you have the latest kernel version type; uname -a
That worked, Tx-Power=20 dBm on reboot now. (the rest is as posted, it's lost the essid now though)
Interestingly when I typed uname -a it shows Linux XBMCLive 2.6.28-11
After installing those files shouldn't it say 2.6.30?
That worked, Tx-Power=20 dBm on reboot now. (the rest is as posted, it's lost the essid now though)
Interestingly when I typed uname -a it shows Linux XBMCLive 2.6.28-11
After installing those files shouldn't it say 2.6.30?
If it says 2.6.28-11 you're still on the old kernel version. I should leave it that way if your wifi works now.
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-21, 13:53
the main problem is that he's using XBMC live, so installing a new kernel wouldn't be an advisable option... we already told him 1 or 2 pages ago to use the XBMCbuntu installation guide.
the main problem is that he's using XBMC live, so installing a new kernel wouldn't be an advisable option... we already told him 1 or 2 pages ago to use the XBMCbuntu installation guide.
Well I used the XBMC Live usb to format my drive and install a minimal environment. Maybe this is an option?
saratoga
2009-06-25, 20:41
This guys are willing to ship the Acer Revo to the US for a reasonable cost:
http://www.electronicmegastore.com/acer-aspire-revo-desktop-pc-atom-230-p-3249.html
Haven't ordered from them before though.
earlneath
2009-06-26, 12:22
You can also buy from Taiwan on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=310150133598) with different sized SSDs - some 250GB ones!. Note the UK prices seem to be dropping to 130 pounds (plus 17.5% value added tax - which the retailer should NOT charge you if you are outside the EU).
It seems a little strange as a 250GB SSD should cost much more....
I am thinking of getting one of these and have a simple question - does the included wireless keyboards / mouses will work with xbmc, and is there a more conventional remote control available that will work, presumably with a USB receiver? I like old xbox remote as a controller.
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-26, 13:01
I am thinking of getting one of these and have a simple question - does the included wireless keyboards / mouses will work with xbmc,
they're not wireless
XBMC supports an IR USB dongle and your XBOX remote (or any other MCE remote), just use search function
Pete_London
2009-06-27, 10:20
I did an 'XBMCbuntu' type install using the 'minimal' ubuntu image on my Revo and it runs beautifully. I don't even need LIRC to use my USB IR Remote.
DEFINITELY the way to go if you want to have a Revo running at home.
Just my 2 cents.
Pedro the former Mac boy.
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-27, 13:13
I fully agree with you, pedro. XBMC runs like a charm. on a side note, yesterday I realized that magically the media keys on my dinovo mini work now. I'm not sure what did the trick, maybe updating to the latest SVN PPA.
edgayton
2009-06-27, 23:28
I quite fancy one of these but my system is based around component video. HDMI to component converters are pretty expensive, so does anyone know if one of the cheap VGA to component cables would work?
Cheers,
Ed
burgemaster
2009-06-28, 00:24
How does it please handle navigating the XBMC menus?
Ive heard reports that the linux version struggles to thumbnail images quickly?
My Revo arrives monday with extra RAM, ive never touched Linux in my life!
Would someone please be kind enough to point me in the right direction to a guide to install XBMC on it?
Am i wipeing everything from it and starting a fresh with a special linux?? or just adding to the current setup?
Thanks in advance?
saratoga
2009-06-28, 00:44
You can also buy from Taiwan on ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=310150133598) with different sized SSDs - some 250GB ones!. Note the UK prices seem to be dropping to 130 pounds (plus 17.5% value added tax - which the retailer should NOT charge you if you are outside the EU).
It seems a little strange as a 250GB SSD should cost much more....
Those aren't SSDs, they're ordinary magnetic disks.
limaunion
2009-06-28, 04:11
How does it please handle navigating the XBMC menus?
Ive heard reports that the linux version struggles to thumbnail images quickly?
My Revo arrives monday with extra RAM, ive never touched Linux in my life!
Would someone please be kind enough to point me in the right direction to a guide to install XBMC on it?
Am i wipeing everything from it and starting a fresh with a special linux?? or just adding to the current setup?
Thanks in advance?
You should check this thread: http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52259
HTH.
JC
Hannes The Hun
2009-06-28, 12:10
Would someone please be kind enough to point me in the right direction to a guide to install XBMC on it?
please use capriotti's guide http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51713
in principal, you can install XBMXbuntu onto a second partition of your hard disk and use GRUB to dualboot. I installed it onto an 8GB SDHC card inside the cardreader, speedwise it's running fine.
How does it please handle navigating the XBMC menus?
Ive heard reports that the linux version struggles to thumbnail images quickly?
My Revo arrives monday with extra RAM, ive never touched Linux in my life!
Would someone please be kind enough to point me in the right direction to a guide to install XBMC on it?
Am i wipeing everything from it and starting a fresh with a special linux?? or just adding to the current setup?
Thanks in advance?
Welcome to the forum, if your completely new to Linux might I suggest trying XBMC Live instead.
Out of the box support for VDPAU (hw accel for Revo) and should be a lot simpler than doing the installation said in the guide, in fact if you install XBMC Live on a hdd you'll end up with the same installation, just less work done.
If you need hdmi audio you might need to update your alsa but that goes for the guide aswell.
Cheers,
Tobias
How does it please handle navigating the XBMC menus?
Ive heard reports that the linux version struggles to thumbnail images quickly?
My Revo arrives monday with extra RAM, ive never touched Linux in my life!
Would someone please be kind enough to point me in the right direction to a guide to install XBMC on it?
Am i wipeing everything from it and starting a fresh with a special linux?? or just adding to the current setup?
Thanks in advance?
I would go with the live version will save you hassle and it works very well.
I installed mine on a 8gb SD card and left the content of the Hard disk alone.
so on default it boots xbmc-live on the SD card or I just hit F12 and tell it to boot from the Hard Drive for windows (not that I have used windows)
Got my self a remote from maplin in the uk Click Here for Details (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=218643) and that works out of the box.
Pete_London
2009-06-28, 23:47
I, on the other hand, would not recommend XBMC Live for the Revo as I feel I have wasted the last 4 weeks doing just that. For one thing, XBMC Lite won't install onto your internal hard drive on the Revo. (I tried on both my units, ended up installing it to an external hard drive in portable mode then putting that drive in the Revo)
I now have the 'minimal' XBMCbuntu as described here. (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=38804&highlight=usplash) Make sure you turn off RevoBoot in the BIOS before you start.
It took less than 30 minues to get the whole thing working.
I bought a Cyberlink MCE IR Remote on ebay for £10 delivered and the remote worked out of the box, no need to even install LIRC or configure a thing.
Use the following audio settings if just connecting it to a TV:
Digital
Off
Off
plughw:0,3
hdmi
On
(thanks to topfs2 and noikz for the plughw bit - it will play your MP3s at normal speed and play mono audio from movie trailers too)
Then throw on the Aeon Lite mod by Paul (see the Aeon forum) that has been designed for the xbox to keep your CPU load down and you have a spectacular HTPC for very little money. I'm 100% positive I could be running mine with the standard 1GB RAM, but will stick with the extra gig I stuck in to be sure.
Have fun..
Pete
thescorp
2009-06-29, 10:05
Just a little addin to Petes post.
On XBMC live, setting the output and passthrough to hdmi worked just fine, but on my xbmcbuntu install, it didnt for some weird reason, even tho everything looked fine when doing aplay -l and speaker-test (except...there was no sound!)
But then I changed it to plug:hdmi in both fields, and it works like a charm. This is on an Asrock ION 330 I might add.
burgemaster
2009-07-01, 23:03
Got my self a remote from maplin in the uk Click Here for Details (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=218643) and that works out of the box.
Thanks for this, if it works well I will buy one tmrw, my current windows Media remote, only a few buttons works (left,right up down, etc), and sometime even more annoyingly turns into a mouse pointer !
(its a SPEEDLINK SL-6399 Media Centre Remote Control)
http://images.play.com/covers/3356995m.jpg
I have XBMC Live installed to the Hard drive and its all working really well, just the remote to sort now.
Can you confirm that everything on the remote works? like power/tab info etc?
Pete is this your remote?
http://www.computers4-u.co.uk/product_thumb.php?img=images/MM00002_cyberlinkmedia.jpg&w=250&h=250
Does it also do everything?
ALSO: just noticed that the menu sounds arent working? do your revos have sound in the menu :)
Thanks everyone for the help
cucukozma
2009-07-08, 22:58
Hi,
I really need some help from you guys. I have a Revo 160gb Vista version from a few days ago. I already reed all the post and I installed on a external 1.8 inches hard drive the Ubuntu 2.26.1, build 05/06/2009. Was my first time linux experience.
After that I uninstalled the nvidia 180 drivers and installed the 185.18.14 nvidia drivers and the XBMC Jaunty.
I flashed my bios with the new one and I enabled the 512Mb for video card from bios. Also I solved the sound to HDMI situation.
After doing all of this I have a problem regarding the playback of the mkv files, 1080p. For the 720p mkv files the problem still persist less but...
The fps in XBMC it this almost all the time 24 fps. The cpu load it is no more then 20% for 1080p and no more then 10% 720p. Everything looks good until now but the playback it is most of the time like in slow motion, also I have dropped frames and goes more when I use fast forward. I can see a movie, the sound it is sync with the video, but it is very frustanting because, after all I saw hear the playback should be very great. I played movies from other external hard drive with USB and eSATA connection, from the inside harde drive and also from the external 1.8 inches hard drive and it is evreytime the same problem.
I think that I have the same problem like drefas and erhnam on their comment from page 9 but look like they solved their issue with the 512Mb allocated manual for GPU in bios.
I saw something about vsync not being enabled on motd2k comment from page 3, I found something about vsync in the nvidia X tool and I dont know if it is the the places where I should change this option.
Any ideas to help me, please? Take note that I`m using linux first time and you need to be more patient with me. :)
gabgab78
2009-07-11, 17:11
when you have optical in on your receiver, you can go directly from the USB audio plug, else you use an ebay adapter. all of these cheapo plugs use more or less the same chips (i.e. VIA, c-media etc.) which should be fully supported by ALSA.
so yes, you stick this audio usb plug in your revo, ALSA/XBMC will detect it, you select digital audio, and that's it. never understood why acer didn't include an SPDIF into the revo anyways....
Hi, I am planning to get a revo however I am concerned how to connect its audio to my receiver which has only coax and optical digital (SPDIF) inputs (and analog ones of course).
I am bit confused about what you said here, so can you please detail a bit more what you mean when you say "when you have optical in on your receiver, you can go directly from the USB audio plug"? :confused2:
There is no HDMI input on my receiver so I will need to find a way how I can get the digital signal to it using either the optical or coaxial inputs... :sniffle:
Any ideas are appreciated.
Hi, I am planning to get a revo however I am concerned how to connect its audio to my receiver which has only coax and optical digital (SPDIF) inputs (and analog ones of course).
I am bit confused about what you said here, so can you please detail a bit more what you mean when you say "when you have optical in on your receiver, you can go directly from the USB audio plug"? :confused2:
There is no HDMI input on my receiver so I will need to find a way how I can get the digital signal to it using either the optical or coaxial inputs... :sniffle:
Any ideas are appreciated.
Hi,
I had the same problem as you. My AV Receiver is not HDMI capable so I order a usb to spdif converter like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330338005136
When pluged in the Revo, it gives a new audio card (with only spdif capability):
lsusb
Bus 002 Device 003: ID 09ef:0101 Xitel MD-Port DG2 MiniDisc Interface
aplay -l
**** List of PLAYBACK Hardware Devices ****
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 0: ALC662 Analog [ALC662 Analog]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 0: NVidia [HDA NVidia], device 3: NVIDIA HDMI [NVIDIA HDMI]
Subdevices: 1/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
card 1: DG2 [MD-PORT DG2], device 0: USB Audio [USB Audio]
Subdevices: 0/1
Subdevice #0: subdevice #0
To use it, that was a little bit tricky for me. I eventually found the solution by directly changing the default card in the alsa conf.
In /usr/share/alsa/alsa.conf
Change :
defaults.ctl.card 0
defaults.pcm.card 0
To :
defaults.ctl.card DG2
defaults.pcm.card DG2
I could have use 1 in place of DG2 (which is the alias for my usb card, but like this, if the number changes, it still works)
In XBMC, I let the default/iec958 option and just enabled digital output (and DTS/Dolby Digital of course).
That works perfectly for now (meaning till I have enough to buy a HDMI AV Receiver ;) )
The only drawback I now have with the Revo is subtitle display that doesn't always work with VDPAU (although it then works with auto, but the atom can't then decode the video :().
Regards,
Typhoe
gabgab78
2009-07-12, 20:00
thanks for the response typhoe.
I tried to check the link, unfortunately the item is not available anymore. I was looking the one below as well, do you think this will do the job too?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=230352856961
regarding to the subtitles have you tried another xbmc build?
Not sure.
In the item description, there's:
Only R L channel PCM audio in 5.1 channel can be conveyed in digital playback mode
Does that mean that you'll only get 2.0 in spdif output????
You should ask the vendor to be sur...
I'm actually only using a XBMC Live usb key. I'm planning to install it on the hard drive and use the svn ppa version as soon as possible.
Regards,
typhoe
gabgab78
2009-07-13, 15:43
actually there is an alternative to the revo.
It's called ASrock ION 330. It has built in TOSLINK connector.
This case I don't need to worry about getting a sub to spdif converter...
jimbosis
2009-07-15, 23:59
Curious where (if anywhere) North American buyers are finding Revo's, the cheap ones (1GB/SSD) that is. Went through Froogle.co.uk and nobody pricing the Revo under 200 pounds seemed to have one in stock. Lots of them available at +/- 350 but out of stock on all the inexpensive ones.
Electronic Megastore, who pops up on the US Froogle @ 269, seem sketchy as hell (no reply back on 24 hr re: whether units are in stock and only takes bank transfers).
One seller on Ebay has them starting at 335 USD Buy it Now including shipping from Taiwan. Considering the sold out units in UK start at 135 before VAT, that's a decent markup he's making. (Pound = 1.65 USD... 135# = 226USD).
Would be quite happy to buy one myself from Taiwan if I in fact knew Mandarin.
Any suggestions?
got mine last week from simplyacer, they had 20+ in stock then, they all seem to have gone.
The SSD model is discontinued, it now has a 160GB harddrive.
I have a question about my Revo. I use my Revo together with my Onkyo 507 receiver. Whenever I reboot my Revo with the Onkyo switched off, I'm no longer able to pick-up the hdmi signal when switching the Onkyo on. Is there a solution for this? Like always sending a signal to HDMI, even when there's no tv or receiver connected or on?
sparkyhall
2009-07-21, 13:39
Adding the following line in the screen section of your xorg.conf file.
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"
This should force output via your HDMI port.
Adding the following line in the screen section of your xorg.conf file.
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP"
This should force output via your HDMI port.
Almost. I added a line with:
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-1"
This did the trick! Another question. As I described I had a black screen when the TV was switched off before X was started. With this line added the signal is there but the resolution is 640x480. Any idea how I configure X to have default 1080p@60hz?
JUICESIX90
2009-07-22, 00:14
Almost. I added a line with:
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-1"
This did the trick! Another question. As I described I had a black screen when the TV was switched off before X was started. With this line added the signal is there but the resolution is 640x480. Any idea how I configure X to have default 1080p@60hz?
Thanks! I thought my Revo had an issue with it. Mines also going through an Onkyo amp.
Gonna add that code later ;)
sparkyhall
2009-07-22, 00:25
@erhnam that's because there is no edid information to read so X does not now what resolutions your TV can support so it plays safe and sets it to 640x480. The way I solved this was to save a copy of the edid info as a file in xbmc home directory and then I use the file instead by adding the following option to xorg.conf.
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-1:/home/xbmc/youredid.bin"
I saved a copy of my edid running the nvidia-settings app while logged in via ssh.
With fixed modlines inside the xorg.conf it didnt work ?
With fixed modlines inside the xorg.conf it didnt work ?
You should add it under the section screen:
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Screen0"
Device "Device0"
Monitor "Monitor0"
DefaultDepth 24
Option "NoLogo" "True"
Option "ConnectedMonitor" "DFP-1"
Option "metamodes" "1920x1080_60 +0+0"
SubSection "Display"
Depth 24
Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"
Modes "1920x1080_60"
EndSubSection
EndSection
@erhnam that's because there is no edid information to read so X does not now what resolutions your TV can support so it plays safe and sets it to 640x480. The way I solved this was to save a copy of the edid info as a file in xbmc home directory and then I use the file instead by adding the following option to xorg.conf.
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-1:/home/xbmc/youredid.bin"
I saved a copy of my edid running the nvidia-settings app while logged in via ssh.
I don't have Gnome or something else installed (only xbmc live). Do you know to dump a copy of the edid file by command line?
I don't have Gnome or something else installed (only xbmc live). Do you know to dump a copy of the edid file by command line?
This should be the trick:
nvidia-xconfig --extract-edids-from-file=/var/log/Xorg.0.log --extract-edids-output-file=/etc/X11/tv-edid.bin
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Nvidia-cards_and_no_picture_when_box_is_on_before_the_TV
I assume this is correct?
(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$ nvidia-xconfig -extract-edids-from-file=xlog.txt -extract-edids-output-file=tv-edid.bin
Found 1 EDID in "xlog.txt".
Wrote EDID for "ONK TX-SR507 (DFP-1)" to "tv-edid.bin" (256 bytes).
(T: XBMCLive)xbmc@XBMCLive:~$
sparkyhall
2009-07-23, 00:21
That looks like it should do it.
I too am running XBMClive but I installed nvidia-settings and then run it from another Linux box using X-forwarding via ssh. I had to run nvidia-settings from the terminal using "nvidia-settings -c :0.0" to force it to use the info from my TV rather than my Linux box display.
Hi,
I am new to linux and stuff. And I tried the guide, but with no luck.
Maby one of you guys can make an working distro to the REVO?
With nvidia drivers/plugins/addons/ssh etc...
regards
There is a new bios v2 out (R01.A2L). Anyone can tell me what's new or what you have experienced so far?
http://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles/BIOS/BIOS/BIOS_Acer_R01.A2L_A_AR3600.zip?acerid=633848650033 682012&Step1=Desktop&Step2=Aspire&Step3=Aspire%20R3600&OS=V10&LC=en&SC=EMEA_27
There is a new bios v2 out (R01.A2L). Anyone can tell me what's new or what you have experienced so far?
http://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles/BIOS/BIOS/BIOS_Acer_R01.A2L_A_AR3600.zip?acerid=633848650033 682012&Step1=Desktop&Step2=Aspire&Step3=Aspire%20R3600&OS=V10&LC=en&SC=EMEA_27
Thats for the linux machine
if you have the windows one then CLICK HERE (http://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles/BIOS/BIOS/BIOS_Acer_R01.A2_A_AR3600.zip?acerid=6338452660634 58087&Step1=Desktop&Step2=Aspire&Step3=Aspire R3600&OS=V10&LC=en&SC=EMEA_27) should be the windows version R01.A2
BIOS Acer BIOS for Linux & FreeDOS R01.A2L 1.2 MB 2009/08/03
BIOS Acer BIOS R01.A2 1.4 MB 2009/07/30
deepc0re
2009-08-08, 19:47
Hello! I´m running XBMC under Ubuntu 9.04 and are having problems with the HDMI audio on my REVO.
I often lose the audio when I pause or stop a movie. I then have to power off (reboot won´t do) and boot the machine again to get the audio back. Anybody else had this problem ?
I´m also having jerky movement on many 1080 h264 encoded movies.
This problem has been since Ive got the machine.
This what is currently running;
$ uname -a -r
Linux tremolo 2.6.28-14-generic #47-Ubuntu SMP Sat Jul 25 00:28:35 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux
$ cat /proc/asound/version
Advanced Linux Sound Architecture Driver Version 1.0.18rc3.
I´m currently running the NVIDIA-Linux-x86-185.18.31 driver (I have tested all the previous ones including the betas and there is no difference).
Oh, and I have not upgraded the BIOS.
coalfield
2009-09-16, 16:09
@erhnam that's because there is no edid information to read so X does not now what resolutions your TV can support so it plays safe and sets it to 640x480. The way I solved this was to save a copy of the edid info as a file in xbmc home directory and then I use the file instead by adding the following option to xorg.conf.
Option "CustomEDID" "DFP-1:/home/xbmc/youredid.bin"
I saved a copy of my edid running the nvidia-settings app while logged in via ssh.
This is very interesting, becuase I too have an issue with my amp / tv compination that when running in a full resolution 1360x768, i get the screen in green. In windows I fix this by forcing the resolution down to 720p and it works perfectly. Since the display is automatically found as max res 1360x768, I cannot change it do 720p. If i do this in xbmc it simply does it by scaling not actually changing the resolution output.
I need to force the output to 720p, but I cannot dump my TV bin file since its actually 1366x768. Any ideas.... :S
rebaker501
2009-11-16, 22:55
How does the Revo 230 handle xvid/divx encoded files? on Linux? on Windows 7? I am replacing an old xbox but only have $200 in the budget.