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Topic: GATOS ATI Drivers, For those of us without Nvidia's...

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Max

Group: Members
Posts: 211
Joined: July 2004

Posted: Feb. 02 2005,14:43

I know they are *mostly* geared toward AIW and TV capture, but they also turn on the TV out and enable DRI in hardware. And they support this old MACH64 (Mobility M1) card.

I was actually pretty pumped when I got the TV-out to work at all using atitvout. And then when I got mplayer to push a full screen Nero Digital encoded movie via VESA from the console screen to the TV I thought I was pretty close (LOL - I had to touch type the mplayer command as I couldn't read the tiny letters on the screen).

But the CPU just isn't fast enough to display the movie without some jerkiness so I started trying to find a way to use more of the direct hardware features of the chip.

I have a lot of links to miscellaneous comments and code/patches on trying to get this working if those might help. I just didn't have enough knowledge on how to properly compile or install some of them.

When you're ready for a beta-tester...let me know.

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Using DSL on: IBM T42, IBM 560x, Dell Dimension CPx

clivesay

Group: Guests
Posts: 935
Joined: Dec. 2003

Posted: Feb. 02 2005,15:54

Max -

I pm'd THIS link to SaidinUnleashed since he has been on an ATI mission and the person with the commands claims this will fix the mesa issues SU has been dealing with. Don't know if it will work but I am holding onto hope.

Chris

Max

Group: Members
Posts: 211
Joined: July 2004

Posted: Feb. 02 2005,18:52

Unfortunately, the fglrx drivers are only for the *newer* radeon ATI cards that ATI has decided to provide a modicum of support for under Linux. For older cards like mine, the GATOS ones still seem to be the best (and maybe only) option.

I'm also going to try out the Movix distro tonight on my notebook to see if that works. It claims to support ATI cards.

While DSL is my favorite distro, I'm just wanting to set up a dedicated "set-top" box (read...old notebook) that will play streaming music and movies to my TV from a server out in my office. Once it's running, I don't want to have to touch it (except with an IR remote).

I'm also keeping my eye out on the new Apex DVD box that is suppose to be out in a couple of months. Supports streaming off the network and DivX/Xvid/Nero Digital/WMA codecs. Cost will probably be about $150.

And then there's the option of a used Xbox running linux XBMC. There's been some pretty sweet reviews of that system and the screenies look nice. It certainly helps the developers when the hardware platform is pretty much fixed.

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Using DSL on: IBM T42, IBM 560x, Dell Dimension CPx

cbagger01

Group: Members
Posts: 4264
Joined: Oct. 2003

Posted: Feb. 03 2005,04:28

XBMC is a very cool program. I am familiarizing myself with it at the moment.

In addition to streaming local audio & video and Shoutcast Internet radio stations, you can also stream live Internet TV stations from around the world on your television set if you have a high speed Internet connection.

My desired setup is as follows:

(1) Refurbished version1.0 XBOX $88 - Gift from brother
(1) XBOX DVD playback kit (IR remote control) $20
(1) XBOX controller extension cable $16
(1) USB extension cable (already own one)
(1) Sandisk Micro Cruzer 128MB flash drive $20
(1) James Bond 007 Agent Under Fire game rental from Blockbuster $5

Using published software mod methods and software hacks from the Internet, the xbox is modified to be able to run non-Microsoft signed code, like the Linux operating system or the XBMC media program(which is based on the mplayer project, by the way).

Next, need to wirelessly access the Internet and local media servers (both linux & MSWin) from the xbox in the living room.

(1) Linksys WRT54g (linux-based) wireless router in computer room next to Cable Modem $49
(1) Linksys WRT54g wireless router in living room $49

Replace original Linksys firmware with open-source alternative firmware from sveasoft (sartori version) and enable WDS wireless distribution system. Then convert the WRT54g in the living room into a wireless bridge/switch. This gives you the ability to connect up to (4) wired LAN devices in your living room and they will behave as if they were physically connected to your wired Home LAN back in the computer room.

Put it all together and spend several WEEKS of personal time getting things to work and you have a pretty nice media extender without spending a lot of money.

You can play media files directly from your local media fileserver, or you can set up a streaming system like edna for music. Also, if you have a capture card, you can use a program like VLC to stream the live captured video over to your XBOX / XBMC.

Of course, you can also do this with a nice Epia system + DSL + freevo or other media center program but the XBOX was a gift and I needed to put it to good use.