Omega graphic processor
By Phoebe - usenet poster
Have you seen that microdigital provides some information about the graphics
processor used in their Omega computer? You will find it here:
#
Can you please express your opinion about that? How does it compare to the
RiscPC and to modern PCs. Will we be able to see DVD Videos with that?
Michael Gerbracht
--
Michael Gerbracht
German RISC OS news and magazin: #
Acorn Newsletter: #
RISC OS Wishlist: #
Solution #1
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Mini Me - usenet poster
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I read somewhere DeCSS has been deemed legal, if that's so then there
should be no problem. And it's also true that not all DVD are CSS
encoded (trouble is most movie ones are - and there lies the rub).
The hardware implements the hardware decoding of some of the inner
looping elements of the Descrete Cosine Transform (DCT) which is the
slow part of the process. On paper their Northbridge (combined memory
controller/graphics controller) should handle MPEG2 of sufficient
quality to match DVD (once you've DeCSS'ed it).
If MD license the (official) DVD standard then ANY DVD drive could be
used to replay DVD video at high quality (legally). Regional encoding
is a different issue (CSS works the same in any event) but usually
you're allowed only switch regions a limited number of times BEFORE
the player locks to the last setting.
The multiple pipelines, paralelled multiply-accumilates instructions
suggest that it WILL provide some assist for software 3D rendering,
all the work won't need to be done by the ARM anymore.
Hey guys no matter how it performs it will still outperform a solitary
SA with a I/O bus speed of 16MHz (they [MD] quote 800Million Ops per
second which is nothing to sneeze at). It may not make nVidia decamp
and run for the hills, but it will provide a useful speed boost that
will (combined with ARM/RISC OS's efficiencies) provide a platform
that should outperform the Windows/PC alternative in several areas and
where it doesn't it should not be an embarrasment either.
Any news on what southbridge they're using ? or is it a FPGA as well.
By the way getting 100MHz ops out of an FPGA (as MD claim to have
done) is pretty impressive.
Regards
Annraoi
should be no problem. And it's also true that not all DVD are CSS
encoded (trouble is most movie ones are - and there lies the rub).
The hardware implements the hardware decoding of some of the inner
looping elements of the Descrete Cosine Transform (DCT) which is the
slow part of the process. On paper their Northbridge (combined memory
controller/graphics controller) should handle MPEG2 of sufficient
quality to match DVD (once you've DeCSS'ed it).
If MD license the (official) DVD standard then ANY DVD drive could be
used to replay DVD video at high quality (legally). Regional encoding
is a different issue (CSS works the same in any event) but usually
you're allowed only switch regions a limited number of times BEFORE
the player locks to the last setting.
The multiple pipelines, paralelled multiply-accumilates instructions
suggest that it WILL provide some assist for software 3D rendering,
all the work won't need to be done by the ARM anymore.
Hey guys no matter how it performs it will still outperform a solitary
SA with a I/O bus speed of 16MHz (they [MD] quote 800Million Ops per
second which is nothing to sneeze at). It may not make nVidia decamp
and run for the hills, but it will provide a useful speed boost that
will (combined with ARM/RISC OS's efficiencies) provide a platform
that should outperform the Windows/PC alternative in several areas and
where it doesn't it should not be an embarrasment either.
Any news on what southbridge they're using ? or is it a FPGA as well.
By the way getting 100MHz ops out of an FPGA (as MD claim to have
done) is pretty impressive.
Regards
Annraoi
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Solution #2
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Pasty - usenet poster
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Why ?
Every graphics card in existance (nvidia, matrox, 3dfx and so on) all
use their own custom chips. They then compromise by introducing a PCI
or AGP interface.
The AGP port is simply a proprietary published design by Intel. It
confers no additional advantage to the chipset on the graphics card. I
suspect you'd need to pay royalty to use it, and you'd then need to
license MS DirectX to make any use of the existing (PC optimised)
cards in which case it may (longterm) work out better (and cheaper) to
roll your own chip and implement it on a motherboard dedicated to it.
This particularly makes sense if the memory, I/O and video systems are
designed for optimal performance - this will always give the best
possible performance. The only downside is that you wouldn't be able
to substitute someone else video hardware (but then that might
introduce compatability problems and other issues anyway - and who
needs those).
nVidia's nForce motherboard uses a (proprietary) chipset that includes
their graphics technology (and no need for AGP afaik), which seems to
show the wisdom of that approach.
Before people site how "cheap" AGP cards are bear in mind to use them
MD would need to license AGP and then license DirectX (if that is
possible) and all that adds up to a substantial cost just in order to
let someone else supply the graphic cards (not a very viable economic
option methinks). Ok if MD sold 100,000 units the cost per unit might
be not much extra per machine - but at 1,000 or 2,000 units it becomes
frightningly expensive. What's the point saving ??100 on a graphics
card and paying ??200 extra for the machine ?
So do I.
Regards
Annraoi
Every graphics card in existance (nvidia, matrox, 3dfx and so on) all
use their own custom chips. They then compromise by introducing a PCI
or AGP interface.
The AGP port is simply a proprietary published design by Intel. It
confers no additional advantage to the chipset on the graphics card. I
suspect you'd need to pay royalty to use it, and you'd then need to
license MS DirectX to make any use of the existing (PC optimised)
cards in which case it may (longterm) work out better (and cheaper) to
roll your own chip and implement it on a motherboard dedicated to it.
This particularly makes sense if the memory, I/O and video systems are
designed for optimal performance - this will always give the best
possible performance. The only downside is that you wouldn't be able
to substitute someone else video hardware (but then that might
introduce compatability problems and other issues anyway - and who
needs those).
nVidia's nForce motherboard uses a (proprietary) chipset that includes
their graphics technology (and no need for AGP afaik), which seems to
show the wisdom of that approach.
Before people site how "cheap" AGP cards are bear in mind to use them
MD would need to license AGP and then license DirectX (if that is
possible) and all that adds up to a substantial cost just in order to
let someone else supply the graphic cards (not a very viable economic
option methinks). Ok if MD sold 100,000 units the cost per unit might
be not much extra per machine - but at 1,000 or 2,000 units it becomes
frightningly expensive. What's the point saving ??100 on a graphics
card and paying ??200 extra for the machine ?
So do I.
Regards
Annraoi
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Solution #3
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Joey2 - usenet poster
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Because RISC OS and it's software won't work with one?
Yes I know there is Viewfinder but, and no disrespect to John Kortnik
who has made a tremendous achievement, a Viewfinder equipped RISC PC
has the ability to swap back to the VIDC20 in order to run that piece
of software that just won't co-operate. The Omega won't have this
ability and, given that no AGP cards will emulate the VIDC20, they
don't appear to have had much choice
No matter how good it is I doubt it'll match a good AGP card, but then
that's not the point either.
Lee
Yes I know there is Viewfinder but, and no disrespect to John Kortnik
who has made a tremendous achievement, a Viewfinder equipped RISC PC
has the ability to swap back to the VIDC20 in order to run that piece
of software that just won't co-operate. The Omega won't have this
ability and, given that no AGP cards will emulate the VIDC20, they
don't appear to have had much choice
No matter how good it is I doubt it'll match a good AGP card, but then
that's not the point either.
Lee
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Solution #4
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Charlie - usenet poster
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In message < "Mark Quint" <2.co.uk
That shouldn't be a major problem any more - All MD need to provide is
a good mpeg2 player, (Not all DVDs use CSS anyway) someone who lives
in the right country is likely to produce a freeware CSSFS.
--
Jess
icq 91353267 # Using RISC OS 4
That shouldn't be a major problem any more - All MD need to provide is
a good mpeg2 player, (Not all DVDs use CSS anyway) someone who lives
in the right country is likely to produce a freeware CSSFS.
--
Jess
icq 91353267 # Using RISC OS 4
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Solution #5
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Odud - usenet poster
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On a sunny Thu, 15 Nov 2001 18:45:45 -0000 Mark Quint gathered a sheaf of
electrons and etched in their motions the following immortal words:
I still dont understand why this machine has a custom video chip. surely an
AGP port would have been wiser?
I hope 'lightening' really /is/ as good as its claimed to be...
electrons and etched in their motions the following immortal words:
I still dont understand why this machine has a custom video chip. surely an
AGP port would have been wiser?
I hope 'lightening' really /is/ as good as its claimed to be...
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Solution #6
posted on Aug 01, 2007
Ross - usenet poster
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from what I can see it doesnt really tell us too much,
it'll be able to assist with mpeg2s & take the load off the processor, so
perhaps
there may be enough power there for a SA RPC to play DVDs, but even then
you've got the same problems that Linux had with legal issues.
Shame it tells us nothing about the 3D side of the lightning graphics card
:(
it'll be able to assist with mpeg2s & take the load off the processor, so
perhaps
there may be enough power there for a SA RPC to play DVDs, but even then
you've got the same problems that Linux had with legal issues.
Shame it tells us nothing about the 3D side of the lightning graphics card
:(
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