Smart Home Blog

The VDPAU is packaged as standalone library. It’ll be still included into proprietary nVidia drivers to avoid additional installations. As I understand it’s done to provide some generic way for communications between OS and hardware for Linux. Something similar to DirectX. Good idea in my mind but I suspect that the other producers of video adapters will promote their solutions instead of using and improving of VDPAU.

In any case, nVidia video cards is still the best option for Linux users. Especially with supporting of VDPAU which allows to play HD content even on Atom processor.

CaptiveWorks launched High Definition Linux Media Center CW-4000HD. It based on AMD 5000+ X2 Processor and includes 512 MB DDRII RAM (can be expandable to 8GB), 1GB Fast System Flash, Nvidia GeForce 7050, Satellite Tuner Genpix Skywalker-CW3K, DVDRW. Optionally HDD and ATSC Tuner can be added. The CW-4000HD provides HDMI/SVGA/Component/S-Video video and Analog/SPDIF Dolby Digital audio outputs as well as gigabit Ethernet and six USB ports.

The CW-4000HD can really replace satellite receiver, DVD and network players. It provides PVR functionality – pause, record, schedule etc, for Satellite/Digital TV, supports IPTV, P2P TV and web video services, allows to playback video and music from the HDD, network shares and USB storage and shows pictures. Additionally it gives possibility to listen Internet radio, read RSS, browse web sites, play arcade games (MAME emulator), convert recorded TV shows in the desire format and burn them to CDs or DVDs.

Most of features listed above are implemented using amazing open source software Video Disk Recorder (VDR) and its plug-ins. However the version of VDR included into the CW-4000HD is too old to support DVB-S2 (it’s just 1.5.8). So, you won’t watch the real HD channels on that box. But except that the CW-4000HD looks very attractive in my mind. I like the idea to use open source software in the commercial systems. It definitely should give a renewed impetus to the progress and popularity of VDR.

The CaptiveWorks CW-4000HD is available on the GOsatellite.com at the price $449.99.

I already wrote about plans of TechnoTrend to stop producing of its famous DVB cards which supported very well by Linux. But today I found information about buying of TechnoTrend by the Gorler Telekom. That’s really good because the Gorler Telekom is going to continue developing and producing DVB cards. So, Linux users will have a well-supported DVB cards again.

The new site of Gorler Telekom & TechnoTrend can be found here.

Here is a hack with allows to add a display to your Linux-based router or NAS equiped with USB port. That display It can be DisplayLink device (Samsung U70, for example) or 4D Systems OLED Display Graphics Module. You may watch log of your NAS or control applications which run on your WiFi router or server without separate PC or notebook.

[via Engadget]

Klaus Schmidinger released today next developer version of VDR 1.7.7. There are following changes since 1.7.6:

* a new function GetVideoSize() was added to get the size and aspect ratio of the video material currently displayed. That function should be used to determine the proper size of the OSD.
* the OSD and font sizes now are defined in percent of the actual video display size. Maximum size of OSD can be set to 1920×1080.
* OSD size is adjusted automatically according to information returned by GetVideoSize().

VDR 1.7.7 can be found here and diff between 1.7.6 and 1.7.7 here.