On 16 Oct, this message from Michael Schmitz echoed through cyberspace: >> As for the iBook2, I would be surprised if it couldn't play DVDs. > > Sure it can - with the hardware decoder used (assuming it has such a > beast; the Lombard does).
No dedicated hardware, just hardware assistance from the ATI Mobility M3, which does iDCT, motion compensation and colorspace conversion in hardware. > Figure out how that's used by MockOS, and write > a driver. Colorspace conversion is taken care of by Xvideo in XF4. But unfortunately that is not enough on a G3 processor. On a G4, it is barely enough when using Altivec-optimized iDCT and motion, considering a preemtive multitasking environment. > I imagine playing DVDs pretty much clashes with preemptive scheduling and > other tasks using the CPU under Linux (if the CPU is maxed out by the > decoder). The G3 is maxed out and doesn't get full framerate (probably around 60% max). The G4 with Altivec decoder sofwtare is not, but obviously latencies can kill you here, so you need a few spare cycles ;-) Hope this helps Michel ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michel Lanners | " Read Philosophy. Study Art. 23, Rue Paul Henkes | Ask Questions. Make Mistakes. L-1710 Luxembourg | email [EMAIL PROTECTED] | http://www.cpu.lu/~mlan | Learn Always. "
