Apple TV decoding 1080p without even trying (mod required)
Many people have problems with the ATV because it can't do 1080p decoding. That deficiency is about to change very quickly with some software and a $25 minipcie card (at the expense of wifi).
Most of you running Apple TV should by now be aware of the XBMC project. Well its not just for Xbox anymore since its now running on just about anything, Win, Mac (ATV), Linux and yea Xbox. One of the project developers has been working on a pet project since the start of the summer. Most of the details have no been confirmed and the software is still being worked on but it's getting closer by the week.
For the cost of $25 give or take (on ebay) you can purchase a broadcom BCM70012 MPEG PCI-E HD Decoder Chipset.
Link: http://www.broadcom.com/products/Con...tions/BCM70012
In short its a minipcie card that would REPLACE* the WIFI card in the Apple TV and provide all the speed required to decode just about 1080p content you throw at it.
* An acceptable trade off for anyone who's dealing with 1080p video since they would surely run ethernet to any Apple TV they were using to decode 1080p. Nobody in their right mind would expect 1080p to work reliably over wifi to begin with and since the Apple TV in its unmodified form can't do 1080p in the first place the point is moot. Two choices, 1080 decoding or built-in wifi pick the one thats right for you.
Anyway for those interested this thread is a good history of the goings on... Don't skip to the end cause lots of questions are answered across the numerous pages.
Link: http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55042
And for those of you using your thinking caps... yes... other Apple hardware with built-in WIFI also utilize a mini-pice card that could be replaced with this broadcom solution... This includes some of the mini's (not all and not the 2009 model) as well as the Mac Books and perhaps the iMac (but you'd need to do your own research to make sure).
Dave
Most of you running Apple TV should by now be aware of the XBMC project. Well its not just for Xbox anymore since its now running on just about anything, Win, Mac (ATV), Linux and yea Xbox. One of the project developers has been working on a pet project since the start of the summer. Most of the details have no been confirmed and the software is still being worked on but it's getting closer by the week.
For the cost of $25 give or take (on ebay) you can purchase a broadcom BCM70012 MPEG PCI-E HD Decoder Chipset.
Link: http://www.broadcom.com/products/Con...tions/BCM70012
In short its a minipcie card that would REPLACE* the WIFI card in the Apple TV and provide all the speed required to decode just about 1080p content you throw at it.
* An acceptable trade off for anyone who's dealing with 1080p video since they would surely run ethernet to any Apple TV they were using to decode 1080p. Nobody in their right mind would expect 1080p to work reliably over wifi to begin with and since the Apple TV in its unmodified form can't do 1080p in the first place the point is moot. Two choices, 1080 decoding or built-in wifi pick the one thats right for you.
Anyway for those interested this thread is a good history of the goings on... Don't skip to the end cause lots of questions are answered across the numerous pages.
Link: http://www.xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=55042
And for those of you using your thinking caps... yes... other Apple hardware with built-in WIFI also utilize a mini-pice card that could be replaced with this broadcom solution... This includes some of the mini's (not all and not the 2009 model) as well as the Mac Books and perhaps the iMac (but you'd need to do your own research to make sure).
Dave