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Author Topic: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?  (Read 33131 times)

ShirazD

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Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« on: September 22, 2013, 12:57:56 am »

thanks
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leezer3

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2013, 01:04:44 pm »

I am not a dev, but it's unlikely, at least at first :)
MC requires SSE2, MMX and various other x86 instruction sets.

I don't know exactly how much core code would need to be rewritten to work on ARM, but it'd be quite a bit. On the flip side, MC does have Gizmo for Android, so there's obvious experience in writing limited ARM code.

-Leezer-
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JimH

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2013, 03:56:46 pm »

No Arm.  Maybe some day.
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astromo

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2013, 07:00:10 pm »

OK, I'll take one for the team.

The detail at the top of:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=82440.0
is light on.

So, what's minimum hardware architecture that the platform is expected to run on? It's hard for me to work out how I could sensibly use a Linux version, until I can get a good handle on the hardware involved.

BTW I'm a Linux Super Noob. My exposure to this sort of IT was back in my Uni days running Fortran code on a VAX with Unix as the operating system...   :o    ... so be gentle.

If, it's too early for this kind of question - fine..   8)
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JimH

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2013, 08:10:14 pm »

DG/UX.
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JohnT

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #5 on: September 27, 2013, 10:22:33 am »

BTW I'm a Linux Super Noob. My exposure to this sort of IT was back in my Uni days running Fortran code on a VAX with Unix as the operating system...   :o    ... so be gentle.
Ha! Back in the day, I wrote Fortran code for CAD software that ran on a Data General MV/4000 running AOS/VS and later DG/UX.
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John Thompson, JRiver Media Center

BryanC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #6 on: September 27, 2013, 02:07:56 pm »

Can library server run as a daemon on Linux? I'm trying to determine what type of low-power systems this could run on. I would ideally like to run MC Library Server on my Pi, but without ARM support I might have to look into a low-cost, low-power ITX solution.
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MrC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2013, 02:37:02 pm »

Ha! Back in the day, I wrote Fortran code for CAD software that ran on a Data General MV/4000 running AOS/VS and later DG/UX.

Ahh, the competition.  I was a Convex kernel guy for a while.
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JohnT

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #8 on: September 27, 2013, 02:55:29 pm »

Ahh, the competition.  I was a Convex kernel guy for a while.
I don't think we ever ran on Convex, but we did port to HP-UX, IBM RS/6000, Apollo, Mac II, DOS, and Windows.  We also wholesale converted from Fortran to C code at some point - that was interesting.
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John Thompson, JRiver Media Center

MrC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2013, 03:00:35 pm »

Right, ConvexOS was proprietary, BSD 4.2x based.  We contributed some kernel code to what would become BSD 4.3.  DG was, like Apollo, Cray (at the low end), Evans and Sutherland and a few others whose names escape me, one of our competitors.  Some of the founders came from DG.
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JohnT

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2013, 03:08:46 pm »

The DG series we used for development was the subject of that Pulitzer Prize winning book "Soul of a New Machine" by Tracy Kidder.   Good read.
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John Thompson, JRiver Media Center

MrC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2013, 03:17:59 pm »

Added to my Wish List, thanks.
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kstuart

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2013, 08:39:02 pm »

Ha! Back in the day, I wrote Fortran code for CAD software that ran on a Data General MV/4000 running AOS/VS and later DG/UX.
Fortran for CAD software that ran on IBM 360 mainframes.

We would get this incredibly complex error codes, and then we would go to a 10 volume manual with seemingly thousands of pages and get this unfathomable English explanation.

After taking the English jargon to the head developer, he would intone:

" You've run out of disk space. "

Ryssen

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #13 on: September 28, 2013, 03:36:29 am »

Quote
Added to my Wish List, thanks.
Where´s the Wish list?
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MrC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #14 on: September 28, 2013, 03:38:37 am »

Amazon.com
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Ryssen

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #15 on: September 28, 2013, 04:05:45 am »

Do you have a direct link?
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astromo

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #16 on: September 29, 2013, 03:58:30 pm »

Can library server run as a daemon on Linux? I'm trying to determine what type of low-power systems this could run on. I would ideally like to run MC Library Server on my Pi, but without ARM support I might have to look into a low-cost, low-power ITX solution.

Please share your hardware investigations.


Ha! Back in the day, I wrote Fortran code for CAD software that ran on a Data General MV/4000 running AOS/VS and later DG/UX.
Wow, looks like I set off a trip down memory lane.. nice.
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ShirazD

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #17 on: October 01, 2013, 12:01:31 pm »

I'm with BryanC. If it won't run on ARM, ie. the Raspberry Pi, I'll be wondering what low-power ITX systems will work, emphasis on low-power, fanless, and cheap. A single-chip system with integrated high end graphics and HDMI, without much need for much CPU, ie. an Intel version of Pi.

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Ryssen

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #18 on: October 01, 2013, 02:40:44 pm »

Quote
No Arm.  Maybe some day.
Let´s hope that day comes soon.. ::)
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BryanC

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #19 on: October 01, 2013, 03:15:04 pm »

Please share your hardware investigations.

Fan-less (can't handle 1080p reliably):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186232

Not fanless, but considerable jump in power and can probably do 1080p if you're looking for an HTPC/server combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138368

I am just looking for a headless server, so the quietness and power savings on the Atom board probably win out here.

You can probably find an older used laptop on eBay or CL that would work too. Throw an XFCE-based distro on it, disable the screen, and run it closed.
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ShirazD

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #20 on: October 15, 2013, 02:19:53 am »

hmm... i do want fanless AND hdmi. the Pi can do it because of the high end integrated graphics... surely there's something like that in an Intel processor mini
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csimon

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2013, 07:01:44 am »

There are indeed some fanless, low-power mini PCs around, depends how much you want to pay though!

Google for Intense PC, Fit PC and Tiny Green PC.

I have a Core i7 Intense PC with SSD to run MC - it cost a bomb but it does do 1080p and has extremely low power consumption.  It was an extravagance!
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mwillems

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2013, 07:31:23 am »

There are indeed some fanless, low-power mini PCs around, depends how much you want to pay though!

Google for Intense PC, Fit PC and Tiny Green PC.

I have a Core i7 Intense PC with SSD to run MC - it cost a bomb but it does do 1080p and has extremely low power consumption.  It was an extravagance!

@csimon, I had previously looked at the intense PCs, in part because they look super cool design-wise and you can get them in an i7.  Can you use ROHQ with yours?  If so, what settings (upscaling, etc.) do you use?
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csimon

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #23 on: October 15, 2013, 07:52:48 am »

I'm still playing around with ROHQ.  It's not quite working, but there are lots of variables that you can alter (in the normal MC options even, not madvr).  It's certainly fine on RO Standard and I had it working originally but in my messing around with ROHQ I think I've not put something back correctly and every so often, about once every 15 seconds, I get a slight "judder" even in RO Std.

I wasn't able to pin down which setting affects what. Being in Theater View as opposed to Standard View seems to affect it, together with the "automatically adjust frame rate" options.  Setting the video card option to Automatic, Low, Medium or High didn't seem to affect anything at all.

I had it working at one point without any judder in ROHQ but there was a lip-sync issue. I couldn't get judder free ROHQ working with proper lip-sync - it was one or the other!

I'm convinced it should handle it though, it's just a question of finding the right configuration. To be perfectly frank though, I couldn't really detect any difference between ROSTD and ROHQ...
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mwillems

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #24 on: October 15, 2013, 08:01:31 am »

I'm still playing around with ROHQ.  It's not quite working, but there are lots of variables that you can alter (in the normal MC options even, not madvr).  It's certainly fine on RO Standard and I had it working originally but in my messing around with ROHQ I think I've not put something back correctly and every so often, about once every 15 seconds, I get a slight "judder" even in RO Std.

I wasn't able to pin down which setting affects what. Being in Theater View as opposed to Standard View seems to affect it, together with the "automatically adjust frame rate" options.  Setting the video card option to Automatic, Low, Medium or High didn't seem to affect anything at all.

I had it working at one point without any judder in ROHQ but there was a lip-sync issue. I couldn't get judder free ROHQ working with proper lip-sync - it was one or the other!

I'm convinced it should handle it though, it's just a question of finding the right configuration. To be perfectly frank though, I couldn't really detect any difference between ROSTD and ROHQ...

Thanks very much, that told me what I needed to know about the intense PCs (ROHQ is still a maybe).  I personally couldn't tell a difference between ROStd and ROHQ with the default settings myself.  But once I got a video card that could do the more intensive algorithms (Lanczos, Jinc, etc.) I saw a pretty clear difference, so I'll probably need to wait for the next gen intense PCs as the new Intel HD 4600 can allegedly run Lanczos.
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csimon

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #25 on: October 15, 2013, 08:42:03 am »

BTW it is a cool design, but I do have a few gripes with it. FYI:

1. The 4 USB ports at the back are very close together. If you have dongles to plug in or other USB cables that don't terminate in a fairly slimline plug, you'll have problems trying to fit things in. My RF keyboard dongle can just fit in but at a slight angle.

2. The expandable front plate with all sorts of ports sounds like a great idea but in practice having wires trailing from or things sticking out of the front of the machine makes it all a bit untidy.

3. Although it has Intel HD audio it only has stereo analogue out, not multichannel. And that socket also doubles as the coax SPDIF out so you can't have both analogue and digital plugged in and operational at the same time.  The same goes for analogue/digital audio in.

4. There is a missed opportunity for IR remote control. I don't quite understand how/why this happened but apparently the hardware has a built-in IR receiver (the logo emblem on the front of the machine flashes when you point a remote at it) but it has not been implemented in the chipset and cannot be used. so you need a USB port for an IR/RF dongle.
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mwillems

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Re: Will the Linux MC run on ARM-based processors?
« Reply #26 on: October 15, 2013, 09:22:46 am »

BTW it is a cool design, but I do have a few gripes with it. FYI:

1. The 4 USB ports at the back are very close together. If you have dongles to plug in or other USB cables that don't terminate in a fairly slimline plug, you'll have problems trying to fit things in. My RF keyboard dongle can just fit in but at a slight angle.

2. The expandable front plate with all sorts of ports sounds like a great idea but in practice having wires trailing from or things sticking out of the front of the machine makes it all a bit untidy.

3. Although it has Intel HD audio it only has stereo analogue out, not multichannel. And that socket also doubles as the coax SPDIF out so you can't have both analogue and digital plugged in and operational at the same time.  The same goes for analogue/digital audio in.

4. There is a missed opportunity for IR remote control. I don't quite understand how/why this happened but apparently the hardware has a built-in IR receiver (the logo emblem on the front of the machine flashes when you point a remote at it) but it has not been implemented in the chipset and cannot be used. so you need a USB port for an IR/RF dongle.

I had planned to use it with a powered external USB hub and an external soundcard, so those things wouldn't necessarily be deal breakers for me, but those do sound irritating.
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