‘Raspberry’ Computer Should be Available in January

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Looking for a new computer, but low on cash? How about coughing up $25 bucks for a new Raspberry Pi? The USB powered ARM processor will support 1080p resolution at 20 frames per second and has onboard storage via an SD card. It has grown in size, but not in the promised price. The best news is it will be shipping next month. :cool:
 
20 Fps? if the human eye can spot jitter at anything under 24fps, what is the point of 20fps? it will look like a fast slideshow.
 
Considering the size, cost, and fact that it'll probably run 720p @ 24frames + the cool factor...

... and saying it'll look like a "fast slideshow" is inaccurate.
 
i'll totally get one... but why use it to watch movies?

such a neat toy... i could think of a lot of different uses for one of these...

digital signage just got a lot cheaper, that's for sure...
 
The Gonz said:
20 Fps? if the human eye can spot jitter at anything under 24fps, what is the point of 20fps? it will look like a fast slideshow.
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Merry Christmas!
There are a few other uses for computers besides youtube and gaming. :D
 
Pretty sure since most monitors refresh at 60 Hz, that NTSC video is typically displayed at 20 FPS (1 frame for every 3 refreshes)... which is probably why it was chosen.
 
goodcooper said:
i'll totally get one... but why use it to watch movies?

such a neat toy... i could think of a lot of different uses for one of these...

digital signage just got a lot cheaper, that's for sure...
Click to expand...

Heck yea. You'll mainly just be spending money on the display.
 
Although, I guess a method called 2:3 pulldown can be used to convert 24p video to 60 Hz video.. or 3:2 pulldown can be used to convert 24p to 30i (NTSC) video.

I dunno --- I'm sure some of the video gurus around here know much more about than myself.
 
Movies look "off" when the frame rate dips below 24 FPS, (or 23.976). Very noticeable.
 
MajorDomo, where does it state that it will only run at 20fps? Im sure it could do better at the desktop.
 
I need to amend my prior statement -- 2:3 pulldown and 3:2 pulldown are ostensibly the same thing. Anyway, 24p video can be up-converted to 60i through shifting the frames and creating an extra frame for every 4 frames. Probably takes processing power to do so...

...this is also just a bunch of speculation on my part..
 
I'm in for on regardless. I wonder what we can do as far as clocking that little ARM guy up...
 
450 said:
MajorDomo, where does it state that it will only run at 20fps? Im sure it could do better at the desktop.
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I believe he may have extrapolated that figure from early Quake 3 performance numbers. It will run Quake 3 @ 1080p at ~20 fps (or likely quite a bit faster now).
 
wonderfield said:
I believe he may have extrapolated that figure from early Quake 3 performance numbers. It will run Quake 3 @ 1080p at ~20 fps (or likely quite a bit faster now).
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking as well. The only thing with 20 fps and raspberry pi seems to be about quake 3.

I think I'll pick up one of the Model B units.
 
It's not like the board is being sold as an HD video player, it's a cheap, general-purpose programmable computer. Like a cross between a smartphone and an Arduino. Getting hung up on the HD frame rate is missing the point.
I'll definitely pick one up for a bit of tinkering.
 
I'm thinking network media device, if it can handle my HD MKV's streamed to it. Did anyone see if it had an ethernet port?
 
this is something I would bring on vacation, and hook it up to the hotel tv.

for $25, i wouldn't give a shit if it got lost
 
Kil4Thril said:
I'm thinking network media device, if it can handle my HD MKV's streamed to it. Did anyone see if it had an ethernet port?
Click to expand...

The article says that for $10 more you can get one with an Ethernet port.
dr.kevin said:
this is something I would bring on vacation, and hook it up to the hotel tv.

for $25, i wouldn't give a shit if it got lost
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I know! I'd love to see what I can do with one of these. :cool:
 
Awesome. Hopefully it's a hit so I can get the improved next generation with better GPU.
 
Sure, I'm in for one for $25. I'd love to see someone put Windows 8 on this thing, that would cool if possible.
 
The Quake 3 demo he did ran at 25fps when the hardware should've been good for 30. He also stated at the time they were working out driver issues and what not, so I can only imagine as this matures it will get better.
 
ziggo0 said:
The Quake 3 demo he did ran at 25fps when the hardware should've been good for 30. He also stated at the time they were working out driver issues and what not, so I can only imagine as this matures it will get better.
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Even without driver issues, perfornance will probably never be that great. The GPU in the BCM2835 seems to lack the dedicated memory other Broadcom VideoCore IV ARM chips have. Plus the ARM11 core has absymal floating point performance (see link below).

If the BCM2835 did have dedicated memory like the Nokia 701 has (BCM2763 chip, with ARM11 + VideoCore IV GPU + 128MB dedicated video memory), performance would have been pretty decent: http://www.glbenchmark.com/compare....pple iPad 2&D4=Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 It trades blows with Tegra 2 when the SoC includes dedicated memory on package.
 
pxc said:
Even without driver issues, perfornance will probably never be that great. The GPU in the BCM2835 seems to lack the dedicated memory other Broadcom VideoCore IV ARM chips have. Plus the ARM11 core has absymal floating point performance (see link below).

If the BCM2835 did have dedicated memory like the Nokia 701 has (BCM2763 chip, with ARM11 + VideoCore IV GPU + 128MB dedicated video memory), performance would have been pretty decent: http://www.glbenchmark.com/compare....pple iPad 2&D4=Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 It trades blows with Tegra 2 when the SoC includes dedicated memory on package.
Click to expand...

For $25 I really don't expect to use this for video play back, I would love to do TV recording over a network, that would sweet.
 
For $35 this could replace much more expensive desktop PCs for business and turn to a thin client solution. I'll be watching this closely...
 
To all you whom were asleep at the wheel:

Get in the back of the line. By current estimates, hobbyists might have a difficult time getting one. We'll see. :D

Broadcom VideoCore IV is touted with 1080p30 H.264 high-profile decode.
Not sure where the 20FPS figure came from -- perhaps when they ran the Q3A demo?

This is basically a smartphone with USB ports, eth, GPIO (3v3), I2C, etc... the first batch you are expected to solder your own headers onto the board (cost saving measure). This is the reason why it doesn't have DDR3 or anything like a Beagleboard. Basically, Eben Upton was able to get his foot in the door with his Broadcom credentials and experience and got the Videocore IV chip on there, which is pretty cool because essentially it is a chip meant for TV streaming boxes/smartphones. However the poor little ARM11 clocked at 700mhz does seem anemic.

There exists GoldSource (Half-Life) compatible engines out there... Xash3D. Windows binary consumed somewhere about 200MB working set of mem... Port to OpenGL ES 2.0 with lower memory profile? Challenge accepted? :D

To stop any further FUD:
Raspberry Pi @ eLinux wiki
Official FAQ
Eben doing Q3Demo back in Aug @ YouTube
Want to put your skills to use? Help Raspberry Pi with these.

The hardware config will be weird since it is built on the Broadcom... boot from GPU with FAT32 with binaries for DSP and GPU... then boot to rootfs.

Memory is shared between Broadcom IV and ARM11 (memory is PoP) but can be changed in the "boot loader".

All those GPIOs are interruptable, baby. Hell yeah! ARM has a clever way of handling this, check out the technical stuff on it sometime.

Any other questions can be answered/pondered by idling on the unofficial IRC channel on freenode (#raspberrypi)

Also if you get interested you will want to do a bit of light reading:

ARMv6 Architecture
Reference Manual
OpenGL ES Stuff

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

If you need more oomph or you don't "get" Raspberry Pi, this is not your niche. Haters gonna hate.
Beaglebone/Beagleboard-xM/Pandaboard would probably be more up your alley.
Otherwise, grab a few, do plan9/inferno/whatever crazy stuff you had in mind.

Merry Christmas! :D
 
Wolf-R1 said:
For $35 this could replace much more expensive desktop PCs for business and turn to a thin client solution. I'll be watching this closely...
Click to expand...

Perhaps, the thin client idea is pretty old and it's really never taken off. Now with the current state of web and cloud technology I do see this as more realistic solution. For fixed workstations this could be a realistic solution for a lot of situations. But with so using laptops these days this devices appeal will be limited as a thin client.
 
heatlesssun said:
For $25 I really don't expect to use this for video play back, I would love to do TV recording over a network, that would sweet.
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I know that price is the reason for many compromises on the RPi. It's just so close to being useful for general purpose that it's frustrating. The idea is great, and I really look forward to the next available upgrade. The limitations of the current model will hopefully drive the next model's specs.

If I wanted a low power video playback/streaming device or a low power hobby board, this is perfect as is.
 
pxc said:
I know that price is the reason for many compromises on the RPi. It's just so close to being useful for general purpose that it's frustrating. The idea is great, and I really look forward to the next available upgrade. The limitations of the current model will hopefully drive the next model's specs.

If I wanted a low power video playback/streaming device or a low power hobby board, this is perfect as is.
Click to expand...

You ain't kidding. So many "if only..." thoughts. However, purchase in hopes that the Raspberry Pi will gain commercial success and come out with improved stuff. If you've been following at any length you realize how PITA it is to cram $25 worth of parts on such a form factor... becomes the point where the PCB has to be crafted verrrrry carefully and you pick and choose resistors and filter caps... or header pins. I think it's been a learning lesson for Eben and co., for sure.
 
I will wait for next model up, but I will definitely be looking into this for myself and a few friends. Heck a gift even I can afford!
 
I hope it succeeds. It would be great to have one based on ARM9.

Didn't nvidia had a prototype tegra board the size of a pack of cigarretes?
 
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