[mythtvnz] Acer Revo RL100

[Nick Rout]

On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 8:59 AM, Kerry Baker <kerry.baker at orcon.net.nz> wrote:
> Hi all,
> I recently upgraded my Mythtv system with this nice piece of kit.  I
> thought I would share my experience with you all.
>
> My original Mythtv box was a Via EPIA SP13000 based system.  It was a bit
> of a nightmare to set up but has provided great service since then.
> Unfortunately its getting a bit old and tired and it can't do high def.
> After reviewing many options I decided to take a punt on an Acer Revo
> RL100.  Here is the product page:
> http://www.acer.co.nz/ac/en/NZ/content/model/PT.SES02.025


I saw this reviewd in a mag recently and wondered how it would go as a
frontend, thanks for posting.

>
> Features to note:  AMD K325 CPU (dual-core similar to Intel Atom D525 in
> performance), 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, NVIDIA ION2 chipset, Blu-Ray drive,
> HDMI, 802.11N wireless, DVB-T tuner card, a cool wireless
> keyboard/trackpad and a case that doesn't look out of place next to my TV.
>
> Because Linux Blu-Ray support isn't great I decided to keep the Windows
> system (for playing BD discs) and dual-boot with MythBuntu 11.04 (for
> everything else).

There is now quite a bit of support for BD in mythtv, although I THINK
you might still have to rip to hard drive first (ie mythtv will play
bluray disk structures from hard drive.)

>
> Installing MythBuntu was a breeze.  Just about everything worked straight
> away.  I had a little issue with HDMI audio but solved it by following the
> instructions here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1620926
>
> TV:  I didn't realise when before I bought the system that the NZ version
> contained a DVB-T tuner (AverMedia A330).


Shame it is unsupported. Can you swap it out for another?

>It was a nice surprise that
> tuned to disappointment when I realised there is no Linux support.
> However I had bought a HDHomeRun because I'm sick of driver issues with
> tuners and its been great.  Works like a charm.
>
> Blu-Ray:  A I mentioned before Linux support isn't great.  The Windows
> side however includes a Blu-Ray player in the form of Acer's Clear.fi
> software.  I hired a couple of BD movies to test it out.  The first worked
> fine.  The second caused me a world of pain!
> The picture was there but I just couldn't get any sound out of it.  After
> considerable research learning about DRM and HDCP I realised the problem
> was the disc used DTS-HD audio.  This is a high def digital audio format.
> It requires a trusted (content protected) link all the way from the disc
> to the speakers.  If this is not possible the audio is supposed to be
> decoded to a lower resolution.
> Unfortunately for me my home theatre amp is a few years old and doesn't
> support DTS.  Clear.fi should then decode the audio but it doesn't because
> its a free piece of crap.  My options are to buy commercial Blu-Ray
> software (about US$99), not rent or buy DTS discs, buy a new amp (I've
> already spent enough!) or (illegally) rip the disc and convert the audio
> myself.  Grrr....
>

Try as above with mythtv?

> Wireless keyboard/trackpad:  This is a really unique and neat feature.  I
> won't go into the details of it as its well described in reviews.  It
> works just fine in Linux and makes a decent enough remote control.

That is really excellent to know and one of the questions I asked on
the mythtv users list - got no response!

>  I
> wouldn't like to type large documents with it but then that's not what its
> for.  I also use Mythmote on my phone as a remote.
>
> Performance:  I like to keep my Myth system all on one machine so I am
> using the Revo as a combined frontend-backend.  I cannot complain about
> performance.  High def content up to 1080p is played flawlessly and looks
> awesome on my 55" TV.  I don't need to do any transcoding.  The hard drive
> isn't big by today's standards.  I save TV recordings to it but other
> content I access via a NFS share on another machine.
>
> Conclusion:  I took a bit of a gamble buying this machine and it has paid
> off.  I'm totally stoked with it.  The cons are minor: I hope Linux
> Blu-Ray support improves and it would be nice if I could get the internal
> tuner working.
> I highly recommend it.  If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!
>

Noise?