VDPAU works, finally. (VDPAU, Nvidia proprietary drivers, XBMC, MythTV, RPi, Asus, rambling)

[Steve]

Short version.

VDPAU works, finally.   libvdpau.i686 was recently updated to 0.5-1 in 
Fedora 17.   There have also been recent updates to the proprietary 
nvidia drivers.    The result of this is that vdpau works well, at least 
with XBMC running on Fedora 17 on  Asus 1012P EeeBox  PCs.

Long version.

Asus (and others) made compact form factor PCs based on the Atom series 
of processors.  Asus called their line the EeeBox PC. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_EeeBox_PC

One of these devices, the EB1012P was particularly suited for use as a 
stand alone media center box (like Apple TV, only with Linux and on 
steroids) because it had the right combination of size, cost, quiet 
operation,  just enough processing power and HDMI output.

The later was provided by an nVidia ION2 graphics controller 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_ION), which was supposedly capable 
of 4th generation pure video. 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_PureVideo)  The advantage of which 
is supposedly the near total processing of various video streams by the 
video card directly into HDMI video, aka VDPAU.

About 16 months ago I began working on a whole house video solution 
using EB1012P devices as the media player component specifically because 
of their VDPAU capability.

What I quickly learned was that VDPAU functionality was all but broken 
on this device for the at least the 2 applications I was interested in, 
namely XBMC and MythTV.   The symptoms ranged from high CPU utilization 
playing 1080P streamed mkv files, to screen stuttering to outright 
freezing that only a reboot could cure.

Without VDPAU functionality, the EB1012Ps were just about useless as 
media center devices.  I put my devices to work in other capacities, but 
kept one set up as a test device for XBMC and MythTV.

Fast forward to last week when I noticed that libvdpau had received an 
update, the first I had seen in a while.  Earlier this evening I ran an 
update on Fedora 17 that included the libvdpau update. Thereafter I 
started XBMC and ran the same 1080p mkv file that I have been fighting 
to get displayed properly for the last 16 months.

I am happy to report that a stock F17  XBMC 11 (Eden) install on Fedora 
17 running on my EB1012P now renders my test mkv stream perfectly.

I always thought that the EB1012P should be able to do this, but this is 
the first time I have ever actually seen it done.

The sad part of all this is that the world has moved on from the 
EB1012Ps.  They are no longer in production, though one can probably 
pick up used devices.   At one point I was able to buy them for $120 
new, without OS, RAM or a hard drive.  Those items were inexpensive 
additions, allowing me to equip the 1012Ps exactly how I needed them.

Times have changed and we now have Raspberry Pis capable of rendering 
1080P HDMI output, for a lot less money.   But the RPis don't have as 
much RAM (512 MB versus 2GB), nor USB 3.0, nor an eSATA port, nor a hard 
drive interface, nor built in WIFI nor a sleek case and power supply.

The EB1012P is fully capable of running KDE sessions on F17, browsing 
with Firefox and displaying Youtube videos, making it a decently high 
end media center, mostly thanks to the power of Linux and the 1012Ps 
high end graphics capability.   The 1012P running XBMC, KDE and Firefox 
makes the applications and network integration built into 2012 high end 
TVs look like a toy.

I think its a shame that the world essentially missed out on such a 
wonderful device for lack of a working driver.  Its amazing what one can 
do with an EB1012P.   Part of that spirit has been captured with RPi, 
but the EB1012P did it first and does it with quite a bit more power and 
finesse than the RPi does.

If anyone from Asus reads this, I highly recommend you bring these 
devices back, with an improved processor, an infared receiver and a 
slightly lower price point.  RPi is just catching on as a media 
center.   An upgraded 1012P, unlocked, loaded with the right Linux 
software and priced right could literally revolutionize how we use our TVs.