6 ms·

The most exciting part of the Raspberry Pi to me isn't the current hardware, but what they'll do next for $35. The different ram models in the Pi 4 are great to

by jjice 6y ago

The most exciting part of the Raspberry Pi to me isn't the current hardware, but what they'll do next for $35. The different ram models in the Pi 4 are great too. As soon as we get a "Pi 500" in a future generation with the 8GB model, I think we can officially replace computers for browser-only users with one of these (especially if the graphics hardware improves for videos). Even now, I wonder if this would be fine for someone who just uses Facebook, email, and YouTube. Maybe a bit of lag here and there, but I'd imagine this would do the trick, right?

jug 6y ago
Even the Raspberry Pi 400 has hardware decoding where the Raspberry Pi Foundation claims up to H.265 video decoding in 4K @ 60 fps in hardware. That sounds great for all sorts of media and streaming! However the fine print looks to be that this may not hold true for Chrome and streaming / YouTube, but offline videos with certain players because Chromium doesn't support hardware acceleration for this API. Chromium supports VAAPI, this uses libva. sigh Why does this Linux hardware decoding story always repeat itself. :-( Still, raw CPU may let it manage at least 1080p at 30 fps but I can't say for sure for anything more.
- kzrdude 6y ago
  https://github.com/popcornmix/omxplayer https://github.com/popcornmix/omxplayer and Kodi are the only ones I've found that handle it correctly (and those are related/share code) - that means Kodi is the only place to play 1080p or larger youtube video (omxplayer can stream video from youtube, but doesn't by itself handle the separate audio and video streams).
- entropicdrifter 6y ago
  Looks like there is a way to enable hardware decoding in Chromium, at least on Raspberry Pi OS: https://lemariva.com/blog/rss/raspberry-pi-4-video-acceleration-decode-chromium https://lemariva.com/blog/rss/raspberry-pi-4-video-accelerat...
geerlingguy 6y ago
I've been testing out both the 8GB Pi 4 and the new Pi 400 overclocked to 2.2 GHz. For many things, both are perfectly adequate. But the slight bit of missing performance (compared to a $300+ low-end celeron or AMD laptop) becomes apparent when you do things like make a video full screen (takes 3-10 seconds), scroll on a JS-heavy page, or have a number of apps open at the same time and switch between them while one of them is doing some heavy processing. It's definitely tolerable and for the price the Pi is a great little computer. Also as soon as I get a few more CMs, I'm going to run some of my web stuff on them from my home since they're silent, power efficient, and adequate now unlike previous generations. But it's not necessarily a standard more expensive desktop replacement for the majority of people yet. As it stands today I think this would be a great computer for a family, a kid learning how to type and use a computer, that sort of thing. Additionally, it would be an excellent computer for those who can't afford a $300+ laptop but already have a TV or can pick up a $40 monitor off Craigslist.
- jacobush 6y ago
  One of these things stand out. Making a video should take one or two frames. (Milliseconds.) Something is very wrong with the state of software and GUI. There is nothing inherently slow about making a video full screen, but I understand there is something in todays software pipeline making this a bottleneck.
  - kzrdude 6y ago
    The Rpi4 plays 720p video full screen at 5% cpu usage (because it has hardware decoding support) - using omxplayer. The hard part is for the hardware decoding support to be enabled in the right places and it seems like kodi is the only place (mpv, vlc don't do it by default)
    - kllrnohj 6y ago
      The other missing piece for the transition to fullscreen is a robust compositor API, such that the same compositional layer can just have its size changed rather than going from app-compositor to system-composited in a new window. Something like, say, Wayland. <insert that whole debate/debacle here>
GordonS 6y ago
I'm hoping for a Pi 400 with a full-size HDMI port, an integrated track pad, an M.2 slot, and at least the option of more RAM.
- tachyonbeam 6y ago
  Adding slots would definitely increase the cost, which makes it slightly less accessible. At the end of the day, this computer is a toy, it has limitations and that's OK. However, I'm with you on the full-sized HDMI ports. I don't know why they went with dual mini ports instead of one full-sized port? I think that people wanting to run this with dual monitors will be the clear minority. They could have actually reduced cost with one full-size HDMI port, because the HDMI adapter cable would no longer be needed.
pedrocr 6y ago
These days the browser is by far the biggest RAM and CPU hog that runs on my system. All the other native stuff is an order of magnitude faster. It's the main reason I'll be replacing my laptop with a Zen2 or ideally Zen3 one as soon as I can find an adequate model. For everything else the Pi would be ideal but the modern web is incredibly inefficient and browser video very poorly optimized.

by jjice 6y ago

jug 6y ago

Even the Raspberry Pi 400 has hardware decoding where the Raspberry Pi Foundation claims up to H.265 video decoding in 4K @ 60 fps in hardware. That sounds great for all sorts of media and streaming! However the fine print looks to be that this may not hold true for Chrome and streaming / YouTube, but offline videos with certain players because Chromium doesn't support hardware acceleration for this API. Chromium supports VAAPI, this uses libva. sigh Why does this Linux hardware decoding story always repeat itself. :-( Still, raw CPU may let it manage at least 1080p at 30 fps but I can't say for sure for anything more.

kzrdude 6y ago
https://github.com/popcornmix/omxplayer https://github.com/popcornmix/omxplayer and Kodi are the only ones I've found that handle it correctly (and those are related/share code) - that means Kodi is the only place to play 1080p or larger youtube video (omxplayer can stream video from youtube, but doesn't by itself handle the separate audio and video streams).
entropicdrifter 6y ago
Looks like there is a way to enable hardware decoding in Chromium, at least on Raspberry Pi OS: https://lemariva.com/blog/rss/raspberry-pi-4-video-acceleration-decode-chromium https://lemariva.com/blog/rss/raspberry-pi-4-video-accelerat...

geerlingguy 6y ago

I've been testing out both the 8GB Pi 4 and the new Pi 400 overclocked to 2.2 GHz. For many things, both are perfectly adequate. But the slight bit of missing performance (compared to a $300+ low-end celeron or AMD laptop) becomes apparent when you do things like make a video full screen (takes 3-10 seconds), scroll on a JS-heavy page, or have a number of apps open at the same time and switch between them while one of them is doing some heavy processing. It's definitely tolerable and for the price the Pi is a great little computer. Also as soon as I get a few more CMs, I'm going to run some of my web stuff on them from my home since they're silent, power efficient, and adequate now unlike previous generations. But it's not necessarily a standard more expensive desktop replacement for the majority of people yet. As it stands today I think this would be a great computer for a family, a kid learning how to type and use a computer, that sort of thing. Additionally, it would be an excellent computer for those who can't afford a $300+ laptop but already have a TV or can pick up a $40 monitor off Craigslist.

jacobush 6y ago
One of these things stand out. Making a video should take one or two frames. (Milliseconds.) Something is very wrong with the state of software and GUI. There is nothing inherently slow about making a video full screen, but I understand there is something in todays software pipeline making this a bottleneck.
- kzrdude 6y ago
  The Rpi4 plays 720p video full screen at 5% cpu usage (because it has hardware decoding support) - using omxplayer. The hard part is for the hardware decoding support to be enabled in the right places and it seems like kodi is the only place (mpv, vlc don't do it by default)
  - kllrnohj 6y ago
    The other missing piece for the transition to fullscreen is a robust compositor API, such that the same compositional layer can just have its size changed rather than going from app-compositor to system-composited in a new window. Something like, say, Wayland. <insert that whole debate/debacle here>

GordonS 6y ago

I'm hoping for a Pi 400 with a full-size HDMI port, an integrated track pad, an M.2 slot, and at least the option of more RAM.

tachyonbeam 6y ago
Adding slots would definitely increase the cost, which makes it slightly less accessible. At the end of the day, this computer is a toy, it has limitations and that's OK. However, I'm with you on the full-sized HDMI ports. I don't know why they went with dual mini ports instead of one full-sized port? I think that people wanting to run this with dual monitors will be the clear minority. They could have actually reduced cost with one full-size HDMI port, because the HDMI adapter cable would no longer be needed.

pedrocr 6y ago

These days the browser is by far the biggest RAM and CPU hog that runs on my system. All the other native stuff is an order of magnitude faster. It's the main reason I'll be replacing my laptop with a Zen2 or ideally Zen3 one as soon as I can find an adequate model. For everything else the Pi would be ideal but the modern web is incredibly inefficient and browser video very poorly optimized.