Notes on some AOA110/150 Modifications

[jerryt]

Broadcom HD Decoder card BCM970012 or BCM70012
Video decoder card which provides Hardware Acceleration of video.

Thanks to Ashram
Drivers
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/soft ... ct=3943766

Arcsoft Broadcom version of TotalMedia
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/soft ... ct=3943766

Comfirmed working in WiFi slot of AOA150 with Arcsoft application and driver above.

Comfirmed working in Windows 7 Media Center when "Broadcom Video Decoder" is selected as the default video codec with the "Media Center Decoder Utility" (MCDU) tool by Gary Whittaker.

Comfirmed working as Video decoder for HiDef ATSC live TV using an internal Pinnacle 80e (HD Mini Stick) tuner
Installed "Direct Show Filter Mangaer", increased "Broadcom Video Decoder" merit value from "Do Not Use" to "Normal".
Installed DvbViewer Pro ($15.00) Any directshow TV program should work provided you can select Broadcom Video Decoder. (Except WatchTV, which has a pixelation breakup problem).
Selected "Broadcom Video Decoder" as Video codec.
De-selected "Use new tuning method", scan for channels.
HD live TV without dropped frames at 40% CPU.

[tim292stro]

[Deleted]

[ashram]

Broadcom HD Decoder card BCM970012 or BCM70012

Comfirmed working in Windows 7 Media Center when "Broadcom Video Decoder" is selected as the default video codec with the "Media Center Decoder Utility" (MCDU) tool.

crap... i left my netbook at home today... that sounds like an AWESOME option..... it makes media center 100% more useful!

[ashram]

using mdcu on win7 gives me a media center crash when tuning live video.

but using a hauppauge 950q, i get smooth video already.... it could just be the difference in tuners (pinnacle's usb stuff tends to be more dependant on the cpu in my experience)

[jerryt]

using mdcu on win7 gives me a media center crash when tuning live video.

but using a hauppauge 950q, i get smooth video already.... it could just be the difference in tuners (pinnacle's usb stuff tends to be more dependant on the cpu in my experience)

Win 7 Media Center crashes for me also on live TV. Scans channels in setup just fine but when it goes to build the playback graph for live TV it crashes. I tried to switch back to the Microsoft codec being set as default with MDCU, but it still crashes. I may have to reinstall Win 7 to try again.

I have many different USB TV tuners. While most of the video from the tuners are smooth, they all appear to get jerky with high bit rate 1080. The Broadcom card fixes that problem while lowering the CPU from 80% back down to 38%.

On a different note - Could not get my third add-in mPCIe slot to work. Used a 881u mPCIe adapter wired in the 6 PCI bus wires from the daughter board connector, 5 volt power and ground. and slot does not show up at all. I know the 1.5 volt power is missing but I decided to give up on adding the third mPCIe slot. I bought an internal USB wifi board so the Broadcom card can stay in the WiFi slot.

Also - Came up with a Kick A$$ "Touchscreen Internal Stylus Holder" modification. I am doing my second Stylus installation now and should post instructions and pictures soon.

[ashram]

i get the graph, and on a station with no signal it's fine (no signal error), but the second i hear the audio kick in.... BAM, crash.

Broadcom should release a reference driver, so this card can be standardized.

also, considering touchscreen here.... after playing with a school bus yellow dell mini (ugly as hell, and thick, but it comes with a built in touchscreen)

lastly, you may know... do any of the touchscreens support multi-touch in windows 7?

[jerryt]

do any of the touchscreens support multi-touch in windows 7?

Not that I know of.

[TRUTI]

Touchscreens are different from "Multi -Touch" screens. Touchscreen panels take one finger / stylus input only at a time whereas Multitouch as teh name suggests takes multiple. I am not sure of a multi touch enabled screen for the AOA.

[tim292stro]

[Deleted]

[jerryt]

I just read this...

...Could not get my third add-in mPCIe slot to work. Used a 881u mPCIe adapter wired in the 6 PCI bus wires from the daughter board connector, 5 volt power and ground. and slot does not show up at all. I know the 1.5 volt power is missing but I decided to give up on adding the third mPCIe slot. I bought an internal USB wifi board so the Broadcom card can stay in the WiFi slot...

I have the 885u (slightly different but compatible with the 881u) - both are USB... They use the usb pins for the M-PCIe connector at 36/38... hooking up the PCIe pins will just go to No-Connect pads on the Sierra-Wireless card. The Broadcom board is a M-PCIe, so it needs the TX/RX/Clk pins as well as PEXRST# and 1.5/3.3VDD... That's why I'm pulling the left-side card reader chip (I like the high-speed 5-in-1 reader on the right - the left 1-type reader is more limited and thus expedable... ).

If you take another look at the schematic for the WWAN (3g) slot on page 23, you see that they hooked up 36/38 to USB-5 from the chipset, but the PEX pins are no-connects from the M-PCIe header on the mainboard (denoted by "X" instead of a net-name)...

-T

I was trying to wire in a full PCI bus Mini PCIe slot. USB was not the problem, it was the PCI bus connections. The idea was to use the slot for a Broadcom Decoder card.