XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

fit-PC2 as HTPC
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irads

XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by irads »

XBMC was released with DirectX support. It now plays rather well on fit-PC2 XP HD, including high definition content.

Installation instructions:
0. Start from fit-PC2 XP HD factory settings including
- Windows XP Home SP3
- CyberLink PowerDVD 8 SE with GMA500 acceleration
- K-Lite codec pack including MPC-HC
1. Install XBMC 9.11 from http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc/fi ... e/download
2. To play 720p and 1080p video configure XBMC to use MPC-HC as external player:
- Create the file playerfactory.xml in c:\program files\XBMC\userdata
- Copy and paste

Code: Select all

<playercorefactory>
  <players>
    <player name="MPC-HC" type="ExternalPlayer" audio="false" video="true">
      <filename>C:\Program Files\K-Lite Codec Pack\Media PLayer Classic\mplayerc.exe</filename>
      <args>"{1}" /fullscreen /close</args>
      <hidexbmc>false</hidexbmc>
      <hideconsole>false</hideconsole>
      <warpcursor>none</warpcursor>
    </player>
  </players>
  <rules action="prepend">
    <rule filetypes="mkv" filename="*.*" player="MPC-HC"/>
    <rule filetypes="mov" filename="*.*" player="MPC-HC"/>
  </rules>
</playercorefactory>
- More information at http://xbmc.org/wiki/?title=HOW-TO_use_ ... a_playback

This can probably be improved and enhanced significantly. You are welcome to post your experience and suggestions here.
Example - provide an EventGhost script for full control through a remote.

TweeB
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by TweeB »

I own a fit-pc2 diskless unit.
I Installed windows xp sp3, used the drivers available from fit-pc2.com and installed xbmc 9.11.
Everything installed flawless, however, performance even in idle xbmc status is poor, processor load is too high, and even loading a simple divx or dvd iso, i get very low fps from xbmc. even as low as 5 or even 2fps using the xbmc build in debug mode.

Am i missing something here? Or is the gma500 just not powerfull enough to run even the xbmc software (not even talking HD for the moment).
When switching to windowed mode, and using a very low resolution, performance is ok-ish. But full screen, it is poor. Even the home screen of xbmc is sluggish.

yogev_ezra
Posts: 539
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by yogev_ezra »

I can just refer to your own old post where you asked about the same problem and Irad replied that you need the codecs to be able to utilize hardware acceleration of GMA500: http://www.fit-pc2.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 2141#p2141

TweeB
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by TweeB »

yogev_ezra wrote:I can just refer to your own old post where you asked about the same problem and Irad replied that you need the codecs to be able to utilize hardware acceleration of GMA500: http://www.fit-pc2.com/forum/viewtopic. ... 2141#p2141
I'm aware that i will not be able to obtain the codec used for hw acceleration, but even a plain dvd is not playing properly, i'm just asking what performance i can get using the similar setup as Irads post above as he states " It now plays rather well on fit-PC2 XP HD, including high definition content.". I'm just hoping to get the "rather well part" up and running and will use linux based install for HD content.

yogev_ezra
Posts: 539
Joined: Sun Mar 22, 2009 2:49 pm

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by yogev_ezra »

"XP HD" are the keywords here: HD means that the High Definition codecs from Cyberlink are installed. Without them, the CPU usage jumps to almost 100% and the videos are choppy. This is exactly what you are facing now.

TweeB
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 13, 2009 12:09 pm

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by TweeB »

yogev_ezra wrote:"XP HD" are the keywords here: HD means that the High Definition codecs from Cyberlink are installed. Without them, the CPU usage jumps to almost 100% and the videos are choppy. This is exactly what you are facing now.
I'm not even attempting to play HD content, knowing that i do not have the optimized codecs.
What i'm trying to do is this, play a normal low res dvd, and even there when using xbmc full screen the system is overloaded.
Im just trying to understand why Irads states xbmc is usable on the firpc2, when i'm unabvle to play even a normal dvd movie which should not load the machine in the way it does.

irads

Re: XBMC on fit-PC2 XP HD

Post by irads »

The key here is the poor implementation of XBMC built-in codecs.
Play with MPC-HC and you will get much better results.
If you were using the accelerated codecs you could play HD content well.

Regarding XBMC UI - it is not fast but is much better with directx Camelot than the older OpenGL. Use a simpler skin to improve performance.

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