[Arm-netbook] Any ARM SoC has Open-Source access to hardware video decoder ?

[Vladimir Pantelic]

lkcl luke wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 3:03 PM, Iain Bullard <iain.bullard at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 2 July 2012 14:00, lkcl luke <luke.leighton at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 5:21 AM, Michael Zucchi <notzed at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On 02/07/12 00:34, Alexey Eromenko wrote:
>>>>> While I agree that 3D is nice, the use-cases for it are limited.
>>>>> Much more needed is the VPU stuff (hardware video decoder), more than GPU (3D).
>>>>> Once any SoC will do VPU, it will become so much more useful...
>>>>
>>>> What's this obsession with video decoding?
>>>
>>>  given that ARM SoCs are not powerful enough to do this level of
>>> processing on its own, you can't sell a mass-volume product that
>>> doesn't have acceleration.
>>>
>>>  btw - there are companies in taiwan that use 300mhz MIPS-based CPUs
>>> with decoders that scream along.  their OS?  GNU/Linux.  have these
>>> companies taken legal advice on tivoisation? yes.  do they even want
>>> you to *KNOW* that they are using GPL source code? no.  do they
>>> consider it a failure that you even find out? yes.
>>>
>>>  these products are sold in volumes of hundreds of millions of units.
>>> they're called TVs.  they run GNU/Linux.  you didn't even know that
>>> they're running GNU/Linux, and the companies that manufacture the TVs
>>> *DO NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT*.
>>>
>>
>> You know my LG TV (that I bought a month or so ago) came with a
>> booklet that contained a list of the free software sources which it
>> makes use of, the list was quite long and definitely included Linux.
>
>   superb.  so the Software Freedom Law Centre's quiet work of the past
> 18 months has paid off.  that's really really good to hear.

the big TV makers all comply with the GPL, Sony, Philips, LG, Samsung.
as for the $random chinese, of course not.. What use it would be to
have the badly patched sources to some one-off SoC is another question :)