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Iplayer on mini pc/revo

[Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 57
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in Online Entertainment Services #1
Has anyone managed to get to see the BBC Iplayer on one of these machines, such as the Acer Revo? I thought it might be a solution in terms of space but read on Amazon that "Beware if you plan to use this to watch BBC iPlayer. The revo can stream iPlayer content very well, but only after some software tweaking; have a look on the web to find the fix. It's because of the format that the BBC has adopted, which means that the cpu rather than the gpu tries to handle the video by default, and so the stream stutters to a halt.". Is this the case for anyone else and their mini pcs?

Thanks

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    Sue_CSue_C Posts: 1,470
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    #2
    my Revo 3610 running Windows 7 streams iPlayer SD programmes with no problems. There used to be a problem with HD programmes and a flashplayer fix was expected. I don't know whether this ever materialised as my internet connection is too slow to contemplate HD!

    Also not sure about later models I guess SD will be ok but HD may not be.

    In general the Revo is excellent as a general use PC for non-demanding applications e.g. word processing, web browsing, media player etc.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 218
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    #3
    BBC iPlayer works fine on my 2 Revo's.
    There was an issue with HD content as the CPU is not powerful enough, but since Adobe released Flashplayer 10 the HD decoding is sent to the graphics chip and 1080p HD Video is fine.
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    gomezzgomezz Posts: 44,625
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    #4
    Fine on my R3610. As has been said there was a problem with earlier versions of Flash not using the GPU but that is last year's news.
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    jwsgjwsg Posts: 29
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    #5
    So, if I understand correctly, with Atom/Ion, the current Flash version, and iPlayer HD, you're able to achieve smooth playback, and if you inspect the task manager can see low CPU usage?
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 3
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    #6
    I have an Ion-base HTPC, Zotac not Revo, but I think hardware is the same. HD from iplayer is still not smooth for me.

    My TV has a built-in iplayer app which does work smoothly, so I don't think network speed is the issue.

    The Zotac does play other HD video (e.g. youtube, recorded Freeview) smoothly, it's only when using Adobe Flash (iplayer) or Silverlight (Sky) that there's a problem.
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    jwsgjwsg Posts: 29
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    #7
    Exactly.
    For a period of a few months iPlayer was indeed GPU accelerated on Flash 10, but the BBC changed an encode setting causing Flash to fall back to software HD decode (beyond the capabilities of an Atom) and so it has remained, in my experience, to this day even with Flash 11.
    Hence if someone can prove the use of the GPU on iPlayer HD on Atom/Ion (with or without a mod'd Flash player) I'd be interested.
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