XBMC 20-04-2007 SVN rev8582 build – T3CH

– This time only, I include the necessary Timidity files for MIDI playback, they add ~30MB (placed in >>system/players/paplayer/timidity<<) and that’s why this build is so larger than usual.

哇，這回有Tmididity…. 所以可以播MIDI了。
播起來還真的蠻屌的….._A_

先不管解析度之類的問題，到底XBMC還有什麼不能播的….XD

http://torotiti.cocolog-nifty.com/blog/2007/04/ps3_4c59.html
PS3 の性能の使い方

簡單講就是說….
如果想說要”徹底發揮PS3硬體”的話，就會變得很困難；但是如果”以自己要做的遊戲來思考”的話，不見得一定就會遇上那些瓶頸。

裡面舉的例子是蠻怪的啦….
“比方說寫網頁我們不會用C/C++寫，即使這樣執行效率會比較好，平常我們還是用script language”，因為這樣會比較方便、內容面上比較有生產力、實際上也因為這樣web簡單好寫而產生很多有意思的東西。

那麼，PS3的性能，用這種觀念去想的話，用比較低效率的做法、不見得就是”浪費資源”，而是讓你很快地做出東西來，之後再去慢慢想optimize的事情不就得了？畢竟靠XNA在360底下開發程式，從效率面來看，也不見得好到哪去不是嗎。

所以好不好寫PS3程式，其實是很相對的：所以上面這篇文章裡面，南治さん就認定這個觀點下，PS3的程式實在要來得比PS2/PSP要好寫得多。

まいにちいっしょ的更新頻率這麼高，其實也算是蠻有生產力了吧。

http://blog.cell.sijam.com/x264_for_cell_070412_part2/
哇哈哈哈…. 慢到爆。

最慘的莫過於原始版 x264 rev:635 和 SPE 化的 rev:635 cell 比起來，不論是用不用SPE都比原始版慢。XD

當然了，這個程式碼以減少對x264原始程式碼的改動比例為前提….
基本上SPE只做motion vector search的關係，一開始就知道效率不會好。

這個程式碼有下列的問題：
1. PPE的使用率幾乎沒有什麼明顯縮減。(55% -> 40%)
原文指出因為要求SPE處理用的packet的複製動作需要耗損PPE資源，這部分要的時間很長。
2. PPE剩下的處理因為使用的資料隨機性質大，所以cache miss機率高。
3. 工作分割單位過小。

最後，還提供了thread數量與SPE使用率的比例表….(1~6)
有執行指令(包含搬動資料的指令)就只有8~14%了，更別提裡面運算指令只占了55%前後，也就是說SPE的使用率最高也只有8%前後…

結論：移植程式給CELL，需要大幅修改演算法….或者說重寫比較快。_A_

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/NEWS/20070419/131215/
IBM，倍精度の浮動小数点演算能力を4倍に高めた新型「Cell」を「COOL Chips X」で紹介

HPC專用的CELL B.E，正式名稱為”Enhanced CELL Broadband Engine”，至於俗稱好像真的是”CELL 2″….XD
主要的改進有：
1. 倍精度運算指令從13cycle縮短到9cycle，並且pipeline化（原來的倍精度指令有6cycle stall），可同時執行兩道倍精度運算指令(dual-issue)，使得倍精度的總運算性能從25.6GFLOPS提升到102.4GFLOPS。
2. 改善的IEEE754支援，現在起支援Denormal Support、Expected NaNs。
3. 主記憶體支援容量從2GB增加到16GB。（支援DDR2，增加腳位）

然後，還有SDK update：The system simulator was updated for the Cell/B.E. SDK 2.1 with an improved PPE model and support for an enhanced Cell/B.E. architecture-compliant processor with a fully pipelined, double precision SPE.

不過最後最可怕的一點是die size和耗電量的比較。

上表，R580的per power/per mm^2勉強和CELL打平….
考慮未來的GPU的規模即使增加，raw performance部分的強化也很可能沒有比R580好(為了DX10 support之類增加的功能)，CELL的性能與成本(耗電量、die size等)的比值仍然相當出色。

但是這張表也表現出了G80的可怕之處….
仔細看的話就知道，G80的數字有扣掉missing MUL….所以實際上G80比R580帳面上差是正常的。
表上的數據大約是336GFLOPS，如果只算MAD的話G80的理論性能大約是345.6GFLOPS，如果有把MUL算進去，實際上的數字應該是518.4GFLOPS左右。
這樣一來，flops per watt則會變成2.9FLOPS、per mm^2則是1.08FLOPS。

只是CELL這裡面的數據真的很怪，90nm到65nm，製程微縮之後幾乎沒有帶來什麼顯著的改善….
65nm下的電晶體數量是250M（90nm下原為241M）、die size為212mm^2（原為235mm^2），TDP為100w（原為110w）。
Die Size從235mm^2變成212mm^2，單位面積只多了10%電晶體，但是原本一般期望CELL的製程改善，應該可以縮小40~50%的die size才對。
(這個和複雜的on-chip network、wire有關係嗎？)

總之這些數據需要再研究….不過，如果確實是如此的話，不論有沒有eDP，65nm的CELL能降的耗電量可能都不大（不考慮LongRun2的話，因為LongRun2是90nm版CELL完成之後才簽約的），後面縮小規模的機會也不大；倒是相對起來可能RSX有比較大的機會縮小規模和耗電量。

這代表，最糟的情況，即使是用新版晶片的PS3，耗電量可能也不會改善太多。
機殼的散熱系統所需的成本也可能不會有太大的改善。

補充：
http://www.power.org/resources/devcorner/cellcorner/hpcspe.pdf
PDF出來啦….

http://www.vr-zone.com/?i=4883
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2231

開始出現8600GTS性能review了….32SP、1.5GHz前後shader。
基本上可以看到1.4倍法則的作用。
(DX9和DX10的功能實作差距大約需要1.4x電晶體，此為ATI提出)

G84是115mm^2 @ 80nm，基本上90nm下就是150mm^2左右，性能大約介於7600GT和7900GT之間。
32個SP就要289M，G86只有16個SP卻更高達210M，讓人真的很質疑SP需要的電晶體預算。

考慮RSX”只有”250mm^2，就能達成相當的良率，就算存在G84兩倍規模的G8x core，在90nm下能達到的成本效能比也非常微妙(應該沒有放冗餘shader的空間)；加上沒有準備eDRAM相關的設計，以NVIDIA手邊的核心在300mm^2內提供最佳效能這點來看，PS3用RSX看來應該是合理的。

EDIT：聽說這幾天的新版Driver上頭，G84的Dual-issue復活了，Missing MUL補回來帶來的效能落差相當明顯。
不過G80是救不了了，應該是硬體bug。

只是如果真的是這樣的話，就變成G80用稍遜於R580的理論資源、大不到1/3的記憶體頻寬、正好多1/3的記憶體容量，狂電R580兩倍有剩。
Unified Shader的可怕效率展現無疑啊。

前一版發現長期下來還是不夠穩定，所以又做了一次更新….
XBMC-SVN_2007-04-01_rev8391-T3CH

話說，老實說XBOX現在只用來播音樂了，影片的話只要大過480p的話，XBOX都不見得播得穩。
但是PS3偏偏功能還東缺西缺(容量不足、CODEC貧乏、沒有samba)，所以XBOX還是退不下來。orz

[EDIT：最近回頭測試的結果，XBMC最近的改版改善了對高解析度的支援能力，至少目前測試可以勉強在720p底下播XGA解析度的影片。]

實話是拿泛用性最大的XBMC來比似乎不是很公平，不過這也是對PS3的期望之故。_A_

– Killarny & Nuka1195 & Pikes AppleMovieTrailers (AMT) SVN pre-0.97.2 [scripts: Apple Movie Trailers]
– BritneysPAIRS’s ~110 choosen Milkdrop presets [visualisations: MD – BPs Selection]
– EnderW & Blittans XBMCScripts Installer 1.8 SCRIPT [scripts: XBMCScripts]
– Rockstar’s Snake 1.0 SCRIPT [scripts: Snake]
– Asteron’s Tetris 1.0 SCRIPT [scripts: Tetris]
– Nuka1195’s T3CH Downloader SCRIPT [scripts: T3CH Downloader]
– Codecs for mplayer [/system/players/mplayer/codecs/:*]
– 2007-04-01 8391 changed: all watched filtering now takes place in the filtering stuff, instead of in the database queries (hence we can use caches everywhere).
– 2007-03-31 8390 fixed: tvshow node didn’t respect ignore token setting.
– 2007-03-31 8389 fixed: dont fill rating label if valu is 0.
– 2007-03-31 8388 added: ability to set season thumbs in video library.
– 2007-03-31 8387 fixed: last.fm radio track info display
– 2007-03-31 8386 updated: finnish strings (thanks to mikko)
– 2007-03-31 8385 changed: less nasty hack for the ‘all seaason’ episode numbering.
– 2007-03-31 8384 fixed: lack of formatSQL usage caused errors if you gave a video item a label involving ‘bad’ chars such as ‘.
– 2007-03-31 8383 fixed: number of episodes were wrong after a fresh tvshow information lookup.
– 2007-03-31 8382 added: if you press info on a directory with no content set, the set content dialog pops up.
– 2007-03-31 8381 fixed: squares in episode plots with xpr fonts.
– 2007-03-31 8380 added: option to hide plot for unwatched items.
– 2007-03-31 8379 fixed: thumbnail assignment in video library. fixed: wrong video info window used if you accessed it from the file section. fixed: some listitem labels didnt work in the video info window if you accessed it from files.
– 2007-03-31 8378 changed: music scans now scans the current selected item, not the current directory (as it does in videos).
– 2007-03-30 8377 cleanup: Removed some unneeded functions.
– 2007-03-30 8376 fixed: system.hdspindowntime used instead of harddisk.spindowntime
– 2007-03-30 8375 fixed: DXT4 textures in a .xpr file crashed XBMC_PC.
– 2007-03-30 8374 added: Sort By: File to file based views. Sorts folders + files alphanumerically regardless of type.
– 2007-03-30 8373 added: Support for thumbs in multipath:// folders.
– 2007-03-30 8372 added: new harddisk APM and AAM settings for a quieter, lower power HDD changed: harddisk settings moved to seperate group from the rest of system settings
– 2007-03-29 8371 Added: Vortex – AlbumArtWaveSpectrum preset
– 2007-03-29 8370 fixed: slightly better default regexp’s for the video library.
– 2007-03-29 8369 fixed: WindowXML media folder support, was using the wrong location. Forgot to adjust when fallback workings changed.
– 2007-03-29 8368 fixed: Various artists albums would show all tracks from the album, even if one went in via a specific artist.
– 2007-03-29 8367 fixed: CDDA ripping of full albums containing invalid characters failed. Changed CUtil::MakeLegalFileName to use GetFatXQualifiedPath.
– 2007-03-29 8366 fixed: Centering of master lockcode choice in 720p or 1080i
– 2007-03-29 8365 Changed : PM3 Video Library “Media info” view to more resemble AMT Layout
– 2007-03-28 8364 Fixed : PM3 Alignment issues in SettingsProfile.xml and DialogScriptInfo.xml
– 2007-03-28 8363 added: limit option to changelog tool (thanks to jgawera).
– 2007-03-28 8362 fixed: When auto play next item was off, and a single song was played, it wasn’t added to the playlist player.
– 2007-03-27 8361 Changed : PM3 System info Bars now show the amount free to match the label not amount used
– 2007-03-27 8360 Changed : PM3 System Info to be fully info label based instead of hard coded lines
– 2007-03-27 8359 fixed: GetLocalDrives old kernel support
– 2007-03-27 8358 fixed: curl http client wouldn’t respect proxy settings fixed: libmpdemux wouldn’t respect proxy settings
– 2007-03-27 8357 added: option in AdvancedSettings.xml to disable DVD-ROM check for systems that do not have one.
– 2007-03-27 8356 fixed: imdb scraper didnt return in getdetails.
– 2007-03-27 8355 fixed: free/used drive space bars did not work
– 2007-03-27 8354 fixed: export video database was broken.
– 2007-03-27 8353 fixed: scan for new content really scanned all content.
– 2007-03-27 8352 updated: filmweb.pl scraper (thanks to smuto)
– 2007-03-27 8351 added: scan for new content to tvshow context menu in video library.
– 2007-03-27 8350 updated: chinese (simple) language (thanks to pcman).
– 2007-03-27 8349 updated: Chinese (Traditional) language (thanks to omenpica).
– 2007-03-27 8348 updated: finnish language (thanks to mikko).
– 2007-03-27 8347 fixed: could not select ‘scan for new content’ on root shares with content set. changed: removed some old deprecated code from GUIDialogContextMenu.cpp
– 2007-03-27 8346 fixed: free space / used space bars did not work.
– 2007-03-27 8345 updated: German language file by sCAPe (Based on english strings version 8338)
– 2007-03-27 8344 updated: Swedish language file by blittan (based on english 8338)
– 2007-03-27 8343 added: system.memory(total)
– 2007-03-27 8342 fixed: system.cpuusage did not output anything
– 2007-03-27 8341 fixed: previous commit broke XBMC_PC
– 2007-03-26 8340 fixed: drive and memory unit detection in old hacked kernels changed: global kernel exports and structures moved to Undocumented.h added: IoSupport GetDriveSize function
– 2007-03-26 8339 fixed: scan recusively was visible for tv content in the set content dialog – this is enforced so only confusing and/or issue creating.
– 2007-03-26 8338 fixed: inadvertent change
– 2007-03-26 8337 changed: blank removed strings instead of removing them
– 2007-03-26 8336 removed: no more used language strings
– 2007-03-26 8335 fixed: removed one more unnecessary AddSlashAtEnd() call from the video library code.
– 2007-03-26 8334 added: bar diagram support for system informations added: to Info Manager: cpu usage and system memory free percent, used, used percent
– 2007-03-26 8333 changed: matches are now case insensitive. fixed: append attribute didnt work as expected for .
– 2007-03-26 8332 changed: matches are now case insensitive. fixed: append attribute didnt work as expected for .
– 2007-03-26 8331 fixed: skin build.bat, exclude.txt was not removed correctly
– 2007-03-26 8330 changed: since Jmarshall fixed xbepatch so nicely, I decided to fix the build bat’s to use it by default
– 2007-03-26 8329 added: New xbepatch sources as old version was unreliable.
– 2007-03-26 8328 changed: New “Filter” button now has id 19, so that the previous function on id 17 (allmusic manual lookup) and id 9 (imdb manual lookup) will still function if the skin allows it.
– 2007-03-26 8327 fixed: Context menu in Now Playing didn’t disable the selected item on exit.
– 2007-03-26 8326 fixed: Movies->Titles infinite loop if there was a locked share involved.
– 2007-03-26 8325 added: Filter button to music and video library views. Allows you to filter a long list just by typing in the start of a word.
– 2007-03-26 8324 fixed: Sticking sort direction arrow in albums/songs after you went to top100 or similar views and changed view type. Will require removal of guisettings.xml and possibly viewmode.db if you’ve experienced this bug.
– 2007-03-25 8323 fixed. forgot lpcm fixes for 20/24 bit decoding. currently only 24bit decoding works entirely correctly.
– 2007-03-25 8322 fixed: channel mapping was wrong for multichannel lpcm content
– 2007-03-25 8321 fixed: dvdplayer would try to constantly resyn on thx test discs due to resetting last known video/audio timestamp on a packet with no timestamp.
– 2007-03-25 8320 updated: libavcodec/libavformat to current mplayerhq svn version for dvdplayer.
– 2007-03-25 8319 changed: simpler and more accurate timestamp calulation in dvdplayer audio player by knowledge of codecs buffere

d data. fixed: dvdplayer’s audio player would return an invalid current time if it had never been started.
– 2007-03-25 8318 added: ability for audio codecs in dvdplayer to return size of internally buffered data.
– 2007-03-25 8317 fixed: Disabling or enabling shuffle wouldn’t affect the next item.
– 2007-03-25 8316 fixed: Python ControlTextBox setText was causing errors when used with WindowXML changed: Python getControl error message
– 2007-03-24 8315 Fixed : PM3 first Bookmark button in music section was out of alignment
– 2007-03-24 8314 fixed: Opening anims would start too early (before allocation of textures)
– 2007-03-24 8313 fixed: libmpeg2 in dvdplayer would lock in on frame dropping at times
– 2007-03-24 8312 added: framedrop support in libmpeg2 based decoder for dvdplayer
– 2007-03-24 8311 added: Reading of AlbumArtist tag from mp3/mp4/vorbis/ape tags. If present, the artist refered to in library->Albums view is the album artist, while songs retain their particular artist.
– 2007-03-24 8310 typo
– 2007-03-24 8309 changed: dvdplayer halfres mode now enables on clips that have large than 1400*720*30 pixels per second, instead of just based on width.
– 2007-03-24 8308 changed: dvdplayer’s video decoder thread now runs in same priority as demuxer. demuxer thread would starve on hart do decode clips.
– 2007-03-24 8307 changed: dvdplayers audio player timestamp correction is now a little bit less messy. changed: dvdplayers video player now never drops frames in output stage, only if needed in decoder stage.

http://japanese.engadget.com/2007/04/01/xbox-360-elite-hdmi/

版本：HDMI 1.2。
對應音訊規格：DD、DTS、WMA pro。
（DD+未對應、TrueHD未對應、Multi-channel PCM未對應）

MS人員：
一定需要multi-channel PCM的話建議買Toshiba的A2，降價之後會比Elite便宜。
HDMI對大多數人而言非必需，HDMI和類比色差同樣都能支援到1080p，對大部分的人也都不會看得出差異。

可以看得出來，XBOX360的Audio CODEC應該就一個SPDIF，所以在最小限度的改變下，沒辦法做multi-channel PCM….

—-
話說這些話好像在當初的PS3 20GB版舊規格（無HDMI）有聽過…. _A_