Displaylink Opens Source For Linux

[fischju2000]

http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/16/display...ally/#continued

http://www.displaylink.com/products.html

You still need one of their devices to decode the USB signal, either one embedded in a device (projecter, display) or an adapter with DVI or VGA output. But if the drivers are ported for the Pandora, it would probably be the best solution for psuedo-high resolution displays (1600 x 1200 maximum).

 

[GuSec]

I haven't heard about this sort of product before so I gotta ask, is this feasible? Will it be possible to get higher resolution than from the S-Video?

 

[Vimacs]

thats quite cool, i wonder how much cpu it takes thou.

 

[fischju2000]

A lot of CPU the last time I checked, unfortunately. The Pandora may have trouble playing back DVD resolution video on a high resolution screen, but internet browsing should be smooth.

 

[BackAssward]

It's most likely the compression using up all of those CPU cycles. Could the SGX be employed to help with the compression? I can't find what codec they use, everything I've found indicates it is proprietary.

Edit: Oops. Thanks urjaman, I was getting my terms confused. Yes, I meant the DSP.

 

[conso]

those guys even have wireless usb graphic-cards. How cool is that? Imagine speaking on a congress, running around with the device that shows your presentation
Even if it probably won't make much sense for gaming or movies, it would make the pandora an even more suited laptop-replacement for ultra-portable needs.

 

[urjaman]

It's most likely the compression using up all of those CPU cycles. Could the SGX be employed to help with the compression? I can't find what codec they use, everything I've found indicates it is proprietary.

AFAIK the SGX isn't very "GPGPU"-capable. I doubt that it could help, but i think the DSP might be of use.

 

[Chip]

At the risk of raising people's hopes at a point when it is way too early to know for sure, this might work to a usable extent. These guys have already enabled a USB-equipped NAS router to output to a 800x480 Displaylink LCD panel. They even have a (very low quality) video of it in action.

Now, before you start cheering, there are a lot of unknowns involved. They're only outputting text at the moment, so it could just be EGA resolution. The video is too small and compressed to tell if the text scroll is crisp, or jerky and artifacted. We don't know how hard the router is having to work to output that video.

However, if a router with a ~300mhz embedded processor can output video over Displaylink at all, then the Pandora certainly should be able to as well. Displaylink to DVI adapters are only about $50, so this may end up being a legitimate option for Pandora-as-a-desktop use.