Even if it was software decoding Tegra3 is fast enough to cope with mpeg2. Maybe your source is too slow (slow pendrive for example)? Have you tried in VLC?
I've tried copying the mpeg2 files directly to ouya. No joy. Too slow. With Mythbackend the source is is a file on the backend box. The transport is via ethernet. Wired. Gigibit you have it.
Interestingly enough, the CuBox-i series of devices was announced in September. It is smaller and supports MPEG-2 decoding. I'm considering purchasing this device over the Ouya simply because of the lack of MPEG-2 decoding. A shame, really, since the Ouya is clocked faster and has the whole gaming ecosystem, compared to the CuBox-i
I would love to see this as well, I bought the Ouya with XBMC in mind and it is a shame to major codec parts broken (DTS/AC3/MPEG2). While the first two can be gotten around by using a previous release of XMBC for Ouya, MPEG2 seems to be still a thorn in the side, can not wait till it gets fixed so I can get live TV running smoothly.
I would gladly pay for a license to enable hardware decoding of mpeg2 if that is the issue.
I'll just add my .02 to this topic and say that I would also really like to see MPEG2 hardware support.
To me, this seems like a market opportunity, given the surprising dearth of devices supporting MPEG2. Everything supports H.264, but nothing does MPEG2. Since the ATSC broadcast HDTV standard is MPEG2, that's a quite plentiful content source which would keep users in the Ouya interface.
Some thoughts
- Direct streaming support for network tuners like the HDHomeRun (and similar) would be nice.
- DVR functionality with a USB Drive would be a potential game changer.
- MythTV support would offload the backend tuner/recorder complexity
Just an update for anyone looking for TV on their OUYA, Silicondust is coming out with a new network tuner that does x264 transcoding, might be just what is needed in this case. If/When I get my hands on one I will let ya know how it goes.
+1. Even if we need to pay $5 a person, it is well worth it. Please develop. This is a deal breaker for me. The xbmc community/htpc would be huge if you add this/you risk losing many if not added.
I can't believe they haven't even made a comment by now.
Tegra3 specs say that mpeg2 decoding is supported, so what's the holdup??? Raspberry Pi foundation made this available ages ago, and the pi isn't even an entertainment device, not to mention they are non-profit.
One of the big draws of the Ouya for me was that I could play games on it AND use it as a low-power HTPC. If the answer is no, then at least say it, PLEASE.
Raspberry Pi foundation made this available ages ago, and the pi isn't even an entertainment device, not to mention they are non-profit.
Correct, but note that for the Raspberry Pi the initial plan was to not support MPEG2 in hardware, mainly because of the administrative nightmare of negotiating a deal for the licenses and then setting up the web-shop to allow purchasing licenses generated from individual serial numbers. The nice thing about the Raspberry Pi makers is that a) they listen to what people want/need and b) they find ways to make things happen. One would think that the OUYA team has a similar spirit, so I would not give up hope. It's fair to say tho that the Raspberry Pi Foundation may have a better bargaining position for licensing terms as they have now shipped > 2 million units.
It's instructive to read the thread from almost exactly 2 years ago when MPEG2 support or lack of it was discussed for the Raspberry Pi, it's VERY similar to this thread:
I am really beginning to doubt OUYA even reads these boards, this thread is dating back to August 2013 and, unless I'm mistaken, not once has there been an official OUYA reply here. If OUYA is really looking to build a customer base, ignoring them is definitely not the way to go.
If it is not going to work say so, if you're working on it say so, heck if you want us all to simply stop asking cause you don't know what MPEG2 is then for Pete's sake just say so!
Very good points - and if mpeg2 on Ouya is something that isn't feasible for one or more reasons, then I can live with that and look at other options. It was never promised, and would just be a nice bonus.
However, we are completely in the dark and no one will provide any information - that's what really annoys me.. The Pi folks were very upfront and informative about their intentions. They discussed what the challenges would be and interacted with the community. I don't see that going on in any of the treads that have discussed mpeg2 on Ouya. I feel like we are being ignored.
Hey sorry no one from OUYA has responded to this thread. I'll do so now.
We have a limited # of firmware developers and a backlog of really important platform improvements. When we launched the primary focus was bugs and stability, then we focused on USB storage, which is now in a much better place but still has some issues. And the guys who help improve the UI/UX don't have the expertise to help with this work which is why these features are taking longer, and other things like System Menu are getting done first.
Current focus for the firmware guys is #1 Audio Pass Through, #2 HDMI-CEC, after that we'll tackle feature requests that come from the community. We'll add MPEG2 investigation to the list. Likely plan would be to do a survey to get feedback on media player improvements that we can make.
We know there are licensing issues around MPEG2, which starts increasing costs of the box which we've been determined to keep around $100 with controller. We've discussed options like making them a premium feature to help cover the costs... but I'm thoughtful on how that might come across to all of you. Still an open discussion, so very interested in feedback.
Well, I guess five months after the initial post is better than six. Many people on the internet, that have been discussing this issue for quite some time, have said a licensing fee similar to that of the Pi setup would be agreeable, the same goes for AC3/DTS but that has received all but a warm embrace by OUYA in the past. As for the fees, I believe it is set at $5USD for the Pi device, which is less than some of the games on the OUYA.
Honestly, as posted previously, I have decided to forgo the whole MPEG2 bit since there has been no answer from OUYA on this issue in months. Instead I will be going with a network based tuner than can transcode to x264 on the fly. This way I am out of the ignore loop that is OUYA support.
Thanks very much for the response and the info - I'm sure that it will be appreciated by quite a few people who are wondering about this.
I know that there are logistical elements in addition to the technical hurdles, but I agree with others that have recommended the approach taken by the Raspberry Pi. An optional add-on license for a one-time fee would be a great fit, and would be something that wouldn't interfere with the Ouya's pricing goal. Maybe it could even be packaged with a non-free version of XBMC for Ouya.
It is probably a smaller subset of users that need mpeg2 hardware decoding, but right now it is the only way to watch OTA TV on the Ouya in the US. There is a new HDHomerun device coming out that will do the transcoding on the fly, but that won't work for everyone's setup and would require a hardware investment that's well over the cost of some of the other android devices that support mpeg2.
I agree that (especially) audio passthrough and cec support are likely more in-demand right now, and completely understand their higher priority on the list.
I know that the entire community appreciates the effort that has been put in to making the Ouya a feasible media player in additional to being a great little console. If this could be looked into, I know that it would win you guys a lot of love. Even more so once audio passthrough is working. Keep up the good work, and please keep us updated :)
@MonoksideC, one thing to consider, unless I'm mistaken, US streams also use AC-3 for audio. Isn't that another codec that was removed from XBMC? If so hardware MPEG2 decoding would fix the Video stutter, but leave you hanging on the audio.
ZooKeeperZakWork - thanks for the update! I had given up all hope.
You are so close to a great solution here. The goal is to get a turn-key xbmc system that people can integrate with other solutions (like Mythtv). You'll have the product distribution channel, the app store, the payment system. All you need is the licensed functionality to back it up (ac-3, mpeg2 and such).
So please add Mpeg2 HD support (hardware support) to the todo list.
As for the cost - put an app in your store; "Ouya Media", I'd pay $10 for the app. The app just allows the use of the hardware accelerators. Just make sure system updates keep in sync.
Once you get it, post to the Mythtv list and cross post to Mythbuntu.
As of the latest update CEC is kinda gone out the window, guess that brings MPEG2 that much closer to actually being addressed. Kind of a bitter sweet deal.
Yeah learning that HDMI CEC wasn't possible was a huge bummer. The work on supporting remotes more natively is going well and almost done.
The Audio Passthrough is being a PAIN though. Currently looking into contractors that are familiar with the Linux Kernel and Tegra 3 to see if we can sort out a solution. We are hopeful but it's not going to be a fast solution.
As for the licensing yeah getting closer to having the time to investigate.
The Audio Passthrough is being a PAIN though. Currently looking into contractors that are familiar with the Linux
Kernel and Tegra 3 to see if we can sort out a solution. We are hopeful
but it's not going to be a fast solution.
Question?
What does "Team Ouya" mean by audio pass-through?
Do you mean getting AC3 and DTS to pass-through or do you mean DTS-HD, TrueHD, AC3 and DTS pass-through?
If it's the first, then it should just be a matter of fixing what appears to be a handshake issue since the Ouya will already pass-though those codec types, but it just doesn't do so correctly.
If it's means passing through HD audio, then I'd have to agree about it being a "PAIN", since that will require a lot more then just getting the Ouya to properly preform a HDMI handshake. I know that many people would love to be able to pass-through HD audio, but most would probably prefer to have at least AC3 and DTS pass-through working properly first.
And to stay at least a little on topic here ;), as far as MPEG2 support, personally I don't really have a need for it. However, I would still show my support for it being added, mainly due to, at least in my opinion, anything that would make the Ouya a full fledged media player is going to help sell more units.
You are so close to a great solution here. The goal is to get a turn-key xbmc system that people can integrate with other solutions (like Mythtv). You'll have the product distribution channel, the app store, the payment system. All you need is the licensed functionality to back it up (ac-3, mpeg2 and such).
So please add Mpeg2 HD support (hardware support) to the todo list.
As for the cost - put an app in your store; "Ouya Media", I'd pay $10 for the app. The app just allows the use of the hardware accelerators. Just make sure system updates keep in sync.
Once you get it, post to the Mythtv list and cross post to Mythbuntu.
+1 to this and to the idea of adding MPEG2 support, I believe there is a large number of users that utilize OUYA as a media center and will greatly benefit from this.
So ZooKeeperZakWork, now that you have a much more stable console and since you have established in the last update that you can´t implement HDMI-CEC maybe it is time that you put a developer looking at how to allow some users to activate MPEG2 (even with an extra payment) :)
I'd go 20 dollars per unit for mpeg2 support. At least give us that option instead of the HDMI dance. I have 3 units and all are going to craigslist if there is not a mpeg2 solution soon.
I'd go 20 dollars per unit for mpeg2 support. At least give us that option instead of the HDMI dance. I have 3 units and all are going to craigslist if there is not a mpeg2 solution soon.
$20, why? The RPi has it for about $5! Why should OUYA charge 4 times more for the same license. For that price I would ditch my OUYAs on ebay and get a Cube-i2 that can do it out of the box for $80!
DeweyOxberger
Posts: 7Member
Comments
Correct, but note that for the Raspberry Pi the initial plan was to not support MPEG2 in hardware, mainly because of the administrative nightmare of negotiating a deal for the licenses and then setting up the web-shop to allow purchasing licenses generated from individual serial numbers. The nice thing about the Raspberry Pi makers is that a) they listen to what people want/need and b) they find ways to make things happen. One would think that the OUYA team has a similar spirit, so I would not give up hope. It's fair to say tho that the Raspberry Pi Foundation may have a better bargaining position for licensing terms as they have now shipped > 2 million units.
It's instructive to read the thread from almost exactly 2 years ago when MPEG2 support or lack of it was discussed for the Raspberry Pi, it's VERY similar to this thread:
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/592
and
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/1839
Cheers
HB
I know that there are logistical elements in addition to the technical hurdles, but I agree with others that have recommended the approach taken by the Raspberry Pi. An optional add-on license for a one-time fee would be a great fit, and would be something that wouldn't interfere with the Ouya's pricing goal. Maybe it could even be packaged with a non-free version of XBMC for Ouya.
It is probably a smaller subset of users that need mpeg2 hardware decoding, but right now it is the only way to watch OTA TV on the Ouya in the US. There is a new HDHomerun device coming out that will do the transcoding on the fly, but that won't work for everyone's setup and would require a hardware investment that's well over the cost of some of the other android devices that support mpeg2.
I agree that (especially) audio passthrough and cec support are likely more in-demand right now, and completely understand their higher priority on the list.
I know that the entire community appreciates the effort that has been put in to making the Ouya a feasible media player in additional to being a great little console. If this could be looked into, I know that it would win you guys a lot of love. Even more so once audio passthrough is working. Keep up the good work, and please keep us updated :)
What does "Team Ouya" mean by audio pass-through?
Do you mean getting AC3 and DTS to pass-through or do you mean DTS-HD, TrueHD, AC3 and DTS pass-through?
If it's the first, then it should just be a matter of fixing what appears to be a handshake issue since the Ouya will already pass-though those codec types, but it just doesn't do so correctly.
If it's means passing through HD audio, then I'd have to agree about it being a "PAIN", since that will require a lot more then just getting the Ouya to properly preform a HDMI handshake. I know that many people would love to be able to pass-through HD audio, but most would probably prefer to have at least AC3 and DTS pass-through working properly first.
And to stay at least a little on topic here ;), as far as MPEG2 support, personally I don't really have a need for it. However, I would still show my support for it being added, mainly due to, at least in my opinion, anything that would make the Ouya a full fledged media player is going to help sell more units.
+1 to this and to the idea of adding MPEG2 support, I believe there is a large number of users that utilize OUYA as a media center and will greatly benefit from this.