Hi,
We're starting development of a (pretty much high-end) PVR/MediaCenter
which will of course run linux. Now, one of the avenue we're looking at is
using standard x86 hardware (as opposed to custom built embedded hardware).
Since the product will need a lot of processing power (since if we're using
x86 hardware, we'll do most processing in software), we would like to use a
dual-core CPU, something powerful. But it must also be low power/low heat,
as you can't have a 12" fan running at 8000rpm to cool your CPU in the
living now.
The device should also feel "appliance-like". That means that it must
boot very quickly, at least displaying some nice animated loading screen
within 5 seconds. And that's where LinuxBIOS comes into play.
Are there any supported board/CPU combo that would fit our needs? For an
AMD board, something with an AM2 socket would be ideal as it's a recent
chipset and will stay longer on the market than say socket 939, but it's not
a requirement per se. We would need standard stuff on the board: USB, IDE,
ideally PCI-E and pci and maybe onboard sound and video (although that's
more optional than anything).
If no such board/cpu combo is supported by LinuxBIOS currently, we would
be willing to evaluate the possibility of hiring someone to port LinuxBIOS
to the chosen platform. Do you know of any individual/company that would do
such work and an idea of how much such work might cost?
Thanks a lot.
Simon Labrecque