[richard]

just saw this http://www.raspberrypi.org on the BBC site and looks like it could be quite useful - a £25 linux machine with a USB port that can run from either batteries or a small supply.

I wonder who will be the first person to bundle it with a usb>dmx adaptor and some kind of artnet client, would give you a very cheap artnet node on a network.

hmm

[Brian]

It's a bit overpowered for an Artnet node. MagicQ anybody?

[maxjones2000]

oooh that's pretty cool...

Really stupid question (but I really don't get this type of thing!), but do you think it would be possible to run MagicQ PC on it and connect a monitor into the video out, and then connect a dongle to the USB port?

Sorry if I'm asking a unbelievably stupid/dim/pathetic/absurd/special question!

EDIT: Thats a yes then! Just seen Brian's post above beaten too it..

This post has been edited by maxjones2000: 23 December 2011 - 03:20 PM

[timd]

I really can't wait for the release. You wouldn't even need to have a USB converter involved, the ideal would be for a program running natively to decode eveything and then just have a DMX driver chip hanging off the GPIO pins doing the sending. Combine that with a PoE board for it and you've got a single wire multiple universe device. It would probably even have the guts to connect some GPIO, via an expander, to a wall switch and output based on that for simple control in the absence of Art-Net.

I can see real potential for them to destroy the cost of what have traditionally been expensive set-ups given the processing punch they've got, not to mention the HDMI output! Digital signage driver, probably even a video stream reciever at minimal cost.

Brian and Max - It's an ARM chip, so it would need recompiling by Chamsys to work at all. I think the MQ consoles run 1GHz processors, the Rpi is a 700Mhz job, I've no idea about memory requirements either, so I wouldn't be running anything really complex off one, but it might be fantastic for simple button control etc, especially if you can keymap from the GPIO pins properly to save having the guts of a USB keyboard everywhere.

This post has been edited by timd: 23 December 2011 - 03:26 PM

[jiggles]

Been watching this since the birth of the website. It's simplest amazing! Already have an idea for it.

[themadhippy]

I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer mmmm $27 and 40 cents in my travel wallet do they take cash?

[J Pearce]

I've got several uses lined up for when they go on sale, will be after at least two initially.

[sleah]

*looks round waiting for BigClive to comment*

He's bound to have some real off-the-wall ideas for it

[rossmck]

Look forward to seeing someone get a DMX output on this.... Ideal Art-Net node, and architectural lighting controller (I've used a few other embedded linux devices for that purpose, but none this small / cheap)

[dbuckley]

There is another strange form factor computer that folks may be interested in, heres a Wikipedia link to the article on Plug computers.

[martinw]

The biggest downside to RaspberryPi is that it uses a Broadcom processor.

They are one of the least 'open' semiconductor companies to deal with, and basically all documentation requires signing an NDA, which won't be forthcoming unless they think you'll buy hundreds of thousands. This may not sound important, but if you want to write interesting low-level code to do DMX or RDM for example then you might need to know more about the hardware. Some chip companies making ARM based SOCs like Texas Instruments or Freescale will provide you with all the manuals on their website without any legal nonsense.

The BeagleBone is a similar idea (a bit more expensive) but a much more open platform. I think the idea behind RaspberryPi of getting these things into schools is great, but the only reason they use Broadcom is that the guy behind the project works there. The kind of volumes they will produce would not normally interest Broadcom

M

This post has been edited by martinw: 23 December 2011 - 11:26 PM

[timd]

martinw, on 23 December 2011 - 11:26 PM, said:

The biggest downside to RaspberryPi is that it uses a Broadcom processor.

They are one of the least 'open' semiconductor companies to deal with, and basically all documentation requires signing an NDA, which won't be forthcoming unless they think you'll buy hundreds of thousands. This may not sound important, but if you want to write interesting low-level code to do DMX or RDM for example then you might need to know more about the hardware. Some chip companies making ARM based SOCs like Texas Instruments or Freescale will provide you with all the manuals on their website without any legal nonsense.

The BeagleBone is a similar idea (a bit more expensive) but a much more open platform. I think the idea behind RaspberryPi of getting these things into schools is great, but the only reason they use Broadcom is that the guy behind the project works there. The kind of volumes they will produce would not normally interest Broadcom

M

It's a Broadcom system on-a-chip, but an ARM processor inside that. Should be possible to pass DMX over the GPIO using CAN or the like, to a proper DMX driver chip.

[indyld]

themadhippy, on 23 December 2011 - 04:35 PM, said:

I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer I dont need another computer mmmm $27 and 40 cents in my travel wallet do they take cash?

This made me laugh for many reasons, one of which was slightly obscure reminder of:

jollymerry
hollyberry
jollyberry
merryholly
....
etc.

Very festive, huh.

Although not a hardcore technogeek myself, I do worry where we are going to get our next generation of computer science innovators from here in the UK. Maybe things like this will make some inroads into the gap that opened up since every kid on the street no longer started their computer learning with:

10 PRINT "NEIL IS A ..."
20 GOTO 10

(some code redacted for reasons of national security)

Sod the kids, I reckon the production industry will be all over things like this, as the thread seems to already indicate.

[jiggles]

martinw, on 23 December 2011 - 11:26 PM, said:

The biggest downside to RaspberryPi is that it uses a Broadcom processor.

They are one of the least 'open' semiconductor companies to deal with, and basically all documentation requires signing an NDA, which won't be forthcoming unless they think you'll buy hundreds of thousands. This may not sound important, but if you want to write interesting low-level code to do DMX or RDM for example then you might need to know more about the hardware. Some chip companies making ARM based SOCs like Texas Instruments or Freescale will provide you with all the manuals on their website without any legal nonsense.

The BeagleBone is a similar idea (a bit more expensive) but a much more open platform. I think the idea behind RaspberryPi of getting these things into schools is great, but the only reason they use Broadcom is that the guy behind the project works there. The kind of volumes they will produce would not normally interest Broadcom

M

As I was reading it the GPU binary blob is the only part thats closed source. The rest is open source.

[timd]

jiggles, on 24 December 2011 - 12:13 PM, said:

As I was reading it the GPU binary blob is the only part thats closed source. The rest is open source.

And that GPU is pretty damn capable as well!

http://www.youtube.c...d&v=te8jt-jUkm8