FreeBSD based HTPC

[nickednamed]

I'm looking to build and run a home server with some HTPC functionality.

I am aware that FreeBSD is not the obvious choice for a HTPC but i really like it and it meets my server needs brilliantly so i would really like to find a decent base system / hardware for it.

However a lot of hardware which is well supported in Linux is not so well supported in FreeBSD. So if anyone has experience in this area i would love to hear from you.

My question is this: What platform would you recommend as the basis of a full hd capable HTPC running FreeBSD?

What I've learnt so far is that:

Fusion boards don't have hardware acceleration under FreeBSD.
Broadcom HD decoders dont have any drivers yet.
ION boards can play HD well using VDPAU.
Any board in combination with GeForce 8+ GFX card works well using VDPAU also.

If I am wrong in any respect, please let me know.

Could anyone recommend a good, low-cost, low-power, fanless motherboard or motherboard + GFX combination?

Any other questions / comments etc are very welcome.

Thanks.

 

[audiovoodoo]

I know some of the Via Mini-ITX and Nano-ITX crew used FreeBSD for some HTPC builds. It might be worth having a browse on the Mini-ITX sites if that option is of interest. Not as much power as other options but small and fanless with very low power requirements.

 

[nickednamed]

Thanks.

I was under the impression that Via had terrible driver support [read that even though many VIA boards come with MPEG-2 decoders, no-one could get them to work, and had to rely on software decoding instead]

I will have another look at their offerings. Thanks

 

[audiovoodoo]

They certainly had a working solution a couple of years back for Linux that was using the Chrome graphics with mpeg acceleration. Not sure if FreeBSD got this though so you might well be right in your assumptions, it might be I got a couple of the projects mixed up as it has been a while since I was following that scene.

 

[jbo5112]

Chrome graphics support VDPAU under Linux, but I didn't see anything for FreeBSD. I always recommend NVIDIA for Linux because of driver support, and under FreeBSD, I would think driver support would be more difficult.

If you're wanting inexpensive and small, I would go with an Atom board w/ ION, and give yourself a much better web experience. Newegg has a few of them. I like the one with a remote.

Depending on your form factor, option two would be a low-end Sandy Bridge system (Celeron G440, Pentium G620T or Core i3-2120T) w/ a fanless NVIDIA card (512MB+ for 1080i/p), possibly low-profile. Going fanless on the CPU could be a problem at 35W, but people have done it. If you use a large fan, it will be much quieter than a small one.

 

[nickednamed]

Thanks guys.

I had no idea that Chrome gfx supported VDPAU!

Still, after froogling around i have chosen the following setup:

Asus E35M1-M
Zotac GeForce 210 Synergy Edition


This way, i have higher tier VDPAU support and a lot more expansion for more or less the same price as an ION board [due to my location's availability, delivery costs and exchange rate].

I will definitely keep an eye out for some Via / Chrome boards too.

Thanks for the help guys..