I'm creating plans and software now to build my Mac Entertainment Center next year. I'm planning on using a PowerMac G5 (so that I can continue to utilize the Alchemy TV cards I have in my Quicksilver G4 currently) and getting the best graphics I can for it. I'd like to be able to do Blu-Ray from this, but I am unsure if the X800 (The last fastest AGP-based graphics card for the Mac) would be able to handle it, and with it being a hard-to-get discontinued item now, if it will be worth the investment by the time I get to it. Would it be better to buy an AGP PC Card currently able to handle Blu-Ray disc playback, if the X800 can't handle it?

The second question pertains to programming graphics cards, in particularly the way some of the newer programs are utilizing them to boost non-graphics-related applications. I'd like to utilize the Quicksilver G4 I have as a file server, but I'd also like to boost the dual-CPU I have and utilize the graphics card for Video/Audio Encoding (the G5 acts as the front end, handling the Tuners and outputting everything, while the G4 processes and stores.) Considering that I have no plans on swapping out the Radeon 9800 Pro graphics card I currently have in it (its memory is already maxed out at 1.5 gigs, and the processors - a dual 800 card- are the only major upgrade planned for it), I'm wondering if it's doable. Audio encoding is currently fine - it's the MP1/2/4 Video conversion that's unacceptably slow right now. Is it possible for me to utilize the graphics card for processing tasks? If so, where would you recommend I look for more info?

(P.S. Don't be a smart___ and suggest to just ____ing Google it - I want some experience and educated-guess answers, not a needle-in-the-haystack search.)

(P.P.S. Sorry if the language - or the censoring thereof - offends anyone.)

It's probably just me, but an entertainment center seems like a waste of a perfectly good G5. What about using an ATV and simply serve the content form your G5? Anyway, as far as the Blu-Ray disk playback, I've not yet found an internal ROM that plays suitably. At this point, I think you'll end up disappointed with the quality of playback with any computer-based solution. The software decoders are simply not fast enough to keep up with hardware solutions like in the stand-alone players. Maybe someone else has some better news...

well, for software you have...

center stage (use to be all the heat! I haven't looked into it in a while)
plex (formerly osxbmc, an xbox media center port)
boxee (might be something to keep an eye on, its in alpha stages of dev now)
http://www.itheaterproject.com (not a bad solution, although, I don't know much about the development on this one)

As for the use of the graphics card for processing, folding@home does just that, you might research that a bit and see if it gets you anywhere. I don't know alot on the ins and outs there, personally, so I can't help ya.

Also, its been a while since I have looked, but what about cable cards for the mac? And, blu-ray... Does mac os x even support that yet?

I checked out Centerstage and iTheatr, was not very impressed with them. (Centerstage is the better of the two, though I like iTheatr's look for the TV.) Neither support DVR functionality or have a game menu. (In fact, only Mediacentral has those last two - too bad they're not compatible with my cards or handled emulated games!) Most likely than not, I'll be building it myself, only using open source code for the game emulation and digital conversions. Thanks for the tip on the folding@home, I'll look into it.

As for why the G5, the project was originally going to be an old mac and an old PC. That old mac ended up being my best machine, the G4 Quicksilver with dual 800 Mhz and maxxed out RAM, and the PC was going to be a custom-buuilt machine pieced together from parts I got from friends. Unfortunately, not all the parts work, and the cost of getting them to work might not be worth it, so I'm going to look into making it a Hackintosh next year.

In the place of that PC was a G4, and I was going try to add the functions I want: Bluetooth, which would be used with an iPod Touch (as a remote control) and a diNovo keyboard and mouse set, as well as wireless gamepads; 802.11g, which would be used for sharing files (as well as setting up a digital box in my moms room so she can access stuff); digital audio output, which would run into a receiver to supply me with surround sound; and an ATSC (digital) Tuner to be prepared for the digital switchover. (I'd get cable, but I want someone other than either Comcast, whose practices are shady; Satellite, which drops too often for me to rely on it.) Because I'd be saving my movies in MP4 format, I'd need a significant boost - the replacement for the PC was a Sawtooth 500 Mhz - and a SATA Card for newer Hard drives. (Speed is not quite as important as space for the hard drives, and both my Quicksilver- which has the A motherboard - and the Sawtooth were incapable of handling hard drives with greater space than 128 Gigs.)

I didn't decide to go with the G5 until I started pricing parts: The ones I am looking at are selling close to, or a little above, the cost of a new Mac Mini, which is also the same price of the CPU upgrade. Add in the Bluetooth and Wireless adapters and USB/Firewire digital audio output, and then factor in the fact that, so far, I've yet to find a digital tuner that will be compatible with the G4 (most need a minimum of a G5 just to run, and definitely need the G5 for digital tuning), and you can understand why the Sawtooth will be going back on eBay and a G5 will be taking its place. (That, plus it can use the two Alchemy cards I already have.)

Anyways, thanks for the suggestions, I could still use some more please.

Mac OS X doesn't support blu ray yet though, if you are waiting on that.

http://elisa.fluendo.com

check that out! build a plugin for hulu support and promote it to the hulu folks, that would be nice. They are working on an OS X port, maybe you could help with that.

Looked into folding @ Home, the GPUs used started with the X1900 and go beyond that - it doesn't use anything older. The G5's I am looking at - all but the last generation, which use AGP for the graphics card (The last generation uses PCI-Express, thus making it very capable of running a X1900) - is incapable of running any card above an X800 without some serious hacking, if at all. (The last card I could find that it could be upgraded to - which is a difficult card to find - is the X800.) I'm going to dive into AMD's site when I wake up.

You're right, Apple doesn't yet support Blu-Ray - hopefully, if the rumor is true, 10.5.6 will support it. If that doesn't pan out, hopefully something in the open source community does. The bright side is, if Apple does decide to do it, chances are good it'll be similar to its DVD support - coding wise, anyways.

Finally, the Elisa link does look promising, but it's missing a lot. One of the ideas I have is to make almost everything in playback iTunes-like - if you want a game, for example, you click on a list of games, or have it sorted out by system, genre, or other type. If I want to turn on the TV list of channels, as well as external hook-ups pops up. DVD's? it looks the info up online and keeps it within a listm or - as iTunes can do - automatically imports and transocdes it to MP4 for later viewing. Since it will be a two-monitor set-up (one monitor is the TV, which will be the last component upgraded) I want to make good use of said monitor - list and controls, for example. (All of the entertainment center stuff I've worked with only uses one monitor - understandable, yet regrettable at the same time.) Thanks for the suggestion though - I'll give it a look tomorrow as well.

w2ed, you plan on developing a new application by yourself?

Pretty much - going to use some open source things (Source code from various game emulators, handbrake, ffmpeg, Mencoder, and VLC, among others) with a front end of my own. I don't know whether or not I'll release the code or any software for it - depends on how well I get things to work, how much - if anything - I'll be adding or contributing to these projects, and how much of what I tie together, take apart, or create actually conflicts with either what organizations such as RIAA/MPAA are suing about. I know what I want, but I don't know if any of what I want will be useful to anyone else.

Well, thats why I recommended Elisa, its opensource and you could just contribute to that project. I think it would save you alot of time and you could help develop something with others to make it great.