Pre-production is still ongoing for the Linux-powered Atari VCS, with the team giving a fresh update on how it's doing. So far, it seems like it's actually progressing well.
After showing it off during the recent CES trade show, they went back to their manufacturer to continue the preparation and run a fresh pre-production run of Atari VCS development units. A shot of which you can see below (click to enlarge):
They did this new test run of Atari VCS units to include various improvements discovered during their validation phase, some of which was mentioned in a blog post in January we missed which includes "streamlined and simplified electronics", "a beneficial reduction of physical parts" and a lot of testing on the cooling systems. According to the post, these new and improved units are "already in the hands of content developers" and more are shipping out this week.
We also now have a much better look at their official Dashboard UI:
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Apart from the really dumb password system (that even a young child could easily copy…), it's actually looking pretty slick. I'm genuinely surprised that it all seems to be coming together after all the delays. Dare I say it? I'm getting a little hopeful about the Atari VCS now.
You can see their full post here.
Just as a reminder, they did previously confirm that pretty standard Linux games will work on it. As well as it having the ability to load any other operating system (like a standard install of Linux), which could make it a rather versatile and handy little box.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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slaapliedje Feb 7, 2020
Quoting: Purple Library GuyKind of weird, because I have 4k monitors and I am pretty sure I would notice the difference with 1080p vs 720p on them an Netflix looks fine in firefox on Linux. Granted there is the occasional crap look because my ISP isn't the best.Quoting: dannielloNetflix in browser means that quality of picture will not be good - 720p max. Officially only Microsoft browsers are allowed to play in 1080p/4K quality. There is external addon to enable 1080p in Firefox, but from legal point of view it is "hack" so definitely it cannot be integrated in commercial product like Atari VCS.Really?! Son of a bitch. And our legal system just lets that be the case.
I have also been able to play Disney+ in Linux with Firefox, so do not have to use the shitpile that is Chrome for that. So I am happy.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: Purple Library GuyKind of weird, because I have 4k monitors and I am pretty sure I would notice the difference with 1080p vs 720p on them an Netflix looks fine in firefox on Linux. Granted there is the occasional crap look because my ISP isn't the best.Quoting: dannielloNetflix in browser means that quality of picture will not be good - 720p max. Officially only Microsoft browsers are allowed to play in 1080p/4K quality. There is external addon to enable 1080p in Firefox, but from legal point of view it is "hack" so definitely it cannot be integrated in commercial product like Atari VCS.Really?! Son of a bitch. And our legal system just lets that be the case.
I have also been able to play Disney+ in Linux with Firefox, so do not have to use the shitpile that is Chrome for that. So I am happy.
I'm in the same boat - I sit about a foot and a half away from my Predator 4K and I use it to watch Netflix on Firefox without a hint that there's anything wrong with the picture. I'd love to see a blind test against a sizable sampling of people to see if they could actually tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, even on hidef screens that should make that "difference" even clearer.
Conversely, my Amazon Fire TV keeps offering to play the UHD versions of Bosch, even though my living room has an aging Panasonic 1080p plasma panel! What a waste of bandwidth that would be! Two or three of the season 5 episodes didn't even offer HD - I was forced to use the 4K stream!
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slaapliedje Feb 7, 2020
Quoting: scaineSide note, Bosch is a fantastic show!Quoting: slaapliedjeQuoting: Purple Library GuyKind of weird, because I have 4k monitors and I am pretty sure I would notice the difference with 1080p vs 720p on them an Netflix looks fine in firefox on Linux. Granted there is the occasional crap look because my ISP isn't the best.Quoting: dannielloNetflix in browser means that quality of picture will not be good - 720p max. Officially only Microsoft browsers are allowed to play in 1080p/4K quality. There is external addon to enable 1080p in Firefox, but from legal point of view it is "hack" so definitely it cannot be integrated in commercial product like Atari VCS.Really?! Son of a bitch. And our legal system just lets that be the case.
I have also been able to play Disney+ in Linux with Firefox, so do not have to use the shitpile that is Chrome for that. So I am happy.
I'm in the same boat - I sit about a foot and a half away from my Predator 4K and I use it to watch Netflix on Firefox without a hint that there's anything wrong with the picture. I'd love to see a blind test against a sizable sampling of people to see if they could actually tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, even on hidef screens that should make that "difference" even clearer.
Conversely, my Amazon Fire TV keeps offering to play the UHD versions of Bosch, even though my living room has an aging Panasonic 1080p plasma panel! What a waste of bandwidth that would be! Two or three of the season 5 episodes didn't even offer HD - I was forced to use the 4K stream!
The bandwidth thing gets really fun when you have an ISP that has bandwidth caps (yup, those still exist, because of lack of Net neutrality they now like to have a streaming cap per month...) This is why I still haven't switched to the faster Comcast from my CenturyLink ISP, well and other reasons, but that's definitely on the list.
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Quoting: slaapliedjeKind of weird, because I have 4k monitors and I am pretty sure I would notice the difference with 1080p vs 720p on them an Netflix looks fine in firefox on Linux. Granted there is the occasional crap look because my ISP isn't the best.
I have also been able to play Disney+ in Linux with Firefox, so do not have to use the shitpile that is Chrome for that. So I am happy.
Quoting: scaineI'm in the same boat - I sit about a foot and a half away from my Predator 4K and I use it to watch Netflix on Firefox without a hint that there's anything wrong with the picture. I'd love to see a blind test against a sizable sampling of people to see if they could actually tell the difference between 720p and 1080p, even on hidef screens that should make that "difference" even clearer.
When playing movie on Netflix website in Firefox click LCtrl+LAlt+LShift+d and check what is resolution after "Playing biterate"... Without "hack" extension - desktop Firefox and Chrome are limited to max. 1280x720 (except ChromeOS).
Extension to enable 1080p on Netflix movies/series (not all - some, even with "hack", will start in ~480p max, because no support for HDCP in Linux):
https://addons.mozilla.org/pl/firefox/addon/netflix-1080p/
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slaapliedje Feb 8, 2020
Hmm, not seeing the video resolution, but am seeing the throughput as 35553kbps
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clatterfordslim Feb 16, 2020
I have a BT box hooked up to a 50Hertz 32" cheap German made TV and it only runs at 720p fine because my eyesight is getting worse. I have never seen the benefit in having or owning a 4K Monitor or TV, as none of the TV networks in the world actually broadcast in 4K or 8K. Just a gimmick to my mind. This Atari looks good and Mr Mark Greaves from Peppermint, before he died asked me to let him know how installing Peppermint on this goes? As I'm going to buy one and still let him know, well his family and the Peppermint Forums know and a YouTube Video too. So I for one am looking forward to this coming out.
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