[bjd223]

Has anyone tried a dedicated HD decoder in the open WWAN slot?

BroadCom BCM970012 Mini PCI-e HD Decoder Chipset 4 DELL - eBay (item 370182018904 end time May-31-09 00:29:28 PDT)

or

BroadCom BCM970010 BCM970012NB Mini PCI-e HD Decoder - eBay (item 150342365537 end time May-29-09 10:39:03 PDT)

I do not have a dedicated WWAN slot to try it in. I assume the WWAN slot is the same as the PCIe slot, or is it missing some pins?

If this could work, it would let the mini play back full 1080p via the video out.

[Fraggle.Rock]

Hmm, that seems like a really interesting idea. I didn't even know there weren't dedicated hardware decoders that were on-board a mainboard in the case of laptops. Hit up JKK, or one of the other frequent modders... they might have a go at it.

Fraggle

[elchubi]

if it works, this might be interesting for a group buy BCM970012 Mini PCI-e HD Decoder Chipset 4 UMPC BCM970012,BCM970012,PCI-e

[geofftate]

wow, very interesting. that would be awesome! wonder about heat issues...

[somms]

Anyone manage to play 720P HD .mkv files smoothly?

This Mini-PCIe option has been discussed previously at the above link!

AFAIK, an issue could be that only Vista/Win7 drivers are currently avail for this Broadcom card...

[bjd223]

Originally Posted by somms

Anyone manage to play 720P HD .mkv files smoothly?

This Mini-PCIe option has been discussed previously at the above link!

AFAIK, an issue could be that only Vista/Win7 drivers are currently avail for this Broadcom card...

I brought it up then also, however the only answers I go were use GMA Booster, or they were not sure. I already use GMA Booster, and it is okay, but it sure won't let you play full 1080p back at 24+ fps!

Hopefully being on the main page, and not burried in another thread, it will get more people looking at it, and someone will know if it will work or not. Another user did get a SDHC card reader to work in his extra slot, so it might be possible.

Right now I can watch 720p quicktime movies with limited tearing, however with this hardware it would probably play perfectly. Also the ebay page mentions that this is for laptops with limited CPU and power. Infact a card like this will take a lot of load off the CPU when you are playing videos.

Heat could also be a factor, it is hard to tell.

[somms]

Originally Posted by bjd223

I brought it up then also, however the only answers I go were use GMA Booster, or they were not sure. I already use GMA Booster, and it is okay, but it sure won't let you play full 1080p back at 24+ fps!

Hopefully being on the main page, and not burried in another thread, it will get more people looking at it, and someone will know if it will work or not. Another user did get a SDHC card reader to work in his extra slot, so it might be possible.

Right now I can watch 720p quicktime movies with limited tearing, however with this hardware it would probably play perfectly. Also the ebay page mentions that this is for laptops with limited CPU and power. Infact a card like this will take a lot of load off the CPU when you are playing videos.

Heat could also be a factor, it is hard to tell.

I don't see it being a problem for this Broadcom HD Mini-PCIe to work in either a WLAN or WWAN slot w/proper Vista/Win7 drivers installed...

[bjd223]

Anyone willing to try it?

Do the Vostro series have the PCIe internal connector? I amy try to sell my mini and buy a Vostro if they do. I may have to resort to the Dell Outlet though.

[somms]

Originally Posted by bjd223

Anyone willing to try it?

Do the Vostro series have the PCIe internal connector? I amy try to sell my mini and buy a Vostro if they do. I may have to resort to the Dell Outlet though.

Vostro A90 only comes equipped with WLAN connector for full-height Broadcom 802.11b/g card. You would have to sacrifice WiFi in order to equip Broadcom HD Mini-PCIe. Besides that and only Vista-compatible drivers, think you won't see many attempt trying to install this Mini-PCIe...

[Riemann Zeta]

The fact that it only has NT6 (Vista/7) drivers is not a detractor for me, but a selling point (I would never want to use the extremely crashy XP on any system now that Win 7 is out). I don't want to give up the wireless ethernet card, however. I wonder if there is a way to solder a connector onto the exposed mount pads for the WWLAN PCIe card slot (that is, where the card slot would be)?

It would be nice to be able to play 720p video.

Edit: everything I read would argue that this should be possible if one could solder a miniPCIe connector to the mobo. It should be easier than the WWAN modifications, because in our case, there is no extra power/antennae/SIM slot/etc issue. The biggest problem is finding a place that sells the specific miniPCIe connector part--not by the metric ton, but just in single quantities.