Introduction
I have been successfully using an N3700, mini-ITX based computer as an HTPC to drive my living room TV. However, very soon in the future I will have multiple TVs, so I will need a cheaper device to drive them. After browsing on Amazon, I spotted ACEPC T5 which appears to be a knockoff of Intel's Compute Stick. It comes in a small form factor and has Wifi/Bluetooth, HDMI, and eMMC storage at a little over $100 so on paper it fits my requirements. Unfortunately, I encountered yet another case of "you do get what you pay for".
Booting up
The first thing out of the gate that I encountered was BSOD bootloop. I could have just packed everything up and returned it, but I decided to press on. The first thing I did was backup the Windows serial key:
sudo cat /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDMNext, I installed vanilla Ubuntu 18.04 (64 bit) minimal. Here is what I saw when I poked around the device:
sbobovyc@tv1:~$ cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 76
model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz
stepping : 4
microcode : 0x40a
cpu MHz : 488.221
cache size : 1024 KB
physical id : 0
siblings : 4
core id : 0
cpu cores : 4
apicid : 0
initial apicid : 0
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 11
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm ida arat
bugs : cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2
bogomips : 2880.00
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 36 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:sbobovyc@tv1:~$ lscpu
Architecture: x86_64
CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order: Little Endian
CPU(s): 4
On-line CPU(s) list: 0-3
Thread(s) per core: 1
Core(s) per socket: 4
Socket(s): 1
NUMA node(s): 1
Vendor ID: GenuineIntel
CPU family: 6
Model: 76
Model name: Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz
Stepping: 4
CPU MHz: 641.752
CPU max MHz: 1920.0000
CPU min MHz: 480.0000
BogoMIPS: 2880.00
Virtualization: VT-x
L1d cache: 24K
L1i cache: 32K
L2 cache: 1024K
NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0-3
Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm ida aratsbobovyc@tv1:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register (rev 36)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers (rev 36)
00:03.0 Multimedia controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Imaging Unit (rev 36)
00:0b.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller (rev 36)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller (rev 36)
00:1a.0 Encryption controller: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine (rev 36)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU (rev 36)sbobovyc@tv1:~$ lsusb
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hubsbobovyc@tv1:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
loop0 7:0 0 86.6M 1 loop /snap/core/4486
loop1 7:1 0 140M 1 loop /snap/gnome-3-26-1604/59
loop2 7:2 0 1.6M 1 loop /snap/gnome-calculator/154
loop3 7:3 0 12.2M 1 loop /snap/gnome-characters/69
loop4 7:4 0 21M 1 loop /snap/gnome-logs/25
loop5 7:5 0 3.3M 1 loop /snap/gnome-system-monitor/36
mmcblk0 179:0 0 29.1G 0 disk
├─mmcblk0p1 179:1 0 512M 0 part /boot/efi
└─mmcblk0p2 179:2 0 28.6G 0 part /
mmcblk0boot0 179:8 0 4M 1 disk
mmcblk0boot1 179:16 0 4M 1 disk sbobovyc@tv1:~$ sudo lshw
tv1
description: Tablet
product: To be filled by O.E.M. (T8)
vendor: To be filled by O.E.M.
version: Default string
serial: Default string
width: 64 bits
capabilities: smbios-3.0 dmi-3.0 smp vsyscall32
configuration: boot=normal chassis=tablet family=To be filled by O.E.M. sku=T8 uuid=00020003-0004-0005-0006-000700080009
*-core
description: Motherboard
product: To be filled by O.E.M.
vendor: To be filled by O.E.M.
physical id: 0
version: 1.0
serial: Default string
slot: Default string
*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
physical id: 0
version: 1.000
date: 09/01/2017
size: 64KiB
capacity: 4032KiB
capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int14serial int17printer acpi usb biosbootspecification uefi
*-memory
description: System Memory
physical id: 28
slot: System board or motherboard
size: 2GiB
capabilities: ecc
configuration: errordetection=multi-bit-ecc
*-bank:0
description: DIMM DDR3 1066 MHz (0.9 ns)
product: 00000000
vendor: Hynix Semiconductor
physical id: 0
serial: 00000000
slot: A1_DIMM0
size: 2GiB
width: 8 bits
clock: 1066MHz (0.9ns)
*-bank:1
description: DIMM [empty]
product: 00000000
vendor: Hynix Semiconductor
physical id: 1
serial: 00000000
slot: A1_DIMM1
*-cache:0
description: L1 cache
physical id: 32
slot: CPU Internal L1
size: 224KiB
capacity: 224KiB
capabilities: internal write-back
configuration: level=1
*-cache:1
description: L2 cache
physical id: 33
slot: CPU Internal L2
size: 2MiB
capacity: 2MiB
capabilities: internal write-back unified
configuration: level=2
*-cpu
description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id: 34
bus info: cpu@0
version: Intel(R) Atom(TM) x5-Z8350 CPU @ 1.44GHz
slot: SOCKET 0
size: 664MHz
capacity: 2400MHz
width: 64 bits
clock: 80MHz
capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology tsc_reliable nonstop_tsc cpuid aperfmperf tsc_known_freq pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm sse4_1 sse4_2 movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes rdrand lahf_lm 3dnowprefetch epb pti tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid tsc_adjust smep erms dtherm ida arat cpufreq
configuration: cores=4 enabledcores=4 threads=4
*-pci
description: Host bridge
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series SoC Transaction Register
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 100
bus info: pci@0000:00:00.0
version: 36
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
configuration: driver=iosf_mbi_pci
resources: irq:0
*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCI Configuration Registers
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 36
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:118 memory:90000000-90ffffff memory:80000000-8fffffff ioport:f000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff
*-multimedia UNCLAIMED
description: Multimedia controller
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Imaging Unit
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 3
bus info: pci@0000:00:03.0
version: 36
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi cap_list
configuration: latency=0
resources: memory:91000000-913fffff
*-generic:0
description: Signal processing controller
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Power Management Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: b
bus info: pci@0000:00:0b.0
version: 36
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: msi pm cap_list
configuration: driver=proc_thermal latency=0
resources: irq:122 memory:9183b000-9183bfff
*-usb
description: USB controller
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series USB xHCI Controller
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 14
bus info: pci@0000:00:14.0
version: 36
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi xhci bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=xhci_hcd latency=0
resources: irq:116 memory:91800000-9180ffff
*-usbhost:0
product: xHCI Host Controller
vendor: Linux 4.15.0-23-generic xhci-hcd
physical id: 0
bus info: usb@1
logical name: usb1
version: 4.15
capabilities: usb-2.00
configuration: driver=hub slots=7 speed=480Mbit/s
*-usb
description: Keyboard
product: Multimedia Air Mouse Keyboard
physical id: 4
bus info: usb@1:4
version: 3.01
capabilities: usb-2.00
configuration: driver=snd-usb-audio maxpower=160mA speed=12Mbit/s
*-usbhost:1
product: xHCI Host Controller
vendor: Linux 4.15.0-23-generic xhci-hcd
physical id: 1
bus info: usb@2
logical name: usb2
version: 4.15
capabilities: usb-3.00
configuration: driver=hub slots=6 speed=5000Mbit/s
*-generic:1
description: Encryption controller
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series Trusted Execution Engine
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1a
bus info: pci@0000:00:1a.0
version: 36
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pm msi bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=mei_txe latency=0
resources: irq:120 memory:91700000-917fffff memory:91600000-916fffff
*-isa
description: ISA bridge
product: Atom/Celeron/Pentium Processor x5-E8000/J3xxx/N3xxx Series PCU
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 1f
bus info: pci@0000:00:1f.0
version: 36
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: isa bus_master cap_list
configuration: driver=lpc_ich latency=0
resources: irq:0
*-network
description: Wireless interface
physical id: 1
logical name: wlan0
serial: 38:a2:8c:XX:XX:XX
capabilities: ethernet physical wireless
configuration: broadcast=yes driver=rtl8723bs ip=192.168.0.103 multicast=yes wireless=IEEE 802.11bgnEverything was functional except for sound:
sbobovyc@tv1:~$ cat /proc/asound/cards
0 [Audio ]: HdmiLpeAudio - Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio
Intel HDMI/DP LPE Audio
2 [bytchtes8316 ]: bytcht-es8316 - bytcht-es8316
TobefilledbyO.E.M.-TobefilledbyO.E.M.-Defaultstring-TobefilledbyO.E.M.I followed this guide to make sound work: https://linuxiumcomau.blogspot.com/2017/10/fixing-broken-hdmi-audio.html
In short, applying this patch to the pulse configuration will hardcode the sink device instead of letting it be detected dynamically.
sbobovyc@tv1:~$ diff -C 5 default.pa.bak /etc/pulse/default.pa
*** default.pa.bak 2018-06-11 23:27:44.876118054 -0400
--- /etc/pulse/default.pa 2018-06-11 23:28:35.047393611 -0400
***************
*** 39,61 ****
### Load audio drivers statically
### (it's probably better to not load these drivers manually, but instead
### use module-udev-detect -- see below -- for doing this automatically)
#load-module module-alsa-sink
#load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,0
#load-module module-oss device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-oss-mmap device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-null-sink
#load-module module-pipe-sink
! ### Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available
! .ifexists module-udev-detect.so
! load-module module-udev-detect
! .else
! ### Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)
! load-module module-detect
! .endif
### Automatically connect sink and source if JACK server is present
.ifexists module-jackdbus-detect.so
.nofail
load-module module-jackdbus-detect channels=2
--- 39,62 ----
### Load audio drivers statically
### (it's probably better to not load these drivers manually, but instead
### use module-udev-detect -- see below -- for doing this automatically)
#load-module module-alsa-sink
+ load-module module-alsa-sink device=hw:0,2
#load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:1,0
#load-module module-oss device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-oss-mmap device="/dev/dsp" sink_name=output source_name=input
#load-module module-null-sink
#load-module module-pipe-sink
! #### Automatically load driver modules depending on the hardware available
! #.ifexists module-udev-detect.so
! #load-module module-udev-detect
! #.else
! #### Use the static hardware detection module (for systems that lack udev support)
! #load-module module-detect
! #.endif
### Automatically connect sink and source if JACK server is present
.ifexists module-jackdbus-detect.so
.nofail
load-module module-jackdbus-detect channels=2Since this is supposed to be a media device, I tested several services I use. Youtube at 1080p60 using vp9 was stuttering, so I used h264ify to force h265 codec and 30 fps to attain acceptable video quality. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/h264ify/aleakchihdccplidncghkekgioiakgal?hl=en-US
I also encountered stuttering with Netflix but could not fix it.
This post provided interesting information on vainfo and vdpauinfo: https://blog.kylemanna.com/media/video-acceleration-with-vp9-and-h265/
sbobovyc@tv1:~$ cat vainfo.txt
vainfo: VA-API version: 1.1 (libva 2.1.0)
vainfo: Driver version: Intel i965 driver for Intel(R) CherryView - 2.1.0
vainfo: Supported profile and entrypoints
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Simple : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileMPEG2Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264ConstrainedBaseline: VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264Main : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264High : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264MultiviewHigh : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264MultiviewHigh : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileH264StereoHigh : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileH264StereoHigh : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileVC1Simple : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Main : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVC1Advanced : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileNone : VAEntrypointVideoProc
VAProfileJPEGBaseline : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileJPEGBaseline : VAEntrypointEncPicture
VAProfileVP8Version0_3 : VAEntrypointVLD
VAProfileVP8Version0_3 : VAEntrypointEncSlice
VAProfileHEVCMain : VAEntrypointVLDI decided to try a few light weight desktop environments since Gnome was taking up almost 1.5 GB. Using Enlightenment desktop E21 brought memory usage down to 530 MB, but video playback did not improve and I did not like the interface. Using LUbuntu, memory usage was only 376 MB, but again video playback did not improve. Fundametally, video decode acceleration on Linux is not enabled in Chrome and requires a CPU that is more powerful than what this thing has to provide a good experience.
I decided to try Windows since Chrome does support hardware video decode on that OS. I installed Windows 10 from Microsoft ISO since the recovery ISO provided by ACEPC has the BSOD issue. Windows booted up but had many missing drivers that were not found in Windows Update. I dumped the recovery iso, found the driver cache, and pointed Windows driver installer to install drivers from there. Unfortunately, the wifi driver kept on crashing, making the thing useless. I found a driver on Realtek's website but installing that caused the BSOD bootloop. I dumped the recovery iso and found the driver cache, and pointed Windows driver installer to install drivers from there. Unfortunately, the wifi driver kept on crashing making the thing useless. I found a driver on Realtek's website, but installing that caused the BSOD bootloop.
Conclusion
Using a USB wifi adapter and Windows, I did manage to get acceptable video playback thanks to hardware accelerated decoding, in the end this thing is a piece of junk and I returned it.