Fast (tetsuized?) Kernel For Sharp Rom

[the_oak]

My 6000 is a favorite device, except for one thing. Video playback of wmv files! They are slow motion, and choppy. I wonder if installing the fast kernel as described here would help. I also have an NEC MobilePro 900C (with cmonex rom) that has the same processor and a screen that is ... how should I put it? AWFUL! Yet it will play these wmv files just fine. It has no video acceleration (that I know of). It kills me that my Z (with it's gorgeous screen) can't do this too!

Has anyone used the instructions linked to above? Are these instructions fairly dummy-proof? Will this kernel help with mplayer? And is this kernel 100% compatible with Sharp ROM and ipks I already have?

[adf]

My 6000 is a favorite device, except for one thing. Video playback of wmv files! They are slow motion, and choppy. I wonder if installing the fast kernel as described here would help. I also have an NEC MobilePro 900C (with cmonex rom) that has the same processor and a screen that is ... how should I put it? AWFUL! Yet it will play these wmv files just fine. It has no video acceleration (that I know of). It kills me that my Z (with it's gorgeous screen) can't do this too!

Has anyone used the instructions linked to above? Are these instructions fairly dummy-proof? Will this kernel help with mplayer? And is this kernel 100% compatible with Sharp ROM and ipks I already have?

I haven't compared w/ wmv, but it will be no slower, and might well be faster.  The overall difference makes the update worthwhile, anyway- imho.

[the_oak]

Well, I did it. I flashed the fast kernel using the above mentioned howto. One of the files it says to download is not there (keyboard.tar.gz). Another file (encsh) is there, but there is no instruction for what to do with it. But this does not seem to affect anything. The upgrade went fine. I think it feels zippier, but I have no way to measure this. I did have to drop in a couple modules (serial_cs.o, pelrun's >2GB sd module, and pegasus.o). So now it sees my 2 GB SD card.  

The only thing I see as a possible problem is that usb_ohci_tc6393 module is missing. Can I get that from someone? I believe it is used to connect usb devices. I'll have to see if thumb drives (and such) work without it.

Also, is there an overclocking utility? (It seems to me that there was one back when I tried Guylhem's rom.)  or is the cpu self throttling?

EDIT: One more thing: The on/off button no longer suspends. I have to suspend from the start button menu. Any way to fix that?

EDIT2: After re-reading some old posts, I have discovered that the >2GB SD driver was pelrun's, not adf's. (sorry to credit wrongly) Adf did contribute numerous other modules compiled for the 6000.

[the_oak]

After a good nights sleep, (was working on this til 1:30 AM) I tried various USB devices, and they all seem to work. A USB mouse, numeric keypad, thumb drive, ethernet, and even a cue cat all worked just fine. So I guess the missing module (usb_ohci_tc6393) is not needed. Built in WIFI, and PocketTop IR keyboard also work. Movies seem less prone to blockiness. (wmv movies are still slow and choppy though). No installed program required re-installation.

The one and only problem (if you want to call it that) is the on/off switch not working. I'm going to check that big long post about the fast kernel (again) in the Guylhem ROM section and see if that was ever figured out.

[deluxe]

Don't know if this applies to your .wmv files or not, but when i play .avi's at full screen on my z i have to bump the processor speed up to 624 mhz with the fastest bus too. otherwise the video is low frame rate.
Have you tried applying the processor speed hack that comes stock with cacko?

[the_oak]

Cacko is not available for our 6000s. Is that speed hack available as an ipk?

[adf]

Cacko is not available for our 6000s. Is that speed hack available as an ipk?

With tetsu's kernel, you can use the battery app (from cacko,I think)
If you have trouble finding it, I can send

[the_oak]

I found battery-changeCCCRapplet_1.1.0_arm.ipk here:

http://www.katastrophos.net/zaurus/mirrors/piro.hopto.org/

Is that the one? It appears to be written for the 700 series (I only say that because some of the files have "c700" in their names). It installs, but I don't know if it is the best app for the 6000.

[speculatrix]

I don't think Toshiba *ever* released the full programming manual* for the tc-6393 "companion chip", which would cover video acceleration. Many of us have tried to use their contacts to get a copy. Sharp never released source code to their kernel module. One guy managed to make a few inroads into getting some of the acceleration going but for some reason he stopped, I think he did it purely by hard work and random poking!

There are various theories why, the only one that vaguely makes sense is that the 6393 is also the SD controller and since that was proprietary, Toshiba probably didn't feel able to release any information.

The same chip was also used in another PDA, an ipaq or something, and the guys working on that also floundered.

So, if you know anyone really really technical at Toshiba, do ask them if they can provide the programmers manual and then we'll get video acceleration!

[the_oak]

speculatrix,
I hope someone can find that reference. Especially someone who knows how to use it.
I am not holding my breath.
In the mean time, this fast kernel seems to help some. My only regret is not being able to use my power button. I checked the really long fast kernel thread from about 2 years ago, and the power button was an issue that seems to require a patch to the kernel, and kernel recompile. Anyone know of an easier solution?

[speculatrix]

the power button was an issue that seems to require a patch to the kernel, and kernel recompile. Anyone know of an easier solution?

I assume it's because the keyboard, which is implemented as an array of I/O (not even sure if it's a cross-bar) driver doesn't generate the scan code for the power button?
Therefore, I'd guess you could write a module which set up the I/O port and sent a signal to userspace to trigger suspend & resume?

this is all my guesswork as I know very little about such things, never having written a linux device driver (I haven't done embedded programming in 15 years, back then it was all 8051's and 80188's!)

[adf]

what do you mean "can't use the power button?"  Did you also install the modules for that kernel from tetsu's site?  I think my power button is ok- it turns the thing on and suspends/unsupends the Z. Was there something else it was supposed to do?

[the_oak]

When I press the power button (the on/off physical switch on the left edge of the Z) it does not turn the Z off, no matter how quickly I push and release, OR how long I hold it. I can use the "Suspend" from the start menu to suspend, then the power button WILL let me turn the Z back on.

I downloaded the modules.tar.gz from externe.net (here), and followed the instructions here.

adf, Does your power button work as normal for off and for on? (I probably did something wrong  )

[the_oak]

Just out of curiosity, what ROM have I installed if I used this link?

I presumed it was the latest Tetsuized ROM by Guylhem, with help from adf on modules and such.
Is that what I have installed? uname -r just reports, "2.4.18-rmk-pxa3-embedix".

[the_oak]

I've been checking around and now believe my power button not working is a result of one of the .tbl files I copied into /opt/Qtopia/etc. I followed the directions in the howto I've linked to at the start of this thread. I now wish that I had backed up the .tbl files before deleting them.

Can anyone (who is still using the default Sharp ROM) post any files ending with .tbl from their /opt/Qtopia/etc folder?