Battery question and A/V inputs


sean1279

Still Fresh
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
15
First of all, is it going to be possible to connect things to the Pandora to use the screen? I am hoping to use it to record some video footage on the go.

Also, and this one is for the Devs, would it be better on the batteries to keep the unit plugged in during long sessions at home or better to run on battery power then charge them. From my engineering background I know the battery techs would usually say "This kind of battery likes to be fully cycled, this one does not". Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
There is already a video out cable available on the GP2X website.
It puts out S-video, and audio out on R/L RCA audio jacks with this optional cable.
As to the batteries. I like to run lithium ion devices on battery power, recharging them when needed.
Keeping the charger on all the time prevents the batteries from cycling.
Lithium batteries will work better (more power output for longer time) if you charge and discharge them.
Though they will degrade if let to discharge completely.
High charge level and high temperature degrades them as well, so they are kind of a Goldilocks battery.
Not to charged, not too discharged. The middle is just right.
Linky:
http://www.batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
 
j.pickens said:
Lithium batteries will work better (more power output for longer time) if you charge and discharge them.
Beware saying that. According to the article, what's bad is discharging it just a bit ALL the time and that you should use all the charge every 30 times or so. Of course letting it discharge on purpose will just eat up cycles and destroy your battery (unlike old NiCd or NiMH batteries).
 
Batteryuniversity.com said:
Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

Fully discharging lithium batteries impacts their performance, and shortens their life.

The only reason to fully discharge a lithium battery is to re-calibrate the software that reports the batteries State-of-Charge. If you don't mind the estimation of how much battery life you have left being a bit off, you never need to fully discharge your battery.
 
Yeah, deep cycling li-ion batteries is bad. Or at least, not good, if you are just doing it to do it and not actually using that cycle for actual work. Just top them up when you need to, there's no need to baby them.
 
j.pickens said:
There is already a video out cable available on the GP2X website.
It puts out S-video, and audio out on R/L RCA audio jacks with this optional cable.
Think he's talking about video input, not output. Answer: no, there's no video input. Though how you would use that to record video footage is lost on me.

There is USB, which you can use as an input if all you're looking to do is write things to the SD cards. And there are USB video adapters which you might be able to use if you can find one with a suitable driver. That's pretty much your only option though.
 
Why not use a USB webcam for A/V in? you can get some really good small ones these days and i'm sure there are Linux drivers for them
 
Ok, I got some information from some battery experts. It's true that leaving the device plugged in while using is completely fine. These batteries should not be fully discharged if possible.

As for the A/V inputs, I'm still confused. I realize it can A/V OUT, but what I want to do is connect a device to the Pandora to view video. I'm sure there's a way, but I am hoping I can simply plug in the device. Anyone have some insight?
 
I am not entirely sure what the original poster was asking for, but being able to use a webcam or video capture device with it the Pandora could be interesting. I know I have a Hauppauge USB TV & video capture device that I would love to use with it to turn it into a mini PVR like the Archos units. I am sure it would all come down to whether or not there are Linux drivers available for the device. Imagine running a mini MythTV on your Pandora, lol.
 
Does Pandora have video in?

Hello.

I think to remember the Pandora SoC features video in. Am I right?

Does Pandora have video in in the EXT connector? It could be quite interesting for certain plans I have.

I want the official confirmation by one of the OpenPandora Ltd. members, so it could be mentioned in the OpenPandora.ES news summary.

Regards.
 
I think that the poster is asking if you can plug in a camera to the Pandora (I assume he means USB) and watch videos you recorded off of it (like you would on a desktop). I'm guessing the answer is yes, so long as there are Linux drivers.
 
In the OMAP3530 documentation there is a raw camera in (I assume for integrated cameras) but I may have missed the a/v in (the Archos 5 is an OMAP3530 and has video in with a dock)) I don't know what features the Pandora has...
 
No, the original poster (me) is asking whether or not it is possible to plug in A/V, like say plugging in a SNES to play on the Pandora screen. I have uses for this ability. I suppose I can deal with A/V through USB, but I'd like to see an easier way.
 
OMAP3530 features video in, so does the AV connector provides this connection?

If not, it's available as hacking friendly solder pads and possible to put it by some hardware hacking?
 
timofonic said:
OMAP3530 features video in, so does the AV connector provides this connection?
No, no, and again no.

timofonic said:
If not, it's available as hacking friendly solder pads and possible to put it by some hardware hacking?
... Maybe. I can't answer this for sure, they said that there'd be solder pads for as many leads as possible and that they would be documented on release. I wouldn't make any assumptions if I were you.
 
Back
Top