Petition to Qualcomm: the final?

Exactly one month ago, I started a petition to Qualcomm with a request to release updated ICS- supported codecs for ARMv6- based devices . It was inspired by the previous petition requesting to release updated drivers for the Adreno 200 graphics accelerator, created by user sweetnsour from the xda-developers forum. As you may have heard, it was a success.



So, I created a petition, told the people what was the result?

Result

I will not pull the tires, I will say right away that at the moment the result is negative. (To Semi) The official response from Qualcomm is as follows:

ZDFX: Qualcomm's QDSP5 on MSM7x27. The architecture of MSM7x27 doesn’t support OpenMax video code for ARMv6 OMX and QDSP5 running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS).

In short:

Sorry, the codecs for ICS will not take off on MSM7x27, so we will not release anything.

')

But how did we come to this and why this answer does not satisfy many and me in particular?

Story

Let me remind you that for the first time, the problem of porting ICS to ARMv6 stopped at the beginning of this year. At first the problem was with hardware accelerated 3D. The GB Adreno driver didn’t quite fit, although it worked with some hacks. Then the first petition was created, which was crowned with success within 5 days. So, we now have full hardware acceleration of the interface and working 3D applications, including games. For doubters, I can only note that at least the performance is no worse than GB.



Further, almost all developers are stumbled into a problem with the camera and codecs. If the camera does not really bother me, then the lack of multimedia capabilities is somehow not very happy.



If someone does not know, Android uses the OpenMAX standard as a layer of multimedia abstractions. It includes both a hardware-dependent part (drivers, codecs, call it what you want), and client libraries with a unified API. I want to note that GB also uses it and there are libraries on ARMv6. But ICS requires a few extra features that are simply missing from them. I turned to the developers of CyanogenMod , as people are more knowledgeable, is it possible to replace these functions with plugs? .. They say that no, we need some additional functionality that you don’t implement with plugs.

Petitions

As a result, as many as 2 petitions were created due to the insolubility of this situation. The first , the most common at the moment, unfortunately almost does not contain technical information and it is necessary to recognize that it is directed rather "to the village, to the grandfather." However, she has already collected more than 12 thousand signatures . Next, I started my petition, which has now collected more than 4.5 thousand signatures . Those. In total, about 17 thousand signatures were collected.



Interestingly, after about two weeks, we received a response on the Qualcomm forum: “We’ve seen "We understood how important this is for you, we will try to find some solution." Even more readily, they responded on Twitter , though with the same phrase. But in the end it was all over.

Hexagon QDSP5

And here the most interesting begins. Any cunning things from multimedia algorithms, like fast conversions, etc. in Qualcomm chips, performs a Hexagon QDSP signal processor. Most ARMv6 chips are QDSP5 . Processor specifications are closed, codecs are closed. However, some code for it is present in the Linux kernel, apparently for access as a block-device or the like.



So, if we look at the official specs on modern Qualcomm chips , then we will immediately notice that QDSP5 is present in almost half of the solutions, including new ones!



And so, we have a whole bunch of devices on MSM7225 / MSM7227 , and these are almost all popular devices of 2010 year of release. And Qualcomm declares to us that it is impossible to write codecs for them, and the devices themselves have almost reached the end of their life cycle. And this is despite the fact that most of them are still in stores!



Go ahead, look at the "state employees" of this year, the same LG Optimus L , Sony Tapioca (ST21i) , etc. They are built on ... MSM7227A ! We look specs: the same S1, the same modules Adreno 200 , Hexagon QDSP5 , updated to the Cortex-A5 core. This thing can already run ICS out of the box? NO WAY! What about “MSM7x27 cannot support OpenMax video code for ARMv6 OMX IL on QDSP5 running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS)”? In fact, they sell us the same thing, but with a tuned core.

Maybe they are fooling us and in fact QDSP5 here and there are completely different QDSP5? I have not found information on this. Adreno 200 was the same.



You can say "what you wanted is marketing." Well, you know, I did not expect, buying the device at the end of 2011, to find out that he is already really dead, even though it still lies in all stores. Yes, I expected that in the end it will come out, but I still feel deceived.



As for the ICS port itself, I can say that at the moment almost everything, all sensors, a camera, hardware interface acceleration, and most applications are working. Recently even Linaro assemblies have appeared, which really make the device a bit more responsive. However, in the field of multimedia we have a complete bummer. Any decoding operation takes place purely in software mode, very heavily loading and heating the processor. And there seems to be nothing to do. And we are so close ...

Solutions?

What can be decisions in this situation:

1. To score, buy a new device, do not buy Qualcomm products, etc.
2. Continue to put pressure on Qualcomm, write to them on Twitter, on the forum, etc. The probability of success is nearing zero.
3. Try to make stubs to fly with libs from GB. So far no one has succeeded.
4. Write the necessary libraries from scratch by yourself. I'm afraid the release will be in a few years, when everyone will definitely not care about ARMv6, and perhaps already on ARMv7.

I would like to hear your opinion on this issue.



In conclusion, I will give ATOM_UA comments to the previous topic:



Yeah, I remember such petitions to both HTC and Qualcomm at the time of win mobile. They popped a bunch of devices for a couple, and it doesn't matter that there was not even 2d firewood, they sold it and they scored. Requested requested community, but such cool companies are not up to you.

For myself, I made a choice, no longer take products from HTC, and devices to qualcomm.



I say that the situation is repeated, the same problems from the same company. Only before the android was not, because the petitions for Vinmo were, but the problems are the same.



No dripping deep in no

www.petitiononline.com/petitions/tytn2vid/signatures?page=1



There was even a whole site created where the problem was discussed, all infa was collected and the actions on feeding were coordinated, but they did not wait

www.htcclassaction.org



here, before the heap

ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_TyTN_II#.D0.9F.D1.80.D0.BE.D0.B1.D0.BB.D0.B5.D0.BC.D1.8B_.D1.81_.D0.B2 .D0.B8.D0.B4.D0.B5.D0.BE.D0.B4.D1.80.D0.B0.D0.B9.D0.B2.D0.B5.D1.80.D0.BE.D0 .BC



At the moment I have to agree.



PS Topic on the Qualcomm developer forum . Well formulated "fi" is welcome.