Raspberry Pi 5 16GB Model Launches For $120 USD

[alexenv]

Hopefully the Pi 6 will have more CPU grunt, to do this in software, and not rely on crappy hardware decoding.

By Pi 7 I suspect they will finally be able to playback 1080p 60 fps videos on Youtube smoothly with this approach.

[monkeynut]

By Pi 7 I suspect they will finally be able to playback 1080p 60 fps videos on Youtube smoothly with this approach.

The CPU can do the video decoding, the YouTube issues are because the GPU is shit.

[Ferrum Master]

Hopefully the Pi 6 will have more CPU grunt, to do this in software, and not rely on crappy hardware decoding.

RPI5 unlike previous ones does not even have non h.265 hardware video decoders. It is done on software...

[alexenv]

The CPU can do the video decoding, the YouTube issues are because the GPU is shit.

Nope, the GPU only handles 3D tasks. Video decoding would be handled by dedicated hardware decoders, which the Pi is missing, so it's the CPU struggling here.

Hardware decoders are what allows a 13 year old crappy Intel laptop to play videos nicely while a 2024 "everything computer" can't.

[fallingcats]

Nope, the GPU only handles 3D tasks. Video decoding would be handled by dedicated hardware decoders, which the Pi is missing, so it's the CPU struggling here.

Hardware decoders are what allows a 13 year old crappy Intel laptop to play videos nicely while a 2024 "everything computer" can't.

Hardware decoders from 2011 will play exactly none of the modern codecs. The only thing still relevant today is h264, which the raspberry pi can easily decode in a single thread. VP9 and (increasingly) AV1 which YouTube mainly uses aren't supported by either hw.

[pkese]

I wonder who's the crazy one here:
- RPi foundation selling this junk hardware at stupidly high prices, or
- idiots actually buying this.

Run away from this hardware until they fix their stupid 5V USB-C power design.
Under heavy load, the board's 5V rail will drop below 5 volts and your SD cards and USB keys will start losing data.

SD cards and USB keys assume stable 5 volts.
Unlike M.2 SSDs, there's no space on an SD card to put proper power regulation circuits with inductors and capacitors and all. When the board's power falls below 5 volts (a power glitch), so does SD card's. And whatever the card is writing at that time, that power glitch will be propagated to the media. Not a very cool thing for modern TLC and QLC media.

[Duff~]

its is slowly evolving into a laptop

[alexenv]

Hardware decoders from 2011 will play exactly none of the modern codecs. The only thing still relevant today is h264, which the raspberry pi can easily decode in a single thread. VP9 and (increasingly) AV1 which YouTube mainly uses aren't supported by either hw.

Yes, we're talking about H.264. How does it "easily decode in a single thread" when it shits its pants trying to play this thing full screen at 1080p 60fps: COSTA RICA IN 4K 60fps HDR (ULTRA HD)

Yes, it does play 1080p 30fps okay-ish, which the Pi 4 couldn't, but come on. How is this an achievement in 2025?

[fallingcats]

Yes, we're talking about H.264. How does it "easily decode in a single thread" when it shits its pants trying to play this thing full screen at 1080p 60fps: COSTA RICA IN 4K 60fps HDR (ULTRA HD)

Yes, it does play 1080p 30fps okay-ish, which the Pi 4 couldn't, but come on. How is this an achievement in 2025?

I wasn't saying the Pi is good for desktop use, in fact I'd recommend against it in almost all cases. But that comparison was bad.

[alexenv]

I wasn't saying the Pi is good for desktop use, in fact I'd recommend against it in almost all cases. But that comparison was bad.

Why is it bad? I have both such machines (Pi 5 and that 2012 laptop). One has good fullscreen playback, the other one doesn't. You don't recommend it for desktop use, but it's marketed as "the everything computer" with "superb desktop performance".

H.264 is still a supported codec on YouTube.