At the R-Pi’s launch, two major licensed codecs called MPEG4 and H264 will be made available, due to the cost of codec licensing. There are other codecs that aren’t licensed, such as Video Codec 1, MPEG2, etc but the R-Pi team have decided not to GPU accelerate them (in a setup like DXVA on Windows) at this moment in time.

Dom from the R-Pi Team stated, quote:

As an aside, the GPU can hardware decode H264, MPEG1/2/4, VC1, AVS, MJPG at 1080p30. It can software (but still vector accelerated) decode VP6, VP7, VP8, RV, Theora, WMV9 at DVD resolutions. We are restricted due to licensing what we can support. We should be able to support VP8, MJPG and Theora, as I believe they are license free.

Hopefully, the GPU won’t be fussy with what h264 formats we throw at it (most shows are encoded in 8bit/10bit x264 that the ‘domain comes across), but we’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, you can read about the GPU decoding here on the Raspberry Pi website.

Let’s face it – Apple sometimes likes to boast about it’s products hardware being the fastest in the class. While it might seem true to some extent depending on what you use the iDevices for, the founding member of Raspberry Pi, Eben Upton, has stated that the Raspberry Pi should provide at least twice the performance of an iPhone 4S in a wide range of activities. Eben also throws nVidia’s Tegra mobile chip out the window.

Quoted from a interview with Digital Foundry with edits to clarify:

“I was on the team that designed the [Raspberry Pi] graphics core, so I’m a little biased here, but I genuinely believe we have the best mobile GPU team in the world at Broadcom in Cambridge. What’s really striking is how badly [nVidia] Tegra 2 performs relative even to simple APs using licensed Imagination Technologies (TI and Apple) or ARM Mali (Samsung) graphics.”

For the complete story, check out Tom’s Hardware article on the subject. The Raspberry Pi only costs $25 or $35 (depending on model), but with the graphics potiental, it could be a worthy candiate for portable ARM device projects. Some include Kids Ruby, Yoyo Games GameMaker, Python and even XBMC, a open source Windows Media Center replacement.

With the Raspberry Pi almost set for launch, it will be put head to head against our other ARM devices here at Coburn’s Domain. Stay tuned.

When the Raspberry Pi goes on sale, Coburn’s Domain will be getting one to review and also run our benchmarking suite on it. It will be put head to head against a CuBox and our faithful SheevaPlug. While the CuBox is ARMv7 and the SheevaPlug is ARMv5, the Raspberry Pi is a ARMv6 device – whatever the case, it should be rather interesting to see what the go is.

http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/574

MegaUpload has just fallen off the digital landscape, with 4 people arrested and 7 charged with conspiracy by the FBI. The people include Dotcom, Ortmann, chief marketing officer Finn Batao and developer Bram van der Kolk who are currently in New Zealand under custody. The FBI also worked with various country authorities such as New Zealand, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, the UK and the Phillipines.

So, what’s the scoop? Apparently, the charges include the distribution of pirated movies (before and after cinematic screenings) and other pirated goods, which netted the company $175 million in illegal profits through Advertising revenue. They are also in hot water over their “Rewards” program that pays members for uploading files to MegaUpload, and paying other sites to host pirated content.

Meanwhile, the dust haven’t settled yet – Anon strikes back with DDoS attacks blocking access to various US sites that are in favor of the SOPA act. Ars Technica has the scoop on that.

Source: Ars Technica – http://arstechnica.com . This post uses information provided by this article on the mentioned website.

SOPA is dead, but who knows what might happen yet – the debate (in the US) is still on the table, and we’ll keep you posted on any updates.

Simply put: On January 18th, from 8am to 8pm EST (US Time), Coburn’s Domain will be blacked out. Or censored, if you like. This will only last for the specified time frame, and we’ll be back after the time frame has passed.

Even though I (Coburn) am a Australian, when the Stop Online Piracy Act was announced, I knew that if that act was introduced into the online world, that the internet would be doomed.

Under the proposed act, it would mean it would be illegal for us, or yourself to link to any website, including the likes of Blogger, YouTube, WordPress.com, etc without checking that the site in question content infringes copyright.

For more information, skim through the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s SOPA article and also Wikipedia’s SOPA article. A informational reddit article also explains what the go is.

So, if you come to the ‘domain in question and wonder why we’ve gone dark, the SOPA is why. As I’ve said before, that SOPA bill would make the Internet a minefield for anyone publishing content.

I hope you understand what the SOPA means to the internet, and what damage the SOPA would do to the whole internet ecosystem.

Excuse the retroness, but while talking on IRC, I stumbled across a ROM hack that, in short terms, makes Super Mario Bros 3 ten times more challenging and fun.

With new powers like Fire Fire Mario, Invisible Mario, Magic Mario and Kuribo Mario, weather effects that effect game play (snow makes things slippery, for example) and brand new levels, this is the ROM hack that any hardcore Mario player should sink their teeth into.

You can download the ROM hack (pre-patched) here, and also check out the huge write up over at the VC&G website, located here. You’ll need a good emulator like NESTopia to play the ROM hack.

Finished that hack already? Well, try the unfinished Luigi vs Mario sequel! Both brothers have their own quests, complete with new graphics and other goodies.

So, who’s to blame? Well, blame a consultant trainee. While Telstra has stated the data has been deleted within an hour of it being aware of the privacy breach, Google has already indexed a most, if not all, of the data, which had no credit card numbers, but mainly contact details of their customers.

That consultant-in-training would have got a prompt “You’re fired” from their boss, most likely. But the question remains, can Telstra make up for these breaches, or does the company need a reboot? We’ll just have to wait and see…

As I write this, I’m half-perked on Pepsi and feeling a little blue after eating too much chicken, on behalf of all the Coburn’s Domain staff team, I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Also, we’ve turned two! That’s right, Coburn’s Domain is 2 years old. It was 2009 when it entered the battlefield on the internet from it’s protected beta form, and I didn’t know what it would be up against. 2 years on and we’re not dead. Sure, we might have a small userbase, but that’s one of the things that makes us unique.

Again, have a awesome christmas. Don’t go overboard, though!

At first glance, it looks like your average Mario platformer. The box shows Mario jumping over to some Bricks, while avoiding a Goomba with a Tandooki tail. But then you put the game cart into the 3DS, and this is where it shines. This review will be seperated into “Graphics”, “Gameplay”, “Audio” and then a summary of the game in general.

Graphics
Well, since New Super Mario Bros in 2006 was a disappointment (ie. it was 2.5D (some 3D elements while everything else was 2D tiles/sprites) instead of pushing the DS to it’s visual limit with a 3D rendered level), I personally can say that this is like a pocket Mario Galaxy. Sure, you won’t be getting all the sexy visuals that Mario Galaxy on the Wii provides; but it gets pretty damn close to it without becoming a dogs breakfast in the process.

When playing in traditional mode without 3D effects, on-screen visuals are crisp, clean and sharp. You can clearly see what’s lying ahead, either something to help you, or hinder your progress. However, Mario 3D Land excels in the 3D visuals department. Sit back, knock that 3D slider to the max, and watch objects become realistic. It’s almost like that object is sitting in front of you. On some levels, I found having 3D visuals enabled made the game almost bursting out of the 3DS screen. Pretty damn cool.

I’ve yet to see any rendering issues, but I have seen a little bit of clipping at times. Nothing serious, but sometimes some clipping will suddenly appear, then disappear. While most objects have been recycled from Mario Galaxy, some new enemies and objects appear in-game, which is always welcome in a Mario game because it breathes some new life into the game, rather than the traditional host of Goombas, Koopas, and you know the rest.

Gameplay
Nintendo has taken Mario Galaxy’s engine, pulled all that planet gravity jazz out of it, thrown in some new abilities for Mario, and made it feel like like Mario 64. And that’s a good thing, since Mario Sunshine’s engine was utter trash. If you’ve played Mario Galaxy, then that is a bonus, newcomers will need to spend time playing around with the control system. Sadly, no switchable controls like the ones in Mario 64 DS. The only gripe is that I found the levels too easy, and I’ve already cleared half the game on the same day I bought it!

Unlike how each world section (ie. World 1, World 2, etc) in older Mario games were theme-related (ie. Grasslands, Water, etc), each “World” in Mario 3D Land may have elements of the “theme”, but not all of it. For example, you might find a water level in a snow world, or a desert in a completely random world. It’s things like this that make it less of “Oh yeah, another boring level ahead”, and more “Oh wow, that level was good, this one looks even better!”.

Another cool feature is the item hold system, if you get a better powerup, it switches like it does in Super Mario World – for example, if you have a Tandooki Mario suit on, and get a Fire flower, you’ll turn into Fire Mario with your Tandooki suit in reserve. Makes switching back and forth between powers quite easy.

So, what’s the plot? Yes, it’s the tranditional setup. Bowser kidnaps the Princess, again for the umpeeth time. No cake involved though. There’s also some rather amusing cutscenes in the mix, I got a laugh out of the World 4 beginning cutscene.

Audio
Most music has been recycled from Mario Galaxy series (note to self: stop saying “Mario Galaxy”!) but there is some welcome additions to the party, either remixes of classics or completely original tracks. Sounds also have been recycled, but there are some remastered ones (ie. tandooki tail, etc) and power up/take damage sounds. Mario himself makes the traditional sounds he usually makes, but there’s a few new ones in the mix.

Either way, Mario 3D Land in the music department isn’t earcancer and provides a nice balance between classic and recent Mario title music.

Overall Verdict
Hands down, this is a solid Mario title. I like it a lot, and if you’re looking for something to test out the 3D functions of the 3DS, give this game a shot. Despite the game being a little too easy at times, it’s a winner for any Mario veteran. Don’t just dismiss the game as being another rehash of a exsting game – play the game first before you judge.

Coburn’s verdict? Well, I’d award this game 2.75 out of 3 stars. That missing 0.25 of a star is just that it’s a little too easy (in certain parts) and sometimes the controls can be a little annoying, but with those gripes aside, it’s a winner.