The Samsung N120 has a nice big keyboard, decent speakers, and a 10.1 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display. One thing it does not have out of the box is the ability to decode 1080p HD videos smoothly. But SammyNetbook forum member lilydreamy craked open the case and discovered that the laptop has a spare PCIe slot which means you can install a Broadcom HD Decoder without removing the WiFi module as you need to do with the Samsung NC10.

You can pick up a Broadcom HD decoder from eBay for under $30. It looks like the installation process is pretty simple. Just open up the Samsung N120 case, slap the Broadcom card into the open slot, and close up your case. Windows should detect the new hardware the next time you boot your system. I make no promises for other operating systems.

The results pretty much speak for themselves… which they do in the video after the break.

via SammyNetbook

Read the rest of this entry »

We already knew that you could add a Broadcom HD video accelerator to a Samsung NC10 netbook to enable 1080p HD video playback on a machine with a low power Intel Atom processor. But what about the HP 2133 Mini-Note? This is a machine that shipped with a low power VIA C7-M CPU which is generally more sluggish than Intel’s Atom processor and while most Atom netbooks can handle video at 720p resolutions, an HP 2133 Mini-Note tops out at 480p.

Chris from HP Mini Note PC found that adding Broadcom’s Crystal HD Enhanced Media Accelerator helped… a lot. With the Broadcom card installed, he was able to watch 720p and 1080p video on his netbook. It’s also worth pointing out that the HP 2133 was one of the first netbooks with a high resolution display to hit the streets. It has an 8.9 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel screen.

He even found that he could play Blu-Ray video as long as he paused for a few seconds to let the video buffer first.

Chris doesn’t provide step by step instructions, so you’ll want to make sure you know your way around the insides of your netbook before attempting this hack, and you’d best be cool with voiding your warranty. But the video results speak for themselves. You can check out two videos after the break or find more at HP Mini Note PC.

While the HP 2133 Mini-Note has been discontinued, you can find used models going for as little as $250 on eBay.

Read the rest of this entry »

Broadcom’s Crystal HD Enhanced Media Accelerator is a PCI-E card that will let netbooks with low power processors like the Intel Atom handle HD video playback at resolutions up to 1080p. Normally the processors found in netbooks aren’t up to the task, but the Broadcom video accelerator takes most of the heavy lifting away from the CPU, freeing it up for other tasks.

The video accelerator can decode H.264, MPEG-2, and VC-1 video.  The first netbook that I know of that will use the processor is the HP Mini 110 which is due out next week.

The folks at ACII.jp got a closer look at the Broadcom card this week, and they’ve posted some close-up photos. Honestly, I hadn’t really realized that the accelerator was a PCIe card until now. This means it’s possible you might be able to pick up this card and install it in an existing netbook to enabled enhanced video performance. Keep in mind, Broadcom expects to add support for Flash video sometime next year.

via Portable Monkey