Via has released source code to Linux 2.6 and Xorg/XFree86 drivers for the Unichrome graphics capabilities on northbridge chips in its popular mini-ITX boards. The drivers offer 2D, 3D, and hardware MPEG2/4 acceleration, as well as video overlay, and support both the CLE266 and CN400 northbridges.

Via's CLE266 and CN400 northbridges are used in its Epia M series and Epia SP series, respectively.

In the past, Via offered binary-only releases of its Linux 2.6 Unichrome drivers, saying the source would do open source developers little good, given the complexity of the decoding engines integrated in its C-series northbridge chips. To appease Linux users wanting accelerated full-screen video, Via offered the VeXP (Via enhanced Xine Player).

Via's driver source distribution includes instructions for building on Xorg-based distributions, such as Fedora Core 2, and on XFree8-based distributions, such as Mandriva 10 (formerly Mandrake). The process requires a properly configured kernel and kernel headers. It also requires building the XFree86 or Xorg system from source, a lengthy but usually easy process.

Via's driver build process creates a “via_drv.o” X driver and a “libddmpeg.so” X library. It also creates three kernel drivers, including:

• via.ko
• via_v4l_drv.ko
• videodev.ko

Steve Charng, head of software development at Via, said, “By making these source codes freely available, VIA is enabling tailor-made solutions for the latest Linux distributions.”

The driver source download is available at ViaArena, where a wealth of information about Via's mini-ITX boards and other products can be found.