I'm currently running R5A15.1 with 2 PVR250's, and everything is working great. I recently purchased a third 250 (Model 980) and attempted to add it to the backend machine (after running a backup, of course). The system came back up, and went into setup just as expected. I added and configured the device. When the front-end came up, the new tuner gets nothing but snow (static). The logs show that the tuner is not recognized (idx=99, tuner=0). The other tuners are type 8 and 39, I believe. I tried changing the options in /etc/modules/ivtv to tuner type=8,39,39 - but that gave me no video - just errors & a black screen. After several attempts at changing the tuner parameter, I eventually removed the new tuner & restored my backup (have to keep the WAF going - too much on tonight to not have a functional Myth box).

My question to the community is this: Does the ivtv driver in R5A30.2 work with the newer PVR250's, as well as the older ones? I'd really like to have three functional tuners.

I realize that the next version is coming (when it’s ready), but I've been so happy with my R5A15.1 setup that Myth .19 isn't all that important to me. I really would like to get the third tuner working - I'm just not sure which would make more sense - compiling a new ivtv, or performing an upgrade to R5A30.2.

I'm interested in anyone's input. I'm certainly not afraid of either the upgrade OR the ivtv re-compile, I'm just wondering which makes more sense.

Thanks for any advice you can offer - and as always, many thanks to the entire development and testing teams.

Allan

Try the CompileIvtv directions on the wiki for upgrading to ivtv 0.4.3. I went to some lengths to make them as explicit, detailed and goof-proof as possible, with commands designed to cut and paste from your browser directly into a shell session, and tested it extensively. It can be done in under 10 minutes.

http://www.knoppmythwiki.org/index.php?page=CompileIvtv

Thanks for the info, tjc. I read that page on the wiki, and wasn't sure which set of instructions to follow - the top set or the bottom set. Which are the directions that you recently wrote?

Also - do you know if the ivtv drivers in R5A30.2 are new enough to work with the newer 250's?

Thanks again -

Allan

It seemed pretty obvious to me that you need the:
These are the ones I followed...

After re-reading tjc's post, I guess it is pretty obvious.


That pretty specifically tells me which set to follow. I should have read more carefully the first time.

I'm still curious as to the version of ivtv in R5A30.2. According to the changleog, R5A22 has 0.4.0, and none of the later changelogs mention ivtv. Is 0.4.0 new enough to support the 250 model 980?

EvilTwin - What version of KM were you running when you followed those directions?

Thanks -

Allan

The instructions have been tested on everything from R5A22 to R5A30.2. They're also written with future versions in mind (see the notes around the version of the kernel source, etc.) I intend to maintain these, so if a new ivtv release appears (say 0.4.4) I will update and test them. Almost the only change should be the version numbers. Also they're intended to be what one of my team mates at work describes as "directions that even a drunk monkey could follow".

Seriously, you've already spent twice as much time worrying abou this as it would take you to do it.

You definitely nailed that one, tjc. I have spent more time worrying about breaking it than the actual upgrade would take. The part that was concerning me the most was that (as you've stated) the instructions are for R5A22 and later - I'm still running R5A15.1. The only thing that concerns me is the kernel version difference (mine is 2.6.11.7-chw-4, the instructions reference 2.6.13.2-chw-3). I'm assuming that slight difference shouldn't matter at all.

I'm hoping my son's hockey schedule (he's a goalie on 2 teams) & the scheduled recordings (gotta keep the wife happy) will provide me a window to give it a shot this weekend.

Thanks again for your input - and for your 'drunk monkey' level instructions.

Allan

Hmmm... Not sure if the necessary hotplug support port is there in that one. Make a back up of your old drivers and firmware first. Basically tar up the modules directory as root like this:
If things go all pear shaped you can just drop that back in place.

BTW - You should already be doing a normal mythtv backup before starting any project like this.

Is there a way I can tell if I have the proper hotplug support?

I don't have ANY v4l* files in /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/. I DO have ivtv-fw-dec.bin & ivtv-fw-enc.bin in /lib/modules/.

hotplug says: AgentName values on this system: dasd firmware ieee1394 input net pci scsi tape usb wlan

Is any of that information helpful (or relevant)?

If the necessary hotplug support isn't in 2.6.11.7-chw-4, would I still have to upgrade ivtv if I were to upgrade to R5A30.2?

Thanks again for all you input -

Allan