[mythtv-users] Composite1

[Boyd II, Willy]

FWIW, If you're using a PVR-250 hardware encoder card, the capturing can be
as easy as "cat /dev/video0 > myfile.mpg" and then start your video source
(VHS tape, etc), assuming your video device is /dev/video0 and you've setup
the device properly with test_ioctl, which I won't go into right now.  At
least I use that for testing...  there's probably better or safer ways to do
it, but can't beat easy.

- Willy

-----Original Message-----
From: Ray Olszewski [mailto:ray at comarre.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 1:26 PM
To: mythtv-users at mythtv.org
Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] Composite1


At 11:14 AM 9/17/2003 -0600, Garrett Serack wrote:
>Welcome to my killfile.
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
>[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org]On Behalf Of Vaughan Famularo
>Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 5:09 PM
>To: Discussion about mythtv
>Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] Composite1
>
>
>Hello again,
>
>One thing I am is....... persistant. So, here I go again.
>
>Can anyone help me set up Composite1 on my capture card to appear like a
>channel on Mythtv??? So then I'll be able to record from Composite1. At
>the moment I can watch from Composite1 but I cannot record.
>Joseph Caputo suggested that I'll have to get into the Mysql database
>"SOMEHOW" but I don't even know where to start.
>
>Can someone get me heading in the right direction please??

I'm afraid I cannot help you do this using MythTV. But while Myth can be 
contorted into doing this sort of thing, it is not really what MythTV was 
designed to do. Myth's distinct strengths are buffering "live" TV, 
automating the process of capturing scheduled TV shows, and managing the 
database of recorded shows. Myth can do a lot more than that, but other 
uses are less central to its core design. That's why trying to set up what 
you want, for example, is so non-intuitive.

To my mind, the "right direction" for the sort of recording I believe you 
want to do ... digitizing non-TV sources like videotapes through Composite1 
... is to use some vidcap software other than Myth. Candidates are 
mencoder, ffmpeg, vcr/avifile, and probably a few more that do not pop 
immediately to mind. Either your distro's packaging system or a simple 
Google search will turn up sources for all of these. This list of 
candidates assumes you have a bttv or similar capcard; if you have (say) a 
PVR-250, the details will be different (and I don't know thenm).

Of course, if you want to capture an actual TV source through Composite1 
... an external tuner like a digital-cable or satellite box ... the answer 
is considerably more straightforward. In that case, you associate the 
external source's channel set with the Composite1 input, then either use an 
IR Blaster or a serial connection (depsnds on the details of the external 
source) to let Myth change channels on it, or set the external channel by
hand.

If you really must create a dummy channel for Composite1, you need a deeper 
understanding of the structure of Myth's MySql database than everyday users 
(me included) have. But I think that if you want to capture from sources 
like videotapes, you are creating more trouble than benefits with that 
approach.

PS to Garrett -  I think your response was unkind and uncalled for. Act if 
you feel you must ... we all pick and choose which messages we read and 
respond to, after all ... but there is no need to be snotty about it.