[mythtv-users] pvr-350 decoder output

Dan Wilga dwilga at mtholyoke.edu
Tue Dec 14 03:04:53 UTC 2004


From: Jon Beckham <mythtv at leftorium.net>
>At 13 December, 2004 Dan Wilga wrote:
>
> > I, and many other people, use it regularly. You end up using the ivtv
> > framebuffer device driver for X. It's too slow for games, but works
> > very well for TV. I highly recommend you use S-Video over composite
> > output, though.
>
>Why do you recommend S-Video over composite?  Lacking an S-Video cable,
>I've been using composite and it seems fine[0].

Perhaps for TV, but try viewing web pages, or anything else that requires 
smallish text. S-Video is SO much better. I was able to pick up a cable for 
$6 at the local Target store. Don't pay the $1000 they want you to plunk 
down for a Monster cable; it's not enough better to be worth it.

>[0] Except for the fact that the pvr350 thinks my tv is three inches
>further left than it actually is.  I'm using the most recent firmware
>(as noted at http://tinyurl.com/5hnc5 ) that's not beta.  I haven't been
>able to find any info on this problem anywhere, and no amount of
>fiddling with firmware versions, driver versions, kernel versions, or
>X config has yielded any success.

Same here. I asked about this here last week. It's apparently a limitation 
of the 350's video out chip. Or, more precisely, if it is possible, the 
ivtv developers haven't figured out how to do it yet. I'd imagine it's a 
function performed by a chip other than the iTVC15, which is why they 
haven't been able to do so yet.

In the meantime, I'm using the "Run Myth in a window" option, with the GUI 
size and position tweaked accordingly. You can also look into "ratpoison", 
a separate program which will make all of X smaller, to fit the usable 
space of your TV.



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