[mythtv-users] pvr150 or pvr500

[Andrew Close]

On 4/5/05, A. Heinen <alan.heinen at gmail.com> wrote:
<snip/>
> > > > > I am running very reliably with a PVR-150.   I put some notes for the
> > > > > PVR-150 on the KnoppMythWiki for Knoppmyth R5.  They may be a good
> > > > > starting point for getting a PVR-500 going.  I used Jarod's and others
> > > > > instructions from the IVTV lists for the configuration.  Please add
> > > > > your notes when you get the PVR-500 working.

KnoppMyth R5A16 (includes MythTv 0.18.1)

ChainTech 7NIF2 mobo - built in audio, video/tv-out, LAN
Athlon XP +2700 CPU
2x256MB dual channel RAM
PVR-250 w/ remote
PVR-500                                           <--- i'm excited about this ;)
CoolerMaster ATC-620C-BX1 Case
CoolerMaster RS-450ACL-X 450W PSU with 120mm fan 
Plextor PX-716SA 4X Internal Serial ATA Dual Layer DVD±R/RW

i just installed the PVR-500 and have three tuners up and running.  i
can't comment on the stability/reliability yet because i've only had
it working for ~1/2 hour.
i figured that since this thread had the PVR-500 and KnoppMyth listed
in it i would include the steps i took to get my setup working.

first off, i followed this thread in the KnoppMyth forum posted by
'linuxgeek' (thanks linuxgeek):
http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4822

using these instructions i was able to get my 250 and one of the 500's
tuners to work.
to get the other tuner to work i tweaked the /etc/mythtv/modules/ivtv
config files.  i believe these are on par with the /etc/modprobe.conf
that are used in FC3 and other distros.
here is what i have for /etc/mythtv/modules/ivtv:

alias char-major-81 videodev
alias char-major-61 lirc_i2c
options msp3400 once=1 simple=1
install ivtv /sbin/modprobe tuner; /sbin/modprobe msp3400;
/sbin/modprobe saa7115;  /sbin/modprobe --ignore-install  ivtv
remove ivtv /sbin/modprobe -r --ignore-remove ivtv && /sbin/modprobe
-r saa7115 && /sbin/modprobe -r msp3400 && /sbin/modprobe -r tuner

here is what i have for /etc/mythtv/modules/ivtv0:

alias char-major-81 videodev
alias char-major-81-0 ivtv

i believe that is for my PVR-250 (or that's what i assumed when i set it up)
my PVR-250 is /dev/video0

and i have this for /etc/mythtv/modules/ivtv1:

alias char-major-81 videodev
alias char-major-81-0 ivtv
alias char-major-81-1 ivtv
option cx25840 no_black_magic=1

again, assuming that since one of the PVR-500's tuners is /dev/video1
that this was for one of the PVR-500's tuners

i was going to add the same as above to /etc/mythtv/modules/ivtv2 for
the other 500 tuner, but everything worked at this step so i haven't
touched ivtv2.

i'm using the ivtv 0.3.6y driver as that appeared to be the most
recent as of this morning.  i haven't updated my recording profiles
yet, they are all at default and look good.  i'll be tweaking those
next. ;)

hopefully this will be helpful to someone interested in, or
installing, a PVR-500.

good luck!