[mythtv-users] Nebula DigiTV + Ubuntu + MythTV .... possible?!

[steve.goodey at bt.com]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org 
> [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Matt Wynne
> Sent: 15 November 2009 19:34
> To: mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> Subject: [mythtv-users] Nebula DigiTV + Ubuntu + MythTV .... 
> possible?!
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> I have a Nebula DigiTV card and have been trying and trying 
> all weekend to get mythtv working. No luck so far :(
> 
> First I built my machine with a fresh install of Ubuntu 
> Karmic (9.10) and then installed the mythbuntu packages. It 
> all went smoothly, and I managed to add the capture card on 
> the backend setup. When I came to tune channels however, I 
> couldn't seem to pick anything up.
> 
> Then I saw this[1] linking to this[2] which suggests there is 
> a regression bug in the 9.04 kernel that means my Nebula card 
> won't work on Jaunty or Karmic. I was definitely seeing the 
> error 'frequency limits undefined - fix the driver' in syslog.
> 
> I was following this guide[3] to test the channels since that 
> seemed simpler than trying to get the whole mythtv stack working.
> 
> So in the end I bit the bullet and downloaded and installed 
> Intrepid (8.10). I don't get those messages in syslog on 
> boot, but I do get them when scan tries to look for channels, 
> and now I can't even add the capture card in mythtv - I get 
> an error message that goes off the screen but looks like 
> "Could not get card infor for card #0 Subtype:  
> Unko...". If I look in /dev/dvb there is something there at least.
> 
> So... I'm starting to wonder if I gave up on 9.10 too soon - 
> maybe the 'frequency limits undefined - fix the driver' isn't 
> as serious as suggested by [1] - some other posts I've seem 
> seem to suggest that people have their cards working but 
> still see this message in syslog.
> 
> I'm also just starting to wonder whether my signal is strong 
> enough here, but I am in central london and the same cable 
> picks up freeview through a set-top box just fine. Is there 
> any way to tell?
> 
> Another option I'm considering is ditching the nebula card, 
> which I've had for years but only ever worked for me under 
> Windows and getting something more 'standard' that will be 
> more likely to be supported with Ubuntu releases.
> 
> I realise this is a really long post, so if you've got here 
> thanks for listening! What do you recommend?
> 
> [1]http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Nebula_Electronics_DigiTV
> [2]https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/366606
> [3]http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_dvb.php
> 
> cheers,
> Matt

I have had two Nebula DigiTV pci cards working on Mythbuntu 8.04 for several years, but on putting them into Mythbuntu 9.10 they stopped working, so I've swapped for a TD-500.

See also:-

https://bugs.launchpad.net/mythbuntu/+bug/438359
I know this bug is closed but I wanted to comment here as it specifically refers to the Nebula DigiTV card.

After the fix went in for bug #439163 I found the error messages in dmesg changed and that led me to bug

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/368215 which is still not closed.

It looks to me as if the Nebula card is now a dead duck. As I was building a new system for 9.10 I decided to purchase a Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-TD 500 and that is working OK.

Steve.