[mythtv-users] HDPVR blaster setup final steps

[Jarod Wilson]

On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 1:56 PM, steve <networks1 at cox.net> wrote:
>>You're making it way harder than it really is. :)
>
> Well I thought that stuff didn’t apply, but just checking.  Don’t want to do
> something wrong and b thrown into a week-long odyssey to undo the damage :-)

:)

>>Now, you *do* know that there have been reports of varying degrees of
>>instability using the IR part in the HD PVR, right? It has a nasty
>>habit of leading to the HD PVR itself deadlocking (doesn't take out
>>the computer its attached to, but the HD PVR is useless until its
>>fully reset).
>
> Yes I saw something about that, but I thought it was limited to the IR
> receiver portion.

The receiver and transmitter are one in the same, its a Zilog Z8 chip
hanging off an i2c bus on the board. Not sure if maybe loading
lirc_zilog without rx support would help... By default, it'll load
with both rx and tx support, but iirc, there are modparams to disable
one or the other. You don't actually have to be actively using the IR
part for the lockup to happen, the lirc_zilog driver just has to be
loaded. The driver relies on polling the i2c bus for new data, at
least for the receiver portion, and my suspicion is that there's a
window in which the polling can do Bad Things to the HD PVR, but I've
not had time to look into it. So *maybe* if you load the driver w/o rx
support, you might be okay...

> What is the alternative, a 3rd party blaster?

At the moment, yes. Or firewire channel changing, if you have that
option (which is actually what I was doing w/my own HD PVR).

> Also if
> the HDPVR locks up, how do I “fully reset” it?  Just cycle the power?

Not sure if cycling power on the HD PVR is enough, you may have to
reboot the box its hooked to as well.

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com