[mythtv-users] video capture card list for MythTV

[Ray Olszewski]

>From: Martin Brown <martin.brown at macquarie.com>
>Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Any news on the Conexant 23881 driver?
>
>Thanks Ray,
>
>Could you send me this list or sned it to the users list? It would 
>certainly have saved me a lot of bother.

Posting this to the list, per Martin's request. Please view it as a draft, 
pending a decision by Robert as to whether to use it to update the HowTo. 
In particular, please post any corrections.

Q. What video capture cards work with MythTV?
(Last updated: June 25, 2003)

A. As a general matter, any capture card that works with the video4linux 
(v4l) extensions to the Linux kernel will work with MythTV. Video-capture 
cards need to provide access to both the video and and associated audio 
streams.

Most video capture cards that work with Linux use the Linux kernel's bttv 
driver to handle the video part of the capture.  A version of this driver 
is included in any standard linux kernel; the latest version and other 
information can be found at http//bytesex.org/bttv/  The audio is captured 
separately from the video
with this hardware.  Most of these cards provide an audio-out jack for 
connection to a sound card's line-in jack via a patch cable; some also
provide a header on the board for connecting to an internal port on the 
sound card, in the same way as CD-ROM drives do.  Some cards provide
digital audio along with the capture; the Linux kernel's btaudio driver 
provides a sound device for this stream to be read.

A few of the newest capture cards that work with Linux create 
hardware-encoded MPEG-2 capture streams that contain both video and 
audio.  In this case, a separate audio capture device is not 
required.  There are not many MPEG encoder cards which work with linux, 
some of them are supported by the ivtv driver at http//ivtv.sourceforge.net

No one individual can personally identify all the cards that do and do not 
work with MythTV. The following card list is based on reports that appear 
on the myth-users mailing list. It is current as of  June 25, 2003. From 
time to time, we will try to update the information here based on reports 
to the list, but for the most current information, search the list's recent 
archives.

The Linux kernel source includes, in 
./Documentation/video4linux/bttv/CARDLIST, a list of the cards believed to 
work with the bttv kernel driver. More information about bttv can be found 
at http://bytesex.org/bttv/ .

Newer capture cards use the experimental IVTV driver, not included as part 
of standard 2.4.x kernel sources. More information about IVTV can be found 
at http://ivtv.sourceforge.net/ .

If a card is not mentioned below, then there are no recent (2003) reports 
about it on the myth-users list.

ATI All-In-Wonder 7500. Video capture does NOT work under Linux (We know 
there are reports around saying it does work; we have seen them too. We 
cannot confirm any of these reports. Please send us a correction for this 
entry ONLY if you personally have this card working with MythTV and will 
take the time to tell us how you did it.)

ATI All-In-Wonder 8500.  Video capture does NOT work under Linux. (We know 
there are reports around saying it does work; we have seen them too. We 
cannot confirm any of these reports. Please send us a correction for this 
entry ONLY if you personally have this card working with MythTV and will 
take the time to tell us how you did it.)

ATI TV Wonder [not VE]. Video capture  works using the bttv kernel 
driver.  Audio does work with btaudio.

ATI TV Wonder VE. Video capture works using the bttv kernel driver.There 
are some reports that bttv autodetects the wrong tuner type for the NTSC 
version (it autodetects tuner=19, but the setting needs to be tuner=2), so 
check the CARDLIST documentation if you have problems there. Audio requires 
using a jumper to a sound card; btaudio does NOT work.


AverTV Desktop TV PVR. Video capture works using the bttv kernel driver, 
though there are some reports of unreliability for an older version of this 
card (the one with the Sony daughterboard).  Audio requires using a jumper 
to a sound card; btaudio does NOT work.

AverTV Studio. Video capture works using the bttv kernel driver. Audio is 
reported to work "badly" with btaudio ("Analog DSP - output, but has a 
whiney noise to it that *almost* goes away at 32 KHz").  There are reports 
of problems getting audio to select the proper audio source (main versus SAP).


Hauppauge WinTV Go.  Video capture works with older versions of this card, 
which use a bt878-compatible chip; newer versions use a different chip 
(CX21881) that is not yet supported by V4L (a driver is under development; 
watch http//bytesex.org/cx88/ for news). Audio requires using a jumper to a 
sound card; btaudio does NOT work.

Hauppauge WinTV dbx TV/FM Radio. Video capture works using the bttv kernel 
driver; we believe this is the only Hauppauge card currently shipping that 
works with bttv. Reports about audio are mixed; seemingly, the latest 
version of this card does work with btaudio, but some older version does 
not work with btaudio.

Hauppauge WinTV HDTV. Video capture  does NOT work under Linux.

Hauppauge WinTV PVR-pci. Video capture does NOT work under Linux.  (A 
driver is under development; see http//pvr.sourceforge.net/ for news.)

Hauppauge Win PVR 250. Video capture  works using the IVTV kernel driver. 
Audio is part of the combined MPEG-2 stream provided through the IVTV 
driver, so no separate audio driver or connection is needed.

Hauppauge Win PVR 350. Video capture works using the IVTV kernel 
driver.  Audio is part of the combined MPEG-2 stream provided through the 
IVTV driver, so no separate audio driver or connection is needed. .

Hauppauge WinTV-Nexus-s. This card does not yet work with MythTV, but Isaac 
reports (on June 25): "Almost.  It's being worked on.  Help coding/testing 
would be appreciated". Audio: no information.


Hercules Smart TV Stereo. Mentioned on the myth-users list as a bttv card, 
but no actual reports about its usability with Linux or MythTV.

Kworld TV878RF-PRO TV card. Mentioned on the myth-users list as a bttv 
card, but no actual reports about its usability with Linux or MythTV.


Leadtek Winfast 2000 XP TV. Video capture works with this card, which uses 
a bt878-compatible chip. Audio requires using a jumper to a sound card; 
btaudio does NOT work.


Matrox G200 TV. Video capture probably works with this card, though reports 
on the list are not completely clear. Audio: no information.


Phoebe Micro. Video capture works with this card, which uses a bt878 chip. 
The bttv driver does not autodetect it properly, so you need to provide 
bttv with the relevant settings. They are card=22, tuner=21 .Audio: no 
information.


Pinnacle PCTV Rave. Video capture works with older versions of this card; 
there are reports that newer versions have a tuner that is not supported by 
V4L.  Audio requires using a jumper to a sound card; btaudio does NOT work.

Pinnacle PCTV Pro. Video capture works using the bttv kernel driver. Audio 
requires using a jumper to a sound card; btaudio does NOT work.


PixelView Play TV Pro. Mentioned on the myth-users list as a bttv card, but 
no actual reports about its usability with Linux or MythTV.

PixelView Play TV PVR. Video capture does NOT work under Linux. It uses a 
Conexant CX23883 chipset, which is not currently supported by V4L.


Terracom Cinergy 400. Video capture works using the SAA7134 driver. Audio: 
no information.