[mythtv-users] PVR-500 installation

[Jarod Wilson]

On Monday 04 April 2005 13:37, Nathan Ford wrote:
> I just got my PVR-500 last weekend. Took some frigging but I got it to
> work. Seems to work great now. Next step: Get a cleaner cable signal
> to it :)
>
> I started with a 2.4.29 kernel (It was the kernel already on the
> machine), but the tuner module in 2.4 will not work with the 500. So i
> upgraded to the 2.6.11 kernel. I didn't build any v4l modules.
>
> I used the 0.3.2q drivers (latest at the time of install). For the
> longest time I just couldn't seem to get the damn thing to work. I
> could record the composite in fine, but could not tune a channel. I
> powered off the machine and powered it on and magically it started
> working. So apparently at some point during my trials and tribulations
> a register got set and never cleared. Anywho, it's working great now.
>
> So I guess my tip is power off and on if things don't seem to work.
> (Someone else on the forum posted that as well, sage advice :)  )

Yeah, this is a common thing. The nvram on these cards is REALLY good at 
keeping settings around (including bad ones), so a minute without power is 
sometimes needed to discharge the capacitors on the card and clear out junk.

> This is my modules.conf if your curious. And to anyone else if you see
> something redundant feel free to point it out.
>
> alias char-major-81 videodev
> alias char-major-81-0 ivtv
> alias char-major-81-1 ivtv
> options saa7127 i2c_enable=-1,-1,-1,-1
> options cx25840 i2c_enable=1,1,1,1 no_black_magic=1
> options wm8775 mixer=1
> options ivtv ivtv_debug=1 tuner=57,57,57,57

Why on earth are you specifying four parameters when you appear to only have 
two cards? Only two params per should be necessary, and almost all of the 
options lines aren't needed anymore. A variant of that saa7127 line is needed 
if you're using the PVR-350's output, but that's it. For PAL/SECAM users, 
there may be a few additional params needed.

My box w/a PVR-500 has simply:

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

Everything else gets auto-detected now.

For a pair of PVR-250 cards and one PVR-500, it should simply be:

alias char-major-81 videodev
alias char-major-81-0 ivtv
alias char-major-81-1 ivtv
alias char-major-81-2 ivtv
alias char-major-81-3 ivtv
options cx25840 no_black_magic=1

And in theory, everything else should be auto-detected.


> I should get brave and expiriment to see if any of those options
> really aren't needed. But it's working, and I kinda wanna leave it
> that way for awhile.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it is a good call. But as I said above, most of 
what you have in there isn't needed.

-- 
Jarod Wilson
jarod at wilsonet.com

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