[mythtv-users] Simple video tests are failing -- what other tests are helpful?

[Joseph Caputo]

Justin Gombos wrote:

>The following attempts at a simple device dump fail:
>
>  sh-3.00$ cat /dev/video0 > simpleTest   
>  cat: /dev/video0: Invalid argument
>
>  sh-3.00$ dd if=/dev/video0 of=simpleTest
>  dd: reading `/dev/video0': Invalid argument
>  0+0 records in
>  0+0 records out
>  0 bytes transferred in 0.002232 seconds (0 bytes/sec)
>
>The mplayer test I've seen folks use to test also fails:
>
>  root at mythtv:/home/mythtv# mplayer /dev/video0
>  MPlayer 1.0pre5-3.3.4 (C) 2000-2004 MPlayer Team
>  
>  CPU: Intel Celeron Covington/Pentium II Deschutes,Tonga/Pentium II Xeon 398.7 MHz (Family: 6, Stepping: 1)
>  Detected cache-line size is 32 bytes
>  CPUflags:  MMX: 1 MMX2: 0 3DNow: 0 3DNow2: 0 SSE: 0 SSE2: 0
>  Compiled with runtime CPU detection - WARNING - this is not optimal!
>  To get best performance, recompile MPlayer with --disable-runtime-cpudetection.
>  Reading config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf: No such file or directory
>  Creating config file: /root/.mplayer/config
>  Reading config file /root/.mplayer/config
>  Reading /root/.mplayer/codecs.conf: Can't open '/root/.mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
>  Reading /usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf: Can't open '/usr/local/etc/mplayer/codecs.conf': No such file or directory
>  Using built-in default codecs.conf.
>  font: can't open file: /root/.mplayer/font/font.desc
>  font: can't open file: /usr/local/share/mplayer/font/font.desc
>  Using Linux hardware RTC timing (1024Hz).
>  Can't open input config file /root/.mplayer/input.conf: No such file or directory
>  Can't open input config file /usr/local/etc/mplayer/input.conf: No such file or directory
>  Falling back on default (hardcoded) input config
>  Setting up LIRC support...
>  mplayer: could not connect to socket
>  mplayer: Connection refused
>  Failed to open LIRC support.
>  You will not be able to use your remote control.
>  
>  Playing /dev/video0.
>  Segmentation fault
>
>I'm sure the correct driver is loaded, but I'm not sure that it's
>mapped to /dev/video0.  How do I verify this?
>  
>

You're running the wrong tests.  Accessing /dev/videoX directly is for 
hardware MPEG encoder cards; you'd need to jump through a bunch of hoops 
to access a framegrabber card in that manner.  Just use "mplayer 
tv://[channel]" or xawtv to test a framegrabber card.

-JAC