[mythtv-users] WinTV HVR 950Q Mac Based

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Tue Aug 25 16:31:07 UTC 2009


On Tuesday 25 August 2009 10:20:22 Robert McNamara wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 9:13 AM, Brian Wood<beww at beww.org> wrote:
> > On Tuesday 25 August 2009 10:01:26 Robert McNamara wrote:
> >> On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 8:48 AM, Brian Wood<beww at beww.org> wrote:
> >> > On Tuesday 25 August 2009 09:32:14 Robert McNamara wrote:
> >> >> On Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 7:45 AM, Adam Brown<abrown at spsu.edu> wrote:
> >> >> > Hi all,
> >> >> >
> >> >> > I am starting to turn my MacBook into a PVR. I bought a WinTV
> >> >> > HVR-950Q. Was wondering if OSX or myth for Mac had separate
> >> >> > driver/firmware for this card. If possible I'd like to use mythtv
> >> >> > rather than my current program. Any help much appreciated.
> >> >>
> >> >> Hi,
> >> >>
> >> >> Myth relies (with a few notable exceptions) on the v4l and v4l-dvb
> >> >> APIs to access capture devices, which are unavailable on Mac OS X.
> >> >> The only device you can use w/ a backend on OS X is the HDHomeRun,
> >> >> currently.
> >> >
> >> > You might also be able to use a Plextor PX-TV402U, drivers are
> >> > available to use that device with EyeTV for OS X. The drivers even
> >> > support all of the Plextor's modes, Myth under Linux only supports the
> >> > MPEG4 mode(s) .
> >> >
> >> > I certainly wouldn't buy a Plextor with an eye towards using it with
> >> > Myth, I'm not even sure if they are avalable any longer (but of course
> >> > there's always FleaBay), but if you happened to have one already...
> >> >
> >> > But an HDHR won't capture analog video, or help you transfer VHS tapes
> >> > to DVD, so some analog option for OS X would be nice, and the Plextor
> >> > is one possibility.
> >> >
> >> > Myth is mainly a Linux project, and running a B/E on OS X will
> >> > probably always have limitations, especially with supported hardware.
> >>
> >> The Plextor support is provided by V4L.  So no, it won't work.
> >
> > Are you saying that the Plextor support under OS X is provided by V4L?
> > Has EyeTV ported some or all of V4L to OS X? (unlikely in the extreme).
> >
> > Or are you saying the Plextor support for Myth under Linux is provided by
> > V4L, so Myth would require considerable modification to work with
> > something other than V4L?
>
> No, I'm saying Myth's support of the Plextor requires V4L, which makes
> it useless under OS X currently.

OK, that makes sense, I misunderstood what you said.

>
> > All I was saying is that the Plextor can be used under OS X, so there
> > must be some sort of driver, so the statement that only the HDHR could be
> > used might not be completely accurate, though it probably is for all
> > practical purposes.
>
> If it came down to "you just need to write a driver for it," why would
> he not just write a driver for the device he *has* that works in OS X?
>  As in my original statement, the *only* current option for capture w/
> Myth in OS X is the HDHR.

OK, without considerable work the HDHR is the only "out of the box" solution.

It might be less work if you had an existing driver to look at than starting 
from scratch, so the Plextor *might* be less work, but still not a practical 
answer.

I'd like to see the MPEG2 modes of the Plextor supported, but I can't expect 
people to work on an obsolete device. This is so the recordings could be 
archived to DVD without transcoding from MPEG4. File size is getting to be 
less of an issue with drives getting bigger.

The Plextors were being dumped for under $50 at one point, and so were a cheap 
solution, but I don't think they are easily available any more anyway. There 
may be legal issues with selling a new analog-only device, at least in the 
US.



-- 
Brian Wood
beww at beww.org


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