[mythtv-users] DViCO FusionHDTV5 Gold - getting both analog and digital tuners working at same time

[Sam Logen]

--- On Mon, 1/5/09, Bob Shanteau <rmshant at gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Bob Shanteau <rmshant at gmail.com>
> Subject: [mythtv-users] DViCO FusionHDTV5 Gold - getting both analog and digital tuners working at same time
> To: "Discussion about mythtv" <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
> Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 10:19 PM
> I have a DViCO FusionHDTV5 Gold (not RT) card and I cannot
> switch 
> between the analog and digital tuners. Both the V4L and DVB
> sides of the 
> card are recognized by MythTV. In fact, if I enable either
> V4L or DVB in 
> MythTV setup individually, the card works OK (even the
> sound). If I 
> enable both sides at the same time, I can tune digital
> channels but when 
> I try to tune to an analog channel, I get an error message:
> "Error was 
> encountered while displaying video." And hitting the C
> key has no 
> apparent effect.
> 
> The card works fine in Windows 2000, where it even picks up
> an HDTV 
> station on my Comcast cable that only shows up as fuzzy
> blocks in 
> MythTV. (I'm in Seaside, CA, and the station is
> KIONDT.)
> 
> I realize that this is likely a driver problem in Linux,
> but I'm afraid 
> that I am new to Linux and haven't used Unix since
> 1985.
> 
> I am running Mythbuntu 8.10 with updates. Here is the info
> from MythTV 
> setup:
> 
> Capture Card Setup
> [DVB : 0]
> Recording Options
> Open DVB card on demand is checked
> 
> [V4L : /dev/video0]
> Card type: Analog V4L Capture Card
> Video device: /dev/video0
> Probed info: DViCO FusionHDTV5 Gold [cx8800]
> 
> Here is my hardware:
> Motherboard: MachSpeed MSNV-939
> Video: PNY GeForce 7200 GS PCI Express
> Capture: DVICO Fusion HDTV5 Gold
> Audio: SoundBlaster 16PCI
> 
> I have included the tuner portion of the output from dmesg
> below my 
> signature.
> 
> Bob Shanteau
> 

Hi Bob, I've been trying to use a Dvico FusionHDTV 5 RT Gold card for awhile for both my digital and analog broadcasts (through Comcast in CA).  Digital channels, both standard and HDTV, very rarely come in clear.  They usually have a corrupted look - and this with a signal strength of 85% and with the very latest V4L HG source drivers.  Back when I did bother trying to get analog with the card (using an older driver version at the time), the signal looked grainy and washed out.

Since then, I installed a PVR-150 for analog channels and never looked back.  Now I'm thinking of replacing the Dvico card with the new HVR-1600.  The drivers are still in a very early stage with this card, but the company that makes the card is supporting the developers of this driver.

In the end, I have never gotten the Dvico card to work satisfactorily with my system - and I know of fewer people that even have them. I would not recommend their brand of cards to anyone working in a linux environment, but that's just my experience.

Hope this helps you,
Sam