[mythtv-users] USB IR Blaster: close but no cigar

Greg Woods greg at gregandeva.net
Mon Apr 19 14:08:22 UTC 2010


On Sun, 2010-04-18 at 18:17 -0500, Ozzy Lash wrote:

> 
> It looks like you could get a PCIEx1 Firewire/USB combo card.  Not
> sure if you'll end up hitting chipset issues with those too, though. 

Yes, that would be the ultimate nightmare. In fact I have had problems
even finding a PCIx1 firewire card that actually worked on Linux. I
tried three different ones in two different machines. Even the one I
have does not work for any high-volume data transfer; it craps out if I
hook up my camcorder to it. But it has been rock solid for channel
changes on the cable box for the HD-PVR.

Obviously I am stuck in a position where some kind of hardware change is
my only option, but I really want to find something that is KNOWN to
work so I don't have Lucy yanking the football out yet again (Charlie
Brown must have been a stubborn geek like me or he would have given up
long ago :-) That means either finding another USB blaster that is KNOWN
to work with the controller I have, or replacing the PCIx1 firewire card
with a firewire/usb combo that is KNOWN to work in Linux. I do have a
serial port but I have already tried one of those irblaster.info units
without success (and I would eventually like the option of running two
blasters so I could use both tuners on the PVR-500, but for now I'd
settle for just getting one to work). I don't think a USB sound card is
an option. The reason that I bought a PCI sound card in the first place
is that it was the only one I could find that was:

A) PCI (not PCIE) since I didn't have any extra PCIE slots
B) Supported in ALSA
C) Surround sound capable and has an SPDIF or coax output (that's all my
receiver has for surround inputs)

If there is a USB sound device that meets the B) and C) criteria, I'd
love to hear about it.

--Greg








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