[mythtv-users] HD-PVR2 support (please vote)

[Steven Adeff]

On Mon, Aug 10, 2015 at 12:12 PM, Greg Woods <greg at gregandeva.net> wrote:
> OK, I will go on record as saying I would be willing to pay for an HDPVR-2
> driver for MythTV, although it might be a while before I would actually be
> ready to use it. I have 3 HD-PVR1's of which 2 are in use, so I plan to go
> on using these until they die, but that day is coming eventually and when it
> does, it will likely be difficult or impossible to replace them, so I would
> pay to ensure there is a replacement option when I need it.
>
> My biggest concern with this is that the content providers will eventually
> talk the FCC into closing the "analog hole", which would render all of the
> HDPVR devices useless for my purposes.
>
> --Greg
>
>
> On Sun, Aug 9, 2015 at 2:45 PM, John P Poet <jppoet at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> I have sent Hauppauge several emails over the last several months asking
>> for development information for the HD-PVR2.  I explain that I am a MythTV
>> developer and would like to add support for it.  In each case their response
>> has been just a terse "It is still in beta".  They don't seem to have any
>> interest in a MythTV developer adding support for the device.
>>
>> Devin Heitmueller and I ended up talking about the HD-PVR2 recently, and
>> he mentioned that Kernel Labs has had working Linux support for the HD-PVR2
>> for a couple of years now.  Kernel Labs writes drivers and supports video
>> capture devices for the Broadcast/Audio/Video industries:
>>
>> http://www.kernellabs.com/blog/?page_id=2
>>
>> They support all the different flavors of the HD-PVR2 (I was not
>> previously aware that there was more than one), and their driver supports
>> all of its various options and controls.  Devin says that their HD-PVR2
>> driver is very robust, and it would have to be to keep their clients happy.
>> He says that the HD-PVR2 is a significant improvement over the HD-PVR
>> including much better audio/video sync.
>>
>> Long story short, Kernel Labs is willing to consider making their HD-PVR2
>> driver available for MythTV users.  It would not be free, but the price
>> would be a fraction of what they normally charge.  Devin would even be
>> willing to write the MythTV code to make it all work.
>>
>> As a bonus, Devin says that he would do a complete code-audit of MythTV's
>> V4L2 'recorder', optimizing it and removing the cruft that has built up over
>> the years.  This should result in improved support for everything from the
>> old PVR-150 to the HVR-2250, as well as the HD-PVR.  It might even result in
>> faster channel changing with the HD-PVR.
>>
>> For Devin to commit to this work, he would need to see enough interest to
>> make it worth while.  How many of you would like to see robust support for
>> the HD-PVR2 and improved support for other V4L2 devices?


These are my concerns too at this point. My parents have Time Warner,
so they use two HDPVR's as well as a HDHomeRun with an antenna for
OTA. Their HDPVR's are around 98% stable with a driver reload script I
implemented as well as a roughly weekly power cycle. So to replace
them, at a newegg price of $160 a pop, plus who knows how long until
the analog loophole gets closed, just doesn't seem like it would be
worth the investment.

That said, the improved V4L2 support aspect sounds great.

-- 
Steve
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User:Steveadeff
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