HD-PVR Linux Support

[bcjenkins]

Try:

• apt-get install kernel-headers mercurial
• hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
• Update files in v4l-dvb/linux/drivers/media/video/hdpvr
• run make from v4l-dvb directory
• make install
• reboot

With the files attached (remove .zip exten)

B

[hanki]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

Try:

• apt-get install kernel-headers mercurial
• hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
• Update files in v4l-dvb/linux/drivers/media/video/hdpvr
• run make from v4l-dvb directory
• make install
• reboot

With the files attached (remove .zip exten)

B

i performed what you outlined above, as such:
- sudo apt-get install kernel-headers mercurial

this came back with errors saying it was incomplete or all the files were not available.

- hg clone [url]http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
[I copied the files from your archive into the directory you outlined]

- ran make from v4l-dvb directory
- sudo make install

I rebooted. And the boot hung then went through

But I am getting the same result. Did I mess up along the way? (I am on 32 Bit version)

H

[loonsailor]

hanki, I'm not sure exactly how new you are to linux, so I'll expand just a bit on bcjenkins' instructions

First of all, unless you login to your system as root, which I don't recommend, some of those instructions will need to be done with sudo, which causes the specific command to be done with root permissions. It also depends where you put the v4l directories, because permissions matter. I just put them in my home directory so I can do all the work there locally with my own permissions. The drivers, etc. all get installed to the system anyway. I also added build-essential, which includes compilers and such. Most of us already have that, but I think it's not included in ubuntu by default so I added it to the apt-get line.

You need to change two files in the v4l tree that will be created with the 'hg clone' command. You can do it either by editing them as per demo's instructions, or by copying them from the zip file that bcjenkins included. Unfortunately, I think that one of the two files is misnamed in the zip file. They should be hdpvr-core.c (not hdpvr-core) and hdpvr-i2c.c.

With that in mind, the instructions expand to:

• sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic mercurial
• cd (puts you in your home directory)
• hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
• Update files in v4l-dvb/linux/drivers/media/video/hdpvr
• cd v4l-dvb
• make
• sudo make install
• shutdown -r now (reboots)

[hanki]

Originally Posted by loonsailor

hanki, I'm not sure exactly how new you are to linux, so I'll expand just a bit on bcjenkins' instructions

First of all, unless you login to your system as root, which I don't recommend, some of those instructions will need to be done with sudo, which causes the specific command to be done with root permissions. It also depends where you put the v4l directories, because permissions matter. I just put them in my home directory so I can do all the work there locally with my own permissions. The drivers, etc. all get installed to the system anyway. I also added build-essential, which includes compilers and such. Most of us already have that, but I think it's not included in ubuntu by default so I added it to the apt-get line.

You need to change two files in the v4l tree that will be created with the 'hg clone' command. You can do it either by editing them as per demo's instructions, or by copying them from the zip file that bcjenkins included. Unfortunately, I think that one of the two files is misnamed in the zip file. They should be hdpvr-core.c (not hdpvr-core) and hdpvr-i2c.c.

With that in mind, the instructions expand to:

• sudo apt-get install build-essential kernel-headers mercurial
• cd (puts you in your home directory)
• hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb
• Update files in v4l-dvb/linux/drivers/media/video/hdpvr
• cd v4l-dvb
• make
• sudo make install
• shutdown -r now (reboots)

Package kernel-headers is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package kernel-headers has no installation candidate
hank@cog-ptc-srv02:~$


I get the following error on the first step:

Package kernel-headers is not available, but is referred to by another package.
This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source
E: Package kernel-headers has no installation candidate
hank@cog-ptc-srv02:~$

Is this a problem?

[loonsailor]

I think it should be linux-kernel-headers. I thought it was included by default, but maybe not...

[loonsailor]

Actually, on examination, I think the package you want is linux-headers-generic. I've edited the above post with this in mind, to make it (hopefully) less confusing to the next person trying to do this.

BTW, one side effect of the modified hdpvr files is that they are built and installed for a specific kernel. That means that when you upgrade to a new kernel, which happens pretty regularly, you'll need to rebuild and reinstall the modified hdpvr stuff.

[hanki]

Originally Posted by loonsailor

Actually, on examination, I think the package you want is linux-headers-generic.

BTW, one side effect of the modified hdpvr files is that they are built and installed for a specific kernel. That means that when you upgrade to a new kernel, which happens pretty regularly, you'll need to rebuild and reinstall the modified hdpvr stuff.

OK that worked (for comedy sake they were already the newest available).

I blew away the directory in my home directory and started from scratch to build the driver and it worked - but I am still only getting the port options for the IR Blaster that I had previously. Have I missed something? The pc has nvidia, is there a conflict? The video works fine (actually significantly better than windows and is solid) but I have to get this blaster thing to work.

Thanks for your help....

[loonsailor]

Progress! OK, several questions.

1. Did you replace the two correct files in the v4l tree? If you used the ones that bcjenkins zipped for you, did you rename the one that was (I think) misnamed? Of course, this must be done before the make.
   
2. Do 'ls /dev'. It shows all the devices in your system. You should see one named video0, which is your hdpvr. You must have that, or you couldn't record video. You should also see some named i2c-n, where n is a digit. Are there any there? If you unplug and replug the hdpvr, does one of them disappear and reappear? (Before unplugging the hdpvr, you should stop sage - 'sudo /etc/init.d/sagetv stop'.) This is the device for the ir blaster in the hdpvr.
   
3. If you find the correct i2c device, try the following command: 'udevadm info --name=/dev/i2c-8 --attribute-walk'. It should print a bunch of info. The first three blocks of info should be specific to the hauppauge IR device. Does this work? You don't need any of this info now, but if you ever have multiple of these, you may want to use the serial number that you find here which, together with udev, will allow you to make sure which device is mapped to which number consistently. But, lets leave our udev adventures for another day.

OK, if all that worked, then when you create the video device for the hdpvr, you should see an option for the IR blaster, and you should choose the same channel number as the blaster's device name - the n in /dev/i2c-n.

BTW, my hdpvr blaster worked fine for a week or two, then quit. I think it's magically "healed" now, but I've since switched to firewire for control of my STB. If you can make that work, I'd definitely recommend it over the hdpvr IR blaster.

[hanki]

Originally Posted by loonsailor

Progress! OK, several questions.

1. Did you replace the two correct files in the v4l tree? If you used the ones that bcjenkins zipped for you, did you rename the one that was (I think) misnamed? Of course, this must be done before the make.
   
2. Do 'ls /dev'. It shows all the devices in your system. You should see one named video0, which is your hdpvr. You must have that, or you couldn't record video. You should also see some named i2c-n, where n is a digit. Are there any there? If you unplug and replug the hdpvr, does one of them disappear and reappear? (Before unplugging the hdpvr, you should stop sage - 'sudo /etc/init.d/sagetv stop'.) This is the device for the ir blaster in the hdpvr.
   
3. If you find the correct i2c device, try the following command: 'udevadm info --name=/dev/i2c-8 --attribute-walk'. It should print a bunch of info. The first three blocks of info should be specific to the hauppauge IR device. Does this work? You don't need any of this info now, but if you ever have multiple of these, you may want to use the serial number that you find here which, together with udev, will allow you to make sure which device is mapped to which number consistently. But, lets leave our udev adventures for another day.

OK, if all that worked, then when you create the video device for the hdpvr, you should see an option for the IR blaster, and you should choose the same channel number as the blaster's device name - the n in /dev/i2c-n.

BTW, my hdpvr blaster worked fine for a week or two, then quit. I think it's magically "healed" now, but I've since switched to firewire for control of my STB. If you can make that work, I'd definitely recommend it over the hdpvr IR blaster.

Firewire? I have an old USB UIRT device -- is that easier?

The I2C did not show up in the dev directory. I rebuilt twice. I even tried reinstall i2c tools etc... it said it was already there.

[loonsailor]

Try 'lsmod | grep i2c'. It should output a line with i2c-dev. If it doesn't, the module hasn't been loaded into the kernel, even though the pkg has been installed.

Try 'sudo modprobe i2c-dev'. Then look at /dev and see if any i2c devices appeared.

Also, look at your /etc/modules file. It should contain a line with 'i2c-dev'. Just that, with no options. If it doesn't add it. That will make sure the i2c-dev module gets added whenever you reboot.

[hanki]

Originally Posted by loonsailor

Try 'lsmod | grep i2c'. It should output a line with i2c-dev. If it doesn't, the module hasn't been loaded into the kernel, even though the pkg has been installed.

Try 'sudo modprobe i2c-dev'. Then look at /dev and see if any i2c devices appeared.

Also, look at your /etc/modules file. It should contain a line with 'i2c-dev'. Just that, with no options. If it doesn't add it. That will make sure the i2c-dev module gets added whenever you reboot.

I got back

hank@cog-ptc-srv02:~$ lsmod | grep i2c
i2c_algo_bit 14084 1 ivtv
i2c_nforce2 14980 0
hank@cog-ptc-srv02:~$

[loonsailor]

I'm not sure what those are, but you should have seen a line with i2c-dev. You did load that, right?

Do the modprobe and look for the devices. Also, put the line in your /etc/modules file if it's not there.

[hanki]

Originally Posted by loonsailor

I'm not sure what those are, but you should have seen a line with i2c-dev. You did load that, right?

Do the modprobe and look for the devices. Also, put the line in your /etc/modules file if it's not there.

Got it to load, the entry in the etc file made it show up. However, the freaken cable box is not listed, and the IR transmitter is not pumping any light.

The fire wire system, is it as easy as buying a firewire cable and installing the driver?

Thanks for your help...

H

[bcjenkins]

If you want rock solid IR blasting; Command IR II. Up to 4 devices.

B

[loonsailor]

I'm not sure what you mean that the "cable box is not listed". Listed where - in Sage? If the i2c-n device is there, then Sage should see it. You need to go through Setup Video Sources, and I think you need to add your source again, even though it may already be there. When you get to the dialog about the external tuner, there should be an IR blaster option, which should give you a choice of a bunch of channels. Choose channel n. You should then get a choice of a bunch of STB's, which hopefully will include yours. When you try the test that it provides, you should see the blaster flash dimly. If this doesn't work, what part isn't happening?

As for the firewire, if you have a supported Motorola STB, and it and your computer both have firewire, it should be quite easy. At least it was for me. Check out the tutorial at http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/down...do=file&id=333.

[hanki]

My STB is not listed in the list that sage provides. I couldn't find one that worked with it. (Though looking at the emitter I didn't see any flashing either). It worked under windows because I could use the Hauppage remote control software.
As for the firewire, the STB is not supported (Comcast has disabled the port).

Any ideas? I have an old USB UIRT, but that seems challenging based on the posts.

h

[bcjenkins]

You could also set up the blaster/remote in lirc and use Stuckless' external tuning plugin.

B

[loonsailor]

What kind of STB do you have? If Sage doesn't support it (no file for it in /opt/sagetv/server/remotes), I don't think you could use it with the hdpvr blaster anyway, because (I think) the linux driver doesn't support its receiver at this time so there is no way for Sage to learn the commands for your STB. You could post a request in the forum to see if somebody else has made the file. BTW, when you test your remote, it must be within 1-2" of the IR receiver. It's very, very dim. I thought mine didn't work because it wasn't close enough.

You could try firewire if you like. Maybe you'll get lucky, but definitely no guarantees if it's not a Motorola. You could try to set up the HD-PVR remote in lirc if there's a lirc driver for your STB/remote but, again, if the driver doesn't support receive, lirc won't be able to learn your remote if it doesn't already know it. I suppose, in a pinch, you could set up both the USB-UIRT and the hdpvr in lirc, learn the commands via the usb-uirt, and then use the file to control it via the hdpvr.

I'd try the USB-UIRT. It should work fine. Set it up with lirc, then use the external command plugin for Sage.

[hanki]

loonsailor,
Its bombing out before that. I followed your directions from your fireware post and it does not find the entry in the 6200ch file (even though when I go through the un-compiled code its there). When I do the terminal command it tells me I do not have a DCT-6200 (which I do not) but the DCH is in the myth channel changer logic (as is the new box I have a DCX3200)

Any ideas? How do I tell it I have a DCH/X-3200?

h