Messages

16

Installation issues / Re: New 0810 beta install vdr or Mythtv?

« on: November 20, 2009, 02:04:16 pm »

Hi,
after going out and buying a kworld 399u and after andrew supplied me with the files needed for 0810 to get this up and running i have successfully got mythtv working with this tuner.

I had a similar problem as someone else with the firmware file I was given as it seemed to conflict with something else so in the end i just dowloaded the firmware from another site and this has worked

wget http://www.otit.fi/~crope/v4l-dvb/af9015/af9015_firmware_cutter/firmware_files/4.95.0/dvb-usb-af9015.fw

after running mythtv setup from KDE desktop first and using the password from running

sudo vi /etc/mythtv/mysql.txt

and editing

sudo vi /etc/group

so that the mythtv line looks like

mythtv:x:128:root,linuxmce

I was then able to go back to linuxmce and run mythtv setup from the computing page and go through and setup a DVB source, scan for channels and then go back to linuxmce and tv worked

It has taken me a few atempts of installing linuxmce 0810 to get this far and now I am in the postion that I can't get an md to boot. In a previous install of 0810 I had mds working but not Mythtv and the tuner. Unfortunately i don;t seem to be able to work out what I did before to make it work.

I have updated the file

sudo vi /usr/pluto/bin/files.d/fstab-diskless

and added the " at the end of the line so it look like

mkdir -p "${Parm_RootLocation}/var/spool/asterisk"

and this has got me a bit further but now I have the error

could not find kernel image 44/vmlinuz

I have read a post that suggests that the symlink for this file has an error in but i can't remember changing anything with this when I got it up and working before so I am a bit stuck with where to go next and now I have tv setup right, would prefer not to have to go through another internet install if i don't have to, especially as my connection is being a bit crap at the moment.

any suggestion about how I can get the md up and running would be greatfully appreciated

J

17

Installation issues / New 0810 beta install vdr or Mythtv?

« on: November 11, 2009, 01:42:41 pm »

Hi,

I have tried the dvd installer a couple of times with limited success so have gone back to an internet install as people have suggested there are less problems with it.

I am wondering once my install has finished if I should curently go for VDR or switch over to mythTV, I read somewhere a post from Andrew suggesting he currently is switching people over to mythtv. I know in the past VDR has been a better option for us in th UK but I think a newer versions of mythtv has been integrated that now might make it a better option to go for - what are peoples thought on this?

when I first started with linux mce I did try out mythtv and had reasonable success although channel changing was very slow compared to VDR and it usually took a little messing to get the MD's playing tv too.

What is the current status of MDs and watching tv with mythtv on MDs. so far since the beta I have not really been able to get my MDs working using the DVD, alpha seemed to work ok, I will see how I get on with the internet install, are there any special instructions for getting MDs working on the internet install like with the DVD install or should they just work?

cheers

J

18

Installation issues / Re: linuxmce VDR Gyration 3101

« on: August 31, 2009, 01:25:18 pm »

Thanks for the advice.

I ran the commands but am still having problems.

I have tried all the buttons on the remote and still most of them don't work. the only thing I can really get in vdr is the schedule page, stop and record, non of the coloured buttons pause, ff, rew, etc do anything

The exact remote I have is

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/Home/Product/24956/Gyration-Media-Center-Vista-Remote

which I think is the same as the Gyration 3101 so I can't work out why it won't work.

Is there something I am not doing  or am missing here?

19

Installation issues / Re: LCD tv can't dispaly avwizard 0810

« on: August 27, 2009, 01:08:06 pm »

OK,

after searching a bit harder it seems I may have been on the right sort of lines with my updating of xorg.conf.

can I just use the xorg.conf and xorg.conf.pluto.avwizardr that works on 0710 and copy them over the ones on 0810?

when I have had a go at changing xorg.conf before I have just replace the modline in the current xorg to the one I though matched as per

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1203126.html

at 1360x768 but I would rather go with 1280x1024 as that seem to be best on 0710



and then it seems I need to

"in the admin web site, go to advanced, config, devices, choose core, the core/hybrid, on-screen orbiter and update the PK_Size and Screen Width / Height values to match whatever resolution you forced in."

to get the orbiter going at the right size

and then it should work, right?

20

Installation issues / LCD tv can't dispaly avwizard 0810

« on: August 27, 2009, 12:51:02 pm »

Hi,

I am having problems setting up my panasonic 42" lcd on my core using 0810.

kubuntu installs fine and after I have run through the linuxmce setup and rebooted and the avwizard comes up, but it seems to not be at a resolution /refresh rate that the TV can handle.

I have tried with 0710 and the avwizard displays fine and allows me to chose different resolutions 1280x1024 seeming to be the best size and position even though I think the native TV resolution is 1360x768 ( which doesn't line up very well and the orbiter doesn;t fill the full screen)

How can I make the avwizard work so I can set up the screen and get a resoltion that works and then an orbiter that fills the screen?

I have managed to get 0810 install with a small monitor (1024X 768) and then changed the xorg.conf file and have managed to get the TV to display linuxmce but the orbiter doesn't fill the screen even though kubuntu does.

then on both screens I have tried I am still having the problem that the flicker slide show isn;t appearing properly behind the orbiter although it is there somewhere in the back ground.

are all my problems with the cores screen resolutions and orbiter/flicker slide show related?

would I be better off with the LCD TV setup on it's own MD to get the avwizard to work? (this would mean I wouldn't have to worry about the orbiter issue as it seem to be fine on MDs)

J

21

Installation issues / Re: linuxmce VDR Gyration 3101

« on: August 24, 2009, 11:07:19 pm »

So after looking through the VDR install instruction for 0710 I checked all the config files and uncommented

0.0.0.0/0

in /etc/vdr/plugins/streamdevhost.conf

then all I had to do is add the channels.conf to each MD

sudo cp /var/lib/vdr/channels.conf /usr/pluto/diskless/xx/var/lib/vdr/

that I created with

sudo scan -o vdr -p -u /usr/share/doc/dvb-utils/examples/scan/dvb-t/uk-WinterHill > channels.conf

and had initaly uploaded on the web admin vdr settings

Next to look at the remote functionality and flicker screen saver problem

22

Installation issues / linuxmce VDR Gyration 3101

« on: August 23, 2009, 07:59:54 pm »

Hi,

I have decided to upgrade to linuxmce 0810 after having 0710 running for 12 months with VDR handling the TV on the core and mds.

It took me a little while to get 0810 up and running but I now have the core and MDs all going but I am having a few little issues that I can't just find the answers to in the forum and wiki.

1. I can't get the flicker slide show working correctly on the core. The main screen appears and if I go to a KDE desktop a window is in the task bar which when clicked brings up the running slideshow, also if I go to computing and open a browser, initally the slide show appears in the background before the browser loads so the slide show is there its just sort of in the background, how do I get it to be where it should be?.

2. I have created a channels.conf file using dvb-utils and although after uploading this in the webadmin I can get TV on the core, I can't get it on the MDs - do I need to do any further setup on the cores like in 0710 when using vdr? I have tried copying the channels.conf to an MD but this, although bringing up the right channels in the menu I still get the no signal  error message.

3. I have a gyration MCE remote which seems to have had support added in alpha 2.24, can I use the coloured buttons in vdr with it? Some of the button functionality with vdr seems to work but things like pause, rw and ff don't, also how do I get the F6 F7 functionality with this remote?

cheers for any help you can give me

Jay

23

Users / Re: VDR for LMCE0710 available with liveTV at your MDs

« on: December 21, 2008, 11:39:19 pm »

Hi,
I am having the problem with the changes to the setup.conf file being reset after making the changes to get tv on the MDs, and I can't figure out how to make it work.

what do i have to do to get this to work??

thanks

J

24

Installation issues / Re: VDR t500 signal strength

« on: November 18, 2008, 06:28:14 pm »

Hi Andrew,
thanks for the reply, I will try when I get home.

although I was under the assumption the on board amplifier was now turned on by default when installing the latest lmce with a t500, but if it isn't that could well be my problem .

regarding having problems when trying to update the channels.conf and getting vdr to work again, I have read vdr can be a bit funny accepting changes to the channels.conf file and can take a few reboots to update - is this correct?

I was also wondering what is the best way to update the channels.conf on the core and the md's and for the changes to take effect, do I always have to use the web admin page to upload it or can i just copy it to the required location for the core and mds and then reboot everything? - so far I have only managed to get channels.conf setup correctly the first time, if I try to change it vdr seems to get confused.

thanks

J

25

Installation issues / VDR t500 signal strength

« on: November 18, 2008, 03:30:53 pm »

Hi,

I have been experimenting with VDR since the fix to allow md's to watch TV. I have a nova t500 and have previously had this working under mythtv, at the time I noticed that one tuner on the t500 would find loads of channels and the other only a few.

Since trying on VDR I can setup the core and I can find 34 channels when doing

sudo scan -o vdr -p -u /usr/share/doc/dvb-utils/examples/scan/dvb-t/uk-WinterHill > channels.conf

and I then managed to setup an md and copied across the channels.conf file. this resulted in me being able to watch any of the 34 channels on my MD as well as on the core.

Very pleased with the work Andrew and the rest have put into getting this to work my next stage was to work out why i am only getting 34 channels.

from my previous experience with mythtv i tried the same scan command but forced it to scan using the second tuner

sudo scan -o vdr -a1 -p -u /usr/share/doc/dvb-utils/examples/scan/dvb-t/uk-WinterHill > channels.conf

this time I got 87 channels - is it possible that one tuner is more sensitive than the other?

currently I have a high gain digital aerial, but at the moment it is mounted in the loft for ease, I am now thinking that i am going to have to get it fitted on the roof to get a strong enough signal for both tuners to work

I tried uploading the new channels.conf with the 87 channels through the admin page and then tried watching tv on the core but this just brought up a pixelated image that after a few seconds disappeared and seemed to make VDR crash. I also tried copying the channels.conf file to the MD and then restarted everything, but this just seems to have broken the MDs tv.

I assume the first instance of TV takes up the first tuner, so if the first tuner can't find the channel in the channels.conf that the second tuner setup there is going to be issues?

I have now tried to go back to scan using the default tuner and now only get 16 channels and now I can;t get even these 16 channels to work on either the core or the MD even after a reboot of everything.

I already have a booster on the aerial, but it looks like I may have to get the aerial put on roof:( to sort my issue out? and even then I am unsure why I am having problems getting back the 34 original channels

thanks


J
 

26

Developers / Re: VDR - What´s the development status of the upcoming features

« on: July 31, 2008, 01:26:02 pm »

Hi Andrew and other VDR hopefulls.

I too am keen to see the vdr integration to allow watching tv on media directors.

I currently have mythtv setup and although it is a lot better in 7.10 it still crashes occasionally and could do with running a bit smoother/quicker when changing channel and inputs before it could be relied on as an alternative to sky + or similar.

from everything I have seen and read, VDR should be a lot better and I believe getting decent tv running is one of the major functions that is going to attract people to the lmce project so getting it running nicely it probably key to the success of the project as a whole.

Andrew,

it was mentioned that you already have customers who use your implementation of the lmce system - what do they currently do for tv on MDs if that is part of the service that you offer them?

also you mentioned at the begining of July that and update for VDR would hopefully be available in a few weeks - is there an update on this updates time frame:)  and what added functionality it will allow

keep up the good work
J

27

Users / UK remote options

« on: June 20, 2008, 12:27:46 pm »

Hi,
have been thinking about the options I have here in the UK for a remote for LMCE.

The Fiire Chief looks like its the best bet but it just seems a bit expensive once you have added the shipping to the UK, especially when you add the fact you end up being drawn into deciding that if you are going to pay that much in shipping you might as well buy the total amount of remotes and IR dongles you will eventually need where as I really want to just be able to buy a basic one remote and one dongle set up to get me up and running and then buy extras as and when I want/can afford.

people being UK suppliers has been mentioned here on the forum now and again before but never seems to have come to anything.

what is the current status of this?

I mention this because I saw on the forum that www.microdirect.co.uk do a mce gyration remote that is very similar to the Fiire Chief.

are these remotes made by the same company as the mce one?

I have been a micro direct customer for many years, with it being just up the road, and was in today and asked about the possibility of getting them to stock the Fiire chief remote.

now I don't know if this would even be possible as it maybe specific to polywell and they may have there own ideas about if and who they would have for a uk stockist. My thought being that Micro Direct may be a good candidate as a stockist if the demand was good enough.

Andrew, you may be able to offer info on this as I think I saw you mentioning something about stocking the Fiire Chief?

J

28

Installation issues / Re: WinTv Nova T 500 Setup- Help Wanted Please

« on: June 20, 2008, 11:59:36 am »

is it possible yet to view live tv on MD's using VDR?

this was my reason for going with mythtv when I installed the latest version back at the end of may, although being in the UK VDR sounds like it is the better options once live tv on the mds works and is all fully integrated into lmce

J

29

Users / Swap and tv syncronization

« on: June 09, 2008, 11:44:05 am »

Hi,

I have been reading around the forums looking at various topics but have repeatedly come across the mention of using HDDs in the MD's for swap space.

currently I have HDD in my MD's but at the moment they have all had windows OS's on so don;t have a swap partition but I am interested to know the advantages of having a swap partition on the MDs? if there are noticeable improvements I will reformat.

Since the latest release of 0710 I have setup mythtv and it seems to be working pretty well, there are a couple of things I am not sure about though.
I have been experimenting with 2 MDs showing the same tv show and have noticed that there is a second or so delay between them.
A lot of the time this wouldn't be an issue but if the 2 MDs playing the same tv show are in adjacent rooms you can end up with an echo effect when you hear the delayed sound from the room next door.


should it be possible to get the 2 MDs showing the same tv show exactly syncronised?

I have also experimented with using the media floor plan to send the same tv show to another MD and am unsure how the system is utilizing the tv tunner cards I have. I have a a nova t-500 and pvr150 but it seems that once 1 MD has taken up a card to watch a channel when i use the media floorplan to send the same channel to another MD it needs another tuner card to do so, it can't just reuse the same card/replicate what the other md is playing, is this how mythtv is supposed to work?

the reason I ask is that I can see how 2 different tuner cards could be out of sync slightly when showing the same show, if 2 MDs were utilizing the same tunner card to show the same show i would expect them to be exactly syncronized.


of course my problem maybe down to the hardware I am using or even the lack of a swap partition which is why I mentioned this first  but I wanted to make sure i understand how linuxmce is supposed to function before I start upgrading anything.

cheers

J
 

30

Users / Re: Adding a Sky + sat box to LMCE

« on: May 16, 2008, 11:31:47 am »

Hi Paul.

I have LMCE setup and my sky+ box connected in a manner

I use a pvr150 and input via the svid input for best picture quality.

I am currently using mythtv as vdr is not quite yet fully working on the mds as far as I can make out.

I have ordered a USBUIRT but it has not arrived so I have not set up any automated channel changing and instead just use the normal sky remote to change channels. when it does arrive this is the next thing for me to look at.

for information on this I was pointed to
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/UK_Television
by other forum members

I have not had any experience with any ATI video capture cards as when I first came to the project, nvidia seemed the best way to get UI2 and alpha blending and a pvr X50 was the way to go to get a live cable/sat box input.

I think the first thing to probably try and do is establish if the capture card works just within kubuntu, and then once its working there it should just be a matter of setting it up within LMCE.

Jay