Install no good after reboot

[67comet]

For the second try in so many days the reboot leads to my TV going blue after X starts, no ssh, no ctrl+alt+F1/2/3/4/5/6 and most annoying of all no error to be found.

I do the usual install Kubuntu, reboot, stuff LinuxMCE CD1 in, run the .deb, let it go through CD1/2 and Kubuntu reboot and the box beeps at me a couple times, then looks like it stalls at where you would login before X then beeps at my some more, and the TV goes blue.

Nvidia AGP 512mb 5700LE s-video out
1gig ram
20gig hd (os), 160gig hd (storage)
2.8ghz P4
Audigy PCI sound card
Haupauge PVR-150 Capture card (with the cable TV connector snapped off)

The install of Kubuntu works great via the TV, I have had Ubuntu Feisty installed on there acting as a kind of media computer while I tried to figure out MythTV or Freevo (both never worked). My 2 year old makes using the keyboard and mouse impossible.

I am attempting to download the DVD iso now as to maybe the box will be happier with a solid plain 1 disc install.

I would present some error logs, but there is no way I can get in my box outside of a live cd but it is just too late at night for that right now and it will be some time tomorrow after noon before I get home to work on the box anymore.

Any ideas, help and suggestions appreciated,
Justin

[Zaerc]

Try connecting a VGA monitor or pressing 1-5 with a while in between.  See also: http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/AVWizard

[67comet]

WooHoo .. that sorta worked!

I can get to the setup, but my sound isn't on, and the screen is black and white. I'm thinking my TV is just poor in the clarity area, the text isn't really readable but I can figure out a lot of it.

I'm going to toss in another sound card and see how that works (I've got a plethora of cards).

I'll fire up a new post for the black and white in a second, and a new one for sound if that doesn't pan out. I plan on installing a new sound card and holding shift down to re-enter the AVWizard again and run through it. I can deal with the black and white so long as everything else seems to work.

My remote isn't even close to working, I'm just using the one that came with the Haupauge PVR-150, I thought that should have worked out of the box.

Thanks for your rapid reply and super help. Awesome!
Justin

[totallymaxed]

WooHoo .. that sorta worked!

I can get to the setup, but my sound isn't on, and the screen is black and white. I'm thinking my TV is just poor in the clarity area, the text isn't really readable but I can figure out a lot of it.

I'm going to toss in another sound card and see how that works (I've got a plethora of cards).

I'll fire up a new post for the black and white in a second, and a new one for sound if that doesn't pan out. I plan on installing a new sound card and holding shift down to re-enter the AVWizard again and run through it. I can deal with the black and white so long as everything else seems to work.

My remote isn't even close to working, I'm just using the one that came with the Haupauge PVR-150, I thought that should have worked out of the box.

Thanks for your rapid reply and super help. Awesome!
Justin

Re the Hauppauge remote.... the remote itself will work ok. But the PVR-150 on-card IR will not as far as I know currently. You will need to add either a standard external MS MCE usb IR transceiver or a usb UIRT2 transceiver and then add the Hauppauge remote to your Hybrid's MD in Web Admin.

[Zaerc]

The black and white TV thing could be the PAL/NTSC issue.

[67comet]

Okay, good to go on sound. Tossed in an old'ish PCI card (haven't a clue what chips it has on it) but it took to it right away.

The black and white issue I haven't a clue there. I selected NTSC-m (American TV, American Cable but I am stationed in Japan). All the Ubuntu editions worked fine except for Gutsy though, so I know it'll work w/Linux.

I'm finding that the resolution for TV makes viewing and actually using LinuxMCE next to impossible. Even the assistance video's with the woman talking are kind of skewed, and some of the menu items are hidden behind menu items on the side of the screen.

The network issue keeps popping up too. I don't loose it for the other boxes on my network anymore, but it doesn't seem to be connected to my network. All my videos and music are on a server located on my network and a separate hard drive inside the LinuxMCE box. It isn't seeing any of that data.

I also punched in the web interface but it seems to only work on the LinuxMCE box its self from its self (localhost?). I would like to be able to access it via another box so I can read the text better, adjust settings and check them out a little better etc...

Off to bed I'll tinker tomorrow after work a little.

I think that Fiire Fire Station looks pretty good .. hehehehh .. where'd I put that $800 I had laying around?

[teedge77]

does your tv have an NTSC-J option? thats what japan uses. you shouldnt need to switch though, til you are actually watching tv i would think. just using a standard vga or dvi cable from the computer right now?

[67comet]

I'm an American, on an American Military Base, watching American TV on a made for the USA TV using s-video... lol ..  .. I think I said American a few too many times. Our Cable TV is provided by a company named Mediatti Cable/Broadband (No choice, have to use this company, but MAN DO THEY SUCK  ). They supply us with about 20 state side channels (A few like Comedy Central, Showtime, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Military Channel, ABC, NBC, CBS and occasionally PBS), and a hand full of Japanese channels  .

All my stuff is built and purchased in the USA. Nothing is Japanese standard (I can't read Kanji to save my life, and whoah nelly I suck at speaking Japanese).

I'm not sure what the black and white issue is really. I do remember when I was messing with
tvtime or tvtune or something like that it was always black and white when running Cable TV through the PVR-150.

I'm thinking my 36" picture tube style TV just isn't up to the resolution needed to use it with a computer efficiently. I don't have any plans on getting a better TV until my 2 year old is old enough to know not to mangle the screen when Elmo is on (little red evil monster). I received some feedback in an Ubuntu forum a few months ago to mess with nvidia-settings, but that never did help the font clarity, it has always been next to impossible to read.

I'm still messing with it, but with out a remote I'm no better off than I was with plain Ubuntu and using Xine or Movie Player with my Keyboard and Mouse.

Thanks for the help and attention, I appreciate everyone's time, 
Justin 

[teedge77]

oh i see....i remember having AFN and that was it.    thought you were using over the air, not cable. then i guess i have another dumb question...the PVR-150 uses both ntsc and pal....is there a way to set which one it uses? could it be dafaulting to pal for some reason? if you are using a crt in standard definition you wont get the text to show up clearly. its just not up to snuff. even with microsofts clear type and large fonts, its grainy and annoying.

[dopey]

I agree every time I see black and white it's a PAL/NTSC issue. I too am an American, in America, watching American TV. You can change all the broadcast options in mythtv-setup. Another thing that could be causing it is your video cards render acceleration, or even the mpeg2 decoder (you set that in mythfrontend, Setup->TV Settings->Playback), but LinuxMCE has a tendency to overwrite any changes I make... believe me it's starting to get really annoying...

Some of the defaults in LinuxMCE are a little messed up. I had to change things to use Cable frequencies in order to tune to a channel above 13, even though the provider information said it was cable.

[Hagen]

Sounds like a faulty cable actually.
If you use an S-video cable (I did have this problem with my VCR once) that has failed one or more cables/pins you will get a black and white image.
Just a suggestion, could even be the output from the Hauppage or input on the TV.
Does this specific cable and or parts of the setup work (with colors) on any other equipment?

[elboy0712]

them a ring over in Japan for you and double check the signal standard. Interested?