I'm not a linux expert by any means, but I'm not a newbie either. I've been using the OS for about 10 years now. I can load modules and change configuration files, but I'm not really comfortable investing the time and effort to start fiddling with the code. That having been said. I've been trying to get a functional freevo box for a couple years now. I've tried using wintv and matrox cards. I've used two separate boxes. I've installed redhat 8,9, fedora core 2, debian and mandrake from scratch on multiple occasions. In each case I've had it almost working. Usually there was one final function that simply wouldn't work, and I just couldn't figure out what was wrong, or find anyone else who had just that problem. Sometimes the sound wouldn't work, sometimes I couldn't record. What is particularly frustrating is that the problems are often different. I could understand if they were they same problems over and over.
Is there anyone out there who has actually been able to watch TV and record shows (with sound) and spent less than 10 hours configuring the system. What system do you have? I might just go out and buy it, although I've sunk well over $1000 into this project already.
Which tuner card will just work?
I use a PVR-250. It works very well, the quality is good, and CPU load doesn't cause recording skips. eBay.
Which sound card?
Just about anything works. I have both an SBLive 5.1 for playing AC3 movies and a record AC97-based on-motherboard card for normal items. Lately I've just been using the card on the motherboard, it works fine. I've used 3-4 cards, and had trouble with none.
Which distribution will recognize both of the above upon install?
Well, the PVR-250 requires some work and I don't know any distro that will do this. I use Gentoo, and post-installed the "ivtv" module package. here is my load script for that set of devices:
/sbin/modprobe tuner type=2 /sbin/modprobe saa7115 /sbin/modprobe msp3400 /sbin/modprobe tvaudio /sbin/modprobe ivtv /sbin/rmmod ivtv /sbin/modprobe ivtv /usr/local/bin/test_ioctl -p 4 /usr/local/bin/test_ioctl -f width=640,height=480 /usr/local/bin/test_ioctl -c stream_type=14
Gentoo has a convenient /etc/conf.d/local.start where you can put things and not mess around with modules.d and such. That's where I put the above.
Are there any small (set top) boxes that that are suitable for this?
None that I've found. I've used cubes, looked at the Xbox mods, various custom cases, etc. So far the best option I've found is to use a normal PC case and hide it somewhere. Another thing to consider is the new wireless transmission devices you can get from TigerDirect et. al. These let you keep your PC in a remote closet, and it transmits the audio and video to your TV. I've tried a few and they actually work OK.
Which means of installing the latest version of freevo will produce a functional install with the above hardware without multiple config file edits or cryptic record_server errors? I've tried manual compiles, apt-get, yum, rpms and several combinations of same.
I never got around to this. When I load it I do everything from scratch - I'm one of THOSE sickos. So I hand-install all of the dependencies. It's not that hard, and once you know how to do it you DON'T get those kinds of weird errors.
I've heard the Gentoo ebuild works OK, it's just not my preference.
Ok, I have that out of my system. Now I'm going to calm down and go start the reinstall process again. Sigh. That's better. A new install with no mistakes in it yet.
Good luck, I hope it goes well for you.
Regards, Chad
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