Hi all,
Time for another update.
Basically things were quite busy behind the scenes. I'm still working
towards inclusion of ivtv in the kernel and as part of that effort a
new API was designed to handle codec settings in an elegant and
extendable manner, also taking future cards into account.
Basically it will be based on the current v4l2 control interface but
extended to allow changing multiple settings in a single atomic action,
and to allow querying for chip-specific controls such as mpeg encoding
filter settings.
It took a long time going back and forth between the v4l-dvb developers
before a consensus was reached, but I think the end result is quite
good.
At the moment I am in the process of implementing this new API, both in
the existing drivers in v4l and in ivtv. It should arrive in 2.6.18 and
it will replace both the current ivtv IVTV_IOC_G/S_CODEC ioctl and the
VIDIOC_G/S_MPEGCOMP ioctl that is currently defined in the v4l2 spec.
The latter was never used by applications and neither solution was
sufficient.
Also the remaining ivtv-specific encoder ioctls have been checked: some
will disappear, others will be replaced by the new control mechanism or
standardized v4l ioctls.
That leaves all the decoding and framebuffer ioctls. They are a mess and
need to be redesigned. They are certainly not acceptable for kernel
inclusion. Unfortunately that too is a lot of work, especially since it
isn't my area of expertise. So at this moment it is not yet certain
whether ivtv will make 2.6.18. It is really the API redesign that is
killing me timewise.
Regarding the current ivtv branches: I hope to do a new release soon.
There are still a few issues that need my attention: the i2c problems
that seem to hit quite a few people and some channel changing problems.
But it looks like the Samsung tuner problems are solved, sliced VBI is
now supported on NTSC PVR-150/500 cards (so CC can be embedded in the
MPEG file) and several bugs solved.
And once 2.6.17 is released I'll also be releasing an ivtv-0.7.0 for
that kernel.
Finally, are there any MythTV programming experts around? When the new
API is implemented MythTV should be adapted to it. It would help a lot
if someone more knowledgable than myself can do that job.
Please contact me if you are interested.
Please also note that the current IVTV_IOC_G/S_CODEC ioctls WILL
disappear once the driver is included in the kernel. So MythTV really
must be converted if it is to stay compatible with ivtv. The good news
is of course that once it is converted it will also work with other
MPEG drivers.
And a final note: many thanks to all who donated money through PayPal!
It's all going to the new TFT monitor I want to buy in 1-2 months.
Donations are (of course!) still welcome. It's an expensive monitor
(1920x1200 widescreen) so it's nice if that cost would be offset
somewhat by these donations :-)
OK, that's it for now!
Best regards,
Hans
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