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[mpeg2] Re: Kfir?
jussi-pekka.sairanen@nokia.com wrote:
> I joined this mailing list to find out if there's any chance of making a
> Hauppauge WinTV PVR work under Linux. Alas, I got information that the short
> term possibilities of such have died along with the cofounder of Hauppauge.
>
> Now I read some email exchange about some Kfir based capture card being used
> successfully under Linux.
>
> What is such a card, where can I buy one in USA, how much does it cost?
Let me use your mail as the occasion to post a preliminary
version of my KFir-FAQ. Let us grow this FAQ together with your
experiences by using the card.
-------- BEGIN FAQ
1. General questions
1.1. Supported cards
There is only one card supported by the Kfir driver: The
LinuxTV-Encoder-Card manufactured by BMK-Elektronik (Germany).
The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR use the Kfir-1 chip but this card *is not
supported* !
The Kfir-2(a) chip mentioned on the Visiontech homepage *is not supported*.
1.2. Supported mainboards :-)
The are some known problems on mainboards with VIA chipsets.
1.3. Buying the encoder card
1.3.1. Where to order
Go to http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html and fill out the
form. You will contacted by the sales office of BMK-Elektronik. They
will tell you how to pay and how they ship the board.
1.3.2. Why did they told me a higher price?
Maybe you contacted BMK directly and asked for an MPEG-2 encoder? They
tell your their list price which is around 600$/EUR. This is the
Windows-user's price :-)
Please fill out the form http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html
for 'correct' price.
1.3.3. Delivery time
If it is very, very urgent(tm) then BMK can ship the card within
germany/europe(?) until the next day. But you'll be charged for extra
postage fees. [Can someone report how long it takes to China?]
1.4. Language
1.4.1 How do I pronounce KFir?
I think like 'kay-fir'.
================================================================
2. Installation
2.1. The driver software
2.1.1. Where can I download the driver?
http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/
Fetch the latest tar archive und unpack it.
After that you will need the microcode. Convergence can not include this
nessesary code due to license/copyright issues.
2.1.2. How do I use the cvs for the latest changes?
cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv login
When prompted for a password for anonymous, simply press the Enter key.
cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv co kfir
2.1.3. How do I obtain the microcode?
Get
ftp://ftp.visiontech-dml.com/pub/Win9x/KFir/KFirAppVersion4.23/KFirApp4-23_9x.zip
Install it in MS-Windows 9x
and then copy the Makefile http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/Makefile to
the kfir/driver/micro folder and change the value for your DOS partition
Or get the files from http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/Linux/KFir/MS_driver/
2.1.4. Is the microcode ok?
If everything works fine: yes. Otherwise check the included MD5-sums
against what you extracted.
2.1.5. My machine locks.
Don't panic. It's normal :-)
Possible reasons are:
- the microcode is not where it has to be
- you have USB drivers loaded: disable modules and kernel drivers
- you have found a strange timing problem known to appear on VIA
chipsets: try another mainboard or computer
2.1.6. I get no output (filesize is zero)
I did 'cat /dev/video0 > foobar.mpg' and foobar.mpg has zero bytes, even
after several seconds.
Please check:
[ ] I am root
[ ] The harddisk is not even close to be full
[ ] I have connected the right video input with a known to be correct
video signal
[ ] I know that there is a difference between PAL and NTSC
[ ] /dev/video0 ist the Kfir card because I use neither a BTTV nor DVB card
[ ] I did only 'make insmod' and didn't pass any additional parameters
to the driver
[ ] The microcode is where it has to be; there are no errors while
loading the kfir.o
2.1.7. What options can I pass to the driver?
loaded=1 - Altera is already loaded with microcode, so donīt do it
again
(reloading takes time and can lock your machine!)
vidinmode - vidimode=0 for PAL, 1 for NTSC, 2 for SECAM (default PAL)
vidoutmode - vidoutmode=0 for NTSC, 1 for PAL (default PAL)
vidsize - vidsize=(vertical_mode<<4)|horizontal_mode, cf. KfirCMD.h
e.g. vidsize=0x12 (=(KFIR_V_288<<4)|KFIR_H_352)
(0x12 is CIF, quarter of PAL, 0x26 for PAL, default is fullsize)
vidrate - video bitrate (4500000 for 4.5 Mbit/s)
vidinput - vidinput=0 for composite (default), vidinput=1 for
S-Video Y/C
mpeg1mode - mpeg1mode=1 for MPEG1
streamtype - streamtype=0..7 default is 3
0: AUDIO_ES
1: VIDEO_ES
2: A_V_ES
3: PROGRAM
4: TRANSPORT
5: PACKET_VES
6: PACKET_AES
7: KFIR_SYSTEM
sndfreq - sndfreq=0..7 default is 7
(Values in kHz)
0: 5_5125 = 0,
1: 8_0000 = 1,
2: 11_025 = 2,
3: 16_000 = 3,
4: 22_050 = 4,
5: 32_000 = 5,
6: 44_100 = 6,
7: 48_000 = 7
2.1.8 Can I encode MPEG-1
Please follow the mailinglist thread
http://linuxtv.org/mailinglists/mpeg2/msg00148.html
2.1.9 Which kernel version should I use?
Use 2.4.x
================================================================
3. Technical details
3.1 Working with the encoded MPEG-2 material
3.1.1 What client is recommended?
I recommend
vlc (www.videolan.org)
dvdview (see freshmeat.net)
hardware: the Siemens/Technotrend/Hauppauge DVB-S card with LinuxTV drivers.
3.1.2 How do I multicast my favourite DVB channel in my LAN?
see our multicast tools in http://linuxtv.org/download/mbone/
Usually:
cat /dev/video0 | anyserver 226.23.23.23 5004 128
receiver:
mkfifo stream ; receiver 226.23.23.23 5004 > stream & vlc stream
3.1. Picture qualitity
3.2. other measurements
3.3. general hints for encoding
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