Thanks for your quick reply. No further message about the cx2341x firmware.
I tried recording the stream to an mpeg file but, as you predicted, I ended up with an empty file. I confess I didn't try the sysfs thing - I've managed to avoid getting to involved with the driver up to now - but did try the connection with xawTV. Oddly, when starting xawTV I saw a light appear on the box that I'd not seen before... However, I could get no signal on composite despite plugging my DVD player into it. A quick dmesg | tail -n 50 revealed no record of the box, so I powered down the Wintv unit and started it up again. The message below then appeared on checking, but xawTV wouldn't run - the terminal told me it couldn't get access to the device at /dev/video0. I've tried this a couple of times with no luck and, given my experiences in both Windows and Linux, I get the distinct impression I'm flogging a dead horse here. I appreciate your help - any last ideas before I get back to my ebay seller..? Many thanks again, Dan Mike Isely wrote: > On Thu, 11 Dec 2008, Daniel Pope wrote: > > [...] > > >> [ 285.660478] firmware: requesting v4l-cx2341x-enc.fw >> >> ...which as far as I can make out with my limited knowledge but from two >> days of googling is all good. >> > > Yes. About that last line - I presume there wasn't any error following > that line about an inability to locate the cx2341x firmware? That > firmware image is the program for the mpeg encoder chip, which is > obviously needed to produce video. > > > >> However, running mplayer /dev/video0 just gives me: >> MPlayer 1.0rc2-4.3.2 (C) 2000-2007 MPlayer Team >> CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ (Family: 15, Model: >> 43, Stepping: 1) >> CPUflags: MMX: 1 MMX2: 1 3DNow: 1 3DNow2: 1 SSE: 1 SSE2: 1 >> Compiled with runtime CPU detection. >> >> Playing /dev/video0. >> >> ..though no mplayer window opens. When I hit ctrl+c I get: >> >> MPlayer interrupted by signal 2 in module: demux_open >> >> Running scantv just gives me a whole pile of 'no station' results, and a >> scan within Mythtv show 0% signal and no stations found. >> >> (Just to cover the obvious - yes it is plugged into a working ariel) >> >> I've also tried the device in Windows and the Hauppage software, when >> scanning, scans for a couple of seconds then tells me there's no signal. >> Is this a firmware / driver issue, or have I bought a duff Wintv box..? >> > > That's not a good sign. If it won't work in Windows or Linux then > you've just ruled out most of the host software as being a cause :-( > (Unless you hit bugs in both which seems unlikely.) > > The fact that you are able to communicate with the device well enough > for the Linux driver to detect everything it has reported means that the > FX2 microcontroller is healthy. You might have a broken tuner section. > Without a signal, the encoder can't do its job thus no data. Here's a > couple things you can try: > > 1. Instead of running mplayer directly, copy the output to a file for a > little while. Perhaps try "cat /dev/video0 >/tmp/foo.mpg" and then hit > Ctrl-C after about 10 seconds. Is the file zero length? If it saved a > bunch of stuff then try playing that file through mplayer. Though I'd > bet that you'll get a zero length file. The idea here is to rule out > any mplayer issues. > > 2. Try reading the composite or s-video inputs instead of the TV input. > You can use the driver's sysfs to switch this or it can be directly > selected from within xawtv. Doing this will allow you to run the device > without needing a working tuner section. For a video feed, you can jack > a DVD player, camcorder, VHS player into it - anything which emits a > composite or s-video signal. If the tuner is fried, then this will > still work. > > You could also try test #2 with Windows. > > I could see a scenario where a previous owner got his box zapped by, > say, an EMP from a nearby lightning strike - and then he sold it to you. > The circuitry most exposed to that sort of thing will be the tuner > section. > > > >> Many thanks in advance for your help (this forum has been invaluable in >> getting me this far) and apologies for the lengthy post. >> > > I've written far more lengthy posts than what you have here :-) > > -Mike > > > _______________________________________________ pvrusb2 mailing list [email protected] http://www.isely.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/pvrusb2
