I am a Windows network admin and this is the first time I've ever set foot in Linux territory. I managed to get it installed ok, I think. I have searched the forum for my issue (which I'll explain in a bit), but nothing has been specific enough, not to mention all the 'linux-ese'. I learn quickly and have a programming background, so I think I'll be able to pick it up, but I just need some specific help. And now, the issue:

When I go to live tv, I get a green screen with the top 5th or so static. I've read the post about plugging the cable in, and yes, its plugged in. From other things that I've read, it seems that I may need to specify the tuner and card for the bttv driver, but I have no clue how to do that.

Hardware (will post specifics once I get home):
ECS motherboard (built-in video disabled)
GeForce 4 440MX
Duron 750
256 MB RAM PC133
WinTV GO

Again, I will give specific details and model numbers once I get home to look at them.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I begin my first journey to LinuxLand!

/etc/mythtv/modules/bttv
The Duron isn't powerful enough to watch live tv w/ a software tuner card.

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

yes, I realize that, but does that mean that it won't show TV at all? I have built this machine out of spare parts to give it a try, fully conscious of that fact that it is underpowered. I want to see it working before I buy new hardware, even if it is a little jerky. I get the same results when running xawtv in X.

But, it is my impression that the tuner card is not configured properly, or not detected properly, or something. Can you help with that? I'll provide whatever information about it that I can.

btw, the path you put in your post...

/etc/mythtv/modules/bttv

I assume that means that the driver or some kind of config file is located there, but I have no idea what else to do in there. I don't even know how to change to that directory, or even how to list the contents of it. Like the subject of this post says, I'm a 'Super Noob'.

/etc/mythtv....Search the forum for greater details. Sorry, too busy to spoon feeding...but you'll a great deal. xawtv should play smoothly as it is just "dumping" the video. Do you have the nvidia drivers installed?

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Yes, I have the nvidia drivers installed.

And yes, I have searched the forum about making those config changes. All of the posts speak in language that I don't understand. For this reason I chose to post, thinking that someone would have mercy on me as I'm trying to learn linux instead of treating me like an outsider.

I'll look around some more and see what I can figure out. I had hoped to save some time by getting some quick answers that would jump start me.

How is it I'm treating you like an outsider? I have a trillion things to do for work and I still have to make time to try and answer questions on the forum and work on the next release of KnoppMyth.

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

Your time is valuable, I understand. I couldn't help but feel 'put off' by your comment "way too busy to spoon feed". I must have taken it the wrong way.

I will search the forums more diligently from now on.

Sorry if you felt put off... I figured you'd catch on to where I was going. Take a look at this, you'll find where you can locate the card and tuner type. Once you do, you know what file to edit right?

_________________
cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

I need to edit the /etc/mythtv/modules/bttv file, I believe. What is the command to open/edit a file?

Without installing anything new (which is a whole topic by itself), you will have to use vi. So you would type "vi /etc/mythtv/modules/bttv" (this is assuming of course that you actually need to edit that file, which I don't know).

If you know nothing about vi, open a second Xterm window and type "vimtutor" and in about 15 minutes you'll be able to make simple edits.

Although KnoppMyth comes as close as anything does to being a simple installation, there are still plenty of times when you have to know some Unix/Linux. A good Linux starter book or website would probably be a good thing to have handy. As a Linux noob myself, I would also say to be ready to reinstall repeatedly; sometimes I found it easier to just start from scratch than to continue to bang my head against a particular wall. Good luck.

I'm also a windows admin, although I have a little experience with Linux.



First, get out of MythTV, and open an Xterm window. This is (sort) like the command prompt in Windows. IIRC (I don't have a linux box in front of me) you just left-click on the desktop, and select "xterm" on the pop-up menu.

Changing directory works much like it does in DOS, only you use the other slashes:
[code] cd /etc/mythtv/modules/ [code]

Now, here's the tricky part: editing the file. I use vi, which is an editor that you can find on any unix/linux box. I'm not sure if knoppmyth ships with another editor, but I know it has vi. Unfortunately, vi isn't what I'd call user-friendly. Instuctions for using vi can be found here:

http://www.itd.umich.edu/itdoc/r/r1172/

Now there's the question of what you should actually put in this bttv file. Given my own newbie-ness, (and the fact that I haven't gotten it to work myself) I don't think I'm really qualified to tell you that, but I can point you to a couple of good web pages:

http://www.elxlinux.com/downloads/Utils ... HOWTO.html
(this page references the modules.conf file, but all of the options look the same for the driver -- why is that?)

http://enpc3240.eas.asu.edu/lxr/linux/h ... ns?a=sparc
(this is straight from the driver documentation -- a bit much, I guess.)

ceenvee703 & Jet_Jaguar:

Thank you! That is just the kind of help I was hoping for. I will give your suggestions a try and post again.

cesman,

is the bttv file the one I am supposed to edit?

I've installed twice (due to a fried CPU) and have had to edit two different files -- once it was /etc/mythtv/modules/bttv and the other time it was bttv0. I see now that in my current installation, I've edited both, just to be sure

If you've only got one capture card, you can't "break" anything by editing both, but I'd be curious to hear from an expert which of the two is the "real" module configuration file.

On another note, and not to get into a vi/emacs/nano flamewar... If you're a complete linux noob, you'll be more happier on day one with a text editor other than vi. To install nano, use apt-get:

apt-get update (this updates the apt-get file list)
apt-get install nano (this installs nano)

nano works just like the old DOS "edit" program. Very intuitive for Microsoft users.

Do yourself a favor, though, and learn to use vi eventually -- it's more powerful, and you'll find yourself in a situation eventually where nano's not available. You'll always have vi.