Hi,

I'm pretty new to linux and pvr concepts. I've just installed Knoppmyth RA16 on an old computer that doesn't hava any tv tuner installed, just a basic video adapter on the mother board. Now, I have the following issues, of course they could be because I don't have a tuner card installed yet but any input would be appreciated.

1. The installation seemed to go well but when I restart the computer I get this message after lilo starts, You have passed an invalid mode number. I then asks me to hit enter to see a list of video modes available. When I do it tells me that I have a VESA VGA video adapter and gives me a list of rowsxcols that I need to choose from. I just choose the first one and then linux goes merrily on it's way starting up and mythtv starts up. Should I worry about it? I plan on putting a video card with an S-Video out in the AGP slot later.

2. I plan on using a Hauppauge wintv pvr 150. Now, when I run the mythtv-setup program and go into the Capture Cards section I try to add a new capture card and I see the list of supported cards. I see an option for MPEG-2 Encoder card (PVR-250, PVR-350) but I don't see any option for PVR-150. Should I use the 250/350 setting when I install it?

3. Video Sources. I went to Zap2it.com and setup an account in the tv listings area and selected my cable provider's package. I go to the video sources screen and create a new source calling it Cable. I leave everything at defaults and enter the user name and password from Zap2it and click finish. Now, I exit myth and bring up a terminal and run mythfilldatabase program and it at first seems to connect but then I get the following:
HTTP request sent, awaiting response...., 401 unauthorized
HTTP request sent, awaiting response...., 401 unauthorized
Authorization Failed
Grab Complete
And then it just gives me the prompt. I go into mythtv front end and go to the listings area and there are no listings present. Did I miss a step in installation? Does the mysql db get populated using the Full Install option? Could this be failing because I haven't associated my source with an actual hardware input in the Input Connections screen?

4. I plan on getting a Hauppage wintv pvr-150 and an Nvidia GeForce FX5200. Will I have to follow the steps in the pamphlet for setting up the nvidia driver? Are there any problems with this combination of hardware that anyone knows about?

Thanks.

Well, you can scratch number 3 off the list. It turns out I'm very impatient and didn't read the HOW TO pdf for setting up your account with zap2it. I set it up with zap2it.com not labs.zap2it.com, yeah there is a difference. Once I set up the account and found that code from the pdf I was off to the races with the program guide. However, I seem to have selected the wrong time zone because shows that are on now aren't showing until 4 hours from now. Where do I go to change the time zone?

well you have an option to change the timezone during the setup, but if you missed that you can run knoppmyth-tz from a root comand prompt.

_________________
Have a question search the forum and have a look at the KnoppMythWiki.

Xsecrets

Hi jebediah,

http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... ght=#30446 is a link to some stuff that may be of help to you.

What ever you do, be sure to do a backup after you tweak things. cesman has it things setup so that if you do an auto upgrade some time later, it will recover all those menu settings, if you have done the backup. Big time saver!

After you get the time corrected, you will need to dump the current database of listings as it won't just update. (hasn't for me anyway) As mythtv user run mythtv-setup and answer yes to the second question. Then just look around a bit and escape out. At the prompt, run mythfilldatabase and your update listings should come in.

In case you haven't discovered it yet, if you esc (I use control esc) to get back to the world famous wallpaper of Tux watching his favorite tv show you can right click on the desktop to open an Xshells > Xterm so you can get a command line to work with. Tip: $ is a user, # is root (god to linux) Oh yes, the restart in the menu restarts the frontend service to get you back to the real show.

Hope that helps you a little.
Mike

Thanks for the help, I've fixed the time issue and the program guide looks much better. Now I just have to decide what tuner and video card I should get.

Go with the industry standard Hauppauge PVR250. I think mine cost around $150 or so, worth every cent. Just keep in mind that it will only tune up to 125 channels of analog cable. If you have a digital box or satellite, you'll probably need an IR blaster and your config will be a little different. IR Blasters can be had from Ebay for around $15 shipped.

Yes, from what I've read it looks like the PVR-250 is both the easiest and most economical tuner to get. I can get it for $160 . The tv out issue riight now is another story. I got an ati Radeon 7000 for free but I've been having a tough time. Of course, if I knew what I was doing when it came to compiling and installing drivers it would probably be a little easier but I think I've found some info that will help me out. Then again, it would probably be easier just to pick up a geforce.

Hi,
A friend just purchased a PVR-350 for $164 and that has tv out My 600 mhz would never be able to process watchable tv without a 350.

MIke