[mythtv-users] M179 vs. PVR-250. was: ivtv firmware 2.02 or 1.9 ?

[Jeff]

Well...can't get the card working any more.

I tried adding the rmmod/modeprobe to /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend
so that it could run before the backend starts up. Didn't
help.

Going back to the old drivers hasn't helped.

Guess its time to disable this card in mythtv-setup :-(


Thursday, March 25, 2004, 7:12:31 PM, Jeff wrote:

> I've tried stopping mythbackend and I still get the
> device inuse message... oh well.

> Also, I installed the 0.1.9 driver and now it doesn't work
> any more. In dmesg/syslog I get
>     ivtv: 100 ms time out waiting for firmware
>     ivtv: api call 0x000000c9 [the hex # varies]
>     ivtv: init error <n>, code -16  (<n> is the error count)

> Unfortunately now even reverting to the old drivers doesn't work.

> Thursday, March 25, 2004, 1:03:29 PM, Kristo Kriechbaum wrote:

>> I have an M179, and ivtv always fails the first time I load the module
>> (ie on bootup).  So in my rc.local I have the following:

>> /etc/init.d/mythbackend stop
>> rmmod ivtv
>> modprobe ivtv
>> /etc/init.d/mythbackend start

>> I would guess you get "device inuse" because myth is trying to use it.

>> Kristo

>> On Thu, Mar 25, 2004 at 05:58:15AM -0500, Jeff wrote:
>>>
>>> I would recommend the PVR-250. I have both and the M179 card is
>>> the only one that gives me zero length recordings. I get it up and
>>> running and then the machine reboots for some reason and it takes
>>> me a while to get the M179 happy again. The symptom is I get are
>>> problems initializing the firmware during boot and then:
>>>    ivtv: timed out waiting for firmware
>>>    ivtv: init error <n>. Code -16
>>> Others have said that they can rmmod ivtv; insmod ivtv to get it
>>> to work, I always get a "device inuse" message from the rmmod. A
>>> couple more reboots and sometimes reloading the firmware fixes
>>> the problem.
>>> 
>>> This never happens with the PVR card.
>>> 
>>> I'm using ivtv-cvs-latest+1125A+M179_close_stream with
>>> Knoppmyth and pvr250_17_21226.exe
>>> 
>>> Wednesday, March 24, 2004, 3:11:48 AM, Jarod C. Wilson wrote:
>>> >
>>> > No distinguishable difference between the two for me. I have a retail
>>> > rev2 PVR-250 and an M179 in the same box, no problem. For a secondary
>>> > card (or even a primary, if you have another remote control interface),
>>> > the M179 is a solid deal. Save the money.
>>> > 
>>> > On Mar 20, 2004, at 13:41, Bruce Smith wrote:
>>> 
>>> >>> And the firmware isn't what needs patching to support the M179, it is
>>> >>> the ivtv driver itself. And yes, the latest packages on ATrpms do have
>>> >>> the M179 patch applied. I use them myself with both my M179 cards, no
>>> >>> problem.
>>> >>
>>> >> I'm looking to buy a 2nd card (my first is a PVR-250), and I'm debating
>>> >> about getting a M179 off ebay, or another PVR-250.  How does the
>>> >> quality
>>> >> compare between them?  I've read some postings about M179's having bad
>>> >> quality, but that may only apply to the Windows drivers (which I don't
>>> >> care about).  If there is any difference in quality, I'll spend the
>>> >> extra for another PVR-250.  If the quality is the same, then I might as
>>> >> well save the money.  Does a M179 and a PVR-250 play nice together in
>>> >> the same box?  Which would you recommend for a 2nd card?  Thanks!
>>>