[mythtv-users] Recording from a video camera

[Nick Morrott]

On 04/12/06, David Fishburn <fishburn at ianywhere.com> wrote:

> Would anyone help me be able to map:
> ivtvctl -u 0x3000 ==>  v4l2-ctl -?
> - Looks like it might be:
> - v4l2-ctl --set-codec-params=0x3000
> - But I really don't know why I would be setting this.
> This is just an older analog Samsung video camera.  I usually attach it to
> me VCR and choose Line1.  Never really had to bother otherwise.

Below I'll hopefully show the old and new equivalent commands from
ivtvctl and v4l2-ctl:

Setting the video standard:

    'v4l2-ctl --list-standards' will list currently supported standards

    'ivtvctl -u <num>'    ->    'v4l2-ctl -s <num>' will set the
current video standard to <num>

    Note you can use 'v4l2-ctl -s ntsc' instead of the standard code.

Setting the input:

    'v4l2-ctl --list-inputs' will list inputs on the current device
(see below for more)

    'ivtvctl -p <num>'    ->    'v4l2-ctl -i <num>' will set the
current input to <num>

Setting the video dimensions:

    'v4l2-ctl --get-fmt-video' will list the current video format

    'ivtvctl -f width=<x>,height=<y>'    ->    'v4l2-ctl --v
width=<x>,height=<y>'


> ivtvctl -p # ==>  v4l2-ctl -?
> - Hmm, might be:
> - v4l2-ctl --set-input=<num>, but how do you decide what # to use.
>
> ls /dev/vi*
> /dev/video   /dev/video1   /dev/video25  /dev/video33
> /dev/video0  /dev/video24  /dev/video32
>
> I have tried capturing from all devices and only 0,1 have video (tuner data)
> on them.

The video* devices in /dev are actual video devices that the capture
card drivers create for different data formats (RGB,YUV etc) or for
video outputs (in the case of the PVR-350 card). Normally a user will
only capture from the first video device for a card (video0 for the
first card, video1 for the second etc).

Each device, however, can have multiple inputs, only one of which can
be used at a time. Hauppauge PVR cards typically have a tuner input,
one or more composite inputs (although only 1 physical connection) and
one or more S-Video inputs (again, only 1 physical input). A user must
determine which of the physical inputs matches the input provided by
the ivtv driver before successful captures can be made.

Regarding your predicament, you may find it easier to use MythTV
itself for video camera capturing - there is a current thread
detailing this - which tends to make things very simple once MythTV is
made aware of the video camera, and avoid having to use the command
line for captures.

Nick

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