[mythtv-users] New user - low level hardware and software seem to work, but...

[A. F. Cano]

Hi,

After waiting for quite some time to see if the linux DVB people finished
the support of the OnAir Creator, I finally got one.  A firmware file needed
to be searched for and installed in /lib/firmware/v4l-cx2341x-enc.fw.  The
log file told me that a file by that name was not found, so I did a google
search and found a rather convoluted procedure that involved downloading
a very windows-centric file and renaming a binary file.  I would have had
no clue but for the detailed instructions I found.

First, is anyone using an OnAir Creator with mythtv?  Could I find the
proper configuration files somewhere?  Being totally new to mythtv, it's
turning out to be a big learning curve and things are not quite working.

In any case, when I plug the device, it is recognized at the lower levels.
Lsusb shows it and mythtv-setup finds it.  But that's how far I've been
able to get.

I presume that the reason for the user interface design is so that it can
be run on a tv screen via a remote, but it certainly makes it difficult to
use when you've never used it before, there are no hints as to what input
keys do what and it takes over the whole screen.  There are no man pages.
I installed mythtv from the debian package for lenny.  After a while, I
figured out I could use the -geometry WxH+X+Y.  I eventually found a note
in the documentation that said something about switching to a console, but
that doesn't help if mythtv-setup was started from an xterm.  I got to
the listings grabber.  I selected North America using www.directv.com (xmltv)
and then I got totally stuck until it occurred to me to see how I could make
the window smaller.  After re-starting and getting to the same point again,
I realized that it seemed stuck because it was expecting timezone input
on standard input, which is not visible if mythtv-setup takes over the whole
screen.  So, after trying again with the window made small via the -geometry
option, and entering the time zone and zipcode I get this:

You MUST
run 'mythfilldatabase --manual the first time
instead of just 'mythfilldatabase'.
Your grabber does not provide channel
numbers, so you have to set them
manually.

Ok, so I exit mythtv-setup and run mythfilldatabase --manual.
Right away it starts doing wgets to the for-pay service, and failing
of course.  But wait!  Didn't I just tell it to use www.directv.com?

There must be a better way than to enter possibly dozens of channels into
a file manually.  I have no idea what I would enter in any case.

The OnAir Creator is a complex device: it has, in addition to 2 tuners (analog
and HDTV) an S-video input and a composite input.  I have connected a camera
to the latter, figuring that it would be a quick test of the rest of the system
even if I can't receive any channels.  I have connected rabbit ears and a loop
antenna (uhf) to the antenna input, but I wouldn't be surprised if the
reception is such that I get nothing.  If that is proven to be the case, I'll
have to install an antenna on the roof, but I would still like to test the
system.  So I start the backend /etc/init.d mythtv-backend start, and then
I start mythtv.  It never does:

2009-01-11 19:37:56.138 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost
2009-01-11 19:37:56.189 Connecting to backend server: 127.0.0.1:6543 (try 1 of 5)
2009-01-11 19:37:56.200 Using protocol version 40
2009-01-11 19:37:56.312 TV Error: Failed to get recording show list

Well, I would think so!  I haven't told it to record any show.  I suppose it's
complaining because no channels have been entered in the database.  So, what
do I do now?  Is it possible that my "grabber does not provide channel numbers"
because it doesn't receive any at the moment? or is something more fundamental
to the OnAir Creator?

I propose a startup test: if mythtv-setup, mythtv or any other mythtv program
for that matter is started from a console the current way is fine, but if it
is started from an xterm/kterm/konsole/etc... or from a menu in kde/gnome/X
it should start in a small window (not take over the whole screen).

What do I do next?  I'm slowly going through the mythtv manual, but any hints,
particularly related to the OnAir Creator would be greatly welcome.

Thanks.

A.