PVR on xbox via gentoox + MythTV ? Is it possible ?

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syntaxx_error
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PVR on xbox via gentoox + MythTV ? Is it possible ?

Post by syntaxx_error »

Hi !

Thanks to this forum i've just discovered that it's possible to install MythTV under gentoox ! :D

Do you think that it is possible to turn an xbox into a PVR with MythTV ?

Usb tv tuner already exist in 1.1 usb, so i imagine that it provides enought performances to record video....So it should work on xbox.... :) ...Just have to buy an USB adapter and voila ! :

> Game port/USB adaptor
Image

I've already plug my usb logitech keyboard + my usb mouse (MS optical mouse) with this adapter under gentoox (linux for xbox) without any problem !

> Win tv device
Image

http://www.hauppauge.com/html/wintvpvru ... asheet.htm

MPEG capture specifications :

WinTV-PVR-usb2 uses an advanced MPEG2 hardware compression systems

MPEG2 capture rates: 2MBit/sec, 4MBit/sec, 6Mbit/sec, 8Mbit/sec and 12Mbit/sec at full D1, plus S-VCD (standard play, long play, extra long play). Note: 8Mbit/sec and 12Mbit/sec are available using USB 2.0 only.
MPEG1 capture at 1150 Kbits/sec (Video CD data rate)
Audio sampling: 44.1 KHz
Chroma sampling: YUV 4:2:0
Video file format: .MPG
MPEG file tested compatible with: MediaStudio 6.0, ULead DVD MovieFactory 2.0

System Requirements :

Processor requirements: Pentium® II processor 733MHz or faster for TV watching, recording and pause
Windows®XP, 98SE (Second Edition), Windows® Millennium Edition, Windows2000
USB 2.0 port (or USB hub). USB 1.1 port will limit record to 6Mbits/sec.
Sound card
DVD or CD writer for burning DVD's or CD's (optional)
VGA card (PCI or AGP) which supports video overlay (NVidia, S3, ATI, etc


Spec of the win tv usb are exactly what can support an xbox !


Questions :

1) Does it seem possible ?
2) Will MythTV recognize the win tv usb device ? and via the usb adaptors ?

Thanks !
Sniper Fox
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Post by Sniper Fox »

You may find this link to be of interest:
http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-pvrhwdb.php?find=xbox

3 users have submitted XBOX-based PVR scores.
syntaxx_error
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Post by syntaxx_error »

Sniper Fox wrote:You may find this link to be of interest:
http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-pvrhwdb.php?find=xbox

3 users have submitted XBOX-based PVR scores.
Thanks ! But they don't say if they succedeed having video recording feature on their xbox via MythTV...
Chinny
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Post by Chinny »

I'm in the process of getting everything up and running (and testing). It won't cost me anything since I already have all the parts I need. As soon as I test it I'll post here with results.

I have an external usb 2.0 tv tuner/capper - brand MSI VOX. I'm trying to find working linux drivers now. Does the integrated version of mythtv (in the gentoox media center) support recording?
Romulas
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Xbox as a PVR

Post by Romulas »

I have managed to get the same device working. (Please see past postings for Driver Details)

I record using the User Space Drivers and play back the recordings using Media Player. I use GentooX Pro with Xfce intalled on a native drive partition.

I'm currently waiting for a stable version of Kernal Version 2.6 to allow for me to use the unit with MythTV directly.

Yes, I am aware that the Kernal 2.6 works on the Xbox and it will allow me to use MythTV directly, but as I said I'm waiting for the stable version with FatX driver support that works 100%.



Let me know if you need more info
ShALLaX
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Post by ShALLaX »

Thanks! Ive been meaning to research into a device like this for implementation into Gentoox MCE... youve done the research for me, I guess I'll have to buy one and get experimenting!
The original Xbox adaptation of Gentoo
Romulas
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Xbox as a PVR

Post by Romulas »

Since MCE doesn't need FatX support then the next trick is getting the 2.6 drivers to work with MythTV. oh and making sure you don't break "magic" when running 2.6 :-)

Best Drivers I've found so far are at http://justiceforall.free.fr/pvrusb2.html

In theory these should work with MythTV under 2.6, but so far I've not tried them. Any idea about when the FatX drivers will be stable under 2.6?

By the way: Great work ShALLaX and let me know if you need a Guinea Pig. I have made a small donation towards your first PVR USB2 device :-)
ShALLaX
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Post by ShALLaX »

Small? That was a rather massive donation!

You say 2.6 is the only way to get this to run work?... Would that be because of pre-emptibility, or just because of module/ driver compatibility? Sorry, I've been at University all day from 10AM until 6PM and my mind is a bit too fried to investigate all this stuff right now... ;\
The original Xbox adaptation of Gentoo
Chinny
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Post by Chinny »

Romulas -
When you say got the same device to work, are you referring to the the same device as mine - MSI Vox USB 2.0?

All I'm waiting for if for my 300gig HD to arrive sometime this week and I'm gonna start trying

Shallax -
the link that Romulas posted says that a 2.6 kernel is required.
ShALLaX
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Post by ShALLaX »

Yeah, I saw that just after posting ;) Oh well..
The original Xbox adaptation of Gentoo
Romulas
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Xbox as a PVR

Post by Romulas »

Hello Chinny,

Sorry for the confusion: I was referring to the WinTV PVR USB2 Device.

The "MSI Vox USB 2.0" is for USB Version 2.0 only (read the specs) and therefore will not work on an Xbox as its USB is only 1.1. I'm sorry to say you may as well stop trying now to get a MSI Vox USB 2.0 to work directly connected to the Xbox.

As a side, you can still try and get this device to operate on MythTV on a PC with USB2.0 and then use the Xbox as a Client. Talk to MSI and see if they have Linux Driver out before continuing.

When I refer to needing kernel version 2.6 I'm speaking about the drivers needed to get the PVR USB2 device working with an installable driver module that have been made and at http://justiceforall.free.fr/pvrusb2.html .The Drivers I'm currently using with kernel version 2.4 run in User space only.

Let me know if you need any more information.
Chinny
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Post by Chinny »

I've gotten my vox to work on a windows xp based usb 1 system (somewhat). Have you read somewhere that it would only work on usb 2.0 systems?
Romulas
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MSI

Post by Romulas »

I had a look at the MSI web site and downloaded the pdf manual.

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/ ... hp?UID=536

If you got it working on USB 1.1 can you please confirm? As it would be the first really good looking capture device I've seen that can be powered by a USB 1.1 port.
Chinny
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Post by Chinny »

I've gotten it to work on an old 1ghz laptop that has either usb1 or 1.1. I wasn't able to get smooth video in though. That may have been due to any number of reasons though
nobspangle
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Post by nobspangle »

Any USB 2.0 device will work on a USB 1.0 or 1.1 port just slower. The trouble with video capture over USB is that to get decent quality mpeg2 in realtime you need at least 8Mbps of bandwidth, USB 1.1 only has theoretical maximum of 11-12Mbps so top quality over USB 1.1 is right out.

You should be able to use a 4Mbps rate without any problems and that will give you reasonable quality, provided the signal from your aerial is good.
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