I'm interested in building a Linux-based "TiVo" clone, like all my Windoze friends are bragging about. The problem is, there is both too much and too little information on hardware. On the one hand, there are numerous projects, but they give little guidance on hardware that works (for instance, the old WinTv cards are reputed to work, but offer only mono sound, and the newer WinTv cards use a different architecture that it's not clear is supported). The hardware descriptions are spotty, sometimes outdated, and conflicting.

Does anybody know which cards can run under Linux and can provide TV in and out (or can point me to such a resource)?

Thanks in advance.

99% of bt878 / bt848 based acrds should work just fine. you are aware that "FreeVo" does already exist by name and purpose?

http://freevo.sf.net

i LOVE this project. Needs new/more themes tho (currently working on one! =))

Check it out, it's really easy to install and use. Powerful too. Most, if not all WinTV cards are bt878 / bt848 liek acid_kewpie said so you should be set if that's what ya got.

Yes, I know of FreeVo, which is my inspiration for the project. It says it uses any video4linux1 compatible board. It's the video4linux project that has the ambiguous HW specifications, and they don't reply to my questions on the subject. I was hoping someone on this forum would have actual experience with a board that worked...

I have an Old WinTV card - it works. not sure what model. I don't have it in front of me ATM

Another impediment I discovered on the FreeVo wiki site. At least some TV out cards, like the Matrox http://freevo.sourceforge.net/cgi-bi...e_2fMatroxInfo prevent you from hooking the output to a VCR (which puts a damper on TiVo-like functionality unless one has infinite disk space). I guess I'm more concerned about the TV-out end...

BTW, I contacted both nVidia and ATI about which of their cards could have the TV-out connected to a VCR. nVidia relied:

"I would suggest a graphics card with TV out based on the Geforce 4 Ti 4200 graphics chip."

ATI replied:

"All of the ATI cards with TV out can be connected to a VCR. We use Composite and S-Video connections."

So, it sounds like it's just the Matrox card that has the "no-VCR" feature. I hope this helps anyone else who wants to build a "TiVo". After pricing things and looking at the options, I've decided the cheaper/easier option for me at this time is jst to buy a TiVo rather than try to build one (basically because it knows all the codes to control cable boxes, which I'd have to program from scratch, and the service has some nice features I'd spend quite a while programming). At least I don't feel "bad" about it, as the TiVo is itself Linux based.

Oh yeah, and by the way, this board is GREAT!