Recently bought this device, the Hauppauge WinTV-HVR950Q. I'm using openSUSE 11.4 with the latest updates (as of 5/2/11).

Since going into Yast->TV Cards revealed that the HVR950 was supported, I took a chance and got the 950Q, even though support wasn't listed. Plugging the device in, dmesg told me it was recognized, and identified correctly. However, neither v4l or Kaffeine were able to receive any channels. Upon looking further at dmesg, I noticed this:
A little searching revealed the fix. The page here:
http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Xceive_XC5000

provided the solution. Specifically, there were two things I had to do

1. Download the firmware from http://www.kernellabs.com/firmware/x...000-1.6.114.fw
   
   Code:

   wget http://www.kernellabs.com/firmware/xc5000/dvb-fe-xc5000-1.6.114.fw

2. Copy the firmware to your firmware directory
   
   Code:

   cp dvb-fe-xc5000-1.6.114.fw /lib/firmware

After that, dmesg showed:
and I was able to use Kaffeine to scan for channels, and play them. Great picture quality. I have not tried any other TV applications, nor have I tried cable TV...just doing over-the-air ATSC for now, but given the success I've had with it, I don't think the cable channels would not be recognized.

I haven't played with the remote control, but the IR sensor is detected in dmesg output, so LIRC should be able to do something with it, if one was so inclined.

Just came across this thread.... Nice to see other people using the same device I just bought today

My question though.... After you got the firmware problem all fixed up, what exactly did you have to do in order to watch channels on your computer? I am completely new to this as far as using this device and such. Any input? Thoughts? So far, I'm scanning OTA channels using tvtime-scanner, and it's not picking up much. Do I really need to use tvtime-scanner, or is there any other ways to just hook up and watch TV/play xbox, etc? Thanks man!

And by the way, I'm running Fedora 13, 64 bit, but as far as the process goes, it shouldn't be too far off.....

Cheers,

Josh

Naah, you're 99.9% of the way there if you got the firmware to load.

I just ran Kaffeine, and clicked "Digital Televison" on the start screen, or Television->Configure Television. From there, you'll see a dialog box, with a "Device 1" (or whatever # you have) tab. Click it. You'll have to then define a source...for me, I picked the ATSC-Center option (most of the US HDTV standard). After that, if you click the Television option on the left-hand tab bar, you'll see a button with a TV icon on it. Click it, and in the center pane of that dialog box, you'll see where you set up your source, with a "Start Scan" button. Click it, and wait...it'll detect the channels around you, and add them in to the pane on the right...select which ones you want, then click "Add Selected" at the bottom, then click OK. You'll see the channels there..click one, and away you go.

Of course, your mileage may vary with your antenna and placement...I can't pick up PBS stations unless I put the antenna up high. Not surprising..antenna placement used to be a problem before the days of cable/satellite TV, and it's not changed now. You can replace the cheap antenna that came with it with a bigger/amplified one, and get better reception.

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Wow, thanks man! Definite rep for that one. One other question though.... Programs like xawtv need access to /dev/vbi.... For me, it doesn't exist. Only /dev/video1, which is my device, and everything under /dev/dvb exists. Would you know anything about that? I can't find sh*t on the internet about it.....

No, sorry...I've not tried xawtv, but I'd presume there's a way to either change the device name to /dev/video1 or you *MIGHT* be able to make a symbolic linke from /dev/video1 to /dev/vbixx...don't know.

Oh ok, well thanks anyway. I just might return it, it is giving me way too much trouble :/

Why not use Kaffeine? And there is an option to change the video source in xawtv....

I tried already, but it's a flaky device to begin with. That, or it is partially defective. I bought this one on base......

Ahh...it's working fine for me, under openSUSE 11.4. Suppose it could be flaky, or you've got spotty reception. When I get bad reception, the video gets very blocky and/or cut out. Moving the antenna works...sometimes. Cable/satellite works fine.

Yeah I had no luck whatsoever with it man. I returned it and bought the Bamboo Pen & Touch pad. Awesome.... That's all I have to say