AVerTV Hybrid+FM PCI

Napalm Llama · 12-28-2005, 03:44 PM

Does anyone know anything about this card? Is it compatible with Linux? If so, how much?
This is its webpage: http://www.averm.co.uk/avermedia/ave...I.asp?show=1#3
It's very new, and I can find nothing on the net that mentions it and Linux at the same time. A couple of mentions with Windoze MCE, but nout else.

I've added it to the HCL:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/hcl/sh...cat/196/page/1

This is a "Wanted: Dead or Alive" poster really - all I want to know is whether to splash out and buy it, or stick with the safer bet of the AVerTV DVB-T 771!

Electro · 12-28-2005, 04:12 PM

Adding a product to HCL that only has a million to one possiblity that it works is very stupid. Do more research on the card such as what video capture chip does it uses. Then find out if the kernel supports the video capture chip.

Napalm Llama · 12-28-2005, 04:56 PM

There's no reason to use words like "stupid" - FYI, I did a fair bit of research and couldn't find out what chipset it was. My hope is that if there's an existing HCL entry for the card, somebody'll be more inclined to write a review saying whether or not it works - and then the answer will be here, in a place everybody looks.

Napalm Llama · 01-07-2006, 01:36 PM

Hullo again. Maybe some people have this card by now, so there's more info about it.

I've emailed the www.linuxtv.org mailing list - nobody's replied yet, but I figure that posting here'll reach even more people - with any luck, somebody somewhere knows something!

Here's what I sent:

Quote:

Hello there. I'm new to all this DVB malarky, but I'm interested in
changing that with one of these [AVerTV Hybrid+FM PCI] cards.

I want to know about compatibility first, though, before I shell out
£60 [100USD-ish] and find I've wasted my money. I was wondering if
you fine people might help me out (if I help you a bit)? I've been
Googling around for it and there seems to be a lot of speculation
about this board - how many chips does it use, what are they, how
standard is the interface, etc - but little hard fact. AVerMedia
Support tell me that the board uses a chipset which is undocumented,
and has no open-source Linux driver. However, the folks at Aver have
been beavering away on a closed-source Linux driver - closed-source
due to licensing issues with the manufacturer, I'm told.

The very helpful guy answering my emails sent me what they've got so
far - what seems to be an RPM-based package for FC3 and FC4. I'm on
Gentoo (and I don't have the card) so I can't test it out for myself.

However, the files inside the RPM are very helpfully named - the
/lib/modules/2.6.11-1.1369_FC4/kernel/drivers/media/video/ directory
looks like this:
> mt352.ko
> saa7134/saa713x.ko

Now I've just looked inside my kernel configuration (2.6.14-gentoo-r4)
and there's an option to support the mt352 digital tuner. The
Phillips SAA7146 also appears to be supported, but not the 713x
mentioned. Are they one and the same? I don't know.

I hope you'll consider that I've done enough of my own poking around
to be worthy of your help, but that's about as far as my poking stick
will reach. With any luck this email will spark off a good discussion
about the board, and we'll get some real facts.

NOTE: There's a thread for the Cardbus version of this card HERE.

I'm not badgering all you folks purely for personal gain - I'm also trying to raise the amount of Googlable hard facts for others in the same position - so if you know anything, help the Linux community and reply here!

Cheers!

[EDIT:]
This just in - the Phillips saa7146 is beginning to be supported in-kernel, as of 2.6.15! The description of CONFIG_VIDEO_DPC is as follows:

Quote:

This is a video4linux driver for the 'dpc7146 demonstration board' by Philips-Semiconductors. It's the reference design for SAA7146 bases [sic] boards, so if you have some unsupported saa7146 based, analog video card, chances are good that it will work with this skeleton driver.

Looks like there might be support, after all!

palken · 10-07-2006, 12:26 PM

I also have some problems getting this card to work! I've tried the drivers found at avermedia page for this card but haven't got them to work, something I find very strange

So does somebody have this card working? Even only the analog functions of this card.

Electro · 10-07-2006, 03:49 PM

When I was starting a new Gentoo installation, it seems 2.6.17 has it. For the Philips video decoder chip, I suggest trying 2.6.18 for better sound capabilities. However, you need to either select ALSA or OSS.

palken · 10-08-2006, 01:11 PM

Could you tell me which driver you use? bttv?

Electro · 10-08-2006, 03:05 PM

The bttv module is for BT878 based cards. I do not know what chip your or Napalm Llama video capture card uses. The information that Napalm Llama have given us is too vague. We need more information about the card. A scanned image of the card will be better.

My video capture cards uses SAA7133 (Lifeview FlyVideo 3000), BT878 (Hauppauge WinTV GO), SAA7115 (Hauppauge PVR-250).

palken · 10-09-2006, 05:14 AM

This AverMedia card uses saa7135. All i have found drivers for are saa7134. Altough the producent of this card have some drivers on their page, I haven't got them to work yet. here's the link http://tinyurl.com/pgp9k

Electro · 10-09-2006, 04:41 PM

The SAA7134 module can work with SAA7130 to SAA7135. Each model has different features but work the same. The problem is finding the correct card number and tuner number that will work.

palken · 10-12-2006, 12:57 PM

Could you please tell me which card number and tuner number you use. Or better how I can fix it, perhaps you have some documentation I can read?

Anyway, thanks for the help! I actually thought my card needed a new driver

Electro · 10-12-2006, 04:31 PM

It is trial and error since your card is not listed. I suggest using tvtime every time you test a new card number. Use either composite or s-video to test. Then do the same for the tuner number.

Since my video card is a LifeView FlyVideo 3000, I can skip the trial and error process of finding a compatible card. Though I have to go through the tuners until I find that works. I stumble on tuner number 17 that works.

Napalm Llama · 10-17-2006, 12:36 PM

According to the v4l DVB Wiki, it uses the Philips SAA7134, the Zarlink MT352, and the Xceive XC3018. I believe it's the Xceive that's causing problems, because its manufacturer won't release documentation (and has forced AverMedia into an NDA).

I haven't actively reasearched anything to do with this card for a while, but I have been filtering through the linux-dvb mailing list - I have every mail relating to this card since January. If anybody wants to do an efficient archive search for this card, feel free to ask