tv and webcam not working in fedora 14

soumya_r · 12-21-2010, 12:45 AM

hi friends, I've fedora 14 on my system. My usb camera and avermedia tv tuner card is not working with it. It was working with fedora 13. I reinstalled fedora 14 again, still no result. cheese webcam booth shows black screen.. Please share your idea to solve this problem.

thorkelljarl · 12-21-2010, 08:29 AM

To find what's there...

Open a terminal and use the command "lsusb", then find the listing of the webcam. The ID code is a set of two figures divided by a ".". the first the ID for the manufacturer, the second the ID for the model. Then google for how this webcam is supported by linux. If you didn't install a driver for either Fedora 13 or 14, your cam should have support in the kernel, but check nonetheless.

Then use the command lsmod" to see that the expected module and any supporting packages are being loaded. Here is "lsmod" for my webcam as an example. It uses a driver I installed.

Code:

gspca_stv06xx          35024  0         
gspca_main             32072  1 gspca_stv06xx
videodev               46848  1 gspca_main   
v4l1_compat            19020  1 videodev     
v4l2_compat_ioctl32    12776  1 videodev

You can also use "dmesg" to check that there is no error message generated during the boot process.

None of this is likely to solve your problem, but using the information about the module and helping program(v4l?) that control the webcam, you can search further for how to trouble shoot the installed module/programs to get an image instead of that black screen.

soumya_r · 12-21-2010, 12:17 PM

Thanks a lot for reply, I've not installed any driver for webcam and tv tuner card. by using lsusb and lspci i found the drivers for usb cam is

2nd one)
--------------------------------------
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 004 Device 002: ID 0c45:613c Microdia PC Camera (SN9C120)
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
--------------------------------------

driver for tv-tuner card avermedia super 009 ( philips chip ):
------------------------------
04:00.0 Multimedia controller: Philips Semiconductors SAA7131/SAA7133/SAA7135 Video Broadcast Decoder (rev d1)
------------------------------

but the lsmod is not showing "Microdia PC Camera" any where bu I found SAA7131/SAA7133/SAA7135 supporting modules which are running. but still the application programs can not access the devices.

How can I conform that "this" module is associated with "that" device file so that I can select an device file to open in the application program?

thorkelljarl · 12-22-2010, 06:44 AM

Internet...

Webcam 0c45:613c uses the gspca_main and the gspca_sonixj modules. You can load kernel modules with "modprobe".

http://linux.die.net/man/8/modprobe

This bug report may describe your problem. Read all the way down.

https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=639031

Before you start loading or blocking modules, look in /var/log/messages to see if the webcam is identified correctly. This is mentioned as a problem in fedora 12 and 13, but if it is the case for you in 14, there are patches.

Bug report Comment 8 mentions a problem if a TV card and a webcam are installed together. Again, there are patches, but I haven't come across them.

This webcam frequently seems to deliver a black screen. For more complaints and advice, google with linux and 0c45:613c or gspca_sonixj.

The remedies proposed may not work for you, but they will give you more information, eliminate possibilities, and get you further along on the road to a solution. A troublesome webcam requires patience. You might have to remove either the webcam or the TV card and work on one problem at a time. Good Luck

thorkelljarl · 12-22-2010, 10:53 AM

To see your system hardware and what software for it there is...

The command "lshw" reports what is found active on the system, but I don't think there is any central list that will tell you what module or driver should be associated with what device.

soumya_r · 12-23-2010, 08:18 AM

Many thanks for the perfect links. I went through them and tried those suggestions but no result.

The /var/log/message shows:
---------------------------
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.459381] Linux video capture interface: v2.00
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.507009] gspca: main v2.9.0 registered
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.514943] gspca: probing 0c45:613c
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.519554] sonixj: Sonix chip id: 12
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.521656] input: sonixj as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.2/usb4/4-1/input/input5
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.521810] gspca: video0 created
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.521815] gspca: found int in endpoint: 0x83, buffer_len=1, interval=100
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.521861] usbcore: registered new interface driver sonixj
Dec 23 18:25:53 localhost kernel: [ 9.521863] sonixj: registered
-------------------------------
for camera. It is registered properly, but still not working. do i need to insert another driver module for the same device?

thorkelljarl · 12-23-2010, 05:10 PM

Check the modules...

Us the command "lsmod" to look for mention of the webcam and the two modules that should be loaded for it to work and post them to us. Look for "gspca_main" and "gspca_sonixj", but also for anything that is on the list above and below them that seems relevant.

I hope you have patience, this webcam is not reported as the easiest to get working.

soumya_r · 12-24-2010, 11:02 PM

Thanks sir, here is the output of lsmod :

-----------------
gspca_sonixj 22663 0
gspca_main 19038 1 gspca_sonixj
videodev 54469 3 saa7134,v4l2_common,gspca_main
-----------------
It means all of them are loaded...

thorkelljarl · 12-25-2010, 12:12 PM

What now...

Have you opened "cheeze", checked that "cheeze" is selecting the webcam and not the TV card? Do you still get a black screen? Have you installed Skype and tried it as a test?

I have been looking on the Internet for more information, but I am at the limits of my competence and don't know what else to propose at the moment. I'll keep searching.

What are the results of hotplugging the webcam on fedora and then using the command "dmesg | tail"?

soumya_r · 12-25-2010, 10:01 PM

thanks a lot for ur time, after re-plugging the usb camera it wors...

thorkelljarl · 12-26-2010, 06:14 AM

Good...

Do you take a nice picture and does it by chance also work under Skype?

More interestingly, what progress are you making on your TV card? What is the result of the command "lspci" and "lsmod"? Post back how the card is listed and any modules that are loaded and we can begin to find out if we can get it working.

soumya_r · 12-27-2010, 07:30 AM

i am using tvtime for tvtuner card and my card is avermedia super 009. I found that it uses philips SAA7135 chipset. lspci shows the device SAA7131/SAA7133/SAA7135 video broadcast decoder. But lsmod shows modules for SAA7134 only. Any how tvtime cannot display anything. For tvtime configuration I used:

tvtime --device=/dev/video1 ( video1 device shows SAA7131/SAA7133/SAA7135 video broadcast decoder)
then changing the tv video standard to PAL.

I am using DTH service with the tvtuner card.

thorkelljarl · 12-28-2010, 09:24 AM

I had a Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150...

Once upon a time I had a tuner card installed. To make it work, I had to have the right card number and the tuner number for the particular tuner on it for Denmark. I ended up by peeling back the card label and using google with the information printed on the tuner chip.

Have you seen these? I noticed that the card is supported only in the latest kernel versions, but that should include fedora 14, and the correct module is a part of "v4l".

I have not been able to verify the card number as "card=180". If you use the command"lspci" do you see a reference to "1461:xxxx"? This is the ID for the card.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1548270

http://en.gentoo-wiki.com/wiki/Saa7134