Ubuntu and MythTV

I now remember the reason that I start using Linux and stop a week later- Drivers suck!!

I tried setting up a MythTV box using Ubuntu 6.10 and the LinuxMCE CD; it failed abysmally on four different systems.

I looked at the KnoppMyth distro and it is very outdated and very incomputable with my hardware scenarios.

I am back to Ubuntu; by modifying the /etc/apt/sources file and allowing the universe and multiverse repositories I can just do a 'sudo apt-get install mythtv' and install the package. This info was included in a how to on Garry Parker's site. This works great except that Ubuntu does not natively include a driver for the Hauppauge PVR150 TV capture card.

Hauupauge directed me over to the ivtv project for drivers. This site is useful, but a little over technical for a Linux newbie like myself. There was a nicely written setup (for Ubuntu 5.10) over at Hyman's Home (?) that guided me through the download of the Ubuntu source files and general compiling setup- but the drivers are very outdated and did not work with Ubuntu 6.10. (There is also another useful Ubuntu/MythTV how-to on djlosch.com)

Google eventually led me back to the Ubuntu user forums where there is a MythTV documentation site with links to an alternate version of Ubuntu 6.10 and detailed instructions for installing the ivtv drivers in this version. These seemed to work, but still no response when I tried 'mplayer /dev/video0'- and there is no /dev/video0 after reboot.

MythTV and (MythVideo, MythWeather, MythWeb, MythMusic, MythPlugins) all seem to work fine- just I am unable to setup a capture (/dev/video0) under MythTV- setup as the driver does not appear to work!

So I have downloaded the new image for the 'alternate version' of Ubuntu 6.10 and I will re-image my test system tonight and see how it goes by following the specific Ubuntu 6.10/PVR150 drivers...

...next step (if this fails) will be Fedora MythTV or MythTV for Windows!