Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2001 19:04:36 -0600 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: "Stan Brown" <stanb@panix.com> Cc: freebsd-multimedia@freebsd.org (Free BSD Multimedia List) Subject: Re: What hardware/software do In need to build a TVIO like PVR? Message-ID: <15358.61988.946059.212773@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <200111231616.fANGGf702502@panix1.panix.com> References: <200111231616.fANGGf702502@panix1.panix.com>
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Stan Brown <stanb@panix.com> types: > I would like to build a TVIO like Personal Video Recorder based upon a > FreeBSD box. > 1. Is this possible? Maybe, depending on how much of the functionality you're trying to get. > 2. If so what hardware (other than the basic computer) do I need? WinTV > card? Special video card for TV out? Cards that use the Brooktree harware work. See the bktr man page to get a list of cards that use that. It even supports some of the remotes.If you want output to go to a TV, you'll need a video card that outputs to the TV. I don't know of one of those that's supported by FreeBSD. The ATI cards can be used if you install Windows and configure them for video out. They'll stay in that mode when you boot FreeBSD and run X. Adding more drives (on separate controllers if you're using IDE) will help if the recording software you use can interleave frames between files. A sound card that pcm supports for recording is also required. > 3. What kernel options do I need? See the manual pages for the hardware you're using. > 4. What userland software do I need? I use fxtv. That lets you watch and record the TV. I'm not sure about a player for raw video, but that's what would work best if you've got the disk space. fxtv can automatically convert to a variety of formats, so you can use any player that supports that format. There are two things missing. One is the software to provide a reasonable UI for the VCR you've created. That would include something to record and store a show, as well as something to list recorded shows and play them back. The biggie is the scheduling magic that Tivo provides. Given an internet connection and an account on something like zap2it, you could do that. If that software exists, I haven't found it yet. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Q: How do you make the gods laugh? A: Tell them your plans. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-multimedia" in the body of the message
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