Archive for October, 2006

Mythtv with IVTV and LIRC on Ubuntu 6.10

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

Here are the steps I took to install mythtv 0.20 on Ubunty Edgy Edge 6.10

  1. Perform Basic Desktop installation:
    I chose the full desktop install here because it is easiest to do and has almost everything you will need for a full working system. If you are a minimalist you should consider the server install as it will install very little extra bloat, however in the end I doubt you will really notice any problems with the desktop install.Answer the questions about the keyboard layout you have and your time zone and then create a new user. DO NOT name this user mythtv, that is apparently a no-no because this user is created later by the package. I’m not sure that is still true and you are welcome to experiment, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.
    On step 5 choose “Manually edit the partition Table and set up your partitions. I choose to partition my system in the following way:

    • /boot 100 mb ext3
    • / 5gb ext3
    • swap 512 mb swap
    • /video all the rest xfs

    If you have multiple drives you will want to use lvm to concatenate them into one big device and mount it on video. For help with this google “lvm howto” or drop me a line.

    restart your computer, take out the cd, and login as your new user.

  2. Install IVTV
    I got most of this information from the MythTV wiki

    1. go to System -> Administration -> Software Sources and enter your password if prompted
    2. check all 5 boxes to active all software repositories click close and then reload
    3. Open up a terminal under Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal I explain what I’m doing and then give the command in bold
    4. Install the programs necessary to compile software
      sudo apt-get install build-essential gcc
    5. Find your kernel version
      uname -r
      For me this returns 2.6.17-10-generic or this there are two parts the first is the kernel version which is everythign before the first – (2.6.17) the second is the build which is the rest (-10-generic) write these both down or remember them
    6. Install the raw kernel headers and source
      sudo apt-get install linux-source-2.6.17 linux-headers-2.6.17-10-generic
      Notice that the source uses just the kernel version and the headers uses the entire kernel name
    7. Download the latest drivers from http://ivtvdriver.org you should take special care to download the right driver for your kernel in my case it is 0.7.1
    8. Unpack the drivers – they are probably on your desktop cd ~/Desktop to get there
      tar xf ivtv*
    9. then make and make install
      cd ivtv*
      make
      sudo make install
    10. sudo depmod -a
    11. Get and install the firmware for the cards – this is loaded every time on boot and is not stored on the card directly
      wget http://dl.ivtvdriver.org/ivtv/firmware/firmware.tar.gz
      tar xf firm*
      sudo cp v4l-c* /lib/firmware
    12. make ivtv load on boot
      echo ‘ivtv’ |sudo tee -a /etc/modules
    13. Create ivtv aliases sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/aliases
      Scroll down to alias char-major-81-* and replace it with:
      alias char-major-81 videodev
      alias char-major-81-0 ivtv
      If you have more than one PVR card you will need to add an extra ivtv line for each of them (eg alias char-major-81-1)
    14. depmod -a
    15. modprobe ivtv
    16. dmesg
      You should see a bunc of info for each of yoru cards… if not then go find help on google!
    17. Grab a beer, you have earned it
  3. Install LIRC for your remote controll
    1. Start by installing the LIRC daemon and related files along with Ncurses which is used when you are configuring the driver
      sudo apt-get install ncurses-dev lirc
    2. Visit LIRC CVS snapshot page and download the latest snapshot. I needed to use lirc-0.8.1pre2.tar.bz2 becuase it is the only once compatible with the 2.6.17 kernel
    3. extract lirc, it is probably on your desktop so cd ~/Desktop
      tar xjf lirc*
    4. cd lirc*
    5. ./configure
      Choose option 1 and then option 5 and then g which is the Hauppauge remote that came with your pvr-x50 card then choose option 3 “Save and run configure”
    6. make
    7. sudo make install
    8. sudo depmod -a
    9. sudo modprobe lirc_i2c
    10. sudo mode2
      This will let you test out yoru remote, point and click you shoulc see some output, hit ctrl-c when you are done.
    11. Set up lirc to load at boot
      echo ‘lirc_i2c’ | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
      sudo gedit /etc/modprobe.d/aliases
      add the line “alias char-major-61 lirc_i2c” whre it belongs in the list.
    12. Edit the lirc udev rule and move it to where it goes, I’m assumign that you are still in the lirc source directory, if not go there
      gedit contrib/lirc.rules
      make it look like this KERNEL=”lirc[0-9]*”, NAME=”lirc/%n”, MODE=”0666″ all that is differnt is that you append the MODE=”0666″ to the last line.
      sudo cp contrib/lirc.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/90-lirc.rules
    13. Move the configuration files from our new driver where they belong and overwrite the generic ones
      mv /etc/lircmd.conf /etc/lirc/
      mv /etc/lircd.conf /etc/lirc/
    14. All set, reboot your system to be sure ivtv and lirc come up ok and then we will install myth
      after you reboot you can type irw in the reminal and hit some more buttons on yoru remote, you should get output coresponding to your key presses
  4. Install mythtv
    1. First install mysql database and configure it
      sudo apt-get install mysql-server
      mysqladmin -u root password xxxAAAxxx < - replace xxxAAAxxx with your own password. Don't forget this password it is very important.
    2. Install myth and myth-themes
      sudo apt-get install mythtv mythtv-themes
    3. Give the new mythtv user a password
      sudo passwd mythtv
    4. Log out and then log back in as the mythtv user
  5. Configure Mythtv
    mythtv-setup
    There are plenty of guides on this so I won’t go into details. Make sure you go through menus 1-4 and if you are in teh US be sure you are set to use cable and not broadcast, that is really annoying
  6. Start up the backend
    sudo /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend start
  7. Update the channel listing
    /etc/cron.daily/mythtv-backend
  8. and enoy!

todo: need to add info on using a different WM probalby ratpoison

This Day in History

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006

On Oct. 31, 1517, the priest Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the door of his church in Germany which expressed his frustrations with the Catholic Church. This begins the Protestant Reformation

This Day in History

Monday, October 30th, 2006

On Oct. 30, 1918, representatives of Great Britain and the Ottoman Empire sign an armistice treaty marking the end of Ottoman participation in the World War I

This Day in History

Friday, October 27th, 2006

On Oct. 27, 1873 an Illinois, farmer named Joseph Glidden submits an
application to the U.S. Patent Office for his design for a fencing wire with
sharp barbs – barbed wire!

New Motorcycle

Thursday, October 26th, 2006

I am now a biker… officially. I was in and out of the DMV satuday morning by 8:30am and I had a motorcycle by 2pm… preety good day all in all. There are photos in the gallery if you are interested.

This Day in History

Thursday, October 26th, 2006

On Oct. 26, 1825, the Erie Canal opens, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River. It took 2 years to build & is 425 miles long.

This Day in History

Friday, October 6th, 2006

On Oct. 6, 1866 John and Simeon Reno stage the first train robbery in American history, making off with $13,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana.

This Day in History

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

On October 5, 1947, in the first televised White House address, President Truman asked Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry on Thursdays to help stockpile grain for starving people in Europe.

This Day in History

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2006

On October 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of post-World War II division, declaring the creation of a new unified democratic Germany

This Day in History

Monday, October 2nd, 2006

On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the first African American to serve on the high court.