MythTv - Total Linux Beginner

Conrad11 · 5 Apr 2006 at 12:30

Hey all,

I have been looking through the knoppix wiki and googling and I came across this:

http://knoppmythwiki.org/index.php?page=UpdateNewInstallHowTo

It has somehting about setting the DMA of the optical drive.

Now I believe I have managed to change these settings and my drive is on the secondary master, so what am I doing wrong that it won't play?

Thanks...

whitecrook · 5 Apr 2006 at 19:21

I would suggest as a complete n00b, that you get a copy of knoppmyth and try to install that, don't spend too long, maybe a week of evenings or so getting it installed and configured, this takes out a lot of pain in the setting up process, but knoppmyth appears to have a few big problems in it like you can't update without breaking ons of stuff and things, but it will give you an idea of a working mythtv tv system and stuff.

Then, install and configure a proper linux setup, (i'm going to use ubuntu for this) and install mythtv ontop of it, I beleive there are packages for mythtv 0.19 for ubuntu available. This gives you the true flexibiilty of a linux machine that also happens to be running mythtv.

This is the route that I went, and when funds allow, I am going to build a TB fileserver , whack 2 DVB-S cards in it and use it as general purpose linux box with mythtv back end, then build a small fanless, hd-less front end pc for the living room tv, and bedroom tv. I love it when a plan comes together.

Conrad11 · 5 Apr 2006 at 19:58

Hi there,

Yes I am using knoppmyth at the moment, but I want to be able to overcome problems in this before I move on to more complex things.

The problem that I have at the moment is that DVDs are playing slow.

Here is what i get when I run the hdparm command on the secondary master (hdparm /dev/hdc)

hdparm of dvd drive said:
HDIO_GET_MULTCOUNT failed: Invalid Argument
IO_Support = 1
unmaskirq = 0
using_dma = 1
keepsettings = 0
readonly = 0
readahead = 256
HDIO_GETGEO failed: Invalid Argument

What am I doing so wrong that the dvds play slow?

Thanks...

Conrad11 · 6 Apr 2006 at 13:46

Hi there,

I tryed changing the DVD Drive to a later DVD Drive and that didn't work.

Am I supposed to be installing any drivers because I havent?

Thanks...

michellez · 7 Apr 2006 at 15:27

What do you get if you do hdparm -tT /path/toyourdrive ?

Conrad11 · 7 Apr 2006 at 15:53

Hi there,

I am trying to install MythTv with Ubuntu now.

When I was running Knoppmyth, i did try that command and others and it didn't help.

Thanks...

The Belgain · 8 Apr 2006 at 15:49

I've installed MythTV on Ubuntu; great piece of software. I followed this guide: http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_ubuntu.php. It was surprisingly straightforward thanks to apt-get...

Conrad11 · 11 Apr 2006 at 21:29

Hi there,

Time for an update.

I am now trying to get a dvd to play in ubuntu before I continue and install MythTV.

This time the dvd won't even play, I have tried different dvds and different media players and it just wont work.

Any ideas?

Thanks...

The Belgain · 11 Apr 2006 at 22:36

See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RestrictedFormats.

Most likely is that you need to install the software needed to curcumvent CSS. It's not included by default due to its questionable legal status in certain countries.