get the test applications:
cvs -d :pserver:anonymous at cvs.linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv login
(use an empty password)
cvs -z3 -d :pserver:anonymous at cvs.linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv co -P dvb-apps

 cd dvb-apps && make
(dont worry about any errors)

 create a directory for the channels.conf file...
mkdir ~/.azap

 scan for channels:
cd util/scan

for OTA broadcasts:
./atscscan -A 1 -vvv atsc/us-ATSC-center-frequencies-8VSB > ~/.azap/channels.conf

(The us-ATSC-center-frequencies-8VSB file didnt work for me, so
I used us-NTSC-center-frequencies-8VSB and had better luck)

for digital cable:
./atscscan -A 2 -vvv atsc/us-Cable-Standard-center-frequencies-QAM256 > ~/.azap/channels.conf

(There are many other scans files in the atsc/ directory -- you should replace these
as you see fit ... -A 3 will scan both cable and OTA, -A 1 only OTA, -A 2 only cable.
do .atscscan   alone and it will give you a list of params)

 tune a channel:
cd ../szap
./azap WABC_HD -r
( replace WABC_HD with the channel name ... -r is very important)

 decode the stream:
mplayer /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 -cache 8192 -framedrop

(play around with the mplayer parameters... I use the above for force
the audio and video to stay in sync, on slower machines)


if you don't have mplayer handy, you should be able to do the following instead:

cat /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 > testfile.mpeg

...and then open the testfile.mpeg in your favorite mpeg viewer, like totem, xine, etc.