Annotation of kfir/FAQ, revision 1.5
1.5 ! stolk 1: 2A
1.4 stolk 2: // $Source: /cvs/linuxtv/kfir/FAQ,v $
1.5 ! stolk 3: // $Revision: 1.4 $
1.4 stolk 4: //
5: // $Log: FAQ,v $
1.5 ! stolk 6: // Revision 1.4 2002/08/12 13:27:09 stolk
! 7: // Added Q 2.1.11
! 8: //
1.4 stolk 9: // Revision 1.3 2002/08/09 21:40:32 stolk
10: // Added Frank Rosengart's FAQs from apr'02
1.2 stolk 11: //
1.1 stolk 12:
13:
1.2 stolk 14: [FAQ for BMK kfir started by Frank Rosengart on the MPEG mailinglist.
15: I've put it in cvs, and added questions 0.1 2.1.10 3.1.3 3.1.4 and 3.3.1 - Bram Stolk]
1.1 stolk 16:
17:
1.2 stolk 18: 0. Meta info
1.1 stolk 19:
1.2 stolk 20: 0.1. Where can I get an up to date version of this FAQ list?
1.1 stolk 21:
1.2 stolk 22: It is in linuxtv.org's CVS repository at linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv in the file
23: 'kfir/FAQ'.
24:
25:
26: 1. General questions
27:
28: 1.1. Supported cards
29:
30: There is only one card supported by the Kfir driver: The
31: LinuxTV-Encoder-Card manufactured by BMK-Elektronik (Germany).
32: The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR use the Kfir-1 chip but this card *is not
33: supported* !
34: The Kfir-2(a) chip mentioned on the Visiontech homepage *is not supported*.
35:
36:
37:
38: 1.2. Supported mainboards :-)
39:
40: The are some known problems on mainboards with VIA chipsets.
41:
42:
43:
44: 1.3. Buying the encoder card
45:
46: 1.3.1. Where to order
47:
48: Go to <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html">http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html</A> and fill out the
49: form. You will contacted by the sales office of BMK-Elektronik. They
50: will tell you how to pay and how they ship the board.
51:
52:
53:
54: 1.3.2. Why did they told me a higher price?
55:
56: Maybe you contacted BMK directly and asked for an MPEG-2 encoder? They
57: tell your their list price which is around 600$/EUR. This is the
58: Windows-user's price :-)
59: Please fill out the form <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html">http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html</A>
60: for 'correct' price.
61:
62:
63:
64: 1.3.3. Delivery time
65:
66: If it is very, very urgent(tm) then BMK can ship the card within
67: germany/europe(?) until the next day. But you'll be charged for extra
68: postage fees. [Can someone report how long it takes to China?]
69:
70:
71:
72: 1.4. Language
73:
74: 1.4.1 How do I pronounce KFir?
75: I think like 'kay-fir'.
76:
77: ================================================================
78:
79: 2. Installation
80:
81: 2.1. The driver software
82:
83: 2.1.1. Where can I download the driver?
84:
85: <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/">http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/</A>
86: Fetch the latest tar archive und unpack it.
87: After that you will need the microcode. Convergence can not include this
88: nessesary code due to license/copyright issues.
89:
90:
91:
92: 2.1.2. How do I use the cvs for the latest changes?
93:
94: cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv login
95: When prompted for a password for anonymous, simply press the Enter key.
96:
97: cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv co kfir
98:
99:
100:
101: 2.1.3. How do I obtain the microcode?
102:
103: Get
104: <A HREF="ftp://ftp.visiontech-dml.com/pub/Win9x/KFir/KFirAppVersion4.23/KFirApp4-23_9x.zip">ftp://ftp.visiontech-dml.com/pub/Win9x/KFir/KFirAppVersion4.23/KFirApp4-23_9x.zip</A>
105: Install it in MS-Windows 9x
106: and then copy the Makefile <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/Makefile">http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/Makefile</A> to
107: the kfir/driver/micro folder and change the value for your DOS partition
108: Or get the files from <A HREF="http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/Linux/KFir/MS_driver/">http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/~laird/Linux/KFir/MS_driver/</A>
109:
110:
111:
112: 2.1.4. Is the microcode ok?
113:
114: If everything works fine: yes. Otherwise check the included MD5-sums
115: against what you extracted.
116:
117:
118:
119: 2.1.5. My machine locks.
120:
121: Don't panic. It's normal :-)
122: Possible reasons are:
123: - the microcode is not where it has to be
124: - you have USB drivers loaded: disable modules and kernel drivers
125: - you have found a strange timing problem known to appear on VIA
126: chipsets: try another mainboard or computer
127:
128:
129:
130: 2.1.6. I get no output (filesize is zero)
131:
132: I did 'cat /dev/video0 > foobar.mpg' and foobar.mpg has zero bytes, even
133: after several seconds.
134:
135: Please check:
136: [ ] I am root
137: [ ] The harddisk is not even close to be full
138: [ ] I have connected the right video input with a known to be correct
139: video signal
140: [ ] I know that there is a difference between PAL and NTSC
141: [ ] /dev/video0 ist the Kfir card because I use neither a BTTV nor DVB card
142: [ ] I did only 'make insmod' and didn't pass any additional parameters
143: to the driver
144: [ ] The microcode is where it has to be; there are no errors while
145: loading the kfir.o
146:
147:
148:
149:
150: 2.1.7. What options can I pass to the driver?
151:
152: loaded=1 - Altera is already loaded with microcode, so donīt do it
153: again
154: (reloading takes time and can lock your machine!)
155:
156: vidinmode - vidimode=0 for PAL, 1 for NTSC, 2 for SECAM (default PAL)
157:
158: vidoutmode - vidoutmode=0 for NTSC, 1 for PAL (default PAL)
159:
160: vidsize - vidsize=(vertical_mode<<4)|horizontal_mode, cf. KfirCMD.h
161: e.g. vidsize=0x12 (=(KFIR_V_288<<4)|KFIR_H_352)
162: (0x12 is CIF, quarter of PAL, 0x26 for PAL, default is fullsize)
163:
164: vidrate - video bitrate (4500000 for 4.5 Mbit/s)
165:
166: vidinput - vidinput=0 for composite (default), vidinput=1 for
167: S-Video Y/C
168:
169: mpeg1mode - mpeg1mode=1 for MPEG1
170:
171: streamtype - streamtype=0..7 default is 3
172: 0: AUDIO_ES
173: 1: VIDEO_ES
174: 2: A_V_ES
175: 3: PROGRAM
176: 4: TRANSPORT
177: 5: PACKET_VES
178: 6: PACKET_AES
179: 7: KFIR_SYSTEM
180:
181: sndfreq - sndfreq=0..7 default is 7
182: (Values in kHz)
183: 0: 5_5125 = 0,
184: 1: 8_0000 = 1,
185: 2: 11_025 = 2,
186: 3: 16_000 = 3,
187: 4: 22_050 = 4,
188: 5: 32_000 = 5,
189: 6: 44_100 = 6,
190: 7: 48_000 = 7
191:
192:
193: 2.1.8 Can I encode MPEG-1
194:
195: Please follow the mailinglist thread
196: <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/mailinglists/mpeg2/msg00148.html">http://linuxtv.org/mailinglists/mpeg2/msg00148.html</A>
197:
198: 2.1.9 Which kernel version should I use?
199:
200: Use 2.4.x
201:
202:
203: 2.1.10 Why does the build process fail for me?
204:
205: Maybe you already have i2c and v4l linux stuff in your kernel
206: and on your system, which may interfere with the building
207: of the optional modules.
208: Uncomment the $(MX_OBJS) part in line 6 of driver/Makefile like this:
209: obj-m = $(M_OBJS) # $(MX_OBJS)
210:
1.4 stolk 211:
212: 2.1.11 Are there binary versions of the driver available?
213:
214: You can get a module for 2.4.18 with microcode from:
1.5 ! stolk 215: http://www.stolk.info/kfir/
! 216: Trailing slash in url is req'd!
1.4 stolk 217:
218: Containing these files:
219: lib/modules/2.4.18/misc/kfir.o
220: lib/modules/2.4.18/misc/saa7113.o
221: lib/kfir/MPEG1_6.HLD
222: lib/kfir/altera_keb_plx_5e.rbf
1.2 stolk 223:
224:
225: ================================================================
226:
227: 3. Technical details
228:
229: 3.1 Working with the encoded MPEG-2 material
230:
231: 3.1.1 What client is recommended?
232:
233: I recommend
234: vlc (www.videolan.org)
235: dvdview (see freshmeat.net)
236: hardware: the Siemens/Technotrend/Hauppauge DVB-S card with LinuxTV drivers.
237:
238:
239: 3.1.2 How do I multicast my favourite DVB channel in my LAN?
240:
241: see our multicast tools in <A HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mbone/">http://linuxtv.org/download/mbone/</A>
242: Usually:
243: cat /dev/video0 | anyserver 226.23.23.23 5004 128
244: receiver:
245: mkfifo stream ; receiver 226.23.23.23 5004 > stream & vlc stream
246:
247:
248: 3.1.3 What kind of streams are generated?
249:
250: For MPEG2, the default stream is composed as:
251: I BB P BB P BB P BB P BB
252:
253:
254: 3.1.4 How can I edit the mpeg streams?
255:
256: Kees Cook's GOPChop is an excellent choice.
257: See http://outflux.net/unix/software/GOPchop/
258: GOPChop works just fine with kfir generated streams.
259:
260:
261:
262:
263:
264: 3.2. Picture qualitity
265:
266:
267: 3.3. other measurements
268:
269: 3.3.1 What is the encoding latency?
270:
271: At default settings, I've meassured it to be appr one third of a second. (Bram Stolk)
272:
273:
274: 3.4. general hints for encoding
1.1 stolk 275:
276:
277:
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