[linux-dvb] Re: DVB Newbie

[Chris Pitchford <nova-t@intrepid.cx>]

I think we're doomed!

Just to recap, I had my Nova-t in my workstation, it worked intermittently
(by that I mean occasional errors in the TS streams that would appear as
momentary blips or smudges under mplayer). I then built a new, dedicated
machine, with fresh OS install and put the nova-t in there. I got random
gibberish with a little picture on most of the channels (infact all the
QAM16 multiplexes) and highly error prone streams on the rest. dvbstream
did not work.

Thats when I sent the last few emails

I then moved the dvb card back into my workstation where it worked as
before, ok..ish..

I then moved the root disks from this new box into my workstation and
booted from them, to make sure the drivers and applications etc were
correctly installed.. it worked.. thus proving the install was ok..

Then, even MORE irritatingly.. I put the disks back in this new machine,
along with the nova-t.. and it worked.. nnngggrrr!

So, although it still has high error rates (1 every 2-3 minutes that
appear visibly on screen or as a squeek), which is irritating in that
dvbtune reports a stronger signal and still does not report any
blockerrors when running in -m, the thing basically works.. dvbstream, for
example, is working again..

I know this is a lame suggestion, but have you tried the card in another
machine?
I changed nothing on the OS between it not working, moving into my
workstation and then moving back and finding it working.. I wish I could
replicate the problems I had last week so I could find exactly what I did
differently.

Also, I am more than prepared to give you a copy of the OS I'm using, its
slackware9.0 with some shell scripts to stream.. No X is installed, since
the box is going in the loft, but taking a copy of dvbstream's dumprtp and
ts2ps means you can play over the network... failing that, theres always
dump to disk.. perhaps this is something more for off list discussion..

One thing I will note, your signal seems higher, which I assume is good,
but your Verror is higher too.. I get values of about 11000 and 500
respectively..

Also there do seem to be 2 distinct problems with using the nova-t..

firstly you get incredibly unstable data, usually resulting in a stream
that will only partially play in mplayer... covered in colours and
squeeks..

secondly, you get occasional errors.. that sometimes get progressivly
worse until the first case occurs. This I've always had. Ive never been
able to capture a significant length of TV footage and not get an mpeg
error.. which is a pain when trying to use dvb-mplex to convert to MPEG2
files and the audio will be minutes out of sync after half an hour, but I
don't see this getting any better any time soon as it hasn't really
improved since I started playing with the dvb stuff over a year ago.
However I think you're suffering from the first case I think can be
rectified.. and if I can help I'm more than pleased to..

Cheers

cp


On 24 Jun 2003, --[ UxBoD ]-- wrote:

> Hi Chris :
>
> I have even reinstalled my machine and still get the same problem.
> Streams and then gets corrupted with the libmpeg2 error. Here is my
> dvbtune output :
>
> Signal=12593, Verror=997, SNR=53199dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1024, SNR=52428dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1022, SNR=54227dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1091, SNR=52942dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=972, SNR=52942dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=970, SNR=53456dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=994, SNR=53713dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=979, SNR=53456dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1050, SNR=53456dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1051, SNR=53713dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1065, SNR=52428dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1068, SNR=52942dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1107, SNR=53199dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1064, SNR=53713dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1135, SNR=52685dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1184, SNR=52685dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1189, SNR=53199dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> Signal=12593, Verror=1255, SNR=53456dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
>
> root@slider dvbtune # ./dvbtune -f 641833 -ps 600 601
> Using DVB card "Grundig 29504-401"
> tuning DVB-T (in United Kingdom) to 641833000 Hz
> polling....
> Getting frontend event
> FE_STATUS: FE_HAS_SIGNAL FE_HAS_LOCK FE_HAS_CARRIER FE_HAS_VITERBI
> FE_HAS_SYNC
> Bit error rate: 1030
> Signal strength: 12593
> SNR: 53456
> FE_STATUS: FE_HAS_SIGNAL FE_HAS_LOCK FE_HAS_CARRIER FE_HAS_VITERBI
> FE_HAS_SYNC
> root@slider dvbtune #
>
>
> I really wish I could get this working ... starting to think it may have
> been a bad purchase :(
>
>
> On Thu, 2003-06-19 at 14:09, Chris Pitchford wrote:
> > Ive got two examples of mpg files made with dvb-mplex c4 (non qam16) and
> > bbc1 (is qam16)
> >
> > http://chris.intrepid.cx/dvbresult/
> >
> > from the start the bbc1.mpg file is corrupt and noisy, the c4.mpg file
> > (after a few hundred meg) will become just as bad.. .but initially (as
> > visible in the c4.mpg file) it looks ok..
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > cp
> >
> > On Thu, 19 Jun 2003, Chris Pitchford wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > I hope you dont mind me reposting to the list, Paul..
> > >
> > > I actually don't have a monitor on the that has the dvb card in it.. all
> > > the TV is played back across the lan. My laptop is my prefered playback
> > > computer, and I've not (though I REALLY should) touched mplayer or most of
> > > the other software on the box for a good while (6 months or so)
> > >
> > > Its not just mplayer thats causing the problem..
> > >
> > > I'm using the Crystal Palace transmitter in the UK, and I've actually just
> > > moved house about 1.5miles nearer, its about 3 miles from my house and I
> > > have a straight road to the transmitter, perfect for line of sight! :)
> > >
> > > More investigation has shown two things:
> > >
> > > Firstly, using :
> > >
> > > tzap -r CHANNEL4 &
> > > cat /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 > c4.ts
> > > dvb-mplex -t MPEG2 -p 2828 -q 2827 -o c4.mpg -i TS_STREAM c4.ts
> > >
> > > will result in a good MPG file I can play with xine or mplayer.. BUT there
> > > are errors after a few minutes.. infact the longer I leave the "cat"
> > > command running, the more likely dvb-mplex will fail. Using ts2ps to play
> > > the ts stream into mplayer again works for a few minutes then errors
> > > appear and get progressively worse until mplayer dies.
> > >
> > > tzap -r "BBC ONE" &
> > > cat /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 > bbc1.ts
> > > dvb-mplex -t MPEG2 -p 601 -q 600 -o bbc1.mpg -i TS_STREAM bbc1.ts
> > >
> > > will result in gibberish, infact dvb-mplex occasionally drops to the
> > > prompt with or sometimes without errors:
> > > A 10 second grab of video just now resulted in
> > >
> > >   Scanning audio stream for access units information
> > > Error in MPEG stream at offset (bits) 2232653: supposed marker bit not found.
> > >
> > > Another test just now resulted in:
> > >
> > >   Multiplexing file test.file.mpg
> > >     video PTS (3497.00ms) underflow at pack 1051 by 25.94ms
> > >     video PTS (3577.00ms) underflow at pack 1078 by 28.50ms
> > >     video PTS (3617.00ms) underflow at pack 1085 by 9.91ms
> > >     video PTS (3697.00ms) underflow at pack 1121 by 40.00ms
> > >     video PTS (3737.00ms) underflow at pack 1128 by 21.41ms
> > >     video PTS (6017.00ms) underflow at pack 1881 by 44.16ms
> > >     video PTS (6057.00ms) underflow at pack 1895 by 46.98ms
> > >     video PTS (7057.00ms) underflow at pack 2237 by 105.08ms
> > >     video PTS (7097.00ms) underflow at pack 2244 by 86.49ms
> > >     video PTS (7057.00ms) underflow at pack 2263 by 184.59ms
> > >     video PTS (7097.00ms) underflow at pack 2271 by 169.06ms
> > >     video PTS (7977.00ms) underflow at pack 2505 by 4.65ms
> > >     video PTS (8097.00ms) underflow at pack 2546 by 10.03ms
> > >     video PTS (8137.00ms) underflow at pack 2558 by 6.73ms
> > >     video PTS (8097.00ms) underflow at pack 2578 by 107.89ms
> > >     video PTS (8137.00ms) underflow at pack 2587 by 95.42ms
> > >     video PTS (9897.00ms) underflow at pack 3135 by 11.26ms
> > >     video PTS (9977.00ms) underflow at pack 3172 by 44.41ms
> > >     video PTS (10017.00ms) underflow at pack 3185 by 44.16ms
> > >     video PTS (9977.00ms) underflow at pack 3207 by 151.44ms
> > >     video PTS (10017.00ms) underflow at pack 3213 by 129.79ms
> > >     video PTS (13137.00ms) underflow at pack 4186 by 12.85ms
> > >     video PTS (13177.00ms) underflow at pack 4197 by 6.49ms
> > >     video PTS (13137.00ms) underflow at pack 4216 by 104.59ms
> > >     video PTS (13177.00ms) underflow at pack 4223 by 86.00ms
> > >     25 video underflows (SCR >= PTS or DTS)
> > >
> > > ts2ps | mplayer produces 100% bad result..
> > >
> > > I know BBC1 is a QAM16 channel.. whereas Chan4 isn't.. Ive tried dvbtune's
> > > scan_uk-t.sh script and it fails to see anything on the qam16
> > > multiplexes..
> > >
> > > dvbtune has not yet reported block errors, I've even reduced the delay
> > > between samples to see if I can spot an error, but no..
> > >
> > > Also dvbstream really does not seem to work, even on channel 4. It
> > > produces equally bad streams for any of the channels.. The problem is, I
> > > have a simple set of shell scripts I have used since about october last
> > > year and they have not changed.. they did work.. but now produce these
> > > corrupted results.. I previously did nothing more than call dvbstream -o
> > > -f<freq> <pid> <pid> with the -qam 16 -cr 3_4 for the qam16 mplexes..
> > >
> > > This should be the most basic way to view the video..
> > >
> > > Has work stopped on dvbstream and modifications to the driver now made it
> > > incompatible?
> > >
> > > Also, should I try running 2.5? On the ftp site it mentions that the
> > > saa7146 code is being rewritten for 2.5 then being back ported to 2.4 when
> > > proven stable. Is this now old news and the new re-written version been
> > > merged in?
> > >
> > > Does anyone know of any other things that might need adjusting in a system
> > > to get the card to work? such as IO-Apic which is active on this machine
> > > (its a single cpu p4)? Ive tried moving the dvb-t card between slots
> > > (there are only three in the system, the graphics card is on board (and
> > > not used)
> > >
> > > Ive also tried piping the data across the network in a tcp stream incase
> > > the disk io was causing the problem but the results were the same.
> > >
> > > Does anyone know of any reason why the QAM16 channels would be so bad in
> > > comparison to the regular multiplex which gets progressively worse the
> > > longer the capture/playback?
> > >
> > > Its all a bit confusing, especially since it worked almost perfectly at my
> > > last address (but admittedly in a different computer, with an ancient OS
> > > install of slackware 8.0)
> > >
> > > Cheers
> > >
> > > cp
> > >
> > > On 19 Jun 2003, Paul Andreassen wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi, I'm a newbie too, so don't complain if I'm completely of track.
> > > >
> > > > >>From the dvdtune and tzap output it looks like your card is working
> > > > fine.  My guess is mplayer is broken.  Try xine (or sinek) instead.  And
> > > > also try saving a stream to your hard drive, stopping the DVB drivers
> > > > and playing it back.  This should tell you if its the drivers or not.
> > > >
> > > > Paul
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, 2003-06-19 at 11:39, Chris Pitchford wrote:
> > > > > Hi all,
> > > > >
> > > > > I was just wondering how things were progressing on this problem..
> > > > >
> > > > > Ive just reinstalled my machine after moving house and with the latest cvs
> > > > > snapshots of the linux-tv driver, dvbtune, dvbstream and libdvb I cannot
> > > > > get dvbstream to work using my old script. From the first frame rendered
> > > > > by mplayer (which has not been upgraded, it runs on a laptop) the image is
> > > > > corrupt with squeeking audio. Very different to my last experience at my
> > > > > old address about 3 months ago.
> > > > >
> > > > > Anyway, I have tried using tzap to tune and cat dvr0 to get the ts stream
> > > > > out and it does indeed work much better.. however, and this has been the
> > > > > problem more or less from day one when I get my Nova-t last year, the
> > > > > longer I leave the card running the greater the number of errors that will
> > > > > occur until (after about 5 minutes) mplayer will die
> > > > >
> > > > > Running dvbtune -m occasionally shows blockerrors of +1 for the first line
> > > > > when starting, but other than that its constant at zero..:
> > > > >
> > > > > Signal=11051, Verror=491, SNR=53199dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> > > > > Signal=11051, Verror=494, SNR=53713dB, BlockErrors=0, (S|L|C|V|SY|)
> > > > >
> > > > > As I copied those lines, mplayer was flickering and "squeeking" quite
> > > > > impressively! Ive seen errors caused in the stream when BlockErrors is not
> > > > > zero, but now its constantly zero yet these errors become more and more
> > > > > frequant as the minutes pass..
> > > > >
> > > > > I seem to be in the same boat and was wondering.. ah mplayer just died..
> > > > >
> > > > > @@@ libmpeg2 returned from sig11... (bad file?) @@@
> > > > > A:18448.2 V:18448.2 A-V:  0.051 ct: -0.023  4127/4127  13% 15%  6.4% 0 0 0%
> > > > > Broken frame at 0x3CCF30
> > > > > A:18448.5 V:18449.1 A-V: -0.596 ct: -0.052  4151/4151  13% 15%  6.4% 0 0 0%
> > > > > Successfully enabled DPMS
> > > > >
> > > > > .. was wondering if anyone had any idea why the card seems to gain
> > > > > errors.. If it was a signal strenth problem surely it would be from the
> > > > > moment mplayer started.. not good for 3 or 4 minutes, bad for another 2
> > > > > then fatal 2 or 3 after that?  Is this something to do with the tuner?
> > > > > possibly wondering off "lock"?
> > > > >
> > > > > Here's the first few lines from when tzap is started
> > > > > # ./tzap -r CHANNEL4
> > > > > using '/dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0' and '/dev/dvb/adapter0/demux0'
> > > > > tuning to 481833333 Hz
> > > > > status 0d | signal 2b2b | snr d2d2 | ber 0000ffff | unc 0000000b |
> > > > > status 1f | signal 2b2b | snr d0d0 | ber 000001f7 | unc 00000000 | FE_HAS_LOCK
> > > > > status 1f | signal 2b2b | snr cece | ber 000001f4 | unc 00000000 | FE_HAS_LOCK
> > > > > status 1f | signal 2b2b | snr d1d1 | ber 000001f1 | unc 00000000 | FE_HAS_LOCK
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > I was wondering if there was something I could tweak or look at. Could it
> > > > > be faulty hardware? i'm using a standard Nova-t and really haven't had
> > > > > sustaineed luck with it. It works for periods then these errors creep in..
> > > > >
> > > > > Any help would be greatly appreciated
> > > > >
> > > > > Cheers
> > > > >
> > > > > cp
> > > > >
> > > > > On 8 Jun 2003, --[ UxBoD ]-- wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > > Okay getting a little better now - but I have noticed that when mplayer bails on me
> > > > > > > this is what is showing :
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > @@@ libmpeg2 returned from sig11... (bad file?) @@@40  10%  5%  0.8% 0 0 9%%
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Any idea what causes this? would a dedicated MPEG card help this?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > --
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > // --[ UxBoD ]-- // 2.4.20-gentoo-r5 // Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz //
> > > > > > > // gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys 56ED1CB5 //
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> --
>
> // --[ UxBoD ]-- // 2.4.20-gentoo-r5 // Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.53GHz //
> // gpg --keyserver wwwkeys.pgp.net --recv-keys 56ED1CB5 //
>
>



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