[mpeg2] BMK-kfir FAQ v1.5

[Bram Stolk <bram@sara.nl>]

// $Source: /cvs/linuxtv/kfir/FAQ,v $
// $Revision: 1.5 $
//
// $Log: FAQ,v $
// Revision 1.5  2002/08/15 11:06:07  stolk
// fixed url
//
// Revision 1.4  2002/08/12 13:27:09  stolk
// Added Q 2.1.11
//
// Revision 1.3  2002/08/09 21:40:32  stolk
// Added Frank Rosengart's FAQs from apr'02
//


[FAQ for BMK kfir started by Frank Rosengart on the MPEG mailinglist.
 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]


0. Meta info

0.1. Where can I get an up to date version of this FAQ list?

It is in linuxtv.org's CVS repository at linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv in the file
'kfir/FAQ'.


1. General questions

1.1. Supported cards

There is only one card supported by the Kfir driver: The 
LinuxTV-Encoder-Card manufactured by BMK-Elektronik (Germany).
The Hauppauge WinTV-PVR use the Kfir-1 chip but this card *is not 
supported* !
The Kfir-2(a) chip mentioned on the Visiontech homepage *is not supported*.



1.2. Supported mainboards :-)

The are some known problems on mainboards with VIA chipsets.



1.3. Buying the encoder card

1.3.1. Where to order

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 
form. You will contacted by the sales office of BMK-Elektronik. They 
will tell you how to pay and how they ship the board.



1.3.2. Why did they told me a higher price?

Maybe you contacted BMK directly and asked for an MPEG-2 encoder? They 
tell your their list price which is around 600$/EUR. This is the 
Windows-user's price :-)
Please fill out the form <A  HREF="http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html";>http://linuxtv.org/mpeg2/kfir-bestell-en.html</A> 
for 'correct' price.



1.3.3. Delivery time

If it is very, very urgent(tm) then BMK can ship the card within 
germany/europe(?) until the next day. But you'll be charged for extra 
postage fees. [Can someone report how long it takes to China?]



1.4. Language

1.4.1 How do I pronounce KFir?
I think like 'kay-fir'.

================================================================

2. Installation

2.1. The driver software

2.1.1. Where can I download the driver?

<A  HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/";>http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/</A>
Fetch the latest tar archive und unpack it.
After that you will need the microcode. Convergence can not include this 
nessesary code due to license/copyright issues.



2.1.2. How do I use the cvs for the latest changes?

cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv login
When prompted for a password for anonymous, simply press the Enter key.

cvs -d :pserver:anonymous@linuxtv.org:/cvs/linuxtv co kfir



2.1.3. How do I obtain the microcode?

Get 
<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>
Install it in MS-Windows 9x
and then copy the Makefile <A  HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/Makefile";>http://linuxtv.org/download/mpeg2/Makefile</A> to 
the kfir/driver/micro folder and change the value for your DOS partition
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>



2.1.4. Is the microcode ok?

If everything works fine: yes. Otherwise check the included MD5-sums 
against what you extracted.



2.1.5. My machine locks.

Don't panic. It's normal :-)
Possible reasons are:
- the microcode is not where it has to be
- you have USB drivers loaded: disable modules and kernel drivers
- you have found a strange timing problem known to appear on VIA 
chipsets: try another mainboard or computer



2.1.6. I get no output (filesize is zero)

I did 'cat /dev/video0 &gt; foobar.mpg' and foobar.mpg has zero bytes, even 
after several seconds.

Please check:
[ ] I am root
[ ] The harddisk is not even close to be full
[ ] I have connected the right video input with a known to be correct 
video signal
[ ] I know that there is a difference between PAL and NTSC
[ ] /dev/video0 ist the Kfir card because I use neither a BTTV nor DVB card
[ ] I did only 'make insmod' and didn't pass any additional parameters 
to the driver
[ ] The microcode is where it has to be; there are no errors while 
loading the kfir.o




2.1.7. What options can I pass to the driver?

loaded=1      - Altera is already loaded with microcode, so donīt do it 
again
                (reloading takes time and can lock your machine!)

vidinmode    - vidimode=0  for PAL, 1 for NTSC, 2 for SECAM (default PAL)

vidoutmode   - vidoutmode=0 for NTSC, 1 for PAL (default PAL)

vidsize      - vidsize=(vertical_mode&lt;&lt;4)|horizontal_mode,  cf. KfirCMD.h
                e.g. vidsize=0x12 (=(KFIR_V_288&lt;&lt;4)|KFIR_H_352)
               (0x12 is CIF, quarter of PAL, 0x26 for PAL, default is fullsize)

vidrate      - video bitrate (4500000 for 4.5 Mbit/s)

vidinput     - vidinput=0 for composite (default), vidinput=1 for 
S-Video Y/C

mpeg1mode    - mpeg1mode=1 for MPEG1

streamtype   - streamtype=0..7 default is 3
   0: AUDIO_ES
   1: VIDEO_ES
   2: A_V_ES
   3: PROGRAM
   4: TRANSPORT
   5: PACKET_VES
   6: PACKET_AES
   7: KFIR_SYSTEM

sndfreq      - sndfreq=0..7 default is 7
   (Values in kHz)
   0: 5_5125 = 0,
   1: 8_0000 = 1,
   2: 11_025 = 2,
   3: 16_000 = 3,
   4: 22_050 = 4,
   5: 32_000 = 5,
   6: 44_100 = 6,
   7: 48_000 = 7


2.1.8 Can I encode MPEG-1

Please follow the mailinglist thread 
<A  HREF="http://linuxtv.org/mailinglists/mpeg2/msg00148.html";>http://linuxtv.org/mailinglists/mpeg2/msg00148.html</A>

2.1.9 Which kernel version should I use?

Use 2.4.x


2.1.10 Why does the build process fail for me?

Maybe you already have i2c and v4l linux stuff in your kernel
and on your system, which may interfere with the building
of the optional modules.
Uncomment the $(MX_OBJS) part in line 6 of driver/Makefile like this:
obj-m        = $(M_OBJS) # $(MX_OBJS)


2.1.11 Are there binary versions of the driver available?

You can get a module for 2.4.18 with microcode from:
http://www.stolk.info/kfir/
Trailing slash in url is req'd!

Containing these files:
lib/modules/2.4.18/misc/kfir.o
lib/modules/2.4.18/misc/saa7113.o
lib/kfir/MPEG1_6.HLD
lib/kfir/altera_keb_plx_5e.rbf


================================================================

3. Technical details

3.1 Working with the encoded MPEG-2 material

3.1.1 What client is recommended?

I recommend
vlc (www.videolan.org)
dvdview (see freshmeat.net)
hardware: the Siemens/Technotrend/Hauppauge DVB-S card with LinuxTV drivers.


3.1.2 How do I multicast my favourite DVB channel in my LAN?

see our multicast tools in <A  HREF="http://linuxtv.org/download/mbone/";>http://linuxtv.org/download/mbone/</A>
Usually:
cat /dev/video0 | anyserver 226.23.23.23 5004 128
receiver:
mkfifo stream ; receiver 226.23.23.23 5004 &gt; stream &amp; vlc stream


3.1.3 What kind of streams are generated?

For MPEG2, the default stream is composed as:
I BB P BB P BB P BB P BB


3.1.4 How can I edit the mpeg streams?

Kees Cook's GOPChop is an excellent choice.
See http://outflux.net/unix/software/GOPchop/
GOPChop works just fine with kfir generated streams.





3.2. Picture qualitity


3.3. other measurements

3.3.1 What is the encoding latency?

At default settings, I've meassured it to be appr one third of a second. (Bram Stolk)


3.4. general hints for encoding


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bram Stolk, VR Specialist.
 SARA Academic Computing Services Amsterdam, PO Box 94613, 1090 GP  AMSTERDAM
 email: bram@sara.nl   Phone +31-20-5923059  Fax +31-20-6683167

 "I heard if you play the NT-4.0-CD backwards, you get a satanic message."
 "Thats nothing, if you play it forward, it installs NT-4.0"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------