pcHDTV ATSC OTA Cards For Linux

[stampeder]

A new version of the pcHDTV PCI card for Linux PCs is being released:

pcHDTVtm proudly announces the HD-5500 HDTV card for Linux as the successor to the highly acclaimed HD-3000 card!

Now available, this made for Linux HDTV card is now priced at only $129.00.

The acclaimed pcHDTVTM HD-2000 Hi Definition Television Card was the first digital television card to be produced specially for the Linux video hobbyist market using the Open Source multimedia player, Xine.

I tried to order an HD-5500 card but the page won't let anyone do that yet. Here's a Press Release:

May 1, 2006

For Immediate Release:

Supplies of the HD-3000 card have been exhausted, and components to manufacture more are no longer available. Based on the Oren chipset, the HD-3000 (designed for Linux) offered superior performance at an affordable price. Jack Kelliher, CEO of PCHDTV, INC, said, “We have been working on the successor to the HD-3000 for sometime, and are excited to announce the imminent release of the HD-5500 card. This new card offers some exciting improvements, including its low profile design. And, with our ever increasing volumes, we can offer it at even better pricing. We anticipate releasing the HD-5500 in late May.”

...and their products thankfully still do not support the Broadcast Flag!

http://www.pchdtv.com/

[andmalc]

Originally Posted by stampeder

A new version of the pcHDTV PCI card for Linux PCs is being released:
I tried to order an HD-5500 card but the page won't let anyone do that yet. Here's a Press Release:...and their products thankfully still do not support the Broadcast Flag!

http://www.pchdtv.com/

Looks like they can be ordered now. Note that the order page says the Canadian orders may be subject to $30 duty.

I'm thinking of getting one to go in a Linux-based media server for streaming TV to Windows and Linux clients. Never done this before so hoping this will work.

[stampeder]

Just ordered 2 of them!

[Knight]

Hi!

Originally Posted by stampeder

Just ordered 2 of them!

Did you get them and if so do you like them?

Thanks!

Nick

PS: Did you really have to pay $30 in duties in addition to the taxes (I assume they were talking of UPS brokerage fees???)

[stampeder]

They are a bit tough to install on kernels before 2.6.16 but with Fedora Core 5 I did okay. I'm still experimenting with using them in MythTV so its a bit early to tell.

[stampeder]

My only stumbling blocks now with OTA on Linux using the 2 new cards actually have nothing to do with the cards, the signals, or the programming:

1. the motherboard's SPDIF output, which I cannot seem to get to provide DD5.1 at this point. Not much info on the net about it but I'll keep playing around with the ALSA drivers and settings/configs.
2. using my RPTV as the monitor, I'm having a very difficult time getting the NVIDIA graphics card's xorg.conf set up properly for it.

Otherwise everything is great!

[Knight]

Hi!

Originally Posted by stampeder

Otherwise everything is great!

Thank you for keeping us updated about your progress... I'm still undecided as to whehter I should get that card or a Fusion HDTV 5 (looks like the current one has RT in its name?) so that's definitly good to know that this card seems to work well/as designed...

Only problem I can see is that this card only supports Linux (no BSD, no Windows, etc... which is fine for what I want to do with it for now but could change in the future...).

Thank you!

Nick

[biga]

Originally Posted by stampeder

My only stumbling blocks now with OTA on Linux using the 2 new cards actually have nothing to do with the cards, the signals, or the programming:

1. the motherboard's SPDIF output, which I cannot seem to get to provide DD5.1 at this point. Not much info on the net about it but I'll keep playing around with the ALSA drivers and settings/configs.
2. using my RPTV as the monitor, I'm having a very difficult time getting the NVIDIA graphics card's xorg.conf set up properly for it.

Otherwise everything is great!

Hi, how did you make out with this card and what cable provider did you use?

[stampeder]

Originally Posted by biga

Hi, how did you make out with this card and what cable provider did you use?

I haven't had time to play with them much so I can't give much of an update. I don't use them for cable. Click on my signature below.

[bobbinette]

Hi,
I see on the website about the HD-5500 card that there will be a 30$ custom fee to order this card to Canada. How much did you pay to order your 2 cards? Any bad surprises?

Also, is there any updates about their functionality. I'm not sure if I should order one of these or the FusionHDTV5 which is also known to be supported under Linux and it is cheaper (110 $CA including shipping on Ebay (+ possible custom)).

Thank you

[Knight]

Hi!

Originally Posted by bobbinette

I'm not sure if I should order one of these or the FusionHDTV5 which is also known to be supported under Linux and it is cheaper (110 $CA including shipping on Ebay (+ possible custom)).

If you go with the FusionHDTV5 you might wish to go with the non RT version..

I got the FusionHDTV5 RT Gold which I have not been able to use without picture stability problems and some weird sound (kinda like "hiss") coming out the sound card when I use it...

I am assuming it must be a driver issue but I haven't had time to investigate it further yet...

This was under Linux, under Windows (which I installed only temporarily on the same pc to test it), it seemed to work ok...

As for paying brokerage fees, the company I ordered it from in the US was supposed to ship it using USPS and actually shipped it UPS so it cost me $40-$45 in brokerage fees when it would have been only $5 with USPS/Canada Post...

I've tried contacting them and they never replied to any of my emails...

Have a nice day!

Nick

[stampeder]

I just checked and I saw a driver update for Fedora Core on http://www.pchdtv.com/ but as I mentioned earlier I haven't had time to play around with all my latest OTA gear. Check out the PCHDTV Forums there for great info. Some people are having really hard times configuring the HD-5500 cards.

[stampeder]

Yesterday I dabbled with the PCHDTV cards in my main Linux desktop - I run Mandriva 2007 x86_64 and so far no officially released kernels have had support, including the latest 2.6.17, so I tried a 2.6.17 multimedia kernel from Mandriva Cooker (their development branch) and the cards were both detected and configured properly. Unfortunately that unofficial kernel doesn't have support for my NVidia kernel modules so my graphics went wonky so I'm booting it back in my old configuration for now. I tried compiling the PCHDTV driver code for my present working kernel but had a bunch of compilation errors that I don't have time to debug.

I'm going to have to keep playing around with this if I ever have time.

[stampeder]

Pull in HDTV with Linux and the HD-5500

Wednesday January 03, 2007 (09:01 AM GMT)

By: Paul Virijevich
Linux.com

I've spent the past few years using an ATI TV Wonder analog video capture card running under Linux. Although this card has served me well, times and technology have been a'changin'. That's why I recently purchased a pcHDTV HD-5500 to see if HDTV was all it was hyped up to be. I can report that HDTV under Linux is not only possible, it's downright fantastic.

http://www.linux.com/article.pl?sid=06/12/19/1627229

[electrocutioner]

Anybody try to get this tuner under Linux?
I'm hoping to run it in mythtv using Ubuntu edgy.