Linux on the Real User's Desktop: TV Tuners

Continuing with the experiment to run Linux as much as possible at home, I ran into something that I had completely overlooked when thinking about the "media center" applications: the actual TV tuner! Having a home theater PC isn't quite as much use without a tuner.

I've discovered that setting up the tuner is one of the most frustrating aspects of the entire system configuration. The whole process is beyond arcane, and it reminds me of similar issues I went through with things like wi-fi about 5 years ago. (That, by the way, was the reason I ditched Linux back then.)

I understand that for the majority of users, TV capture is not part of everyday life. I'm on the other end of that spectrum. The kids and I have a couple shows each that we all like to watch, and they're not on when we're home, so no DVR = a very unhappy home.

I've been struggling with my USB stick tuner for much of the morning. All indications are that this is a Pinnacle PCTV 800e. (We know how difficult it can be to determine the true name of any piece of hardware at times.) Anyway, my experience over the past year is that this is a really reliable little gadget under Windows.

Under Linux? I didn't know where to begin. I read. I downloaded. I compiled. I did a zillion things, only to find out that driver support for the device is already set up in Karmic (that's Ubuntu 9.10). Yeah, that part works, and I checked it with lsusb to confirm that it's there.

So the next step is to scan for channels. I tried scan and w_scan, and neither were able to get the tuner to successfully scan for channels. I also tried loading a ton of the sample channel configs, with the same level of success.

It occurs to me that, after reading a lot of forums, these USB tuners may not be the best suited for the kind of setup I'm aiming for. Under normal circumstances, I would do the legwork of getting this thing working, but I don't have the time I'd normally like to devote to this task. Also, the point of this experiment is to make Linux an easy experience that the average user can partake in. So... I'm abandoning the USB tuner unless someone can come up with an easy way to get this thing working.

I've been looking for a new one anyway, but I'm also locked out of the PCI-Express tuners (which are VERY common) because my HTPC is too antiquated to have a PCI-E slot. So my next step is to hunt down a suitable, dual-tuner PCI Hauppauge card (which from what I've seen, is the best supported of the kind) and try again.

Stay tuned.

As an aside, I found that the Windows 7 Media Center records in a new file format called .wtv which isn't recognized by XBMC (or many other UPnP clients). However, there's a nifty utility in the C:\Windows\ehome folder called WTVConverter.exe that will convert those files back to the old .dvr-ms files that everything plays nice with.

This is good news for my son, as he can once again watch all the shows from the DVR up in his bedroom.