Installing PCI-E cards - in particular a DVB TBS 6220

[Fitzy]

Being new to Linux, I am experimenting with LMDE and am thrilled to finally be learning a new OS.

I am fed up with the obesity of Windows and it's consequential extreme power usage and am attempting to build an HTPC on a 2006/7 HP Compaq dc5850 Small Form Factor with 4GB RAM an AMD Athlon Dual Core Processor 4450B, 2300 MHz., and ATI Radeon 3100 graphics.

Please could someone guide me on how to identify which drivers have been installed by LMDE for my hardware and how I install the Manufacturers' Linux drivers? I am very at ease with Windows, so please forgive any incorrect terminology with respect to Linux.

I have read the "README" notes that accompany the download/install CD but am unsure how to successfully navigate around the directory structure especially 'root', copy over the .tar.gz files and ?un-zip? ?un-tar?, install the new drivers, and check that my efforts have succeeded!

Quite obviously the newbie, I really would appreciate all 'tips and tricks', best practices etc. In fact, this is also my first ever post on a Forum also, and being quite a veteran of the internet, it shows how excited I am about Linux. I do love a new hobby!

Thanks everyone.

[esteban1uy]

Welcome to Linux Mint!

Let's start.
Which "flavor" of LMDE have you installed (MATE/Cinnamon or XFCE)?
Look at your start menu for an entry named "System Profiler and Benchmark", click it and let it load. There you'll find a lot of info about your system (detected devices, loaded modules, etc.).
Next thing: do you really need a manufacturer's driver?
If your system is up and running, and every device in it is properly working, you don't have to install anything else.
Linux users coming from Windows have a tendency to think that the best possible drivers are those created by the device manufacturers and not the OS defaults, and in many cases it's the contrary.
If you notice that something in your system is not working as it should, first come here to the forums and do a search, or ask for assistance, because there's a chance someone else had to deal with that problem too and found a solution.

Ok. Now the TBS 6220 driver installation.
Here you can find some info from the guys of ubuntuforums: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1821525
And if you can read in Spanish, here some info about installing TBS in Debian systems: http://www.sergiodanielg.com.ar/2012/02/compilando-drivers-tbs-la-debian.html



PS: Sorry for my English.

[Fitzy]

Thank you Esteban1uy!

Your reply has been really helpful and I really appreciate it.

I've followed your advice and have made many steps forward (and almost, but not quite so many backwards..)

I ended up returning and replacing my PCI-E card for a USB device, but did my Linux research first, and as you advised, so far the built in drivers seem to be working. I'm trying to figure out Myth TV configuration at the moment, and struggling with Linux's seemingly poor ability to cope with H264 video in comparison to Windows on the same hardware. This is very disappointing, as Linux has really grown on me.

I have tried two laptops and one pc (all HP) that deliver perfect video via Windows, but all of which 'stagger' the video under Linux.

Anyway thank you sincerely again for your help.

[esteban1uy]

Glad to have been of help.
About the H264 problem... did you try VLC?
You must remember that VLC is not just a video player, but also a great streaming application so you can capture video to a file, stream it to a remote machine, or a device in your lan, etc., etc., etc...
If your capture device can be "viewed" thru VLC, you can do really amazing things.

[gosa]

Glad to have been of help.
About the H264 problem... did you try VLC?
You must remember that VLC is not just a video player, but also a great streaming application so you can capture video to a file, stream it to a remote machine, or a device in your lan, etc., etc., etc...
If your capture device can be "viewed" thru VLC, you can do really amazing things.

This thing with using VLC for watching tv is something "que tengo apuntado" on the the todo-list, it's just that I've yet to find the time for it...
- Would you happen to be able to point me in the right direction with regards to guides for making that happen? (Scanning for channels, recording and such)

(No importa si es en Ingles o Español...)

Thanks in advance,
/gosa

[esteban1uy]

Take a look at this: http://www.videolan.org/doc/streaming-howto/en/
To watch a video from a decoding/capture device, just go to your VLC "Media" menu and look for "Open capture device":

[Fitzy]

Once again thank you esteban1y.

I really admire the guys at VLC. I find x264 to be by far the best H264 encoder that there is, and I shall definitely also look into streaming via VLC player.

I have a very nagging question remaining about H264 on Linux and video performance generally. For example, as I was saying before, H264 playback is very choppy on all three hardware platforms that I have tried Linux on, whereas when Windows is installed it is perfect. Is there an 'idiots guide' to hardware/graphics for Linux Mint that someone could point me to? Should I post a new question instead? (By the way, I am currently running Linux Mint 12 - Lisa 32bit Gnome/Mate - think that I may return to LMDE XFCE).

I really am frustrated, as I am sure that Linux can do an equal job presenting video, and what's more, I already much prefer Linux, and don't want to have to go back to Windows!

Many thanks.

[esteban1uy]

Should I post a new question instead?

Definitely!

By the way... are you sure you're not confusing choppy video (due to decoding problems) with video tearing (bad frame syncing)?