--- /dev/null
+
+ivtv release notes
+==================
+
+This is a v4l2 device driver for the Conexant cx23415/6 MPEG encoder/decoder.
+The cx23415 can do both encoding and decoding, the cx23416 can only do MPEG
+encoding. Currently the only card featuring full decoding support is the
+Hauppauge PVR-350.
+
+NOTE: this driver requires the latest encoder firmware (version 2.06.039, size
+376836 bytes). Get the firmware from here:
+
+http://dl.ivtvdriver.org/ivtv/firmware/firmware.tar.gz
+
+NOTE: 'normal' TV applications do not work with this driver, you need
+an application that can handle MPEG input such as mplayer, xine, MythTV,
+etc.
+
+The primary goal of the IVTV project is to provide a "clean room" Linux
+Open Source driver implementation for video capture cards based on the
+iCompression iTVC15 or Conexant CX23415/CX23416 MPEG Codec.
+
+Features:
+ * Hardware mpeg2 capture of broadcast video (and sound) via the tuner or
+ S-Video/Composite and audio line-in.
+ * Hardware mpeg2 capture of FM radio where hardware support exists
+ * Supports NTSC, PAL, SECAM with stereo sound
+ * Supports SAP and bilingual transmissions.
+ * Supports raw VBI (closed captions and teletext).
+ * Supports sliced VBI (closed captions and teletext) and is able to insert
+ this into the captured MPEG stream.
+ * Supports raw YUV and PCM input.
+
+Additional features for the PVR-350 (CX23415 based):
+ * Provides hardware mpeg2 playback
+ * Provides comprehensive OSD (On Screen Display: ie. graphics overlaying the
+ video signal)
+ * Provides a framebuffer (allowing X applications to appear on the video
+ device) (this framebuffer is not yet part of the kernel. In the meantime it
+ is available from www.ivtvdriver.org).
+ * Supports raw YUV output.
+
+IMPORTANT: In case of problems first read this page:
+ http://www.ivtvdriver.org/index.php/Troubleshooting
+
+See also:
+
+Homepage + Wiki
+http://www.ivtvdriver.org
+
+IRC
+irc://irc.freenode.net/ivtv-dev
+
+----------------------------------------------------------
+
+Devices
+=======
+
+A maximum of 12 ivtv boards are allowed at the moment.
+
+Cards that don't have a video output capability (i.e. non PVR350 cards)
+lack the vbi8, vbi16, video16 and video48 devices. They also do not
+support the framebuffer device /dev/fbx for OSD.
+
+The radio0 device may or may not be present, depending on whether the
+card has a radio tuner or not.
+
+Here is a list of the base v4l devices:
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 0 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/video0
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 16 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/video16
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 24 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/video24
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 32 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/video32
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 48 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/video48
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 64 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/radio0
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 224 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/vbi0
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 228 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/vbi8
+crw-rw---- 1 root video 81, 232 Jun 19 22:22 /dev/vbi16
+
+Base devices
+============
+
+For every extra card you have the numbers increased by one. For example,
+/dev/video0 is listed as the 'base' encoding capture device so we have:
+
+ /dev/video0 is the encoding capture device for the first card (card 0)
+ /dev/video1 is the encoding capture device for the second card (card 1)
+ /dev/video2 is the encoding capture device for the third card (card 2)
+
+Note that if the first card doesn't have a feature (eg no decoder, so no
+video16, the second card will still use video17. The simple rule is 'add
+the card number to the base device number'. If you have other capture
+cards (e.g. WinTV PCI) that are detected first, then you have to tell
+the ivtv module about it so that it will start counting at 1 (or 2, or
+whatever). Otherwise the device numbers can get confusing. The ivtv
+'ivtv_first_minor' module option can be used for that.
+
+
+/dev/video0
+The encoding capture device(s).
+Read-only.
+
+Reading from this device gets you the MPEG1/2 program stream.
+Example:
+
+cat /dev/video0 > my.mpg (you need to hit ctrl-c to exit)
+
+
+/dev/video16
+The decoder output device(s)
+Write-only. Only present if the MPEG decoder (i.e. CX23415) exists.
+
+An mpeg2 stream sent to this device will appear on the selected video
+display, audio will appear on the line-out/audio out. It is only
+available for cards that support video out. Example:
+
+cat my.mpg >/dev/video16
+
+
+/dev/video24
+The raw audio capture device(s).
+Read-only
+
+The raw audio PCM stereo stream from the currently selected
+tuner or audio line-in. Reading from this device results in a raw
+(signed 16 bit Little Endian, 48000 Hz, stereo pcm) capture.
+This device only captures audio. This should be replaced by an ALSA
+device in the future.
+Note that there is no corresponding raw audio output device, this is
+not supported in the decoder firmware.
+
+
+/dev/video32
+The raw video capture device(s)
+Read-only
+
+The raw YUV video output from the current video input. The YUV format
+is non-standard (V4L2_PIX_FMT_HM12).
+
+Note that the YUV and PCM streams are not synchronized, so they are of
+limited use.
+
+
+/dev/video48
+The raw video display device(s)
+Write-only. Only present if the MPEG decoder (i.e. CX23415) exists.
+
+Writes a YUV stream to the decoder of the card.
+
+
+/dev/radio0
+The radio tuner device(s)
+Cannot be read or written.
+
+Used to enable the radio tuner and tune to a frequency. You cannot
+read or write audio streams with this device. Once you use this
+device to tune the radio, use /dev/video24 to read the raw pcm stream
+or /dev/video0 to get an mpeg2 stream with black video.
+
+
+/dev/vbi0
+The 'vertical blank interval' (Teletext, CC, WSS etc) capture device(s)
+Read-only
+
+Captures the raw (or sliced) video data sent during the Vertical Blank
+Interval. This data is used to encode teletext, closed captions, VPS,
+widescreen signalling, electronic program guide information, and other
+services.
+
+
+/dev/vbi8
+Processed vbi feedback device(s)
+Read-only. Only present if the MPEG decoder (i.e. CX23415) exists.
+
+The sliced VBI data embedded in an MPEG stream is reproduced on this
+device. So while playing back a recording on /dev/video16, you can
+read the embedded VBI data from /dev/vbi8.
+
+
+/dev/vbi16
+The vbi 'display' device(s)
+Write-only. Only present if the MPEG decoder (i.e. CX23415) exists.
+
+Can be used to send sliced VBI data to the video-out connector.
+
+---------------------------------
+
+Hans Verkuil <hverkuil@xs4all.nl>
projects / linux-2.6 / commitdiff