Subject: Any *FIRST HAND* use of Linux Boxes to source MBone video ?

From: Piete Brooks <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 15:11:51 +0000

We have a very old and slow dec3000/300lx running osf1_3.2D with a J300 board 
which we use to transmit our Security Seminars (using nv, as it won't work 
unver vic) which we'd like to replace with a linux box and frame grabber.

A member of the dept bought a Matrox Millenium so that they could source 
video, but so far they've been unable to get it to work as Matrox will not 
release the necessary info to write a Linux driver :-(((

SO: is anyone using a Linux box to transmit video to the MBone using available
    hardware and an external video source (Quick Cam is not sifficient !) ?
    If so, PLEASE let me know !

---

From: Petri Helenius <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 18:22:06 +0200 (EET)

> release the necessary info to write a Linux driver :-(((

Matrox Millenium is a display board, you don't get it to source video
even if you would have all the information on the card. So I assume
you must be talking about Matrox Meteor.
 >     If so, PLEASE let me know !
So since you have the hardware only thing you have to do is to upgrade
the software. Install FreeBSD and the Meteor support will come with
it.

Pete

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From: Oliver Frommel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 16:32:38 +0100 (MET)

> the software. Install FreeBSD and the Meteor support will come with

Linux does also support the MAtrox Meteor ..
take a look at sunsite.unc.edu's Linux archive directory apps/video:

meteor-1.4a.tgz 
     driver for the matrox meteor frame grabber card 

oliver

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From: Matti Aarnio <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 19:00:39 +0200 (EET)

> Piete Brooks writes:
...

> the software. Install FreeBSD and the Meteor support will come with it

Or pick proper driver:
---- /pub/mirrors/sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/video/meteor-1.4a.lsm ----
Begin3
Title:          meteor
Version:        1.4a
Entered-date:   05SEP96
Description:    A driver for the matrox meteor frame grabber card, as a
                kernel module. This is a port from the FreeBSD driver.
Keywords:       meteor, driver, video, frame grabber, matrox, module
Author:         (Jim Lowe, Mark Tinguely, Jim Bray)
Maintained-by:  [email-masked]
Primary-site:   ftp.rwii.com /pub/linux/system/Meteor
                52959 meteor-1.4a.tgz
Alternate-site: sunsite.unc.edu /pub/Linux/apps/video
                52959 meteor-1.4a.tgz
Original-site:  joy.cs.ndsu.nodak.edu /pub
                39621 meteor.1.11.tgz
Platforms:      kernel 1.3.72 and later with the (provided) bigphysarea
                patch by Matt Welsh
                Obviously a Matrox Meteor frame grabber card.
Copying-policy: (C)
End

> Pete

	I recall a friend of mine told me on friday that he has integrated
	Meteor driver into vic 2.8.  I must get it for storing into
	  ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/networking/services/multicast/LINUX/
	subtree..

	/Matti Aarnio <[email-masked]>

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From: Jon Crowcroft <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 22:38:10 +0000

>Primary-site:   ftp.rwii.com /pub/linux/system/Meteor

hey, 
cambridge ask
oxford answer

that is priceless!

well done!
jon

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From: Amancio Hasty <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 14:09:15 -0800

> unver vic) which we'd like to replace with a linux box and frame grabber.

Well, there is a matrox meteor driver that comes with FreeBSD;additionally,
the FreeBSD Matrox Meteor has been ported to Linux. It is kind of nice
that the driver is available for both platforms because we can benefit
from bug fixes and enhancements. 

As for programming info, the Matrox Meteor is a simple video capture
which has to chipsets : Philips SAA 7116 and SAA 7196 . So to learn
how to program the Meteor you can download the docs for those chipsets
from Philips Web Site.

I wrote a device driver for the Intel Smart Video Recorder III with 
sufficient functionality to support vic as well as my simple video
tool "tv" which I use to watch TV on my system.  The driver is 
based upon the Matrox Meteor one so it uses the exact same interface;however,
I must warn you that the SAA 7196 and the Bt848 are very different
chipsets.

There is no PAL support however it should not be difficult to add PAL 
support. The readme file has contact info for getting the programming docs for the card.
Architectually, the driver is very simple and should not be difficult
to port to Linux.

The driver is really for the BrookTree Bt848 chipset which means that
it should work with any Bt848 chipset based boards such as the Hauppauge's
Wincast/tv. One of the FreeBSD users reported great success with 
the WinCast/tv card on the first try.

The driver is available at : ftp://rah.star-gate.com/pub/bt848.tar.gz

The driver so far works best with Triton based motherboards and to a lesser
extent with Natoma chipset based motherboards. For instance, I can
get smooth video at 640x480 32bits on my P100 / Triton system but 
a few more dma errors on my PPRO 200Mhz /Natoma system. It is fairly
safe to assume that the Natoma chipset is having problems with
substain high video data rate.

Last but not least the primary motivation for writing the Bt848 driver
is that the SAA 7116 is not PCI 2.1 compliant and in certain instances
can lock up solid a PPRO / Natoma system. Yes, I know the work around
that some have found however independent tests on my PPRO systems
shows that it can still crash a PPRO 200Mhz system.

	Amancio

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From: Dietrich Thie <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 08:13:40 +0100 (MET)

> release the necessary info to write a Linux driver :-(((

As far as I know, XFree86 3.2 supports Matrox Millenium, see
http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~ajv/xf86-matrox.html

if it is a Millenium with frame grabber modul, you are right, the modul is
not supported yet. But why you don't use the Matrox Meteor frame grabber.
In my mind the MBone tools from LBL should play with it.
>     If so, PLEASE let me know !

Dietrich Thie

phone   :      +49 371 531-1532
fax     :      +49 371 531-1629
$HOME   :      Lungwitzer Str. 12, 09337 Hohenstein-Er./Germany
phone   :      +49 3723 48506 | mobile +49 177 3331626

>>  Und aus dem Chaos sprach eine Stimme: "Sei froh und laechle, 
    denn es koennte schlimmer kommen ... "
    ... Und ich laechelte und war froh und es kam schlimmer !

---

From: Greg Kulosa <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 1997 23:24:57 -0800 (PST)

>     If so, PLEASE let me know !

I have used the QuickCAM with success.  However, you say that it won't
work for you.

I am working on support for the "AITech AIGotcha" Parallel-port
frame grabber.  It claims to do "real-time" video, and costs ~$149 US.

It probably won't be able to do 30 frames/second, but I don't need that.
5-8 frames/second or so is _plenty_ for me and the MBONE.

I wrote an E-mail message to [email-masked], and they said they would be
releasing a developers kit "in a month".  When I receive that information,
I will work on a driver.  My main focus is to get "vic" support ASAP.

-- 
Greg A. Kulosa          | "The avalanche has already started, it is too
Systems Administrator   |  late for the pebbles to vote." - Ambassador Kosh
Synopsys, Inc.          |___________________________________________________
[email-masked]       700 E. Middlefield Rd, Mountain View, CA 94043

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From: Amancio Hasty <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 02:11:28 -0800

> 5-8 frames/second or so is _plenty_ for me and the MBONE.

Well, the price of fast frame grabbers are dropping for instance
Hauppage's WinCast/Tv retails for about $149(US) . This is a PCI 
card with a Bt848 chipset and a tuner .

I bought a CCD camera for about $200 from Computer Modules
(http://www.compmod.com) . The camera has a builtin mic.
So for about $349 you can have a fairly decent video subsystem.

The fast video transfer comes in handy to watch TV 8)

	Enjoy,
	Amancio

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From: Greg Kulosa <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 1997 15:08:20 -0800 (PST)

> card with a Bt848 chipset and a tuner .

I should have mentioned that I am working on a Parallel-port frame
grabber because I want to do MBONE from a laptop.  There are no PCI
slots on any laptop I have found :-)

BTW, I also know that there is "vic" support for the "IBM PCMCIA Smart
Capture Card", but I have been unable to find this device.  It is not
on IBM's web page.

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From: Rainer Kranz <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1997 07:31:18 +0100 (MET)

How can I use the WinCast/Tv in a Linux System ?

Rainer

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From: Amancio Hasty <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 23:37:01 -0800

I have no idea ;however, if you are interested in porting the FreeBSD 
driver to linux I can provide the driver.

	Amancio

From The Desk Of Rainer Kranz :
> | Referenzzentrum f=FCr multimediale Teledienste (MMRZ), TU Dresden |
> |         Dr. Klaus K=F6hler, Christoph Fleck, Rainer Kranz         |