Help! TvHeadend + hauppauge hvr-850 madness

[speculardecay]

Hello everyone,
I have been looking around for a while but can't seem to find a way to make it all work out. Keep in mind that I have moderate Linux experience. So here's my problem :

I have a Zotac ID80 with a fresh openelec 2.0 ION x64 build install (is that even the right build for me?). I have a usb hauppauge hvr-850 tuner plugged in the computer, but tvheadend can't seem to see it as there's nothing in the adapters drop down menu.
I know the usb tuner works as I have successfully used it with xbmcbuntu 11 and 12.
The device is detected according to a lsusb btw...

Anybody can help me out on this? It's driving me mad!
Thanks a lot!

[Darksoul71]

Hm, by best bet I would say that OpenELEC might simply lack the firmware file for your HVR.
Successful usage of the HVR under other XBMC variants says all and nothing since you possibly have a different kernel with different modules, different firmware files and so on.

You could try to find out what firmware file is required for your HVR and put it inside the firmware file of the OpenELEC image. May be the device will work after reboot.

Edit: The worst thing I can see happeing is that you install another Linux distribution of your choice to a USB stick / internal HDD in your Zotac, install XBMC plus TVHeadend on it and configure it. The last time I did this manually on Sabayon, this was a pretty straight forward process (of course depending on your Linux experiences though).

HTH,
D$

[speculardecay]

Heya Darksoul, thanks for the reply!
Some update. Last night I played with it a little more. I noticed that when the device was connected to my Zotac with xbmcbuntu installed a led light was visible on it, as if to show that it was "turned on and running". On the same Zotac but with openelec that light is off.
I did a lsusb and it listed it as "Hauppauge". A dmesg listed nothing though, no reference to Hauppauge anywhere.
Could it be that openelec doesn't have the proper usb drivers? I have a wireless keyboard connected to it and it works with the usb dongle, and my usb stick works as well.
MYSTERY!
I saw somewhere else on the forum that the Hauppauge needed a specific firmware and that it was already included in the build.
Thanks again!

[speculardecay]

Oh, and when the device is connected there is no "dev/video0" as well. Or any other video number for that matter. From what I understand when a tuner card is running it creates that file?
Thanks

[Darksoul71]

Heya,

no problem ! You are welcome ! The "green light" simply indicates that the device is correctly initialized. My Yakumo DVB-T stick behaves similar. It shows a orange LED if plugged into a USB port but only shows the green light if initialized correctly via firmware.

Usually your HVR should be only listed with an USB ID plus some manufacturer string. My previously used Hauppauge Nova-T reported with some string like "Warm+plugged in" after successful initialisation via firmware but without firmware I only saw the USB ID plus Vendor string.

Here is a webpage about your hvr-850:
http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Ha...V-HVR-850');

[Darksoul71]

Oh, and when the device is connected there is no "dev/video0" as well. Or any other video number for that matter. From what I understand when a tuner card is running it creates that file?
Thanks

Yes, your understanding is correct ! A working DVB-X device will cause the automatic generation of /dev/dvbX via udev. Multiple devices are listed as /dev/dvb0, /dev/dvb1 and so on.

Edit: I guess you should simply find out which version of the hvr-850 you have (see USB IDs on the webpage above). Then check if the corresponding firmware is inside /lib/firmware on your OpenELEC (I need to verify this location OpenELEC USB stick as well) and if it is missing, simply copy it into the folder. After a reboot your device should light green and be visible in the TV headend configuration.

[speculardecay]

Yes, your understanding is correct ! A working DVB-X device will cause the automatic generation of /dev/dvbX via udev. Multiple devices are listed as /dev/dvb0, /dev/dvb1 and so on.[/quote]

I thought it was supposed to be /dev/video*, not dvb*. Could it be because I am in North American and using OTA ATSC and not in Europe?

[speculardecay]

Here is a webpage about your hvr-850:
http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Ha...TV-HVR-850

So, from what I understand I have to paste dvb-fe-xc5000-1.1.fw in /lib/firmware and then reboot and that's (hopefully) it?

[Darksoul71]

I thought it was supposed to be /dev/video*, not dvb*. Could it be because I am in North American and using OTA ATSC and not in Europe?

Hm, sry, I did not pay attention to your /dev/video*
According to the DVB module in the kernel pretty much any digital "TV card" uses /dev/dvb*

See here:
http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/De...er_devices

[Darksoul71]

So, from what I understand I have to paste dvb-fe-xc5000-1.1.fw in /lib/firmware and then reboot and that's (hopefully) it?

Yes ! Simply check out if the firmware is missing. Also doublecheck that firmware files are not stored in a different directory under OpenELEC. Firmware directories sometimes can vary from distribution to distribution. Pay attention that the new firmware file has identical ownership and rights as the other files.

Reboot, keep your finger crossed and then may be your HVR is initialized correctly. :woohoo: