James Emmrich

I am not one to watch much TV, but when I do, I prefer to do so by PVR with commercials cut, and live pausing. I also like to set recording schedules in advance and do it from my cellphone if need be.

I bought this little card originally for my parents PVR that I built them, unfortunately I could not get it to work. I believe I paid a little less than $100.00 for it. After a lot of messing with it, I put it back in the box and left it.

Four years later, I attempted again ha.

This is how to get your Mercury EZ View PCI Card to work in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

The Mercury EZ View PCI Card

Product Image

FM Radio Reception

• Auto Scan FM channels

TV / Video Display

• Full motion display @ 30fps
• Resizable video window from free size to full screen
• Full screen display: Max resolution up to 720 x 576
• Supports overlay mode to get the best quality

TV / Video Capture

• Full motion video capture up to 30 fps
• Video capture format: AVI, MPEG-1/2/4, DVD, VCD, MP3
• Still image snapshot format BMP
• Video capture size up to 352 x 288 (AVI), 325 x 240 (VCD NTSC) and 322 x 288 (VCD PAL)

Digital Video Capture

• Capture and display video from Digital Video (DV) camcorder
• Record DV video into MPEG-I or MPEG-II and AVI files
• Camera control via GUI

System Requirements

• Outdoor antenna or cable TV connection
• Pentium III 700MHz or higher processor
• 128MB of system memory recommended
• Microsoft Windows 98 SE/ME/2000/XP with DirectX 8.1 installed
• DirectX 8.1 compatible VGA card

Hardware

• Conexant CX 23881 chipset, 10bits high quality ADC
• Multiple tuner receptions (NTSC, PAL system)
• PCI 2.1 compatible Interface
• 4 layer PCB
• Remote power on
• Full IR remote control function

Installing the Card

Jumper cables provided

Duh, just like any card. But on the serious side, it came with a bunch of jumper cables as shown on the left. The back of the card has a cable coaxial input, a IR input port for the remote, and an “S-Video” like connector. The jumper cables provided, allow you to split this into the following connections:

• Splitter cable:
  • Audio Out – 3.5mm female
  • Audio In – 3.5mm female
  • Video Composite Out – male
  • S-Video Out – female
• 3.5mm headphone cable jumper – male/male

It seems to be a funky way of doing things, but in any case…

Upon system reboot, the card is not detected, the syslog shows the following:

1. May 24 19:38:20 lonewolf kernel: [   13.296313] Linux video capture interface: v2.00
2. May 24 19:38:20 lonewolf kernel: [   13.766829] Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 80×30
3. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010115] cx88/0: cx2388x v4l2 driver version 0.0.7 loaded
4. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010171] cx8800 0000:02:0a.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 22 (level, low) -> IRQ 22
5. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010469] cx88[0]: Your board has no valid PCI Subsystem ID and thus can’t
6. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010471] cx88[0]: be autodetected.  Please pass card=<n> insmod option to
7. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010473] cx88[0]: workaround that.  Redirect complaints to the vendor of
8. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010474] cx88[0]: the TV card.  Best regards,
9. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.010475] cx88[0]:         — tux
10. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.012313] cx88[0]: Here is a list of valid choices for the card=<n> insmod option:
11. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.012815] cx88[0]:    card=0 -> UNKNOWN/GENERIC
12. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.013152] cx88[0]:    card=1 -> Hauppauge WinTV 34xxx models
13. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.013521] cx88[0]:    card=2 -> GDI Black Gold
14. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.013841] cx88[0]:    card=3 -> PixelView
15. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.014143] cx88[0]:    card=4 -> ATI TV Wonder Pro
16. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.014468] cx88[0]:    card=5 -> Leadtek Winfast 2000XP Expert
17. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.014832] cx88[0]:    card=6 -> AverTV Studio 303 (M126)
18. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.015178] cx88[0]:    card=7 -> MSI TV-@nywhere Master
19. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.015518] cx88[0]:    card=8 -> Leadtek Winfast DV2000
20. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.015858] cx88[0]:    card=9 -> Leadtek PVR 2000
21. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.016214] cx88[0]:    card=10 -> IODATA GV-VCP3/PCI
22. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.016554] cx88[0]:    card=11 -> Prolink PlayTV PVR
23. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.016893] cx88[0]:    card=12 -> ASUS PVR-416
24. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.017208] cx88[0]:    card=13 -> MSI TV-@nywhere
25. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.017532] cx88[0]:    card=14 -> KWorld/VStream XPert DVB-T
26. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.017900] cx88[0]:    card=15 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T1
27. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.018252] cx88[0]:    card=16 -> KWorld LTV883RF
28. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.018570] cx88[0]:    card=17 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 3 Gold-Q
29. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.018925] cx88[0]:    card=18 -> Hauppauge Nova-T DVB-T
30. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.019270] cx88[0]:    card=19 -> Conexant DVB-T reference design
31. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.019644] cx88[0]:    card=20 -> Provideo PV259
32. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.019960] cx88[0]:    card=21 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Plus
33. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.020356] cx88[0]:    card=22 -> pcHDTV HD3000 HDTV
34. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.030618] cx88[0]:    card=23 -> digitalnow DNTV Live! DVB-T
35. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.040737] cx88[0]:    card=24 -> Hauppauge WinTV 28xxx (Roslyn) models
36. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.051028] cx88[0]:    card=25 -> Digital-Logic MICROSPACE Entertainment Center (MEC)
37. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.071494] cx88[0]:    card=26 -> IODATA GV/BCTV7E
38. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.081762] cx88[0]:    card=27 -> PixelView PlayTV Ultra Pro (Stereo)
39. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.091783] cx88[0]:    card=28 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 3 Gold-T
40. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.101925] cx88[0]:    card=29 -> ADS Tech Instant TV DVB-T PCI
41. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.111947] cx88[0]:    card=30 -> TerraTec Cinergy 1400 DVB-T
42. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.122069] cx88[0]:    card=31 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 5 Gold
43. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.132337] cx88[0]:    card=32 -> AverMedia UltraTV Media Center PCI 550
44. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.142650] cx88[0]:    card=33 -> Kworld V-Stream Xpert DVD
45. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.152954] cx88[0]:    card=34 -> ATI HDTV Wonder
46. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.163478] cx88[0]:    card=35 -> WinFast DTV1000-T
47. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.174010] cx88[0]:    card=36 -> AVerTV 303 (M126)
48. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.184401] cx88[0]:    card=37 -> Hauppauge Nova-S-Plus DVB-S
49. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.194992] cx88[0]:    card=38 -> Hauppauge Nova-SE2 DVB-S
50. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.205465] cx88[0]:    card=39 -> KWorld DVB-S 100
51. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.215970] cx88[0]:    card=40 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1100 DVB-T/Hybrid
52. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.226649] cx88[0]:    card=41 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1100 DVB-T/Hybrid (Low Profile)
53. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.247883] cx88[0]:    card=42 -> digitalnow DNTV Live! DVB-T Pro
54. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.259172] cx88[0]:    card=43 -> KWorld/VStream XPert DVB-T with cx22702
55. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.270560] cx88[0]:    card=44 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Dual Digital
56. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.282025] cx88[0]:    card=45 -> KWorld HardwareMpegTV XPert
57. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.293396] cx88[0]:    card=46 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T Hybrid
58. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.304702] cx88[0]:    card=47 -> pcHDTV HD5500 HDTV
59. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.315830] cx88[0]:    card=48 -> Kworld MCE 200 Deluxe
60. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.327030] cx88[0]:    card=49 -> PixelView PlayTV P7000
61. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.338171] cx88[0]:    card=50 -> NPG Tech Real TV FM Top 10
62. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.349322] cx88[0]:    card=51 -> WinFast DTV2000 H
63. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.360277] cx88[0]:    card=52 -> Geniatech DVB-S
64. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.371133] cx88[0]:    card=53 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR3000 TriMode Analog/DVB-S/DVB-T
65. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.392302] cx88[0]:    card=54 -> Norwood Micro TV Tuner
66. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.403119] cx88[0]:    card=55 -> Shenzhen Tungsten Ages Tech TE-DTV-250 / Swann OEM
67. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.425351] cx88[0]:    card=56 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1300 DVB-T/Hybrid MPEG Encoder
68. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.448397] cx88[0]:    card=57 -> ADS Tech Instant Video PCI
69. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.460250] cx88[0]:    card=58 -> Pinnacle PCTV HD 800i
70. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.472088] cx88[0]:    card=59 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 5 PCI nano
71. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.483859] cx88[0]:    card=60 -> Pinnacle Hybrid PCTV
72. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.495621] cx88[0]:    card=61 -> Leadtek TV2000 XP Global
73. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.507511] cx88[0]:    card=62 -> PowerColor RA330
74. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.519250] cx88[0]:    card=63 -> Geniatech X8000-MT DVBT
75. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.531312] cx88[0]:    card=64 -> DViCO FusionHDTV DVB-T PRO
76. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.543210] cx88[0]:    card=65 -> DViCO FusionHDTV 7 Gold
77. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.554938] cx88[0]:    card=66 -> Prolink Pixelview MPEG 8000GT
78. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.566832] cx88[0]:    card=67 -> Kworld PlusTV HD PCI 120 (ATSC 120)
79. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.578525] cx88[0]:    card=68 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000 DVB-S/S2/T/Hybrid
80. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.589973] cx88[0]:    card=69 -> Hauppauge WinTV-HVR4000(Lite) DVB-S/S2
81. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.601279] cx88[0]:    card=70 -> TeVii S460 DVB-S/S2
82. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.612676] cx88[0]:    card=71 -> Omicom SS4 DVB-S/S2 PCI
83. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.624058] cx88[0]:    card=72 -> TBS 8920 DVB-S/S2
84. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.635450] cx88[0]:    card=73 -> TeVii S420 DVB-S
85. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.646784] cx88[0]:    card=74 -> Prolink Pixelview Global Extreme
86. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.658301] cx88[0]:    card=75 -> PROF 7300 DVB-S/S2
87. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.669770] cx88[0]:    card=76 -> SATTRADE ST4200 DVB-S/S2
88. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.681486] cx88[0]:    card=77 -> TBS 8910 DVB-S
89. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.692933] cx88[0]:    card=78 -> Prof 6200 DVB-S
90. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.704146] cx88[0]:    card=79 -> Terratec Cinergy HT PCI MKII
91. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.715313] cx88[0]:    card=80 -> Hauppauge WinTV-IR Only
92. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.726179] cx88[0]:    card=81 -> Leadtek WinFast DTV1800 Hybrid
93. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.736853] cx88[0]:    card=82 -> WinFast DTV2000 H rev. J
94. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.736865] cx88[0]: subsystem: 0000:0000, board: UNKNOWN/GENERIC [card=0,autodetected], frontend(s): 0
95. May 24 19:38:21 lonewolf kernel: [   14.736872] cx88[0]: TV tuner type -1, Radio tuner type -1

Never had to deal with this before. Annoying, as my Hauppauge 250 PVR card works amazing and out of the box. As you can see there is no EZ View or Mercury in there.

Debugging

I needed to find out more information:

sudo lspci -v

02:0a.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23880/1/2/3 PCI Video and Audio Decoder (rev 03)
 Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 22
 Memory at f9000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]
 Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data <?>
 Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2
 Kernel modules: cx8800

I installed my usual software:

• tvtime
• xawtv

sudo apt-get install tvtime xawtv

I tried all, obviously, got nothing.

After posting numerous posts around the web, reading, my last resort was to figure out how to set the card types. To do so I needed to learn the modprobe command.

One thing to note here is that it seems the cx8800 driver creates the device /dev/video0 and the cx88xx provides new functionality, therefore they work together. You need to unload and reload them both. My initial problems was that the cx8800 driver does not support the modprobe command “card” as that was moved to the cx88xx driver.

Another thing was you can’t unload the cx88xx module from the kernel unless you first remove the cx8800 module. These little things caused a lot of initial confusion for me.

I wrote a little script to test each card type, surprisingly, this card seems to work on a couple different types. It was working and I didn’t even know it a couple times. Here’s a simple shell script I wrote:

rmmod cx8800
rmmod cx88xx

modprobe cx88xx card=$1 tuner=$2
modprobe cx8800

tvtime

When tvtime opens, you can then set the input for the card, in my case it was Television, but for some it might be composite, s-video, dvb whatever your case may be. It took a few seconds before my video started producing color video.

Freenode help

A friendly fellow from Iceland, kizi, from Freenode’s IRC ##linux channel, provided some expertise here and helped me on the rest of the journey. He found me this interesting site:

http://translate.google.is/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsugo.ubuntu.hu%2Fcommunity-doc%2Fhardy%2Funiverse%2Fhardware%2Fmercury_ezview_cx88xx.html&sl=hu&tl=en

Honestly cannot thank him enough!

Interestingly this link had the card and tuner number I needed! card=27 tuner=69

So I ran the script again with the following:

./mercury 27 69

Viola! seemed to work even better!

To make this work after rebooting the computer, I made a config file: /etc/modprobe.conf/mercury.conf

options cx88 card=27 tuner=69

So I rebooted and to make sure it worked still. Yay!

As for setting it up in MythTV, well, that is a whole different post. Due to the way my audio is configured, it’s like a puzzle of jumper cables and only just figured it out 24 hours later with lots of frustration. Boy, do I hate the way Ubuntu 10.04 LTS handles the audio card configurations!!

Hope this will help anyone else getting their card to work.

Related pages:

• Mercury EZ view tv tuner card (Conexant CX 23881 chipset) – http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=512551