generic 4 port bt878 based card

[teddy]

I brought an old capture card back to life with Zoneminder. The card is a 4 port capture card with one bt878 chip. It is a very generic card. It originally shipped with a computer running win98. It had been a long since it worked. Anyway, setup was pretty simple. Each camera uses a different channel on /dev/video0. The chip splits its 768x480 resolution into four quadrants. So each camera gets a quarter of the available resolution, or 384x240. I can get 4 fps for each camera, which is fine for survielence footage.

The color looks really nice, too.

[zoneminder]

For the record, do you know what model of card it is?

Phil

[teddy]

The card is generic.

lspci shows this:

00:08.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
00:08.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)

lspci -n shows this:

00:08.0 Class 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
00:08.1 Class 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)

[semotta]

According to your 'lspci -n' I have the same card! Would you mind sharing some configuration information you've used, like bttv options?

The chip splits its 768x480 resolution into four quadrants. So each camera gets a quarter of the available resolution, or 384x240. I can get 4 fps for each camera, which is fine for survielence footage.

How did you do that? You mean card sends four inputs splitted into a single chanel?

[philipt]

This sounds like the card I use - got 3 of them in my box. It's the GrandTec Multi Capture Card, BTTV card option = 77. I get them from CPC for about £20+vat when they are on offer, £35 full price.

I've just rebuilt my system and am struggling to get the 2 colour cameras I've got to work - the B&W ones are fine but the colour ones are just giving a white screen - it's very strange because they were fine before the rebuild. The cameras are a bargain from CPC too - colour, waterproof, with IR illumination (limited range though) for only £45+vat.

[krzys31337]

Just for reference and quick google searching:

This card
More pics: http://pancake.sggw.waw.pl/~hunter24/bttv/


Card is beeing sold (new ones) on polish e-bay like service (namely allegro.pl) for 140-150 PLN (price with shiping to Poland and with all Taxes ie. VAT)
It means 37-38 Euro or around 44-45 USD. (As of 2005-07-14)

NOTE: remember about card=77 (modprobe option) and try to disable ACPI in you BIOS. Each card should have it's own interrupt.

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Linux version 2.4.30-3 (builder@olimp) (gcc version 3.3.5 (PLD Linux)) #1 Thu May 12 21:24:39 CEST 2005


i2c-algo-bit.o: (0) scl=0, sda=0
i2c-algo-bit.o: bt878 #0 [sw] seems to be busy.
bttv0: using tuner=-1
bttv0: registered device video0
bttv0: registered device vbi0
bttv0: PLL: 28636363 => 35468950 .. ok
bttv: Bt8xx card found (1).
bttv1: Bt878 (rev 17) at 02:07.0, irq: 5, latency: 32, mmio: 0xf2102000
bttv1: using: GrandTec Multi Capture Card (Bt878) [card=77,insmod option]
bttv1: gpio: en=00000000, out=00000000 in=00f36fff [init]
i2c-algo-bit.o: (0) scl=0, sda=0
i2c-algo-bit.o: bt878 #1 [sw] seems to be busy.
bttv1: using tuner=-1
bttv1: registered device video1
bttv1: registered device vbi1
bttv1: PLL: 28636363 => 35468950 .. ok
bttv0: PLL can sleep, using XTAL (28636363).
bttv1: PLL can sleep, using XTAL (28636363).
bttv0: PLL: 28636363 => 35468950 .. ok

And lspci:

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02:05.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
02:05.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)
02:07.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
02:07.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)

02:05.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 7
        Memory at f2100000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data
        Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2

02:05.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 7
        Memory at f2101000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data
        Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2

02:07.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 5
        Memory at f2102000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data
        Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2

02:07.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)
        Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 5
        Memory at f2103000 (32-bit, prefetchable) [size=4K]
        Capabilities: [44] Vital Product Data
        Capabilities: [4c] Power Management version 2

02:05.0 Class 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
02:05.1 Class 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)
02:07.0 Class 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
02:07.1 Class 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)

/proc/interrupts:
           CPU0
  5:     250101          XT-PIC  bttv1
  7:     257771          XT-PIC  bttv0

[Fitch]

If CPC sold you this, then I believe it to be the AEI Technologies Big Brother Stealth Au4 card.
Would only work in Windows XP and even that seemed to stop after SP2 and various other security patches was downloaded.

The software was a heap of junk, and the card a difficult beggar to get working. I am still struggling with 4 black screens at the mo.

Can the info here help the people who devise what to stick in bttv.conf?

[whatboy]

I have two Hauppauge ImpactVCB Model 558 and gives me the same data with

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lspci
00:08.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
00:08.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)
00:09.0 Multimedia video controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Video Capture (rev 11)
00:09.1 Multimedia controller: Brooktree Corporation Bt878 Audio Capture (rev 11)

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lspci -n
00:08.0 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
00:08.1 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)
00:09.0 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
00:09.1 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)

I have 6 (3 on each card, yes I know I can use all 4, but 2fps sucks) anolog cameras @ 740x480 at 3.5 fps (bearable sucks)

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/etc/modprobe.d/bttv.conf
options bttv card=82,82 tuner=4,4 combfilter=1

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/etc/sysctl.conf
kernel.shmall = 512000
kernel.shmmax = 535265280

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load average: 0.43, 0.65, 0.65

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  PID USER      PR  NI  VIRT  RES  SHR S %CPU %MEM    TIME+  COMMAND
24902 apache    20   0  257m 136m 123m S  6.6  6.7 460:14.61 zmc
24770 apache    20   0  257m 140m 123m S  6.0  7.0 459:01.28 zmc
 1588 apache    20   0  172m  55m  43m S  3.3  2.7 154:53.14 zma
 1589 apache    20   0  172m  55m  43m S  3.3  2.7 153:12.95 zma
24887 apache    20   0  211m  55m  43m S  3.0  2.7 251:14.67 zma
28309 apache    20   0  172m  55m  43m S  3.0  2.7  20:07.91 zma
24775 apache    20   0  171m  55m  43m S  2.6  2.7 231:28.89 zma
26588 apache    20   0  171m  55m  43m S  2.6  2.7  20:38.63 zma

I'm thinking of getting rid of this crapcards and buy me a 120/240 fps

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7752/loadmonth.jpg

[Fitch]

Thanks for the info.
It still doesn't do it for me.
I think I'm missing something here...

lspci -n
05:01.0 0400: 109e:036e (rev 11)
05:01.1 0480: 109e:0878 (rev 11)

I do remember reading about a windows program that would scan the card and cameras, I think it was from Sourceforge, but I don't know its name.
I have a Windows computer available and could use it to find out about the card. If anybody knows it's name, do you think it would be good enough to solve this problem?

I installed xawtv, just for a laugh, of course it works, doesn't it! All 4 cameras can be brougt up one by one if I use "Capture - grabdisplay" I'm so close, I can smell it! Just haven't got the experience to do anything about it.

I do have pictures of the card, but don't quite know how to insert them here...

[Brainer]

Are you talking about BTSpy, from the BT878 WDM driver site?

http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/custom.html


Brainer

I do remember reading about a windows program that would scan the card and cameras, I think it was from Sourceforge, but I don't know its name.
I have a Windows computer available and could use it to find out about the card. If anybody knows it's name, do you think it would be good enough to solve this problem?

[Fitch]

Thanks for that!