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generic 4 port bt878 based card
Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 6:12 pm
by 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.
Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2005 9:42 pm
by zoneminder
For the record, do you know what model of card it is?
Phil
Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2005 2:36 pm
by 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)
Re: generic 4 port bt878 based card
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2005 11:52 pm
by semotta
According to your 'lspci -n' I have the same card! Would you mind sharing some configuration information you've used, like bttv options?
teddy wrote: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?
Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 8:04 pm
by 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.
Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 11:09 am
by 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
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:12 pm
by 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?
Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 2:37 am
by 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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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
Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 7:15 pm
by 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...
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:48 am
by Brainer
Are you talking about BTSpy, from the BT878 WDM driver site?
http://btwincap.sourceforge.net/custom.html
Brainer
Fitch wrote:
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?
Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:24 pm
by Fitch
Thanks for that!
