tlug: Linux telecom nexus

[Marcus Metzler <mocm@example.com>]

J. David Beutel writes:
 > 	1. In Akihabara and Shinjuku, I haven't seen any of the supported
 > 	   boards given as examples (i.e., Hauppauge Win/TV PCI, Miro
 > 	   PCTV, STB TV PCI, Diamond DTV2000, Videologic Captivator PCI,
 > 	   AVerMedia TV-Phone, Matrix Vision MV-Delta).  However, I have
 > 	   seen several boards using the proper chip (Brooktree Bt848).
 > 	   
 > 	   Where can I buy a board that is known to work?  Has anyone
 > 	   tried a local board?  How compatible are they apt to be?
The only one I saw was a Haupauge card at T-Zone, but anything with a
bt848 or bt849 should work. When you find a good one please tell me.

 > 
 > 	2. I need bilingual audio.  (second audio program?)  Can the VCRs
 > 	   here do that?  (to their audio line out?)  Or, do I need to 
 > 	   get a board that can do it?
 > 
The VCRs can do it. The bilingual support for bttv may be a problem,
since that depends on the TV tuner chip on the card and not the bt848.

 > 	3. Current boards (e.g., Hauppauge) are around $100 and have
 > 	   cool features like decoding various data sent in the VBI.
 > 	   The Japanese TV boards are more expensive (around JPY20,000).
 > 	   Do they decode similar data?  (Closed-captioning and such?)
 > 	   I think it differs from country to country, but it would be
 > 	   really trick to have my box scan the captions for keywords.
 > 	   Otherwise, I am favoring the cheaper boards without tuners.
 > 
The VBI decoding can be done by software. You just have to grab the
scanlines and get the information how to decode them. The last part is 
the problem. My brother included a VBI decoder in the bttv package,
but he can only decod the German VBI and he did that by guessing and
trial and error. There is no information on the VBI standard available.
A board without tuner is also ok, you can use the vcr for tuning.

 > 	4. Some boards have S-VHS input.  What is the advantage over
 > 	   composite video RCA jacks?  (I.e., how much is S-VHS worth?)
 > 
The picture may be a liitle better. Of course it always depends on
your source.

Marcus

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Dr. Marcus Metzler
Department of Physics    | $B")(B $B#2#7#4!<#8#5#1#0(B
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