IVTV is a driver for Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

/Unix

Unix

Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...

 systems to allow them to use certain video capture cards that make use of on-board MPEG-1

MPEG-1

MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to 1.5 Mbit/s without excessive quality loss, making video CDs, digital cable/satellite TV and digital audio broadcasting possible.Today, MPEG-1 has become...

/MPEG-2

MPEG-2

MPEG-2 is a standard for "the generic coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of lossy video compression and lossy audio data compression methods which permit storage and transmission of movies using currently available storage media and transmission...

 encoder

Encoder

An encoder is a device, circuit, transducer, software program, algorithm or person that converts information from one format or code to another, for the purposes of standardization, speed, secrecy, security, or saving space by shrinking size.-Media:...

s.

What is IVTV?

The IVTV project started in early 2003 with the primary goal of providing a Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 Open Source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 driver for series of Conexant

Conexant

Conexant Systems, Inc. is an American semiconductor company, formerly the semiconductor division of Rockwell International. Currently it's privately owned by Golden Gate Capital, an equity firm headquartered in San Francisco.-History:...

 based TV cards. The project is developing a clean room

Clean room design

Clean room design is the method of copying a design by reverse engineering and then recreating it without infringing any of the copyrights and trade secrets associated with the original design. Clean room design is useful as a defense against copyright and trade secret infringement because it...

 driver for cards based on the iCompression iTVC15 or Conexant

Conexant

Conexant Systems, Inc. is an American semiconductor company, formerly the semiconductor division of Rockwell International. Currently it's privately owned by Golden Gate Capital, an equity firm headquartered in San Francisco.-History:...

 CX23415/CX23416 MPEG codec. A clean room implementation is needed as Conexant will only release the data sheet for the iTVC codec

Codec

A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...

 under a Non-disclosure agreement

Non-disclosure agreement

A non-disclosure agreement , also known as a confidentiality agreement , confidential disclosure agreement , proprietary information agreement , or secrecy agreement, is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties...

. Examples of such cards are the Hauppauge PVR 250/350 series of MPEG video capture cards, the Hauppauge "freestyle" and the AVerMedia M179 AVerTV. The M179 uses a Sony SBX1637 audio module which is not supported by the current driver so while you can capture video, you get no audio yet. The freestyle hasn't been tested, but it should work, or at least be easy to get working.

At its current state, many iTVC based cards are usable with this driver, and work continues to remove bugs, support more cards and to develop towards V4L2 compliance.

Development

The IVTV drivers are in constant development, and like in many open source projects there is a stable/unstable release system. Some cards are
only supported by the unstable drivers, and often only with a particular unstable version.

Current development source can be found here.

External links

• Primary IVTV Wiki The original IVTV Project Website at sourceforge and original IVTV Wiki are being merged into this new site.
• Primary FAQ
• Mailing List. The best place to ask questions, but search the archives and documentation first.
• Original IVTV Wiki A plethora of information on the IVTV driver, HowTos, and setup examples; this is currently being merged into the Primary IVTV Wiki (top of list).