Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Steve Preston]

I realize this is a long shot but I was directed to this mailing list as one possibility  . 
 
I work with a group of amateur astronomers who use analog video cameras to record occultations ( www.occulations.org ).  Several observers have been using the StarTech SVID2USB2 class of analog capture devices (USB dongle) under Windows.  The StarTech devices are one of the few such devices which are readily available today. These StarTech devices seemed to be based on the empia 28xx + SAA71xx chipset devices which have some support in the linux kernel.  Unfortunately, we are having trouble with the StarTech devices in Linux.  Does anyone on this list know of anyone in the linxtv.org (or related) community that might be willing to help us modify a current driver to enable the StarTech device(s)?  Or, do you know of anyone who currently works with analog video capture hardware in linux who might be willing to provide other ideas?
 
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide,
Steve

Re: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Hans Verkuil]

On 08/16/2016 11:29 PM, Steve Preston wrote:
> I realize this is a long shot but I was directed to this mailing list as one possibility  . 
>  
> I work with a group of amateur astronomers who use analog video cameras to record occultations ( www.occulations.org ).  Several observers have been using the StarTech SVID2USB2 class of analog capture devices (USB dongle) under Windows.  The StarTech devices are one of the few such devices which are readily available today. These StarTech devices seemed to be based on the empia 28xx + SAA71xx chipset devices which have some support in the linux kernel.  Unfortunately, we are having trouble with the StarTech devices in Linux.  Does anyone on this list know of anyone in the linxtv.org (or related) community that might be willing to help us modify a current driver to enable the StarTech device(s)?  Or, do you know of anyone who currently works with analog video capture hardware in linux who might be willing to provide other ideas?

Usually adding support for a new device is a matter of adding an entry to drivers/media/usb/em28xx/em28xx-cards.c.

Something like the EM2860_BOARD_TYPHOON_DVD_MAKER could be a starting point since it seems very similar.

I'm assuming that the problem is that the device isn't recognized, but since you don't actually say what the problem is I might be wrong...

Regards,

	Hans

Re: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Andrey Utkin]

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 09:29:49PM +0000, Steve Preston wrote:
> I realize this is a long shot but I was directed to this mailing list as one possibility  . 
>  
> I work with a group of amateur astronomers who use analog video cameras to record occultations ( www.occulations.org ).  Several observers have been using the StarTech SVID2USB2 class of analog capture devices (USB dongle) under Windows.  The StarTech devices are one of the few such devices which are readily available today. These StarTech devices seemed to be based on the empia 28xx + SAA71xx chipset devices which have some support in the linux kernel.  Unfortunately, we are having trouble with the StarTech devices in Linux.  Does anyone on this list know of anyone in the linxtv.org (or related) community that might be willing to help us modify a current driver to enable the StarTech device(s)?  Or, do you know of anyone who currently works with analog video capture hardware in linux who might be willing to provide other ideas?

Please try what Hans has proposed. Then come back to here and post what
is your current state.
Please keep me in CC when you post. I would like to help.
Where can one buy online the exact device you're talking about?

RE: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Steve Preston]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the slow response.  Several people have offered to help and this is greatly appreciated. I'm not the occultation person actually doing the dev work on our Linux project.  I have forwarded the suggestions from this thread on the list and we let you know as we make progress.

We have two models of the StarTech in use: SVID2USB2 and SVID2USB23.  The "23" version is the only version currently listed on StarTech's website.  It is available via Amazon in the USA but I'm not sure about other countries.

Thanks again,
Steve

Re: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Devin Heitmueller]

Hi Steve,

> We have two models of the StarTech in use: SVID2USB2 and SVID2USB23.  The "23" version is the only version currently listed on StarTech's website.  It is available via Amazon in the USA but I'm not sure about other countries.

Have you actually opened these units up and confirmed what chips are
inside of them?  Or did you determine it's em28xx/saa711x via a Google
search.  The reason I ask is many of these devices will quietly change
their internal design over time, without changing the plastics and/or
model number.  Hence you cannot simply rely on what somebody else may
have said in terms of what chips are inside the device you're holding
in your hand.

First step would probably be to confirm the chips in question.  If
they really are based on the em2882/saa7115, then it should be pretty
easy to get working with a minor code change to the driver.

If you're in the US and you're willing to throw it in a USPS flat rate
box and ship it to me, I can probably have it working in about an
hour.

Devin

-- 
Devin J. Heitmueller - Kernel Labs
http://www.kernellabs.com

Re: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Alexandre-Xavier Labonté-Lamoureux]

Hi,

If this is the SVID2USB23 with the id 0xeb1a, 0x5051, then I hope
someone will get it to work, because it will fix my Ion Video 2 PC
which has the same hardware. I wrote a wiki page about it:
https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Ion_Video_2_PC

Best regards to every of you,
Alexandre-Xavier

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 10:01 AM, Devin Heitmueller
<dheitmueller@kernellabs.com> wrote:
> Hi Steve,
>
>> We have two models of the StarTech in use: SVID2USB2 and SVID2USB23.  The "23" version is the only version currently listed on StarTech's website.  It is available via Amazon in the USA but I'm not sure about other countries.
>
> Have you actually opened these units up and confirmed what chips are
> inside of them?  Or did you determine it's em28xx/saa711x via a Google
> search.  The reason I ask is many of these devices will quietly change
> their internal design over time, without changing the plastics and/or
> model number.  Hence you cannot simply rely on what somebody else may
> have said in terms of what chips are inside the device you're holding
> in your hand.
>
> First step would probably be to confirm the chips in question.  If
> they really are based on the em2882/saa7115, then it should be pretty
> easy to get working with a minor code change to the driver.
>
> If you're in the US and you're willing to throw it in a USPS flat rate
> box and ship it to me, I can probably have it working in about an
> hour.
>
> Devin
>
> --
> Devin J. Heitmueller - Kernel Labs
> http://www.kernellabs.com
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-media" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: Linux support for current StarTech analog video capture device (SAA711xx)

[Andrey Utkin]

On Fri, Aug 19, 2016 at 01:52:23PM +0000, Steve Preston wrote:
> Hello everyone,
> 
> Sorry for the slow response.  Several people have offered to help and this is greatly appreciated. I'm not the occultation person actually doing the dev work on our Linux project.

You should CC your Linux people in this thread so that you don't need to
relay messages back and forth manually.

> I have forwarded the suggestions from this thread on the list and we let you know as we make progress.
> 
> We have two models of the StarTech in use: SVID2USB2 and SVID2USB23.  The "23" version is the only version currently listed on StarTech's website.  It is available via Amazon in the USA but I'm not sure about other countries.

OK, make sure to try what Hans has suggested, and to describe in details
what you have tried so far and what is your state - i.e. what happens,
what is logged to dmesg, etc.