Now that your kernel is configured, your devices have been configured, and your modules are inserted, you will also need an application to actually view or capture the images from your card.
Fbtv is a console-only mode TV viewing program available for viewing on a framebuffer-video enabled system with a Bt8x8 card. If you don't know what a framebuffer is you can read the Framebuffer HOWTO. Fbtv is available from the Bttv homepage with Xawtv.
AATV is a simple program to watch TV on a text console under Linux using aalib and a Bt8x8 card. While the graphics are enabled in ascii graphics only, the advantage is that you (or anyone) can watch television from anywhere over the internet using your local Bt8x8 hardware.
The following applications require a graphical user interface such as GNOME, KDE etc.
Xawtv is arguably the best-known Linux application used for viewing TV from video sources including Bt8x8 devices; most Linux distributions have packaged versions. If you're not sure of your device configuration you probably ought to start with Xawtv and the -hwscan option to check for suitable devices:
$ xawtv -hwscan
This is xawtv-3.94, running on Linux/i686 (2.6.8)
looking for available devices
port 139-139
type : Xvideo, image scaler
name : NV17 Video Overlay
port 140-140
type : Xvideo, image scaler
name : NV17 Video Texture
port 141-172
type : Xvideo, image scaler
name : NV05 Video Blitter
port 173-173 [ -xvport 173 ]
type : Xvideo, video overlay
name : NVIDIA Video Interface Port
/dev/video0: OK [ -device /dev/video0 ]
type : v4l2
name : BT878 video (Hauppauge (bt878))
flags: overlay capture tuner |
$ xawtv -device /dev/video0 |
Motv is a Motif-based rewrite of Xawtv. Other than a more attractive interface, and is also found at the Xawtv homepage. It is otherwise identical to Xawtv.
TVtime is the ultimate application for those who want to watch TV using an application that doesn't get in the way and requires little or no configuration 'out of the box.' The homepage can be found at the sourceforge TVtime homepage.