Tvheadend

I suspect that the MPEG error is for the analogue/NTSC tuner - although you'd ultimately need the MPEG licence for something, I'm sure, and you've not wasted much for your $3 or so even if you don't.

The LG bit is probably just because that's the demodulator chip the card uses (LG DT3303 according to linuxtv.org). Nothing to be concerned about.

Any reason you're having to start with -C - or doing it every time, anyway? Just for neatness you probably should define an admin user, and I thought that was an option in RaspBMC somewhere (I've never seen nor used it, though, so I may have made that up).

Bad file descriptor... dodgy USB connection? Insufficient power (an issue that's a perennial favourite in Pi-land - powered USB hubs, dubious power supplies to the system, etc.)?

Christopher Kirkman wrote:

In my efforts to "cut the cable" I decided to delve into setting up XBMC as a PVR. Years ago, I was given a Pinnacle 800e USB tuner that I never really used (mostly because the Windows software was atrocious) and so hid it away. After learning that it should be compatible, I went and dug it out of the Box O' Parts it was hiding in and started the setup process on my Raspberry Pi.

I'm not a very learned Linux person, but I've muddled through up until now by just Googling and Wiki'ing everything. So, here's my situation:

I've added and activated the TVH Add-on in RaspBMC, and activated the TVH Server in System Configuration. I consulted with LinuxTV to download and install the latest firmware to my tuner device according to its wiki page here:

http://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Pinnacle_PCTV_HD_Pro_Stick_(800e).

The TVH remote interface looks great, but during configuration a few problems stuck out. First and foremost, the adapter shows up as an LG device, rather than the Pinnacle device Linux sees attached to the USB. Googling proved it not entirely unusual for it to show up like that, but it still struck me as odd. When I added the DVB network location (us_ATSC_center in my case), 69 muxes are added, but 0 services are discovered, so naturally, I get no channels.

!Screenshot 2014-04-22 21.27.33.png!

I jumped back over to the Linux terminal and ran tvheadend -C and everything seemed fine at first until I get the following warning:

[WARNING]:v4l: /dev/video0: Device lacks MPEG encoder, device skipped

Then it begins to scan frequencies, completely unsuccessfully, with errors that look like this:

Apr 22 21:34:55.497 [ ERROR]:dvb: "/dev/dvb/adapter0" tuning to "773,028 kHz" -- Front configuration failed -- Bad file descriptor, frequency: 773028615

!Screenshot 2014-04-22 21.34.48.png!

The MPEG warning prompted me to purchase the MPEG2 decoder license for my Pi, but I have a feeling that's not going to solve the problem. I won't know until my license is delivered.

Any and all help is appreciated here. I'm happy to provide whatever additional screenshots or logs might be required.

Is there any update on this? I am having the same exact issue as you. I also tried a powered usb hub, and the system won't even recognize my device. I will try again with another hub when I have a moment. How did you install the drivers/firmware? I tried the one that you mentioned and I get errors. (I am a noob, probably not doing the right stuff, please help!) Did the MPEG2 license help??

I wish I could say that I've worked through it, but I got frustrated to the point of giving up. I've still got cable TV but I've started looking into retail PVR units for cable cutting instead of messing with the pi

Ok, so I think I finally got it to work!
What I changed was, I am using the latest version of Raspbian Wheezy. I am also using a 5 volt powered usb hub.
I will post the steps, once I have verified that it is working, which should be in a few hours to a day.

Darn, partially working, it is recognized and it will scan, but it won't find any channels.