[mythtvnz] Which DVB-T tuner should I get

[Steve Hodge]

On Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 15:01, Worik Stanton <worik.stanton at gmail.com>wrote:

> But the same is true for the HVR-2200 is it not?  Looking at
> http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_WinTV-HVR-2200#Making_it_Workit
> sems you have to download "firmware" to make it work.  Is that not a
> "binary blob drivers"?


No. A "binary blob" driver interfaces to the kernel so it is sensitive to
changes in the kernel. It requires a vendor who is willing to track those
changes and possibly support multiple versions of the driver for different
kernel versions. It also "taints" the kernel - the kernel developers will no
longer provide support because they don't know what is going on inside the
driver. Binary drivers can be well supported - the nVidia X driver is the
obvious example, but few vendors are willing or able to provide the level of
support necessary.

OTOH firmware runs on the device and interfaces to the driver. It is
isolated from the kernel by the driver and so it doesn't taint the kernel
and isn't affected by changes to the kernel. It is very closely tied to the
hardware and really should be considered to be part of the device. Few (if
any) vendors are willing to provide open source firmware. But having the
firmware upload to the device makes it easier for users to upgrade.

Cheers,
Steve
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ourshack.com/pipermail/mythtvnz/attachments/20110829/3a5aa50c/attachment.htm