VCR-HOWTO - Using your GNU/Linux computer as a VCR

8. Questions and Answers

This is just a collection of what I believe are the most common questions people might have. Give me more feedback and I will turn this section into a proper FAQ.

• Q:Why don't I get audio when playing back recorded programs?

  A: This could be due to several things. In order for audio recording to work, you must have the tuner card send output to the 'line-in' on your sound card. You must also use the mixer to enable the line-in on the sound card (if you hear sound while recording the show, it is probably enabled). I used to have my tuner card sound sent to my stereo receiver instead of the sound card, which was why I didn't get sound. Finally, it may be that the sound was record properly, but your sound device is in use by another program (esd, licq, xmms, etc).

• Q: Why is my video very jumpy?

  A: This may be due to a slow CPU. I currently haven't determined the exact requirements for recording with this method, I'm hoping user feedback will help me figure out what CPU is indeed required. I have a Duron 700 that seems to work fine, but I've heard that people with a 200-500mhz processor are unable to get smooth video.

• Q: Why is the audio/video out of sync?

  A: This may be due to an incorrect FPS setting for your video type. For NTSC you will want to use 29.97. For PAL you will want to use 25. I still don't get perfect audio/video synchronization - but I can live with it. Hopefully this will improve over time.