New approach to H265 for the Portsdown

[G8GKQ]

Dave

I'm not sure that your post is quite on the same topic as the other posts here (which are discussing alternatives to the CQ-TV 269 article) , so I will answer.

First of all, can you confirm if your LKV373A is a V3 or a V4? Not too relevant to your question, but I would like to know.

The way that I would fault-find this is to log-in to the Jetson and run the encoding commands directly. You will find that the encoding commands are written to a temporary file on the Raspberry Pi (/home/pi/tmp/jetson_command.txt) during their use. So you could copy the commands from here and paste them into command line windows on the Jetson. Then you would be able to see the error messages.

I am not aware of any hardware changes that would cause a problem, but you never know.

You are clearly close to a solution if you have the testcard running.

Dave, G8GKQ

[G8GKQ]

Dave

I've had a few more thoughts on this.

The software assumes that the C920 in use is of the original design that had an internal H264 encoder. The second series of C920 did not have this encoder so will not work with the published software.

Is your USB audio dongle of exactly the right type? The software only works with the very cheap white ones.

Is your RPi Camera Version 2? The Jetson does not work with version 1 cameras.

That still does not explain why you can't get the HDMI to work!

Dave

[G3XOU]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply. Apologies for not posting in the correct area but I thought the NanoBox was one of the new approaches to be able to use the Portsdown with an H265 input. I followed the link on https://wiki.batc.org.uk/Jetson_Nano "John G7JTT has written up his experiences on the BATC forum: viewtopic.php?t=6402&p=21487#p21487" and it took me to this forum topic.

Regarding the LKV373A V3 - these are no longer available - they have gone end-of-life. You may see them for sale on Amazon but they are the V2 version as I found out and returned it to Amazon for a refund. The replacement for the LKV373A V3 is the LKV383 V3 which I purchased and have successfully upgraded the firmware as per CQ-TV 269 as you can see from the screenshot. If you do a search on eBay for "**TX or RX** For LKV383 HDbitT HDMI Extender IR Cat5e/Cat6 Support LKV373A V3.0" it will take to the listing for the one I bought - price has increased a bit since I bought it a few weeks ago.

Regarding the C920 camera, it works fine with the RPi 3B and Portsdown 2020. I purchased it off Amazon in Sept 2019. I had a look at the box but it doesn't give a detail spec. Any suggestions on how I can check this as Windows 10 device manager doesn't give any details?

Regarding the Pi Camera, it's a Raspberry Pi v2.1 8 MP 1080p Camera Module so it is the V2 camera - it also says V2 on the PCB.

Regarding the audio dongle, it's not the white one but a green one model PD554. Anyway as long as I can get the HDMI Streamer input working that will provide me with the setup I wanted. Did the Codec information look OK from VLC from the LKV 383 HDMI Streamer Multicast output?

Thanks for the information on using the Jetson commands manually - I will give that a try and let you know the results.

73,
Dave G3XOU

[g0mjw]

I wonder if it is still worth getting the LKV373A when there is a not too much more expensive priced HDMI to H264/5 box. This doesn't do very low rates quite as well as the Nvidia but it's pretty good at 333ks and up. The latest Pluto firmware supports it. Has done for a while now. It might be possible to port that support to the Portsdown - but I am not about to ask Dave.

Mike

[G8GKQ]

Hi Dave

You can check the version of the C920 using the command

Code: Select all

lsusb

on either the RPi or the Jetson (with the camera connected of course).

The older H264-encoding camera will respond with

Code: Select all

Bus 001 Device 00x: ID 046d:082d Logitech, Inc. HD Pro Webcam C920

The newer, less capable camera will respond with

Code: Select all

Bus 001 Device 00x: ID 046d:0892 Logitech, Inc. HD Pro Webcam C920

or similar.

It's the 082d or 0892 that tells you the difference.

The wrong audio dongle will be the reason the Pi Cam does not work.

So, that just leaves the HDMI input......

Dave

[G3XOU]

Hi Dave,

Many thanks for your reply regarding the C920 - you were right - it's the less capable model! Bus 001 Device 004: ID 046d:0892 Logitech, Inc. OrbiCam
OK, on the USB dongle.

Well that's two things I can cross of the to-do snag list so I will concentrate on the HDMI streamer input.

73,
Dave G3XOU

[G8GKQ]

Dave

I think I might have just spotted the problem. There is no active audio stream coming out of your LKV383A.

Try reconnecting the HDMI cable (this can cure a no audio problem if it should be there) or using a different HDMI source with audio. You are looking for audio stream information as shown below. Note that I have set this particular device for 720p output.

Dave

[G3XOU]

Hi Dave,

Very well spotted! Lack of audio on the HDMI port was the problem.

I found that the sound settings on the HP Z-Book Laptop I was using as the HDMI source was still set to the Realtech Audio and not to the HDbitT HDMI Sender.

All working fine now. Many thanks for your help in fixing the issue.

73,
Dave G3XOU