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Date:      Wed, 17 Jul 2002 14:45:18 -0700
From:      Rob McKeever <robm@mac.com>
To:        freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org
Subject:   problem getting multiple bktr devices talking through a single HB1 bridge
Message-ID:  <7CCB9A8B-99CE-11D6-8D79-0050E4465D5F@mac.com>

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Hello everyone,

I've got a problem I'm hoping that someone out there can help 
solve (surprise, surprise!).

I've got a bunch of capture cards that use 4 Conexant BT878A 
capture chips connected through a single HiNT HB1 bridge chip.  
When I've tried connecting multiple BT878's directly to the main 
PCI bus, the system runs just fine with all slots filled.  I've 
tried the same thing using the multi-chip capture cards but have 
had much less success - the system will run for a period of 
time, then spontaneously reboot without warning.  It usually 
does not leave a kernel dump.

So far, Ive got:
	1) Multiple independent BT878A's work fine (devices bktr0 
through bktr7 usually, although I've also tweaked things to test 
with up to 20 bktr devices)
	2) Running only one BT878A per HiNT HB1 bridge works just fine
	3) Running multiple BT878A's per HB1 causes reboots

The test software I've been using to try and figure this out is 
fxtv.  I'll be using some of my own streaming code in the end, 
but this provides a nice open source verification of the problem 
(thus assuring me that it's not something I did wrong).  The 
more simultaneous session started ('cause the bktr driver 
doesn't automatically disable capture when a connected client 
process closes), the quicker the system crashes.

I've talked to Roger Hardiman, who maintains the bktr driver, 
who suggested that perhaps some special setup info had to be 
given to bridge chip (like what is done to support the newer 
Matrox Meteor cards).  The only affect I've been able to have by 
doing this has been to set the primary and secondary latency 
higher - this results in somewhat longer times between reboots.

I've talked to HiNT who thinks this is likely an issue with the 
BT878A driver on FreeBSD.  I've been trying to get in touch with 
Conexant, but the closest I've been able to get is phone tag 
with a local field engineer.

Can anyone provide any other suggestions?  I can provide specs 
sheets for all chips involved, kernel configuration info, run 
tests, etc. if it will help.  I's also be willing to compensate 
someone some for their efforts should we manage to find an 
answer.


Thanks, in advance,

Rob McKeever
Vancouver, BC Canada
robm@mac.com


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