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Old 01-13-2017, 09:00 AM   #1
elsmandino
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Advice on DVB-T2 and DVB-S2 tuners.


Hello,

I am looking to put some internal TV tuners into my server and would be grateful for any recommendations.

I need to two DVB-T2 tuners and four DVB-S2.

It is not crucial that they work "out of the box" with Linux, just as long as they can be made to work properly without anything hopelessly complicated.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Last edited by elsmandino; 01-17-2017 at 08:45 AM. Reason: Updated information.
 
Old 01-13-2017, 12:16 PM   #2
serafean
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Hi,

these guys : http://shop.tbsdtv.com/ have DVB-{T,S} tuners, and official linux support. OSS drivers also exist. (and some devices are supported in mainline)
I have a TBS-6981 (DVB-S2) which works very well using the OSS drivers with tvheadend. The official drivers might be a completely different story : https://tvheadend.wordpress.com/2013...-6981-debacle/ . Haven't tried them.

I also read pretty good things about DigitalDevices tuners (no experience though) : https://digitaldevices.de/products/dvb_components/

Good luck.
 
Old 01-13-2017, 12:29 PM   #3
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OK, so not internal but I would feel bad for not mentioning the "SDR" USB sticks do work with a proper antenna -- the antenna being "the hard part" as far as I've been able to work out using any radio device.
https://www.linuxquestions.org/quest...ux-4175551445/
 
Old 01-14-2017, 02:28 PM   #4
jefro
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This is the place I start at.

https://www.linuxtv.org/

https://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/H...ce_information

There seems to be more dvb support but as with all this stuff, the chipset is most important over model number.

Last edited by jefro; 01-14-2017 at 02:29 PM.
 
Old 01-16-2017, 12:51 PM   #5
JaseP
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Rather than go with an internal card, I would go with an HDhomerun. All you need for one is the coax antennae lead and an ethernet port on your router or switch. Linux has support for them in most distros. They are easy to use with both the tuning app and VLC, as well as with MythTV... Unless you need analog support for some old legacy devices (VCRs, etc.), that's the way to go...
 
Old 01-16-2017, 01:34 PM   #6
mostlyharmless
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All good advice above, I've got a couple of USB devices of both types. Be warned: they typically do not work as well as a TV or sat box on the same antenna, in my experience, so if your signal is marginal, that may be an issue. You also are probably aware that the choice of device depends on where you live, i.e. Europe, Americas, etc.
 
Old 01-17-2017, 02:26 AM   #7
serafean
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mostlyharmless View Post
Be warned: they typically do not work as well as a TV or sat box on the same antenna, in my experience, so if your signal is marginal, that may be an issue.
^^^ This. Hundred times this.
This is one of the reasons I don't want to go with usb tuners ever again. From what I've heard internal tuners are indeed better, but I haven't tried it.
Also, if it is a shared antenna, do NOT turn on signal amplification on any other connected devices. It'll fry your hardware.
 
Old 01-17-2017, 02:56 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by serafean View Post
^^^ This. Hundred times this.
This is one of the reasons I don't want to go with usb tuners ever again. From what I've heard internal tuners are indeed better, but I haven't tried it.
Also, if it is a shared antenna, do NOT turn on signal amplification on any other connected devices. It'll fry your hardware.
Oh, I completely agrree that USB tuners aren't the best -- when mine's hooked up to an amplified roof-mounted antenna it's fine but with the antenna that came with it or, I'm guessing, any indoor antenna it's going to struggle. However, at <£20 for the USB stick and an adaptor to hook it up to a normal-sized coax I thik it's worth it. Same adaptor can be used for messing with ADS-B and trying to listen to air traffic control also thoough not always easily once the TV driver is installed so if TV is a washout yoou may be able to use it foor other things.

However, I agree that an internal card's probably the way to go -- it's mainly the price of USB sticks that made me mention them.
 
Old 01-17-2017, 08:05 AM   #9
elsmandino
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Thank you all for your recommendations.

On reflection, it seems a bit overkill for me to have four DVB-S2 tuners, so I have decided to go with two for DVB-T2 and DVB-S2.

TBS does indeed seem a good choice:

If I go for one of these, would it be better to go with a single card that has all four tuners or two separate cards?

Network also seem a great idea and I might consider something like this:

https://digitaldevices.de/products/n...topus_net_mix/

I would have to check compatibility with TVH and MythTV before getting one though - I am still yet to decide which PVR software I am going to be using.

How well do network tuners work in practice and what are the major advantages/disadvantages over regular TV tuners?

Although I have a gigabit network, there are going to be times when I am recording four HD channels whilst perhaps streaming another 3 HD streams all at the same time. Is there a possibility that this might overwhelm the network?
 
  


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