DISCUSSION: Installing Skystar 2 in Linux

This thread is to discuss the article titled: Installing Skystar 2 in Linux

Fine article. Just a question: it is possibly to see the (i don't know if this is the right term) "encoded" (scrambled perhaps) channels?

In my country, Portugal, most channels are scrambled so i put here a screenshot of mplayer playing some Spanish Channel (in Hispasat):

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/3343/snapshot14qj.jpg

Hi

In windows there are some plugins for players that do this job like S2emu,Emunation or Yankse these plugins are called Softcams
I didn't see any equivalent of them for linux yet(I haven' searched recently)

But google it perhaps you found something

Sincerely
the_one2003a

Yes i know. I use s2emu.
I've seen a program like that for linux, but for dvbcable, called cc2y4m
To use it you just have to do cc2y4m | mplayer dvb://Channel or cc2y4m Channel, but it just works for dvbc... i've tryed it with my skystar 2 and it didn't work.

If you find anything that can help please tell me... i'm just missing this to have my hardware fully functional under linux

(i have searched in google but so far i found nothing but your tutorial)

For Windows (sic) there is a lot of support from a program called progDVB and you can watch with plugins as much scrambled channels as with Dreambox i guess...more or less...

I was going to buy a SS2 but plugins for Linux don't exist...

So the next best thing if you have SS2 is emulation to run Windows Programs..

Have you tried Wine or even better VMWare ?

Possibly vmware can work, almost surely wine don't. But that's not my goal. My goal is to have the skystar 2 working natively on linux. And in fact that is possible. I've seen (googling) a tutorial, but in polish. The problem i had were that they were necessary some xine plugins, the vdr software, and other little things, and the links for the versions of some software, in these tutorial don't were active, so i've tryed with recent versions, and i was not able to compile. I've never tryed it again, cause i'm moving to University and i will not have Sattellite there... anyway... the fact is that it is possible. If you download vdr source you can see there same folder of softcam plugins... and i'm sure that is possible. I don't have the tutorial but perhaps you can find it over the web.

If anyone can get this to work (scrambled channels, natively, on linux) tell me something, in the way that i try when i went home, and i can build a tutorial in my native language, and distribute it, in my country... (there are much people with dvb-s here in Portugal)

Originally posted by andrade Possibly vmware can work, almost surely wine don't. But that's not my goal. My goal is to have the skystar 2 working natively on linux. And in fact that is possible. I've seen (googling) a tutorial, but in polish. The problem i had were that they were necessary some xine plugins, the vdr software, and other little things, and the links for the versions of some software, in these tutorial don't were active, so i've tryed with recent versions, and i was not able to compile. I've never tryed it again, cause i'm moving to University and i will not have Sattellite there... anyway... the fact is that it is possible. If you download vdr source you can see there same folder of softcam plugins... and i'm sure that is possible. I don't have the tutorial but perhaps you can find it over the web. If anyone can get this to work (scrambled channels, natively, on linux) tell me something, in the way that i try when i went home, and i can build a tutorial in my native language, and distribute it, in my country... (there are much people with dvb-s here in Portugal)

You are right.
If I buy a SS2 card i want it to run natively on linux.

check this site here:
http://dvbn.happysat.org/

especially the forums:
http://dvbn.happysat.org/index.php
http://dvbn.happysat.org/viewforum.php?f=17 (linux section)
http://dvbn.happysat.org/viewforum.php?f=26 (SS2 section)

Please let us know of your results in this efford
I hope those links will help you
I actually myself want to buy a SS2 but i want to be sure that i can watch scrambled channels on Linux , because for Windows there are a lot of plugins for this job.

I just installed a new Skystar 2 rev. 2.6D and the card is recognized. I build the channels for Nimiq91 using the scan utility:
...
DvEPG:12224:h:0:20000:0:0:50
Vu-F:12224:h:0:20000:5922:5923:122
RIS:12224:h:0:20000:0:0:124
CPACF:12224:h:0:20000:0:0:149
VuCOM:12224:h:0:20000:0:0:155
...
and I can tune to a specitif channel via szap:
./szap -l DBS -c Nimiq91Channels actif
reading channels from file 'Nimiq91Channels'
zapping to 123 'ACTIF':
sat 0, frequency = 12559 MHz H, symbolrate 20000000, vpid = 0x0000, apid = 0x0000
using '/dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0' and '/dev/dvb/adapter0/demux0'
status 03 | signal a123 | snr 716a | ber 00000000 | unc 00000000 |
status 1f | signal cb9a | snr b57d | ber 000008fc | unc 00000000 | FE_HAS_LOCK
status 1f | signal cbc1 | snr b4b4 | ber 00000869 | unc 00000000 | FE_HAS_LOCK
...
Now with the -r switch I try to make a recording of the stream
with the command cat /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 > /tmp/recording.ts
as explained in http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/answers/426.
But when I want to use mplayer to view the recording:
mplayer /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0, nothing happens. Moreover, when I stop the recording, the recording.ts gives me always 0 byte!
What is the problem?


Also, I have been unable to use dvbtune to get a specific channel,
[xxxx@localhost dvbtune-0.5]$ ./dvbtune -c 0 -D 0 -x -f 12224000 -p H -s 5
Using DVB card "ST STV0299 DVB-S"
tuning DVB-S to L-Band:0, Pol:H Srate=5000, 22kHz=off
polling....
Getting frontend event
FE_STATUS:
polling....
Getting frontend event
FE_STATUS: FE_HAS_SIGNAL FE_HAS_CARRIER
polling....
polling....
...

Mike

Mike045
As far as I c ur card is tuning well, but there is a syntax error in ur command. Try :
mplayer - < /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0

and try different channels with szap. Curiously some worked for me and some didn't.

Hi,

Has anyone tried it with the Dreambox ?
In Windows Media Player I can see the same channels as on the TV and would like to know if I can apply S2EMU to this or if there is another way to do this ?

Cuz I cannot run or apply S2EMU to a Dreambox.

Thanks

Originally Posted by small_boy22 For Windows (sic) there is a lot of support from a program called progDVB and you can watch with plugins as much scrambled channels as with Dreambox i guess...more or less... I was going to buy a SS2 but plugins for Linux don't exist... So the next best thing if you have SS2 is emulation to run Windows Programs.. Have you tried Wine or even better VMWare ?

were could i find counter strike for linix any segestions

Please I don't understand all this procedures!!

I have downloaded SkyStar 2 TV PCI Linux driver on my CentOS 5 computer's desktop and I don't know how to install the driver on the Linux Computer.

When I extracted the driver on the computer desktop, I got four files (cx24133_blob.o.i386, cx24133_blob.o.x86-64, skystar2-rev2.8-v4l-dvb.patch & README) in the extracted folder and I don't really understand how to get the driver install on the computer. I don't know what directory should I move the extracted files to start the installation.

Please I need help on how to install the driver!

Originally Posted by DBX_5 were could i find counter strike for linix any segestions

Why don't you try Urban Terror? That's pretty much the same, and it simply Rocks!!! Caution must be applied, though, as it might get addictive :-)

Originally Posted by davidolaj Please I don't understand all this procedures!! I have downloaded SkyStar 2 TV PCI Linux driver on my CentOS 5 computer's desktop and I don't know how to install the driver on the Linux Computer. When I extracted the driver on the computer desktop, I got four files (cx24133_blob.o.i386, cx24133_blob.o.x86-64, skystar2-rev2.8-v4l-dvb.patch & README) in the extracted folder and I don't really understand how to get the driver install on the computer. I don't know what directory should I move the extracted files to start the installation. Please I need help on how to install the driver!

I never worked with Cent OS, but I will try to "guess" what those files are:
README: should have a better idea than my answer on how to deal with the archive

cx24133_blob.o.i386: compiled driver for the 32-bits kernels ( version ??? )

cx24133_blob.o.x86-64: compiled driver for the 64-bits kernels

skystar2-rev2.8-v4l-dvb.patch: patch to be applied to the v4l driver in the kernel sources.

I find it strange that the archive includes binaries AND source files, but what I would do in case I can't find any instructions in that README file or on the web site on which I found it:

1- Try to load the binary driver according to my working kernel. You can know what machine you are running through

uname -m

and then, go to the directory where the new files are and type

insmod cx24133_blob.o.XXXX

replace XXX by your architecture

- If it succeeds,

dmesg

should show you a couple of lines describing the newly recognized hardware. Normally this is all about it.

2- If it fails, then you should apply that patch.
- Install kernel sources
- go to the root of the sources

 cd  /usr/src/linuxXXXYYY

- apply the patch

patch -p0 < /path/to/archive/skystar2-rev2.8-v4l-dvb.patch

- compile the kernel and install it (must find tons of docs about how to do this in your distro)

- reboot to the new kernel and retry step 1