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DVB-S2 tuner card advice - Linux and USALS support

E

elsmandino

Newbie
Hello,

I would really appreciate some advice with upgrading the tuner cards in my Linux server.

Ultimately, I really want at least four tuners with three connected to a static minidish, pointing at 28.2e.

I then want the fourth feed connected to a USALS motorised satellite dish.

I therefore need a card (or cards) that support Linux as well as USALS.

What do you guys recommend?
 
TBS do seem to be the go to cards. However, I have heard that they are a pain to use with Linux - what O/S are you using yours with?

With regards to the box of tuners - due to my setup, it has to be a headless server rather than a pre-built satellite receiver with multiple tuners.

Whilst the USALS requirement does narrow things down slightly, I am hoping that it would still be posible with the right card.
 
I was last using Ubuntu 12.04 with it. There were no dkms drivers back then so I had to recompile them each time there was a kernel update. I used to use VDR with the GotoX patches, but I think it's now native.

Tbh though my old "complex" reasons for using a headless setup like that (and streaming to vdr clients around the house) have all been replaced by an Enigma2 box with Android apps or Kodi consuming from it.

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I have to say, you have got me intrigued about your setup now - especially given that you say you have now simplified things.

One of the things that is pretty important to me is something that just works - my other half is accepting with my constantly messing with tech in our house but she does get a ticked off whenever she wants to watch something and it just doesn't work.

What, exactly, do you have?

I am not entirely sure whether an Enigma box could work for me, but is definitely at least worth exploring all options.
 
was tvh to do with amiko which are not e2 box?

plenty on modern e2 boxes can have quad tuners like 2 sat and 2 cable +internal hdd so i can record loads of stuff.
other e2 boxes in other rooms have sat 28.2 with limited service due to dark channels and i can view recordings from any other e2 boxes on my linked network.+also have network hdd nas drive.
 
That's exactly my problem too!

I'm now on an Octagon SF4008 with 3 DVB-S2X tuners. A couple of 28.2e feeds plus a dedicated feed to my rotor. You can add additional tuners by USB but 3 is the hardware limit internally in the box.

Around the house I have a number of Raspberry Pi 3 boards running LibreELEC. These have the Enigma2 PVR add on configured for live tv, recordings and EPG etc.

Additionally I've got a couple of Fire sticks running DreamPlayer, but I think it needs better hardware than a first gen fire stick as it's a bit slow at times.

I'm a Linux bod so always enjoyed tinkering with my VDR setup, but enigma2 has a lot of problems solved already and now the boxes are more powerful I find it a better all round option.



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You have both definitely got me thinking whether I should change tact with my setup now - especially if I can still get four tuners and a rotor.

I have done a bit of research on Engima 2 boxes and still not entirely sure exactly what they are and what they offer.

At the moment, I am running a headless Linux server that contains all my hard drives and tuner cards, connected to a gigabit switch. The server uses TVHeadend for scheduling and Schedules Direct for EPG.

I use Raspberry Pis (running Kodi (Librelec), connected to TVs in Livingroom, Kitchen and a couple of bedrooms to watch recordings/Live TV from the server.

If I bought an E2 box, how would that fit in with my current setup? In particular, can the box be used headless or would it have to replace one of the RPis?
 
Your E2 box would just replace the Linux server running TV Headend. You *can* use it headless, although in all honesty its nice to have the box connected up to a display because its sometimes easier to do stuff with the remote rather than via the web interface.

It's probably worth pointing out that an Enigma2 box runs Linux - I can ssh into mine just like any other linux box. They run a cut down package manager (opkg) so you can opkg install stuff just like you would on a Linux box. There are a varety of plugins available to do things like auto generate channel lists based on a daily scan, auto populate EPGs via information on the DVB stream or via XML published online.

As I say, I use LibreELEC so it would just be a case of changing the PVR Client to be the Engima2 one rather than the TV Headend one you use currently.

For me the two main things that made me stop building my own setup were 1 - these problems have all been solved by the community and it's far more active than the one I'm currently part of, so new problems are being solved more often... and 2 - having a nice integrated low power box that could just sit and be an STB and focus on just that job meant it was easier for me to get it to a state of stability and leave it that way.

Enigma2 offers more than enough flexibility to do all of the old stuff I used to do and more. I've been an Enigma user for 10 years or so but it's only more recently as the hardware has become powerful enough that I've felt it capable of doing the stuff I need it to do. The SF4008 that I've got can actually run native Kodi too, so suspect I could connect the PVR Client up to that should I feel like it was the most comfortable frontend to my TV viewing.

I suppose a good question would be how much are you looking to spend on upgrading your existing Linux box? What is the specific reason for you to upgrade right now?
 
Thank you so much - I am really glad you mentioned this gadget.

I really do think I am going to go for one of these things - seem like exactly what I am after.

A really good point about keeping a dedicated TV box separate. I was always slightly worried, with my current setup, that any upgrade would suddenly stop TVHeadend working or that one of the tuners would suddenly no longer be supported. As I mentioned before, as long as my wife and son can watch TV at any time, without me having to be there, that is one of the biggest plus points.

In terms of why I am upgrading, a few reasons:

1. We seem to have become accustomed to HD recordings and only having a single tuner means that we are not always able to record in HD when available - after a while, SD recordings suddenly seem really poor quality by comparison.

2. My son is now old enough to want to schedule and stream live TV in our house - although we have three tuners, we get a surprising number of clashes.

3. As I have both Freeview and Freesat, I can notice Freesat's superior quality, especially on the SD channels.

4. I am learning German and I would love to get my son watching some foreign TV, so the motorised satellite would be a massive bonus in that respect.

In terms of budget - I hadn't really considered that, to be honest. I had assume, until you mentioned these boxes, that my options were rather limited and that I had to pay for whatever was available. I did look at some of the tuner equipment offered by Digital Devices, which was pretty eye-watering to say the least.
 
If you have Freeview then you've got the option of Freeview USB tuners for extra capacity too.

Are you interested in 4k? If not then there are quite a few nice looking boxes for not too much cash. Having said that, my triple tuner SF4008 with 1tb drive was still only £300 all in.

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Thanks Wilb.

I did a bit of research, last night, and was surprised how many E2 boxes there were out there - seems to be a whole world of hardware that I was completely oblivious to.

I can also see, now, why running an E2 box "headless" would be a waste - they seem to offer so much more than a Raspberry Pi could (upscaling, PiP etc.). Replacing my RPi, in the livingroom, next to the television, is going to mean a bit of change around (increased noise, where to put it and running the coax into the room) but I agree that once done, it is going to make for a hugely improve experience for our main TV.

The 4k question is a great point - to tell you the truth, my TV is only only 1080p and my a/v amp won't support 4k either. I would be happy to stick with non-4k options for the time-being.

My only real requirement is going to be that the device can offer 4 tuners and that one is able to control a USALS motor.
 
If you're willing to splash out then a Vu+ 4k box that can support a unicable LNB might be your most exciting investment. Let me dig out what I nearly bought and link you up...

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So, I very nearly bought one of these: https://www.world-of-satellite.co.u...vers/4k-uhd-digital-receivers/VU-Plus-Solo-4K

They have "full band capture" tuners, so linked up with a unicable LNB on your dish will allow you to watch / record 7 channels at the same time from a single satellite - similar to how Sky Q works. So you could stick a unicable LNB at 28.2 and your family then have all the TV they need, while you have a tuner dedicated to your rotor.

I'm trying to recall whether I actually saw a quad-tuner box on my travels. I suspect you may need a triple tuner one with the addition of a USB one to finish things off.
 
Whilst I love that Xtrend box, I am totally in love with that VUPlus - expensive, but seems to offer so much for it. You have definitely got my attention with that and it is getting some fantastic reviews!

The FBC tuners would be a massive advantage for me as it would be a lot less hassle, rerouting just two coax wires into my livingroom (the good quality stuff that I am planning on using for that is pretty chunky).

I am not entirely sure I completely get how FBC is going to work in practice - it seems that there are two FBC tuners, offering four channels each. Am I correct in thinking that there is the option of having both tuners work via one "master" input? Furthermore, will the tuners work with any octo unicable LNB or is there one that specifically needs to be bought for use with FBC tuners?
 
I think you need a specific unicable LNB, which takes a single coax run to a tuner on the box. I then believe it presents itself (or has to be configured) as 7 virtual tuners, all under a single physical tuner. I don't think there would be anything stopping you doing exactly the same with another unicable LNB on the second input from your rotor either?

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