Four DVB-S2 tuners - needs USALS and Linux support.

Whiffle · 13 Oct 2017 at 14:01

Hi,

I am after some PCI-e DVB-S2 tuners for my Linux server, running TVHeadend.

Ultimately, I want three feeds connected to a static minidish, pointing at 28.2e.

The other feed is to be connected to a USALS motorised dish.

What are my options?

I originally looked at one of these:

https://www.tbsdtv.com/products/tbs6...pcie-card.html

However, I have been advised to avoid these as they are a pain to use with Linux.

The only other quad tuner I can find is this:

http://www.digital-devices.eu/shop/...e-set-dd-cine-s2-v7a-und-duoflex-s2-v4a?c=160

otherwise, I might have to look at a couple of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DVBSky-prof.../dp/B0063CDYMK

What do you think I should do?

Jamesyboyjim · 13 Oct 2017 at 15:28

I'd use whatever works best with Linux. Even if that meant 4x single pci tuners. I used a triple tuner before (1xdvbt2 1xdvbs2 1xdvbc) and it had so many problems as the drivers were terrible at best.

Whiffle · 13 Oct 2017 at 15:59

Thanks James - out of interest, what was the tuner that caused you grief?

Rozzy85 · 13 Oct 2017 at 18:06

TBS is a good choice if you're willing to pay for it. Drivers are still immature and I had issues getting my working in Linux but all is good now.

For my TV server I got some cheap single PCI DVB-S2 (Technotrend S2-3200) tuners because the TBS ones cost 4-5x as much, they work with Linux (Debian 9) out the box and it has 6 PCI slots anyway so single tuners are no problem. These are classed as budget cut down cards and they have a few occasional locking issues but it's only a minor annoyance. An example of a rock solid card with Linux is the TechniSat SkyStar 2 but they are DVB-S only.

Whiffle · 16 Oct 2017 at 11:23

Thanks - it is a shame that the Technotrend are PCI as they are very reasonably priced (I only have a single PCI slot on my server board).

I agree that TBS cards are rather expensive, but I am prepared to go with them as long as they do the job.

What TBS card are you using? Do you struggle with the issues that seem to plague Linux users, following kernel upgrades?

Jamesyboyjim · 17 Oct 2017 at 13:01

Whiffle said:
Thanks James - out of interest, what was the tuner that caused you grief?

I think it was called an sr4 tuner, it never really had anyone developing for it so I don't think there was ever any update from the initial release.

Rozzy85 · 18 Oct 2017 at 05:56

Whiffle said:
What TBS card are you using? Do you struggle with the issues that seem to plague Linux users, following kernel upgrades?

6221. It's a terrestrial card but the process is the same anyway. Could not get the official drivers to work with it. It was like the card wasn't ever supported. They appeared to compile correctly but the modules just wouldn't load. After 3 days I just about gave up but happen to find the updated open source drivers (I had already tried them before but downloaded an older version) which now supported this card and they worked on the first try. I have not attempted a kernal upgrade yet since this was a fresh install not long ago.

Whiffle · 24 Oct 2017 at 13:44

Having done a bit more research, I stumbled across this beast:

https://digitaldevices.de/products/dvb_components/max_s8/

At £260.00, it is pretty expensive but not bad value on a per tuner basis.

My problem now is working out whether this is going to work with an octo-unicable LNB connected to one input (for use with seven of the tuners) plus a single LNB on a rotor, connected to another of the inputs.