DVB-S Testing

[bartley9]

I would like to start using DVB-S but am concerneded by a few posts which suggest that it is not fully stable yet and don't want to face the wrath of my Wife for failing to record ER etc.

Is there a way I can add a DVB-S card but not enable it for scheduled recording, so it can only be used for viewing channels?

[CollinR]

You can use a Sat box and a regular encoder if SD is okay with you. This is well established to work.


Basically the FTA and pirate Dishnet is what doesn't work so hot, for FTA to be worthwhile you'll need to speak a langauge other then English as that most of what I have seen for FTA.

Even still you can hook 2 FTA boxes to a PVR500 and have great results.

[Mark SS]

I've been using the betas with DVB-S for Sky over the past month and not had any major problems once it was up and running. One or two channels fail to tune (Paramount Comedy +1 and another I forget) so I've disabled them for the time being. Having BBCHD (DVB-S/H.264) in Sage makes up for losing a couple of channels. You'll also have a massive PQ boost if your still using Sky->Composite as your sig suggests.

It also appears that DVB-S2/h.264 is working but my CAM/CI is failing to descramble the stream most of the time. Confident its the CAM as I have the same problem in DVBViewer.

[Lucas]

This is another vote for the internal DVB-S functionality!

I 've been using full time for a couple of months and haven't had a failed recording yet.

[bartley9]

OK... I'm warming to the idea.

Next question. My main PVR client is a smallish Celeron PC. What format are the shows recorded in with an S2 3200. do they all come in in MPEG2 or are they H.264. If they are H.264 I don't think my client will be able to play them.

Can you share any experiences with client formats and playback?

[Mark SS]

As with all DVB cards, it will record the stream in the format its received. SD channels on Sky being mpeg2, HD being h264.

[pschweig]

Originally Posted by bartley9

I would like to start using DVB-S but am concerneded by a few posts which suggest that it is not fully stable yet and don't want to face the wrath of my Wife for failing to record ER etc.

Another vote for native DVB-S in sage - very stable for me. Occasionally it stops tuning and I have to reboot. That's not necessarily sage's fault tho. I have my pvr set to reboot every 3 days and I rarely see the problem.

I am using a firedtv external dvb-s box and Dragon T Rex CAM with Sky subscription card.

Originally Posted by Mark SS

One or two channels fail to tune (Paramount Comedy +1 and another I forget) so I've disabled them for the time being.

I get the same - Paramout Comedy+1 does not tune. Qian reckons it's the CAM that's unable to decode it. I have a Dragon TRex CAM. What CAM/CI do you have?

Originally Posted by Mark SS

Having BBCHD (DVB-S/H.264) in Sage makes up for losing a couple of channels.

So do I need DVB-S2 in order to view the bbcHD channel. I tried to tune it but didn't get a picture.

It's a free channel isn't it - or do I need a HD subscription card in order to tune it?

[Mahoney]

Is there any word on potentially supporting MD-API plugins?

[Mark SS]

Originally Posted by pschweig

I get the same - Paramout Comedy+1 does not tune. Qian reckons it's the CAM that's unable to decode it. I have a Dragon TRex CAM. What CAM/CI do you have?

S2-3200 card with Dragon/TRex CAM. Qian is probably right as the same problem channels fail to decode in DVBViewer, its not just Sage.

Originally Posted by pschweig

So do I need DVB-S2 in order to view the bbcHD channel. I tried to tune it but didn't get a picture.

It's a free channel isn't it - or do I need a HD subscription card in order to tune it?

BBCHD is DVB-S at the moment (although they will eventually switch to DVB-S2) and it is FTA so no need for an HD sub to see it. You'll need PowerDVD or CoreAVC as the h264 codec to get it working. Works perfectly for me with the latest beta using PowerDVD as the codec.

[Mark SS]

Originally Posted by Mahoney

Is there any word on potentially supporting MD-API plugins?

Not yet, fingers crossed.

[bartley9]

What is the config of your client that you use for H.264 playback?

[pschweig]

Originally Posted by Mark SS

BBCHD is DVB-S at the moment (although they will eventually switch to DVB-S2) and it is FTA so no need for an HD sub to see it. You'll need PowerDVD or CoreAVC as the h264 codec to get it working. Works perfectly for me with the latest beta using PowerDVD as the codec.

Yes I just managed to tune it. It was a bit stuttery at first but I realised that was because I was trying to stream over my wireless network

Switched to ethernet and it looks fantastic on my widescreen monitor. My CPU was at about 30%.

What format is the video recorded in? Do you know an app that I can open the video with? All my current apps are geared to mpeg2 and none could play the video

[Mark SS]

Originally Posted by bartley9

What is the config of your client that you use for H.264 playback?

Athlon 4200x2, Geforce 7900 GTO

[Mark SS]

Originally Posted by pschweig

What format is the video recorded in? Do you know an app that I can open the video with? All my current apps are geared to mpeg2 and none could play the video

Buy PowerDVD and watch it in Sage. I doubt that Media Player Classic/FFDShow would be up to the job, unless you have a monster CPU.

AFAIK Sage just converts the h264/AC3 MPEG2 transport stream to h264/AC3 MPEG2 program stream.

[Narflex]

FYI, DVB-S is officially supported in SageTV V6.2 that is now publicly released.

[Alfiegerner]

Can the subscription cards auto-update or do you still need to put them in the sky box every so often?

[Mark SS]

There doesn't yet seem to be a CAM on the market that supports NDS and key updates. Card has to go back in the box for a few hours, once every 4-6 weeks it seems. I'm on around 5 weeks now, not intending to put back in the box until it stops working, just to see how long it lasts.

There might be softcams around that will process the updates but I've not had a play with them lately. There is a network encoder for DVBDream which might be an alternative route if coupled with NDSCam.

[Alfiegerner]

I'd say 4 weeks is totally acceptable ...

mmm, I can see pvr refactoring time coming up.

If I had 1 sky feed coming into my study, could I split that into two cards (like cable), or would I need to go 'multi-rip-off' to have 2 tuners?

[Lucas]

It's actually pretty close to six weeks.

I've left the card in my SageTV box continously over the last few months starting from late May and the channels went blank in late July and now last weekend.

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by Narflex

FYI, DVB-S is officially supported in SageTV V6.2 that is now publicly released.

Except if you have a Hauppauge HVR-4000

John