Hello everyone!

Let me start by saying how much I love Tvheadend. It's the only reason I keep watching TV! <3

I'm trying to get DVB-C to work, but I'm running into a bit of trouble.
Since the documentation is a bit … outdated, I'd be happy to write a new "How to get things going" to put in the wiki. Happy to help, but I need to know what I'm doing first. ;-)

Background¶

My setup:

• tvheadend 4.0.5 (on Linux Mint 17.2 Rafaela with Kodi 15.1 Isengard)
• Sony PlayTV dual DVB-T tuner, USB (properly configured!)
• WinTV HVR-930C DVB-C/-T hybrid tuner, USB
• a DVB-C signal (tested on a TV set, signal is perfect, unplugged cable from TV and attached to USB-tuner)

As mentioned, I have a working DVB-T setup going since quite some time; so the hardware, the OS, and the installation and such should be fine.

But I have a working DVB-C signal to my home, so of course I wanted it to run through tvheadend also. That's why I got me the HVR-930C. (Stick appears to work fine; gets recognized, firmware loaded, the whole shebang; dmesg output available if needed. dmesg appears to be fine, and tvheadend claims @linuxdvb: adapter added /dev/dvb/adapter2 upon connecting.)

Configuring Tvheadend¶

Setup sequence¶

If I'm not mistaken, this should be the correct setup sequence:

1. Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Networks -> Add -> Type: DVB-C Network.
2. Give it a name, uncheck "Skip Initial Scan", and set "Pre-defined Muxes" (see below!) -> Create.
3. Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> TV Adapters -> select the adapter (in my case: "DRXK DVB-C DVB-T: DVB-C #0")
4. Check "Enabled".
5. In the "Networks" dropdown, check the network created above.
6. Select "Save".
7. Configuration -> DVB Inputs -> Muxes -> Add -> Network: the one created above (leave every other setting as is, which maybe isn't that good of an idea?) -> Create.

First of all: Is this the correct procedure?
(If so, I'd gladly make screenshots and publish it as a guide in the wiki! ;-) )

(Not really on topic, but: Shouldn't the default settings from #2 be the ones you want? Also, in my opinion, the interface should tell you which settings are essential—like the name—and which aren't. For example: Is "Pre-defined Muxes" required or optional?)

Selecting "Pre-defined Muxes"¶

So regarding "Pre-defined Muxes", I tried three different settings.

• Selecting none. What happens is this:
  

  mpegts: 0MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  linuxdvb: DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0 - failed to tune [e=Invalid argument]
  

  
  (All the bugs I found googling "failed to tune [e=Invalid argument]" concerned previous versions of Tvheadend.)
  Also, it shows: 0 Mux, 0 Services, 0 Mapped Channels, 0 Scan Q length.

• Selecting "Germany: Kabel-BW"
  Now there's 1 Mux, 0 Services, 0 Mapped Channels, 1 Scan Q length. The log now says:
  

  2015-08-24 20:10:51.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  2015-08-24 20:10:51.000 opentv-skyuk: registering mux 114MHz in c-test
  2015-08-24 20:10:51.006 subscription: 0092: "scan" subscribing to mux "114MHz", weight: 5, adapter: "DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0", network: "c-test", service: "Raw PID Subscription" 
  2015-08-24 20:10:54.025 linuxdvb: Unhandled ERROR_BIT_COUNT scale: 0
  2015-08-24 20:10:54.025 linuxdvb: Unable to provide BER value.
  2015-08-24 20:10:54.025 linuxdvb: Unhandled SNR scale: 0
  2015-08-24 20:10:54.026 linuxdvb: Unhandled ERROR_BLOCK_COUNT scale: 0
  2015-08-24 20:10:56.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - scan no data, failed
  2015-08-24 20:10:56.000 subscription: 0092: "scan" unsubscribing
  2015-08-24 20:11:06.001 mpegts: 0MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  2015-08-24 20:11:06.001 linuxdvb: DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0 - failed to tune [e=Invalid argument]
  2015-08-24 20:11:06.002 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  2015-08-24 20:11:06.002 subscription: 0095: "scan" subscribing to mux "114MHz", weight: 2, adapter: "DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0", network: "c-test", service: "Raw PID Subscription" 
  2015-08-24 20:11:11.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - scan no data, failed
  2015-08-24 20:11:11.000 subscription: 0095: "scan" unsubscribing
  2015-08-24 20:11:21.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  2015-08-24 20:11:21.000 subscription: 0096: "scan" subscribing to mux "114MHz", weight: 2, adapter: "DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0", network: "c-test", service: "Raw PID Subscription" 
  2015-08-24 20:11:26.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - scan no data, failed
  2015-08-24 20:11:26.000 subscription: 0096: "scan" unsubscribing
  2015-08-24 20:11:36.001 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - tuning on DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0
  2015-08-24 20:11:36.001 subscription: 0097: "scan" subscribing to mux "114MHz", weight: 2, adapter: "DRXK DVB-C DVB-T : DVB-C #0", network: "c-test", service: "Raw PID Subscription" 
  2015-08-24 20:11:41.000 mpegts: 114MHz in c-test - scan no data, failed
  2015-08-24 20:11:41.000 subscription: 0097: "scan" unsubscribing
  

  
  With the last four lines repeating over and over every 10 seconds (only the counter going up every time). It's been going for hours now, hundreds of times (I suspect that's the idle-scan repeatedly not finding anything?).

• Selecting "Germany: Unitymedia" (KabelBW has been bought up by Unitymedia a while back)
  Now there's 32 Mux, 0 Services, 0 Mapped Channels, 32 Scan Q length. The log now says basically the same as in the example above; only this time, not only the counter, but also the frequency changes.

No matter what I try: In the "Muxes" tab, "Scan Status" reads "PEND", "Scan Result" is "FAIL".

(Except the working DVB-T channels of course, where some read "IDLE" -> "OK" and others—though they work—have "IDLE" -> "FAIL". Which is confusing, but off topic…)

Questions¶

So: What am I doing wrong?
Am I missing a step?

Should I try a nightly/unstable version?
Should I file a bug report on something?

Maybe the pre-defined muxes are outdated? If so:
Is there a way to scan all frequencies? (I've seen conflicting info about this.)
How/where do I feed Tvheadend a list of valid (current) frequencies to use?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Nicola