Tvheadend

A L wrote:

Hello,

I am currently looking into moving away from Windows and am looking to build a new linux-based server/DVR.

I would be really grateful for some advice on:

1. What TV tuners to use (I need two DVB-T2 and two DVB-S2) - what brand and should I consider internal or network tuners?

SAT->IP tuners are easier to use as there is no installing of cards or drivers and although the name suggests it's only for sat, there are dvb-t versions available. Network tuners such as the HDHR can be good choices too but can be problematic in some cases, but generally they work very well.

As for internal/external cards, any that have linux support should be fine. Try to get ones with mainline kernel support. TBS tuners require a driver rebuild on kernel upgrade.

2. I currently have a Schedules Direct account that works very well with NPVR - how easily does SD work with TVH?

I believe you have to use some xmltv based script to convert SDs json to xmltv. Tvheadend supports OTA epg data (provider dependant), so SD isn't really needed unless it provides you with richer data.

3. What operating system/distro is recommended for running TVH?

It'll run on most distros/systems, there are packages available for Debian & Ubuntu, others you may have to build it yourself.

Thanks

DigitalDevices
https://digitaldevices.de/products/dvb_components/cine_s2_v7/
+
https://digitaldevices.de/products/dvb_components/duoflex_c2t2/ =
http://www.digital-devices.eu/shop/en/tv-cards/complete-sets-with-4-tuners/268/4-tuner-tv-card-mixed-dvb-s2/c2/t2-fuer-pcie-set-dd-cine-s2-v7-und-duoflex-c2t2-v3?c=160

or
https://digitaldevices.de/products/network_tv_tuner/octopus_net_s2_4t/

Excellent - thank you both.

If I had to to choose, I think I would prefer a SAT>IP tuner, if possible.

Something like this would seem perfect:

https://digitaldevices.de/products/network_tv_tuner/octopus_net_mix/

My only reservation about using a network tuner is the amount of traffic that is going to be transmitted over my network (which is Gigabit speed).

It is not uncommon for me to be recording four HD streams whist potentially streaming three more HD streams to clients.

Could this sort of throughout load potentially cause a problem for my network?

I use Tvheadend with both Schedules Direct and network tuners. Use the tv_grab_sd_json grabber from the XMLTV utilities 0.5.68, as older versions do not include this grabber. The JSON API gives more complete information and metadata, and in my experience often gives 3 weeks of guide data, instead of the normal 2 with the DataDirect API. (One caveat, I had to modify the grabber script to properly handle/map the first run/new/premiere flag of the XMLTV file as it didn't seem to be triggered properly in the default script.)

As far as bandwidth and network tuners: I have 3 HDHR Primes, each capable of streaming 3 HD streams (12–19Mbps). It is not uncommon for my system to be streaming/recording 5 HD streams at a time without a problem. (My recordings and timeshift buffer are stored on a NAS, so everything is bouncing back and forth across my GbE network.)

If you are going with SAT>IP, I doubt you will have any problems. (Especially since the maximum bandwidth of HD DVB streams is actually lower than the maximum bandwidth of US cable HD streams.)

As far as Linux distributions go: I personally prefer Arch. I don't care for Debian/Ubuntu-based distros, and I haven't had a problem with Tvheadend from the AUR.

Thanks very much for that, Robert - does seem that I should have no problem at all network tuners.

May I possibly ask what your setup is?

Does TVH run on your NAS?

A L wrote:

May I possibly ask what your setup is?

Does TVH run on your NAS?

No, I have TVH running on a separate machine. Roughly, this is my setup:

 +-----+      +---+
 |Modem|      |NAS|
 +-----+      +---+
    |           ^
    v           |
+-------+    +------+   +---+
|Router/|--->|Switch|-->|TVH|
|OpenBSD|    +------+   +---+
+-------+      | | |
         +-----+ | +-----+
         v       v       v
      +-----+ +-----+ +-----+
      |Prime| |Prime| |Prime|
      +-----+ +-----+ +-----+