Tvheadend

Hi everyone,

I am installing TVHeadend on a stand alone server this weekend, to work with my OpenElec XBMC client. I tried before unsuccessfully to get the Linux4Media Cine S2 card recognised by the system, but have some more time to experiment this time around.

The card appears to be supported, according to the details here: http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Linux4Media_cineS2_DVB-S2_Twin_Tuner but I wanted to check the process before I dive in this time. I am planning to do a clean install of TVheadend, with the card installed (and connected to the power) but am unsure what to expect with regards to upgrading the card firmware, and getting the driver installed.

1. I was planning on using Ubuntu Server 12.04 - my first question is if this is recommended, or if there is a preferred distro of Linux to use?

2. From what I understand, after completing the Linux installation, the card should be recognised in the machine when I enter the following command
$ lspci -vvvnn

3. This will then give me a load of information from which I can identify which version of card I have.

4. Using the information I get, I will update card firmware using one of the following commands, depending on version I have:
$ wget http://www.digitaldevices.de/download/ngene_15.fw
$ cp ngene_15.fw /lib/firmware/

or
$ wget http://l4m-daten.de/downloads/firmware/dvb-s2/linux/all/ngene_18.fw
$ sudo cp ngene_18.fw /lib/firmware

5. Is this the only step needed for the firmware update, or do I need to take any further steps beyond this?

6. Once firmware is update, I need to get the driver, using the following command:
$ hg clone http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb/
$ cd v4l-dvb
$ make
$ make install

Am I right in thinking that after this step, the driver should be loaded, and the card is ready for use in TVHeadend?

Many thanks in advance for any confirmation or suggestions on this - I am currently using MediaPortal TV server, but am finding the delay in channel shifting is too long. Also, it seems that XBMC are basing most of the PVR development on TVHeadend, so it's the logical route to take.