OpenWRT with tvheadend on old router...?

[V_J]

Hello,

Has anyone here tried to install TVHeadend on OpenWRT on a router?

At my inlaws, one of their old routers is giving unstable wifi. The router is an Asus RT-ac51u (running next to a DSL-N16u), so we'll upgrade the network infrastructure to some mesh.
The ac51u has a single usb port but only has 100 mbit ports, so there is little point in repurposing it as a switch or a network storage and with the old wifi standard and wonky wifi also little use as an access point. But it apparently supports OpenWRT ( https://openwrt.org/toh/asus/rt-ac51u ). From what I read, it should be possible to install TVHeadend to make a network tuner (using a USB DVB device), as there is a package ( https://openwrt.org/packages/pkgdata/tvheadend ).

Given that there is not much other use for the router, I would be tempted to try it. Worst case I brick an old router with no other functionality (I will repurpose the DSL-N16u for network storage: it has 2 usb ports, gigabit and does not support third party firmware).
Any success stories on this topic? Or other comments?

Thanks,

Jörg

[mvallevand]

It expect it is possible, so by all means try. The issue with all Linux installations is ensuring you have the correct drivers and firmware for your tuner.

Since this is the NextPVR forum I can tell you have installed NextPVR servers on brand new $25 CoreELEC devices that would probably be just as powerful.

Martin

[V_J]

I would try with a Technisat Skystar USB2 HD: it is a USB DVB-S tuner that has its own power supply (I suspect power may be an issue if the tuner is powered USB). It should be quite well supported from the driver perspective. Let's see how it goes. It may take me some time, but I'll report back.

Those CoreELEC devices are nice though....