DVB-S Recommendations & Guides

[kingnubian]

They cards are pretty much all the same from this aspect, and require very little CPU themselves, but it depends what channels you're going to be viewing. If you're going to be viewing HD content from those satellites, then obviously this will require a grunty PC.

Some multidec plugins may also require more CPU than others - I dont really have a good understanding of this aspect at this stage.

There are pretty much two types od DVB-S cards, those called "budget" cards that use the host systems' cpu for the video decoding/encoding and Hardware encoding/decoding based cards such as the Hauppage Nexus-S & the Technisat Skystar 1.

The hardware based cards do all the processing in it's own hardware and so being can be used in a lower spec system than the "software" based cards. The hardware based cards are also much more expensive.

One limitation of the hardware cards mentioned above is that they only do Mpeg2 in hardware resorting to software mode to do Mpeg4 used in some HD broadcasts. HD hardware DVB-S cards may exist, I haven't checked on that, but will cost a serious premium.

With software based cards a software codec is used to encode/decode the signal & will require a higher spec machine as video encoding/decoding can get real intensive (Try a 1080 stream for instance). Some newer video cards from ATI & Nvidia also do hardware video encode/decode acceleration which will help things out on marginal spec systems equipped with software based DVB-S cards.

Software cards, since they are using a software codec to do most of the grunt work, do not care if the video stream is Mpeg2 or Mpeg4! If there is enough cpu horsepower available and the correct codec installed, even HD Mpeg4 streams will be no problem.


I don't pretend to know all there is about these cards but I just wanted to add my 2 cents (Plus tax).

[sub]

There are pretty much two types od DVB-S cards, those called "budget" cards that use the host systems' cpu for the video decoding/encoding and Hardware encoding/decoding based cards such as the Hauppage Nexus-S & the Technisat Skystar 1.

The hardware based cards do all the processing in it's own hardware and so being can be used in a lower spec system than the "software" based cards. The hardware based cards are also much more expensive.

These old "premium" cards are pretty much a non-issue these days. They dont have BDA drivers and dont work with all the new BDA compliant software, including GB-PVR. Users should avoid buying one of these if they want to use software that requires BDA drivers.

Soccerdad had specifically mentioned staying away from non-BDA supported cards, so I didnt bother bringing these up.

[kingnubian]

These old "premium" cards are pretty much a non-issue these days. They dont have BDA drivers and dont work with all the new BDA compliant software, including GB-PVR. Users should avoid buying one of these if they want to use software that requires BDA drivers.

Soccerdad had specifically mentioned staying away from non-BDA supported cards, so I didnt bother bringing these up.

Very true & I should have put that in a disclaimer. I listed them only for reference & comparison but should have stated that the lack of BDA drivers available for those older cards will make them kinda useless with respect to GBPVR.

[soccerdad]

Thanks for the information. I think I will play it safe and use something close to what others are using. I don't see the Twinhan 102g on their site, but they have this one: http://www.twinhan.com/product_satellite..._1027_.asp It also looks like the 102g is out of stock at most places. The specs look alike to me but I am really new to these types of cards.

I can't find anything about BDA drivers but I assume it is supported since it is new. The card is not too much money and is in stock at a couple of places. Would this be a decent place to start?

[kingnubian]

Thanks for the information. I think I will play it safe and use something close to what others are using. I don't see the Twinhan 102g on their site, but they have this one: http://www.twinhan.com/product_satellite..._1027_.asp It also looks like the 102g is out of stock at most places. The specs look alike to me but I am really new to these types of cards.

I can't find anything about BDA drivers but I assume it is supported since it is new. The card is not too much money and is in stock at a couple of places. Would this be a decent place to start?

I'm not sure actually. I would probably go for a reputable card with solid BDA drivers. According to what has been written in this forum that would be a Twinhan or the Hauppage Nova-S Plus.There are some experiences with the Twinhan cards so I'll look out for one. I do prefer the Skystar 2 cards but they have reportedly been not working with Diseqc switches which is a feature I need.

I would love to know what other DVB-S cards/devices other people are using successfully. I guess we'll have to keep a close eye on this forum.

[arfster]

I also asked Technisat for info about their Diseqc support, but they didnt respond.

Hi Sub - any chance of raw diseqc support? (guessing that might be easier to implement?). Reason for asking is that I know the commands for raw diseqc 1.2 control of motors.

[sub]

Hi Sub - any chance of raw diseqc support? (guessing that might be easier to implement?).

This actually makes no difference to the comments above. I can only send diseqc commands (raw or otherwise) if the manufacturer makes an interface available to do so. At this stage I have no way to control a diseqc switch at all with a Technisat device.

Reason for asking is that I know the commands for raw diseqc 1.2 control of motors.

Its worth noting that most DVB-S PCI cards are incapable supplying enough power to drive a motor (without damaging the card).

[arfster]

OK, thanks. Worth a shot :-(

The motor power isn't a problem though - I have a Moteck 2100, which runs fine off any number of PCI cards (used a Technotrend 1500, Hauppauge somethingorother, and the Skystar2), as the current draw is much too low to cause any damage.

[timh]

OK, thanks. Worth a shot :-(

The motor power isn't a problem though - I have a Moteck 2100, which runs fine off any number of PCI cards (used a Technotrend 1500, Hauppauge somethingorother, and the Skystar2), as the current draw is much too low to cause any damage.

I've not tried this myself, but given that GBPVR now supports MDPlugins, could you use a plugin to provide the Diseqc 1.2 support?

I use ProgDVB, with the SS2Diseqc plugin, to control a Moteck via my Skystar2; so using GBPVR might work in the same way. The only issue would be whether GBPVR sends the "satellite position" message to the MDPlugin filter.
Tim

[snoop244]

I havnt spent much time testing diseqc switches, by my Twinhan VP1030A works fine with my 4 way diseqc switch.

In theory it also works with new DVB-S Hauppauge devices, Nova-S Plus, HVR3000/4000 etc. (Not original Nova-S)

diseqc control is not covered by the BDA spec, which means it needs to be implement a different way for each manufacturer's cards, which is why there is only limited diseqc support in GB-PVR.

first off - I'm thrilled to see a real PVR supporting MulitDec. Thanks Sub!

WRT to your success with Diseq - how is it done? I have been searching posts on this forum for a few days now and can find no configuration instructions for scanning multiple satellites. I must be missing something. When I'm configuring my capture source it only gives me the opprtunity to scan one satellite. I want to scan nimiq1 and nimiq2. How? I have successfully scanned nimiq1 by connecting the lnb directly to my twinhan 1020a. I seem to get all the channels, but, of course, only from the one satellite. Do I create a new capture source using the same card??

BTW, I created an .ini for nimiq2 from someone's post on this forum; I just need to know how to scan both 1 and 2.

I have applied the patch in the Survival Guide for this most recent version - it helped me get all the HD channels on 82 - very nice.


Thanks,
S.