DVB-S2 scan succeeds, channels save to DB correctly, but playback fails

[Nzbaxterman]

Confirmed — removed the 11830 block and it scanned clean through to completion, no crash:

2026-08-21 15:41:37:915 [DEBUG] >>> Scanning@stored
2026-08-21 15:41:37:915 [DEBUG] >>> Scanning@about to free loop
2026-08-21 15:41:37:915 [DEBUG] >>> Scanning@about to start next loop (00000000)

So it's SDT-related on that specific transponder, not my config.

Grabbed a mux dump of 11830 (Sky/TP14) via dvbv5-zap externally: https://we.tl/t-domQ1AZons6mZcev

Note: most of this mux is Sky content and will be CA-scrambled — audio/video won't play back, but SDT/PSI tables broadcast in clear regardless of encryption, so that data should be intact in the capture.

[Nzbaxterman]

Update: this may actually be the same bug as my original report.

With the 11830 block removed, I ran a full channel scan through the normal NextPVR UI (not manual command line) and it completed successfully, and for the first time, playback actually worked.

Previously (with 11830 included), every scan would have hit that malloc crash partway through, killing DeviceHostLinux before it finished which would explain why adapter0-DVB-S-channels.conf was never written, even though channels were still saving correctly to the database along the way.

Wanted to flag this in case it saves you time cross-referencing the two threads. Looks like the crash on 11830 may be the actual root cause of the missing channels.conf, not a separate issue.

[Nzbaxterman]

Another update: Channel "Three" is missing from the scan. Turns out it's not a bug, Freeview genuinely moved Three off the Kordia transponder as of 29 Jan 2026 (HD upgrade). It's now on 12530 MHz / SR 30000 - which, working through the LNB math, looks like it's the same real transponder as Sky/TP14, the one that's crashing the scanner.

So it seems "Three" is likely sitting on the exact mux we're already investigating. Wanted to flag this since it's independent confirmation that this transponder matters beyond just Sky's own channels - it's carrying mainstream FTA content too (Three, Bravo, Rush, HGTV, Eden all moved there per Freeview's page: https://digitalimports.co.nz/about-us/news-2/).

Let me know if you want anything else from my end - happy to grab a longer capture, try specific PID filtering, or whatever's useful while you dig into the SDT.

[mvallevand]

Thanks I will try the mux but a one minute full mux is usually bigger.  It is likely a dead frequency with just enough old data to trip up NextPVR processing.  I do see the heap overflow in the code.  If you want you can see if the attached scans 11830 without crashing.

The 12530 frequency was already added for Windows and SAT>IP already for the next release.  Testing on the new  scans doesn't even include 11830. 

Sources like TVHeadend https://github.com/tvheadend/dtv-scan-ta...t-6-160.0E are more reliable than the distro's.  Note with the bouquet support in the next version for NZ and the UK there will be fewer reasons to keep conf and ini files current.

Martin

[Nzbaxterman]

Confirmed - your build scans 11830 cleanly, no crash. Full service list came through correctly, including Three, Bravo, Eden, HGTV, Rush - so this transponder is actually usable now, not dead as you suspected. Thanks for the quick turnaround.

[mvallevand]

Thanks for confirming.  I don't have DVB-S and I am not in NZ but surprising that they keep that frequency going maybe for old STB type devices,  it doesn't show in the bouquet.  For now it does provide a few extra multi-rec channels.

There are a couple of test channels in the bouquet though, if you want to experiment with the bouquet created conf file from your full mux, it is attached.

Martin