[LastCoder]

Hi,

I'd like to use my HTPC & tvheadend with a Unicable® / EN50494 multiswitch. Unicable is simply registered trademark for the protocol, now available over EN50494 specification. The protocol uses DiSEqC 1.1 commands to realize multiple (up to eight) signals via one cable.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_cable_distribution

Does tvheadend support that protocol and if not, are there any plan to do ?

[there seem to be somewhere a kernel patch for 2.6.*, but that's not a favoured way]

Greetz

LastCoder

[henrike_]

I dont believe this is an issue for Tvheadend.
Its more for the tuner to support it.

See how it works here.
http://shop.digital-devices.de/epages/62...niCableLNB

I am using Unicable from the LNB and then a 4-way splitter at the server, and connect to 2 dual Cine S2 cards.

[LastCoder]

Since every tuner has to have it own unique id and a frequency band, I guess without software support, either by drivers or backend, it won't work; surely the adapter has to support it, but there must be a point where the neccessary information are changed and stored - DVB-S receivers have a special setup for that.

I don't know it in detail but don't see why it shouldn't be possible to embed in a tvserver backend ?!?

Greetz
LastCoder

[henrike_]

I am not sure what you actually want to achieve?

Unicable is a solution to allow you to only use one cable from the LNB to the location where you have the tuners.

[LastCoder]

maybe you didn't understand how the unicable standard works .. initially it's not simply "one cable from LNB to tuner" - it's one cable for multiple satellite tuners; without unicable you need one single cable from LNB or multiswitch for each satellite tuner, with unicable you can use one cable with up to 8 tuners - but to get this work there is a specially protocal called unicable®, that uses diseqc commands to allow all tuners to use this single cable, "simply" through frequency band share .. so you need 1) unicable LNB or multiswitch (for example Technisat Technirouter models) 2) unicable able satellite tuners .. and now - what do you think how the communciation between tuners and LNB/switch is realized ? It's no "out of the box" solution, you have to setup your for example eight tuners to share the cable .. so this is the point, where drivers and tv backends come into play .. I read that in Europe every tuner from 2004 has to support unicable (EN50494) .. VDR seems to support unicable through special .conf files ( http://www.vdr-wiki.de/wiki/index.php/Unicable.conf ) ...

LastCoder

[henrike_]

I am using a Unicable setup at home.

I have ONE unicable LNB, with ONE cable to the location of my tvheadend-server.
BUT you have to "split" the cable at the location of you tuners, how else are you supposed to attach ONE cable to 4 tuners?

I have 4 tuners, so I split the cable into four 0.5m cables and attach them to each tuner, so ONE input, and FOUR outputs.

And since the splitter is a part of the unicable-solution, it has nothing to do with tvheadend.

[LastCoder]

Sorry pal, but I simply don't understand your problem ?! What it is different to what I've said Read - and understand - my last post and you won't find any difference - "use one cable with up to 8 tuners" ..

And what do you want with your splitters - obviously you dont know that there are is a difference between a "splitter" and a "multiswitsch"

I mean that

Unicable
http://www.amazon.de/TechniSat-0000-3290...445&sr=8-2

"Simple" Multiswitch
http://www.amazon.de/TechniSat-TechniSwi...487&sr=8-1

But it doesn't matter whether you use an unicable LNB or unicable multiswitch - the system is the same.

Fine, you use a unicable setup. Fine, with 4 tuners - and how did you setup the system ? 4 pc tuners for tvheadend ? which cards ? which drivers ? And why do you think it's not necessary to do a configuration, when every satellite tuner has special unicable setup - why do you think did the VDR guys enable special conf files ?

I'm not really sure if you have a real unicable setup. Every one who has just a little savvy about how DVB-S works knows that unicable/EN50494 is a special system that doesn't simply work out of the box like the "standard" way of DVB-S - if you use unicable YOU HAVE TO SETUP the indivdual frequency band of each tuner ! Maybe you have an unicable LNB with legacy output for simple dvb-s tuners without unicable support like an INVERTO UniCable LNB.

So please show your specs and we could go on talking ..

Greetz

LastCoder

[LastCoder]

and read & understand this and you'll finally understand what it's about

http://patchwork.linuxtv.org/patch/7994/

"This is an updated version of the unicable patch by Thomas Schloeter
for linux 3.1.

The patch is an addition to the dvb_frontend code, that adds fully
transparent support for SCR to arbitrary applications that use the
DVB API.

I know that this patch has been rejected, because unicable support
can be implemented in userspace, too. However I like it anyway,
because there is a lot of software without unicable support out
there. I'm just sending it, because I think it could be usefull
for others."

That would be awesome to have this functionality in the kernel. I maintained the "unicable"-patch for the vdr (written
by some guy from the vdr-portal.de who sadly doesn't seem to respond to mails via that forum anymore).
It would be great if all the work could be summarized in one ioctl.

If you use tvheadend, than you use linux - and that's not an actually implemented kernel/driver feature..

Here you can read how VDR solves it, btw. latest version provide it as feature, it's no longer a hack there.

[german]
http://www.vdr-wiki.de/wiki/index.php/SC...stribution

[english with google translate]
http://translate.google.de/translate?sl=...on&act=url

And if you can read - ".. can be implemented in userspace .." - it's a deal for tvheadend

[Prof Yaffle]

I guess we need a view from Adam or one of the other tvh team members as to plans - but there are a couple of posts on the lonelycoder forums about Unicable support (e.g. 1, 2), and no, it seems that tvheadend doesn't support it. One guy reports success using tvheadend with the kernel patch you mention, however; Adam was willing to help, but needs/needed some better working knowledge.

This would be great, though, it would help address the rats' nest I'm slowly building for myself ... :-)

[LastCoder]

I guess we need a view from Adam or one of the other tvh team members as to plans - but there are a couple of posts on the lonelycoder forums about Unicable support (e.g. 1, 2), and no, it seems that tvheadend doesn't support it. One guy reports success using tvheadend with the kernel patch you mention, however; Adam was willing to help, but needs/needed some better working knowledge.

This would be great, though, it would help address the rats' nest I'm slowly building for myself ... :-)

My hope is that the code from the VDR guys and the kernel hacker could be reused in tvheadend (guess its all pure c) - coding unicable support from ground is of course no real option. I take my hat off to that guys that incidentially coded a kernel hack ! Unfortunately my c knowlegde has disappeared into thin air at other times I had tried to port it - maybe in my next life ...

Greetz

LastCoder

[alanwww1]

Just for the record. I checked on the Digital Devices website and also confirmed by their support. Their unicable solution does NOT require any patch for TVHEADEND.
For the TV server side, things look just like you are having 4 separate tuners with 4 (or 2) independent LNB connections. The magic is done between the LNB and the provided 4 way unicable spliiter.

Just check on this page:
http://shop.digital-devices.de/epages/62...D=44529289

They write "The TV Software must have no UniCable® Support."

By the support I have this message confirmed:
"All our products are capable of running on Linux. Unicable support is integrated in the driver."

So this way you can even have up to 4 tuner support with only one cable. It is really amazing.

Cheers,
Attila

[LastCoder]

Hi Attila,

Just for the record. I checked on the Digital Devices website and also confirmed by their support. Their unicable solution does NOT require any patch for TVHEADEND.
For the TV server side, things look just like you are having 4 separate tuners with 4 (or 2) independent LNB connections. The magic is done between the LNB and the provided 4 way unicable spliiter.

Just check on this page:
http://shop.digital-devices.de/epages/62...D=44529289

They write "The TV Software must have no UniCable® Support."

By the support I have this message confirmed:
"All our products are capable of running on Linux. Unicable support is integrated in the driver."

So this way you can even have up to 4 tuner support with only one cable. It is really amazing.

Cheers,
Attila

that sounds interesting !!

The way managing unicable support on low level (drivers) is the preferred way but unfortunately didn't convince kernel hackers as default option. But 169 bucks .. as long as it's not a standard to embed it into drivers I'd prefer to see it in backend software like it's handled by VDR ..

Greetz

LCS

PS: but don't forget, that you need at least an unicable lnb or an unicable switch with quattro lnb (like invertos unicable multiswitch) .. it's unfortunately not just changing the tv card (and I read that digital devices solution is best known to work with their own unicable lnb's ..