Opening a DVB-S stream

[albert60]

Hello
I'm using ubuntu 10.10 and I have problems opening a DVB-S stream. I have a Plus TV DVB-S PCI and I didn't install any driver for it. When I wanted to get informations about material (using lspci) I got this message related to this card :

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03:0a.0 Multimedia video controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23880/1/2/3 PCI Video and Audio Decoder (rev 05) Subsystem: KWorld Computer Co. Ltd. KWorld DVB-S 100 Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV+ VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR+ FastB2B- DisINTx- Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx- Latency: 165 (5000ns min, 13750ns max), Cache Line Size: 32 bytes Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 22 Region 0: Memory at e9000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M] Capabilities: <access denied> Kernel driver in use: cx8800 Kernel modules: cx8800 03:0a.2 Multimedia controller: Conexant Systems, Inc. CX23880/1/2/3 PCI Video and Audio Decoder [MPEG Port] (rev 05) Subsystem: KWorld Computer Co. Ltd. Device 08b2 Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV+ VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR+ FastB2B- DisINTx- Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B+ ParErr- DEVSEL=medium >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx- Latency: 49 (1500ns min, 22000ns max), Cache Line Size: 32 bytes Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 22 Region 0: Memory at ea000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M] Capabilities: <access denied> Kernel driver in use: cx88-mpeg driver manager Kernel modules: cx8802

So I thought That I can use it without searching for a driver. But I wanted to use to open a DVB-S stream I did not work:
That's what I did:
VLC -> Media -> Open Capture Device
For the capture mode I selected : DVB
I didn't modify the Device Selection section :
Adapter Card to tune = /dev/dvb/adapter0
DVB type = DVB-S
For the options, I fill the frequency and the transpoder bit rate.
Unfortunately this is the message I get :
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'dvb://frequency=12673000'. Check the log for details.
The question is : Is the driver installed ?? Didn't I use VLC correctly ?? Do I have to look for another card Linux compatible ??
Thanks for your help

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

It's easy to check whether there's a driver. This command lists the available digital tuners:

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ls /dev/dvb/adapter*/frontend*

Also, if you turn on debug messages in VLC, you should see the tuner model and capabilities somewhere.

Note that you must set the transponder symbol rate for DVB-S reception.

[albert60]

Hi
When I write the command you told me I've got this message :

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/dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0

May I understand that the driver is installed ??
Thanks for your help

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

At least there is one DVB adapter.

[albert60]

And so can I read a DVB-S stream ?? (sorry for the stupid questions but I have to find exactly why I can't read it)

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Most probably you input an invalid paramter. You need the symbol rate in addition to th frequency.

[albert60]

Ok thanks for your answer.
This is what I fill:

• Transponder/multiplex frequency = 12673000(kHz)
  Transponder symbol rate = 27500 (kHz)

This is the error message I get :
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'dvb://frequency=12673000'. Check the log for details.
The error message I get on the terminal

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[0x8819d3c] dvb access error: DVB-S: setting frontend failed (-1) Invalid argument [0x8819d3c] dvb access error: DVB-S: tuning failed [0x855a214] main input error: open of `dvb://frequency=12673000' failed: (null)

Do I have to fill the frequency in KHZ or MHZ or do I have to change parameters in the advanced options ??
Thanks for your help

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

Oh yeah, there is a bug in the UI in VLC <= 1.1.9. It says the symbol rate is in kHz, but it really is in Hz.

[albert60]

I'm working with VLC 1.1.4 but I believe there is the same bug.
The frequency is 12673 MHz but VLC doesn't let write 6 zeros after 12673 ... and when I used it in windows I just wrote 12673 for the frequency
I tried to change some parameters in the advanced options, but apparently nothing change after my modifications :
The transponder/multiplex frequency is always 0
and the Transponder Symbol Rate is always 27500000
even If try to change them and press ok, they always have these values
any idea ??

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

The frequency is in kHz. The symbol rate is in Hz (the UI says kHz, this is a display bug).

[albert60]

Ok
Otherwise is there a "scan" function which allows me to look for the channels that I can see in a satellite??
Edit : I used another tool to open the stream and it said that I have to add a demux plugin. Is it the same for VLC ??
Thanks for your help

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

There is DVB-S scanning only in some prerelease of VLC 1.2.0, and it needs hints.