[mythtv-users] Setting up custom channel for STB

Nick Morrott knowledgejunkie at gmail.com
Thu Aug 21 03:02:10 UTC 2008


On 20/08/2008, Tom Corcoran <tomc at osits.com> wrote:
> Hi
>
>  I am upgrading from an Analog system to DVB-S using an external Sat
>  receiver, I have the signal form the Sat box connected the composite-in
>  on my PVR-150 but I am unsure how to setup the channel to view the image
>  before I start worrying about channel changer scripts.  I have
>  configured the input on the 'composite' port under mythtv setup screen
>  but am confused by scanning & grabbers?
>
>  I suppose what I am really looking for would be very similar to a SKY
>  STB setup guide.  (Damian ?)

First things first, I'd strongly recommend using an internal PCI or
external USB-2 DVB-S tuner, as you will get:

i) better quality video
ii) built-in channel scanning
iii) digital EPG
iv) HD capability for BBC/ITV
v) multirec if channels are available on same DVB-S multiplex
vi) faster and (more importantly) guaranteed channel changing

If you want to use your PVR-150 card, you'll need to add new channels
via mythtv-setup's channel editor. This currently requires a lot of
manual entry/configuration depending on how many channels you are
adding, but is at least straightforward. You might find using a tool
such as phpMyAdmin makes the process of adding channels quicker, but
it's best to stick to mythtv-setup if you need further help, as
editing the DB directly is not supported :)


i) On the video sources page, create a new video source. Call it
"DVB-S" or something. Choose the tv_grab_uk_rt grabber, and configure
it via the terminal window, choosing all of the channels you want
listings for. This will create an XMLTV config file in ~/.mythtv/
containing the XMLTV IDs of the selected channels.

ii) In the channel editor, create the channels you want to be able to
'tune' to on the external satellite box. You'll want to make sure the
channel number and frequency are both set to the STBs channel number
for the particular channel. The channel(s) will need to be added to
the new DVB-S videosource, and you'll also want to make sure you enter
the channel's XMLTV ID so that the correct listings are associated
with the channel, and you can also specify a channel icon for the EPG
and browse OSD.

iii) On the Input Connections page, you want to associate the PVR-150
composite input (assuming you're not using S-Video) with the new DVB-S
videosource. There may be mutliple composite inputs available via the
driver, although only one will usually give a usable picture, so
either test each one, or check via v4l2-ctl. Here you also need to
specify the channel changing script. Whilst testing you can just enter
/bin/true as the script, so that channel changing 'always works'.
Remember to revert this back to the actual script when things are
working.

iv) Run mythfilldatabase to get programme listings, and then fire up
Live TV to see if things work. Schedule a recording and see if the
satellite box changes channel automatically via your configured
blaster - if it does, you're all set.

Nick

-- 
Nick Morrott

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