Broadcast to Broadband - Open Standards for IPTV

What is DVB-IPTV?

DVB-IPTV is the collective name for a set of open, interoperable technical specifications, developed by the DVB Project, that facilitate the delivery of digital TV using Internet Protocol over bi-directional fixed broadband networks. The work is taking place in two tracks, where Track 1 covers delivery over managed networks and Track 2 covers Internet delivery.

Key specifications already published in DVB IPTV Standard include:

- TS 102 034 : Transport of MPEG-2 TS-Based DVB Services over IP Based Networks

- TS 102 539 : Carriage of Broadband Content Guide (BCG) Information over Internet Protocol

- TS 102 824 : Remote Management and Firmware Update System for DVB IP Services

 DVB’s interactive middleware specifications, DVB-MHP and GEM, also include IPTV profiles.

Background

Traditionally DVB services have been delivered over broadcast networks, i.e. a one-to-many uni-directional architecture. The advent of high-speed bi-directional consumer broadband networks means that that there is increasing demand to

Offer DVB services over an IP network. The delivery of TV using bi-directional IP over a broadband network presents a particular set of challenges, especially when integrated with a range of other IP services. DVB’s task, in response to calls from the industry, is to help define and develop appropriate standards for the delivery of DVB services over such networks, and to provide a means of integrating these with other broadband services, whilst maintaining maximum interoperability with existing DVB broadcast standards. In view of the complex nature of IPTV, and the varied facets of such services, there are numerous DVB groups dealing with IPTV. DVB’s unique approach is based on consensus approval between its diverse members based on commonly-agreed Commercial Requirements.

How does it work?

The initial phase of DVB’s work concentrates on the interface between the IPTV set-top-box (STB) and the IP-based home network. DVB’s work in IPTV can be divided into three broad areas:

(i) STBs and PVRs on IP networks: the definition of appropriate standards to facilitate the automated connection and configuration of a STB connected to an IP network. This extends to how MPEG Transport Stream based services are encapsulated onto an IP network, and covers Service Discovery & Selection (SD&S), Broadband Content Guide (BCG), remote management, firmware update, etc.

(ii) Home Networking: the definition of an appropriate sub-set of existing standards for a DVB home network (based on IP). DVB’s Home Network specification will be based on the DLNA/UPnP guidelines where possible.

(iii) Additions to the DVB-MHP middleware specifications, to allow interactive TV applications running on MHP to use the resources available in a DVB-IPTV environment.

Market Deployment
Commercial IPTV networks have been rolled out to a greater or lesser degree in a number of countries. Many of these are using non-standardized proprietary technologies to deliver a range of services including television, interactive services, video-on-demand, etc... IPTV is expected to become an ever more popular means of delivering such services to the home, particularly when offered in conjunction with other forms of broadcast network, such as terrestrial or satellite. So if you want to build IPTV server, you might need some DVB Satellite or terrestrial cards to get IPTV streaming.

Here are some recommended TV tuner cards for IPTV building

DVB S2 Satellite Cards
TBS6984- A quad DVB S2 card, with four tuners for ideal building IPTV
TBS6981-A dual DVB S2 card, download two satellite transponders data simultaneously
DVB T2 Terrestrial Card
TBS6284- DVB T2 Card with four tuners, working great with Linux IPTV Streaming Server

TBS6280- DVB T2 Dual Tuner Card, download two terrestrial transponders data simultaneously

With the publication of the first set of DVB standards for IPTV, services can be launched that benefit from the advantages that come with open standards. The industry has particularly welcomed the standardization of the Broadband Content Guide, similar to the EPG used in “traditional” digital TV, and the Service Discovery and Selection mechanism. Thanks to standardized information, the SD&S mechanism allows a STB to efficiently recognize the multicast and unicast offerings of IPTV service operators on a broadband network. Many DVB member companies have participated in the working groups and are now integrating DVB-IPTV into their product lines.

Related Articles:
DVB IPTV: How Does IPTV Work

DVB IPTV: How Does IPTV Work

What is IPTV
IPTV or IP Television is a process, a method of preparing and distributing television signals over an IP based data network. Content streams are acquired, demodulated and decrypted if necessary, then re-encoded digitally for IP transport possibly with additional compression and new encryption. IPTV signals, or streams, are distributed on an IP based network and viewed on a IPTV capable viewing device, usually a Set Top Box. With multi digital TV Tuner cards, you can build a TPTV server and transfer the data to the end users.
Note: This article discusses building and operating a complete headend, for the purpose of competing with or replacing a traditional CATV service, to provide coverage to a metro or regional area.
The key steps to delivering IPTV to the end user

Acquiring the Programming – The vast majority of this content will be received via satellite, requiring a headend facility. Additional content, local network affiliates, may be received off-air in either analog or digital off air format, or even terrestrially, as an ASI or SDI stream provided over fiber optic transport from a nearby broadcaster.
In the mostly digital environment, the receiver will be connected to an input from the satellite dish or splitter. The receiver will be tuned to a transponder, which represents a frequency or a channel. Other settings, such as symbol and forward error correction rates must be set, as well as other technical settings as per the requirements of the programmer’s uplink operations center. The receiver will demodulate the stream or streams, and it will decrypt the encryption that the programmers have used to protect their intellectual property for the trip to outer space and back. The programmers designate the type of encryption used, and this in turn dictates the receiver manufacturer and sometimes the model. The digital output of the receiver is the Asynchronous Serial Interface (ASI). ASI is a compressed format designed to carry multiple MPEG2 streams.

Encoding the streams– The digital or analog content that has been received has to be re-encoded for multicast IP transport. This stage would also encompass the encryption that will be required by the programmers. These digital outputs from the various receivers will be injected into an encoding device to be assigned a multicast IP address. In a standard definition environment, these streams can be encoded in MPEG2 format or in MPEG4 format. The higher cost of MPEG4 encoding equipment encourages the encoding as MPEG2 if sufficient bandwidth on the distribution network is available. We will discuss this in detail later on. If the content in question is High Definition (HD), then without question it will need to be encoded in MPEG4 not to overwhelm the distribution network.

IPTV Distribution Network – The distribution network obviously needs to be some kind of wide area network, as it needs to deliver IPTV services to the customers’ homes. This network needs to have adequate bandwidth with the ability to implement Quality of Service (QoS) to the end users to deliver IPTV content. These requirements can be attained with the mixing and matching of many current technologies.

Middleware –Middleware is the glue that holds the IPTVSP together. Without the middleware the
IPTVSP has a lot of expensive but useless equipment. It may have been noticed that up until this point in this series all reference to content has been identified as streams, not channels. This effort not to address streams as channels was directed toward this purpose; without middleware there are no channels, just streams. The end user, the television customer, expects a user friendly viewing experience. Typically presented in the form of an Electronic Program Guide. The middleware presents this to the viewer via the Set Top Box.

IPTV Viewing Device – This is generally considered to be the Set Top Box, not too different in appearance from the STB provided by the cable company for their digital service tier, or the STB included with a home satellite package, which is also a satellite receiver. The IPTV STB works hand in hand with the middleware.
Recommended TV tuner cards for IPTV building

DVB S2 Satellite Cards
TBS6984- A quad DVB S2 card, with four tuners for ideal building IPTV
TBS6981-A dual DVB S2 card, download two satellite transponders data simultaneously

DVB T2 Terrestrial Card
TBS6284- DVB T2 Card with four tuners, working great with Linux IPTV Streaming Server

TBS6280- DVB T2 Dual Tuner Card, download two terrestrial transponders data simultaneously

Best DVB T2 Freeview HD Tuner Cards

Freeview HD is the best-ever argument for the digital switchover. For the 50 per cent of the country that can currently pick them up, the high-definition channels from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and S4C are a razor-sharp, color-saturated glimpse into the future.
Just like standard-definition Freeview channels, the Freeview HD ones are terrestrial broadcasts (DVB T2)and free to everyone. All you need is a Freeview HD box -- or preferably a PCTV tuner card with built in. Think of it this way: one less box in the living room means space for another inch or two on the screen. or you can stay the sofa/bedroom to watch freeivew HD channels
What you can expect, though, is more and better Freeview HD channels as analogue TV fades away. That's as good a reason as any to invest in a Freeview HD today. Here's a selection of the best Freeview HD tuner Cards, which allows you watch HD Freeview channels on PCs.
 BlackGold’s BGT3620
 The BGT3620 is a premium multi-channel DVB T/T2 hybrid tuner with PCI-express slot. The DVB T2 TV card is capable of receiving standard and high definition digital broadcast program content, including the new UK Freeview HD channels. It is designed to transform a personal computer into a high-end audio video entertainment system, supporting external video streams and worldwide HD broadcast streams. Hardware receiver also supports -Analogue terrestrial (PAL, NTSC, CECAM), dual digital terrestrial including both DVB-T and DVB-T2, dual digital cable DVB-C.
Hauppauge nanoStick T2 PCTV 290e

Hauppauge PCTV nanoStick T2 is a DVB-T2 USB receiver, which turns your PC and laptop into an HDTV PVR. PCTV nanoStick T2 is fully backward compatible to DVB-T and delivers outstanding reception for both standards. Other features include integrated EPG and support for Windows Media Center (DVB-T only). This card included TVCenter application lets you time shift and record TV shows and even stream Live-TV and TV recordings to your iPhone, iPad or other PCs and Macs.

TBS6284 PCI-E DVB-T2 Quad TV Tuner Card

TBS release the first world multi- tuner DVB T2 TV card. It is a quad tuner Freeview HD tuner cards, which supports watching or recording four different Freeview SD/HD channel simultaneously. It is really a big breakthrough in digital terrestrial tuner cards. It can receive the signals both DVB T and DVB T2. It is the only DVB T/T2 TV card of supporting Window Media Center and Linux System.

TBS6928 PCIe DVB S2 TV Tuner Card with CI Slot Was Released

It might be a great news that TBS technology has released a new PCI express  DVB-S2  card with CI slot.  TBS6928  is a kind of satellite PCTV card which allows CAM insertion for watching payTV digital satellite channels. it works with the CAMs. such as  AlphaCrypt (Mascom),Conax (NCAM HD) ,Conax (NP4), Conax (SMiT), Conax (Technisat), Irdeto CI+ (Skylink),Viaccess (SCM).... Over  2o CAMs capable. With the low profile design,  TBS6928  is more suitable for those who want to build HTPC with low profile tv tuner card. Here are some main features offering by TBS official website. You can also buy it from buydvb.net. The retail price is US$118.99.

Main Features:

• 1. DVB-S2/S Transponders Receiving
• 2. CI support
• 3. Transponders blind scan
• 4. Linux S2API Drivers Compatible with MythTV, VDR, XBMC, DVBLast, VLC, etc.
• 5. Supported by DVBDream, DVBViewer, DVBlink, ProgDVB, Skynet, Tsreader etc .

Specifications:

• 1.Receiving Frequency: 925~2175 MHz Tuning Range
  2.Input level: -69~ -23dBm
  3.Advanced DVB-S2/DVB-S 8PSK QPSK Demodulator
  4. Symbol Rates:
  DVB-S2 QPSK: 1-45 Msps
  DVB-S2 8PSK: 1-45 Msps
  5. Code Rates:
  DVB-S2 NBC QPSK: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 8/9, 9/10
  DVB-S2 QPSK: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4. 4/5. 5/6, 8/9, 9/10
  DVB-S2 8PSK: 3/5, 2/3. 3/4. 5/6. 8/9, 9/10
  6. Automatic Acquisition Range: ±10MHz
  7. Automatic Pilot detection
  8. DiSEqC 2.x compliant
  9. CI Design
  10. PCI Express interface

System Requirements:

• Windows 2000/XP/Vista Linux
• DirectX9.0 or later Version
• Available PCI Express Port

Click here to watch the CAMs list tested with TBS6928

Ready to buy TBS6928?

Related Articles:
1.How to use Easy Blindscan with TBS 6925
2.How to watch four satellite TV channels with TBS6984 on DVBDream
3.TBS 6925- Most Professional Satellite TV tuner Card
4.How to to watch satellite TV on AltDVB with TBS 6981

TBS6984 DVB S2 Quad Tuner HD TV Card Review

The dream is starting to become a reality… This bad-boy is a TBS6984 satellite tuner card designed to receive both ordinary DVB-S signals AND the high definition DVB-S2 signals used by C4HD and BBC 1 HD. More importantly, it has four separate tuners on-board allowing you to plug it in to a quad LNB to record channels from 4 multiplexes simultaneously.

It’s probably best I jump back a bit here andremind you of what I’m trying to achieve. You may remember the new home server with 6x 2TB drives in? Well all that storage wasn’t for nothing – I plan to use the server for not only storage and media streaming, but also as a TV Server. The TV Server will contain a number of tuner cards, and stream TV over regular Ethernet cabling throughout the house to PCs, laptops, or specially built home theatre PCs connected to TVs. The idea is that the server becomes the only place in the house where aerials / satellite cabling is terminated, and ordinary Ethernet cables take care of the rest of the house. Want to watch a program you recorded in the lounge but you are now in the bedroom? Not a problem, all recordings are held centrally on the server.
So, step 1 is complete – I have a server. Step 2, fit the server with as many digital TV tuners as possible is underway. I already have a standard definition Freeview tuner (DVB T2 tuner cards) in the server, but I wanted HD and the most reliable way to get that here in South Wales is via satellite. The TBS6984 is a beast of a card, requiring a full-height PCI Express x1 socket AND a dedicated PCI Express power supply. As you can see from the image on the right, at the top-right of the image you can see the internal power input connector. Now, luckily my power supply has two such outputs, usually reserved for high end graphics cards. I plugged my power supply straight in to the card and away it went. For those of you without a spare PCI Express power output, you have the option of using the provided Molex adapter – you will need THREE spare Molex connectors though! (
Once installed, you’ll need some software to go with it. It supports Windows Media Center with no playing around – now I’d suggest when you do install the card, you install just the drivers and not the supplied software package. Let Windows take care of the rest because the interface is superb. Sadly for me, though, Windows Media Center does not support Windows Home Server and the in-house distribution features I am after. I may have mentioned this before, but I have chosen MediaPortal as the TV Server of choice. (For reference, I’m using the release candidate of 1.2.0 and not the older 1.1.3 which doesn’t appear to work very well with DVB-S2 high definition satellite broadcasts for me).
Now, the major stumbling block for satellite broadcasts is the EPG (Electronic Program Guide). Freeview broadcasts as EPG, Freesat and Sky also have EPGs, but MediaPortal can’t use the Freeview one for satellite (it just doesn’t have all the same channels) and no-one has managed to write a simple EPG plugin to read Sky or Freesat’s EPGs… so the solution is to grab an XML based one off the web. Luckily MediaPortal has a plugin called WebEPG which does this, but you will need to manually map your channels to the relevant XML feed which is straightforward enough.

So, buying this DVB S2 card… now, it isn’t cheap,US$249.99, and when I purchased this a few weeks ago there were only two options: eBay or BuyDVB , I chose buying direct from www.buydvb.net using PayPal – it was quick delivery and cheaper than eBay. It seems the store is the official website of TBS. but I am not sure. It’s also worth noting that if you don’t plan to use it in a server, then it comes with a useful remote control, and that you can get single and dual tuner versions too. I’d highly recommend this card overall – especially as it allows you to crab four tuners in to a single expansion slot.

This review is contributed by Olivershingler>>

                                                                                                                 

TBS Announce PCIe DVB-T/DVB-T2 Quad Tuner Card– the TBS 6284

TBS Technology company announce to release a new TBS 6284 PCI-E DVBT/T2 quad tuner card at the end of October.It is estimated to see this card  no later than 25th October, 2011.
TBS 6284 is a quad DVB-T and DVB-T2 tuner  which will enable you to record 4 Freeview HD simultaneously in the form of a single PCI-e card. This will make it a great choice for Windows Media Center users looking to get the most out of a single PCI-e slot.This is only DVB T/T2 quad tuner card which supports Linux. It will be an ideal choice for watching UK Freeview SD and HD channels on your PC.

Here are some information about TBS 6284 Quad DVB T/DVB T2 card .
Main Features:
1. Quad Channel Receiving Simultaneously
2. Both DVB-T2 and DVB-T Supported
3. High-Definition Video, Real-Time and Scheduled Video Recording
4. High Sensitivity DVB-T2 Tuner for The Best Digital TV Reception
5. Windows BDA Driver and Linux Driver Ready
Specifications:
1. Receiving Channel: VHF Band and UHF Band
2. Channel Bandwidth: 6, 7, 8 MHz
3. DVB-T2/ T Modulation Type: QPSK, 16QAM, 64QAM, 256QAM
4. FFT Mode: 1K, 2K, 4K, 8K, 16K, 32K
5. Code Rate: 1/2, 3/5, 2/3, 3/4, 4/5, 5/6, 7/8
6. Guard Internal:1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64, 1/128, 19/128, 19/256
7. Intermediate Frequency
IF mode: Low IF
Center IF Frequency: 3 ~ 5 MHz
Note: default 4MHz
8. RF-Input Impedance 75Ω (IEC-DIN female)
9. RF-Output Impedance 75Ω (IEC-DIN male)
System Requirements:
1. Windows XP / Vista/ 7, Linux
2. Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, Pentium M 1.3 GHz
3. For HDTV: 2.6 GHz Multi Core Processor
4. Hard Disk with min. 1 GB Free Capacity
5. Sound and Graphics Card with Support for DirectX 9 or Higher
6. One Available PCI Express Slot
7. CD/DVD Drive for Software Installation

Remote Control for Windows Media Player

A windows remote control that signals to an infrared receiver, which can make you hook up to a USB port or something and allow operating WMP on your PC. Of course, you can use a mouse and keyboard to get around Windows Media Center, but the best way to experience Media Center is with a window remote control. There are many types of remote controls for media center available to buy, such as HP remote control, Microsoft remote control. If you purchased a Media Center PC or a digital TV tuner card, a PC remote control might be a necessary MCE kits for Windows 7, Windows Vista,etc
You will also need a transceiver or infrared receiver (IR) for the Windows Media Center remote control to work properly. This can be IR (which is usually connected by a USB cable to the computer), or it can also be non-IR products like Bluetooth or Radio Frequency. This receiver may be internal or external to the computer. Please refer to your hardware documentation to determine which version of the receiver you will need.
If your computer came with a remote, the infrared receiver might be built in to the computer. If you purchased your Media Center remote control separately, it probably came with an infrared receiver that you can connect to your computer's USB jack.
You can use a PC remote controlto do many things in Windows Media Center. Here is a sample of actions you can perform:

• Watch, record, control TV (with digital TV tuner present in the computer)
• Control, play, and rip music
• Edit & View your Digital Photos and Videos
• Create, play, and control slide shows of your pictures
• Access online partners for an expanded experience to include games, additional music, and other software products.
• Complete control over your listening and viewing pleasure, from anywhere in the room as far as 10-20 M away

With the pc remote control you can navigate through information using the number keys on the remote control to find shows, and other information at the most convenient position.
Optional of Window Remote Controls
1. Microsoft MCE Remote Control USB IR Receiver Win7 Vista 
Price: US$15.99                                                          
2. HP OEM Windows 7 Vista XP Media Center MCE PC Remote Control and Infrared Receiver
Price: US$15.99                          

How to use Smargo cardreader with CCcam on linux receivers and PCs

The USB Smargo Smartcard Reader Plus is kind of a Smart TV card reader, which can work for dreambox and most linux based satellite reciever for card sharing. it can read customer’s identity and authorization information and helps you to watch pay satellite TV. It’s a USB smartcard reader / programmer based on a powerful ARM core processor.Here’s a tutorial to How to use Smargo cardreader with CCcam on linux receivers and PCs
DM7020 CCcam.cfg
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/2 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/usb/tts/3 smartreader+

DM800 CCcam.cfg
on USB0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/0
on USB1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/usb/tts/1

PC server CCcam.cfg
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB2 smartreader+
Your Adsense Code

SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB3 smartreader+
Now we need add to CCcam.cfg new line:
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB0 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB1 smartreader+
SERIAL READER : /dev/ttyUSB2 smartreader+
or whatever USB port your smartreader is entered.

Save CCcam.cfg and run ./CCcam.x86 -d you should see new card is added and running.
In CCcam.cfg is card overklocking and there you just edit like so:
SMARTCARD CLOCK FREQUENCY: /dev/ttyUSB0 4800000 and card works with 4.80mhz set by smartreader+.

READER VALUES - MHZ
3 - 16MHZ
4 - 12MHZ
5 - 9.61MHZ
6 - 8MHZ
7 - 6.86MHZ
8 - 6MHZ
9 - 5.34MHZ
10 - 4.80MHZ
11 - 4.36MHZ
12 - 4MHZ
13 - 3.69MHZ
14 - 3.43MHZ
15 - 3.20MHZ

On this way you can set the correct values for each reader.When you use multiple readers don't forget the  option to set the correct reader! The users can selecte any freqency. The Smart card reader+ will selected the nearest available.
Default smartreader+ speed is with new v1.3 & v1.4 firmware 3.69MHZ and most cards works with that speed. Although new version 1.5 firmware of USB smargo card reader, It is not the official release and not as stable as 1.3 & 1.4. The users would better choose the old version.

Ready to Buy?

Coolstream NEO SAT - Satellite Digital Linux TV Receiver

The Coolstream NEO SAT is an award winning Linux TV receiver with 1 x DVB-S2 Tuner & digital TV recorder (DTR), bursting with satellite TV recording features to capture the incredible color, sound and crystal clear images of SD and HD channels from the satellite TV reception. The Coolstream NEO SAT also gives you access to over hundreds of TV and radio channels including other services such as BBC iPlayer for the ultimate viewing experience. The sparking feature of the Coolstream NEO Sat works greatly with Linux and Engima 2 system. It would be a great choice for Linux and Engima 2  users.
Large recording capacity
Boasting a optional hard disk drive (Optional: 250GB/320GB/750GB/1000GB), the Coolstream NEO SAT can store up to 120 hours of HD programming or up to 300 hours of standard definition shows so you’ll never miss that crucial episode of your favourite show. The Coolstream NEO SAT is perfect for those households where arguments over the remote control are guaranteed.
Amazing choice for Linux and Engima operating System
The Coolstream NEO is a low-cost Satellite Receiver based on the open architecture of the Linux and Enigima Operating System. Perfect compatibility and great quality make it the Linux enthusiasts' box of choice.Linux operating system and supplied pre flashed with the latest firmware.
Advanced recording features
The Coolstream NEO is jam-packed with other recording features for the satellite digital TV service:
Live pause and instant rewind –It’s easy to pause any live show and go and quench your thirst. Then come back to the TV and simply carry on wherever you left off.
Series recording – if you know you’re going to be out and about when you’re favourite weekly drama is on, it’s easy to set your Coolstream NEO to record every single episode at the touch of a button
Schedule tracking – if there’s a change to the TV schedule due to breaking news or an over-running programmer, there is no need to worry about missing anything. The Coolstream NEO will tracks the recording according to broadcast signals and ensures you receive every last second
Split recording – For those long movies with a break for the news, the Coolstream NEO will ensure it records both halves of the film to eliminate any disappointment
Chase Play - no need to wait until the programmer you are recording has finished before you
can start to watch it. With chase play you can start watching from the beginning even if the programmer is still being recorded

Other features
The Coolstream NEO Sat supports 9 different languages for different contries satellite TV reception. Besides, it has Built-in 3D games and enables you enjoy an exciting game experience!

Ready to Buy

Tutorial -Setting Up NewCS or Oscam on W7MC for Foxtel Satellite Pay TV

Here are the tutorial on how to setup NewCS or Oscam on Window 7 media center for watching Australia Foxtel  satellite PAY TV.

Component List
Motherboard with onboard COM port. Ensure it has enough PCI and PCIe slots to accommodate for all your hardware. There are plenty around with onboard HDMI. Using the onboard frees up a PCIe slot.
Phoenix card reader. I have found the TBS 3102 to be the most practical card reader as it can be made to be internal and hidden out of sight. There are various USB card readers available which can work with NewCS and Oscam. Some even come free when you buy a TV tuner card
RAM. More is always better. (32 bit or 64 bit)
Core 2 Duo CPU. Quad core is nice, but reports are that NewCS does not work with them.
Hard Driver. Must be big enough to handle all the recording you wish to do, in addition to the operating system, other software and any other record media you might have (music, photos, etc.).
Network hardware. If you want to stream media over a home network, then I suggest a hardwire LAN. Most motherboards have built in LAN ports. Otherwise, built in wireless or power line networking will be fine for downloading software and EPG updates.
DVB-S/S2 TV tuner card, I use a TBS 6984PCI FTA quad tuner card. This is  really the grand-daddy of DVB-S2 card. Four tuners allows you change different channels. it is so good for IPTV providers.
Remote control. Must be MCE compatible, most comes with the tv cards.
Satellite Dish. If you have an existing Foxtel / Sky Service, then the satellite dish installed will save you a lot of work as it is already aimed to the correct satellite. If you want to use multiple DVB-S tuners, you’ll need to change out the LNB, depending on the one already fitted. Most standard Foxtel installs include a single LNB for the basic service. If you do need to swap out the LNB, you will need to buy/rent/borrow a satellite finder and orientate the dish & LNB to the correct satellite. For those in the Brisbane area, I have one that can be “borrowed” for the weekend for the cost of a six-pack.
Software
Required Software:-
- Windows 7 Ultimate
- All necessary drivers
- Codec pack
- DVBlink TVSource
- NewCS / Oscam (for HD reception)
- Acamd
Setting Up
I always prefer to begin with a clean install as my system is a dedicated HTPC. Start with no cards installed, except for the video card if you’re using one.
1. Install W7
2. Install Drivers
3. Run Windows Update – Make sure you have all the updates you need. You may want to run it a few times to make sure you have everything
4. Install Codecs
5. Shut Down PC
6. Install Phoenix Card Reader and DVB S2 Tuner cards and drivers
7. Download NewCS from the download area of this website. Make a directory in C:/newcs
8. Copy the following files into the directory:-
mingwm10.dll
Newcs.exe
Newcs.xml
NewcsGUI.exe
pthreadGCE2.dll
9. Make a shortcut in the startup folder to the NewcsGUI.exe. - This is so it starts up when the computer does.
10. Insert your Foxtel smartcard into the card reader and start the NewcsGUI.exe. – You need to confirm the provider ID for your TV service. Write it down. E.g., Foxtel Blue Card is 090B.11. Install DVBlink TV Source
Follow the instructions in the user manual provided with Tvsource and setup each tuner in turn.
Once all the tuners are setup, place the acamdplugins (cardclint.conf and acamd.dll) into
C:\Program Files\DVBLogic\DVBlink\Sources\<tunername>\Plugins
Or
C:\Program Files (x86)\DVBLogic\DVBlink\Sources\<tunername>\Plugins for a 64 bit install
– Each tuner needs an individual name. Newcs and acamd will need to be modified to reflect this. For this purpose, the plugins you put in are cardclient.conf and acamd.dll
Continue setup as per the manual. You would want to setup MC now, following the instructions.
12. Edit newcs.xml so it looks something like this:-
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<newCSconfig>
<readers name="Standard Phoenix on PC">
<device>
<name>Phoenix on COM1</name>
<type>phoenix</type>
<mhz>357</mhz>
<node>COM1</node>
<parity>odd</parity>
<reset>normal</reset>
<export>no</export>
<enabled>yes</enabled>
<blocksa>no</blocksa>
<blockua>no</blockua>
<blockga>no</blockga>
<blockc0>yes</blockc0>
<!-- <boxid>0000000000</boxid> -->
<!-- <rsa>0000000000</rsa> -->
<crypto-special>no</crypto-special>
<PTShandshake>no</PTShandshake>
<carddetect>no</carddetect>
<newcamd_port>34000</newcamd_port>
<autosid>yes</autosid>
<priority>fifo</priority>
<Seca-PPV>no</Seca-PPV>
<pincode>0000</pincode>
</device>
</readers>
<radegastserver>
<enabled>No</enabled>
<port>10001</port>
<allow>
<hostname>localhost</hostname>
</allow>
</radegastserver>
<cache>
<emm>20</emm>
<ecm>-1</ecm>
</cache>
<server>
<port>8080</port>
<enabled>no</enabled>
</server>
<debug>
<password>newcs</password>
<level>normal</level>
<type>init</type>
<output>console,tcp</output>
<console_options>normal,init</console_options>
<tcp_port>1001</tcp_port>
<tcp_options>normal,init</tcp_options>
</debug>
<newcamdserver>
<enabled>yes</enabled>
<name>newcs</name>
<deskey>01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14</deskey>
<user>
<name>tuner1</name>
<password>password1</password>
<hostname>localhost</hostname>
<port>34000</port>
<rate>1</rate>
<au>on</au>
<sidoverride>off</sidoverride>
<spider>no</spider>
</user>
</newcamdserver>
</newCSconfig>
You can copy and paste the above example into a text file and save it as newcs.xml. Be sure to put in the boxid if you’re using an Orange Foxtel card and uncomment it so it looks like this <boxid>0000000000</boxid>
13. Edit cardclient.conf so it looks like this:-
newcamd:localhost:34000:0/090b/ffff:tuner1:password1:0102030405060708091011121314
Restart the system
Update: With the advent of HD channels, more and more people are moving away from NewCS and towards Oscam. Also, Oscam has the ability to update your subscription card so you don't need to put it back into the STB.
There is a tutorial for setting up Oscam with Cygwin here:
http://www.xpmediace...cam-cygwin.html
And one for setting up Oscam in Ubuntu here:
http://www.xpmediace...cam-ubuntu.html
At this point, you would setup your epg. You can use any number of methods that are described throughout the forum. You can include logos to give your setup a little more spark. You could also setp Media Browser, weather programs, internet radio, etc.
I would recommend using EPG Collector for this setup. It will pull down the EPG data directly off the satellite/cable, pretty much the same way the original STB's do. A lot of work went into it's development and it is a fantastic piece of software.
You can get it here:
http://sourceforge.n...ollector/files/
Written By MC Mentor from pcmediacenter.com.au

TBS6922 PCI-E DVB-S2 TV Tuner Card Review

TBS8922 is a TBS latest version of PCI DVB-S2 TV tuner card, which supports to receive and watch HD digital satellite programs (also compatible with Freesat) on the desktop. TBS8922 also fully supports satellite internet connecting and high-speed satellite data downloading. It works great with popular DVB software e.g ProgDVB, DVBDream, and Skygrabber. It is also a kind of Linux supported DVB S2 computer PCI card. Here are TBS 8922 reviews come from http://www.amazon.co.uk/

Supports windows 7 64 bit –Written By Jeffers
Download the latest drivers for windows 7 before installing this PCI card, media centre detects and scans automatically. Great for Freesat, I have two cards installed, picks up BBC HD - but really only rubbish on there at the moment! Download 'Guidetool' for easy media centre guide editing of the 1000+ channels available. Best choice for Freesat viewing card.



An excellent dvb s2 pcie card- Written By NuancedInsight
Previously had a Twinhan card and although when working it would go blocky and pixellate for no reason most of the times I used it. So in effect the Twinhan was completely useless. The TBS product is much better - reasonably easy to install and it works well with WMC. Managed to identify about 870 channels from the Sky 28.2 / Eurobird 28.5 satellites. Some not watchable as they are scrambled or too weak but a good selection nevertheless. Could tuner into BBC HD and Luxe HD and they displayed on WMC fine. Managed to hack the registry to get ITV HD as per the other reviewer's instructions, but on this channel the sound only lasted 1 second before cutting out. Googling reveals others have had similar problems but no solution as are as I could see. Anyway the TBS DVB PCI card is an excellent value product and I highly recommend it. And it has lasted nearly a month now and is still working, so appears stable and would definitely recommend this dvb tv card.

Fantastic HD satellite card. Great price!-D. King "Stinga"
I ditched the sky box and plugged the satellite dish into this bad boy. I ended up with around 1000 channels with no realigning of the dish required. I'm using this card with windows 7 and it integrates with windows media center brilliantly. I have all of the freesat channels including BBC HD and with a bit of tweaking I even managed to get ITV HD!!
All you need to do is install the card and download the latest windows 7 drivers from the TBS website. When you launch windows media center, it detects the satellite card and scans for channels. You will get duplicated channels i.e. all of the regional channels for ITV and BBC, but it's easy to delete and rename channels in the channel guide.
Google "my channel logos" to download a nice little plug in which inserts the channel logos into the channel guide.
ITV HD is usually a "red button" option and is not actually a channel. To view it as a channel you need to edit the registry.
Go to C:\Windows\regedit
Then locate and open fAllowDvbsMHEG and change the value from 0 to 1. It's located in the path below.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Settings\TVConfig
Now go back to your channel guide, locate a channel called 10510 and rename it ITV HD. If you get a blank screen when you select the channel, launch BBC HD first then go back to ITV HD and it should open as normal.
Only cost me £50, so pleasure price! Happy freesat viewing card!

TBS 6925 VS Prof 9000

The DVB card including DVB-S card and DVB-S2 card are designed for receiving, decoding and displaying DVB (Digital Video Broadcasts) transmitted via satellite for people to watch digital TV on PC. They include a hardware MPEG decoder and a composite video output, so the digital TV program can be displayed both on the PC monitor and an external TV set.
With the popularity of the DVB S/S2 card, some manufacturers develop the new generation of DVB S2 cards which include enhanced modulation schemes up to 16APSK, 32APSK, support CCM, VCM and ACM model, and receive multiple Transport stream and generic Stream. It’s a great breakthrough in digital satellite TV tuners. That’s also one of the promising DVB S2 cards. Now we would recommend two high sensitivities professional DVB S2 card for satellite hobbyist and hunters.

Brand & Model	Prof Revolution DVB-S2 9000 PCI-E	TBS6925 DVB S2 PCI-E Professional TV Card
Tuner	Single tuner	Single tuner
Connect Interface	PCI-E	PCI-E
DVB-S2/Transponders Receiving	√	√
DVBS2QPSK/8PSK/16APSK/32APSK	√	√
Blind Scan	√	√
Symbol Rates QPSK	unknown	200Ksps-45 Msps
Symbol Rates 8PSK	unknown	200Ksps-45 Msps
VCM/ACM/ACM	√	√
HD	√	√
Multiple Transport Stream  Receiving	×	√
Generic Stream Capture	×	√
Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7 Linux	√	√
Linux MythTV supported	×	√
Price	$299.99	$249.99
Buy Now

Enjoy Digital DVB-S2 Satellite HDTV Pay TV Channels

The leaps and bounds of computer networking have made a variety of entertainment options ubiquitous in this modern age. Watching satellite digital TV on your PC has never been easier. To be sure, you can make your choice of the mode through which you prefer to enjoy your favorite program.
The question is how many satellite TV channels you can legitimately access on your computer. Digital TV On PC service offers you many types of programs including, sports, educational, discovery channel, geo world TV, shopping channels, hunting, news, movies, music videos and much more. However, some excellent or amazing tv channels need pay monthly fees. So how to watch digital satellite pay TV on PC would be a topic that many satellite hobbyists and hunters are interested.  Firstly, watching satellite digital TV on your computer requires a DVB S2 card, Smart Card, CAM. It seems a little complex, but it is worthy you doing that. Finding a suitable DVB s2 card would save a lot of time and money when encrypting the Pay TV. Now we would introduce a several DVB S2 cards with CI. All of them will allow you enjoy digital DVB S2 satellite HDTV pay TV channels.
TBS 5980 USB DVB S2 TV QBox CI
The TBS 5980 USB DVB S/S2 TV Qbox CI is fully compliant with DVB-S and DVB-S2 broadcasting standards. With built in CI module, you need open your desktop and insert your subscription card directly. Of course, it would be the best solution for external USB TV card for laptop. The key highlight of this DVB S2  USB TV box is with CI and DiseqC motor support. It works perfectly with Window Media Center, Linux MythTV and other DVB applications.
AnySee E7-S2 DVB-S/S2 USB TV Box with CI
DVB-S2 USB box with built in CI module, This is another excellent DVB S2 CI card. No need for full height PC cases or having to go at the back of your PC to insert your subscription card, you can even use it with a laptop. Enjoy scrambled high-definition quality satellite channels by inserting a CAM and smart card.A C-Band or Ku-Band satellite dish with LNB is required. To view Pay TV channels, you need a compatible CAM and subscriber card.

NetUP PCIe DVB S2 Dual DVB-S2-CI
The NetUP Dual DVB-S2-CI is a professional DVB-S/DVB-S2 PCI-e card designed for high-density appliances such as DVB-IP gateways, home theaters, satellite Internet systems, etc. In contrast to standard DVB-S cards, NetUP's Dual DVB-S2-CI provides fourfold density - two DVB-S/S2 receivers and two Common Interface (CI) slots occupy only one PCI-e slot. The high density allows saving space on installation and using the card for satellite signal reception in confined environments. For example, a standard 1U rack-mount server with two PCI-e slots can receive and fully decode 4 satellite transponders, such as NetUP's IPTV Combine 4x or DVB-IP gateway 4x
AzureWave DVB-S2 CI PCI Card
The AD-SP400 DVB-S2 CI card is a DVB s2 card with PCI slot. It supports low profile and low setup computer. There is a common interface on the right side f the card.A C-Band or Ku-Band satellite dish with LNB is required. To view Pay TV channels, you need a compatible CAM and subscriber card. However, until now SelectTV and Aurora services using Irdeto I/II CAMs are known to work with this device. Other CAMs are still waiting for test.
Please note these DVB-S devices rely on an appropriate CAM and official subscription cards to descramble PayTV services. As the PayTV providers may make changes to the encryption system or the format of the material broadcast, so please make sure the DVB S/S2 TV card if are well compatible with the functionality of these devices with any PayTV services. Notwithstanding anything anywhere else said, these devices are therefore only guaranteed to work with un-encrypted services.

Related Articles:

Tech Review: TBS 5980 DVBS2 Qbox CI

How to Watch Encrypted Channel TV on laptop

TBS USB DVB S2 TV Qbox CI Brings Freesat to PC

Comparison of DVB T USB Receiver and PCI-e DVB T Card

Time and time again, we receive a mass of questions along the lines of which DVB T card should I buy? Which band of DVB T card is best? etc. Actually there is no single universal answer. It would be foolish for us to say this DVB T card or that DVB t card is best! What is best for you may not be best for someone else.
We believe the only way to determine what best dvb t card is for you are to compare what you expect from a Digital TV tuner device and the budgets you are planning. We have no interest in pushing one particular brand over the other. We want you to make an informed decision, a decision that you will be happy to live with. Accordingly we have developed this page to try an assist you do that.
What is DVB T/T2 card

A DVB T TV Card is not actually for a Television.  DVB T tuner cards are computer component that allows your PC to behave similarly to a normal TV. With a DVB T tuner Card you can watch, record, rewind and pause HD digital Television programmers (such as Freeview SD and HD channels in UK). This is done via your PC, laptop or notebook. You can also watch the digital television HD channels in full screen mode or in a resizable window and Instant replay of your favorite TV via the PCI or USB bus.
IN the beginning the only DVB T Tuner cards are available as external USB devices that you plug into your USB port of your computer. However, now more choices are available, you can buy   PCI or PCI-e DVB T card.

DVB T USB Digital Receiver

There is basically no difference in the performance of USB2 devices (compared to PCI or PCIe DVB T card versions, the choice is usually dependent on whether you wish to have an internal solution (install and forget) with no boxes hanging around the desk top, or you are happy to have device outside your desktop, but with the advantage of being able to use them with a notebook or move them easily to another PC without having to open up your PC case, the external DVB USB receiver would be a great choice.

DVB T USB Digital Receiver with Single Tuner - External Solution

* Tubestick USB DVB-T Receiver - Digital only USB2 device, good tuner with Windows and Mac support
* AzureWave USB Hybrid -  Hybrid (Digital or Analogue) USB2 device supports Digital, Analogue/FM and AV input
* Dabby (DVB-T/FM/DAB+) - Digital Audio Broadcasting USB2 device, also supporting Digital TV and FM radio.


PCIe DVB T card with One tuner or Dual Tuner
Dual tuner of course! With prices of dual tuners now so low, a dual tuner is the way to go, as it will allow you to watch one channel, while record another or record two at the same time. You should, however, note that If you are in a weak signal area, you may want to consider single tuners (eg TBS 6220 or TechniSat AisrTar 2) instead of multiple tuner solutions with one RF input, as these share the signal internally, across the tuners, and may require a better signal than single tuner devices.

Internal DVB T/T2 card with Single tuner - internal solution
* TBS 6220- Low profile DVB card supports Digital Freeview TV and FM Radio with DVB T/T2 signal
* TechniSat AirStar 2 - Full height card, Digital TV only - especially suited for Linux and Media Center users,

Internal DVB T/T2 card with Dual Tuner - Internal Solution
* TBS 6280 PCI-e DVB T2 dual tuner card- supports watching or recording two different Freeview HD  channels. Ideal for inux and Media Center users,
* DNTV Dual Hybrid (7164) PCIe - Dual Digital/Analogue and FM radio card. Digital/Analogue support with both tuners and FM Radio, Hardware encoders for analogue capture, including Component Video capture..

Related Articles:

TBS 6280-Freeview HD Twin Tuner Card

How to watch Freeview HD TV on windows media center

How to Watch Freesat HD on Mythtv 0.22 Linux PVR with Ubuntu

This article focus on the installation of DVBs/DVB-S MythTV DVR/PVR system and the software. In this guide, I will show you how to setup of the MythTV software and get it working with your DVB s2card.
The Setup
When you setup of the MythTV, please make sure that our mouse will not be able to point and click at the MythTV buttons. MythTV was designed with a TV mindset from day one, so it’s expecting inputs from a remote control. In this case, your keyboard works just fine. The keys you are going to use are:INSERT KEYS HERE
Verify DVB s2 card is operating in Linux
Before starting this process its worth checking your DVB s2 card is correctly recognized by the Linux Kernel. Open a Terminal window (Applications->Accessories->Terminal) and do the following, this would  show your card is Linux supported TV card.

Start MythTV-Setup
To begin the setup process, you need to run mythtv-setup. From the menu at the top of your screen, click System->Administration->MythTV Backend Setup. This should fire up the setup process and present you with the initial language selection screen. Select your language, verify your network settings and press enter to bring up the 5 option main setup menu. If you get a ‘no UPNP backend’ error, please verify your network settings. Go into option 1, General.
This should now bring up some networking parameters. If you followed Part 1 of this howto, using ‘apt-get’ to install MythTV, then the MySQL DB and network information should already be filled in for you and you only need to select a PIN (set the PIN to 0000 to disable it. The PIN is not really necessary unless you want to stop other people on your home network from watching TV and recordings), then <TAB> to select the ‘Next’ button at the bottom right of your screen.
On the other hand, if you installed MythTV and MySQL yourself without using apt-get, then input the parameters you set up with here, set your PIN to 0000 then <TAB> to ‘Next’ at the bottom right of your screen. Mine looks like this (Note PIN is not shown in this picture, but you still need to enter it):
On the next screens you should modify the values as specified below. Any values not specified here can be left at the default values. Don’t forget to <TAB> to ‘Next’ after each screen :
Locale Settings screen
* Format = ‘PAL’
* VBI = ‘None’
* Channel Frequency = ‘Europe West’
Misc Settings screen

* Master backend override = ticked
* Delete files slowly = ticked
* HD rungbuffer = 9400
EIT scan options screen
* EIT transport timeout = 1 minute
* Cross source EIT = ticked
* this is useful if you add more sat orbital positions later on)
* Backend idle before EIT = 30 secs,
shutdown/wakeup screen
No changes, leave the default values
backend wakeup screen
No changes, leave the default values
Backend Control screen
No changes, leave the default values
Job Queue (backend specific) screen,
* Max jobs = 2
* Job queue check = 300 seconds.
* If your mythbox is on all night long, set the job queue start and end to the middle of the night when you are asleep so MythTV jobs do not hinder your daytime system performance. For example, start 02:00 end 07:00.
* cpu use =  medium
* Allow commercial detect = ticked
* Transcoding = ticked
Job Queue (Global) screen, Job Queue (Job commands) screen, UPNP Server settings screen
No changes, leave the default values.
On the UPNP Server settings screen, the ‘Next’ button should be replaced with ‘Finish.’ <TAB> to finish and select to return you to the main setup menu.
DVB s2 card Setup
Select menu option 2 (capture video cards) then click new capture card. Set Capture card type to ‘DVB DTV capture card (v3.x)’ NOTE:  your card may show up as V4L or similar initially. Make sure you select DVB DTV capture card instead. Once selected, the system should auto fill technical details regarding your card, such as type.
* Set tuning timeout to 20000 and signal timeout to 20000
* Select the Diseqc settings button (even if you dont use it). In the new window, hit enter on ‘unconnected’ (Note you may need to press the right arrow key on the word ‘unconnected’ to highlight/select it before hitting enter). This should bring up a menu, from which you select LNB. This will bring up another window, where you set ‘LNB preset’ to ‘universal(europe)’ – this is assuming you have a European style universal LNB (Sky minidish has this). Select finish (you should now be back one page and see ‘LNB’ instead of ‘unconnected’). Hit escape to take you back to the card setup screen
* Select recording options and in the new screen set max recordings to ’2′ (this allows you to watch one channel and record another if they are on the same DTV transponder/multiplex). Tick wait for SEQ start header. Untick open Mythtv supported card on demand. Tick use DVB s2 card for active EIT. Put a ‘tuning delay’ of 100ms to help with Budget DVB cards. Select finish to go back one screen, then select finish again
You should now be at the capture card list and you should see your card, like so:
If you see the DVB S2 card on the list, Hit ESC to go back to the main menu. Congratulations, you have successfully completed Part 2 of this guide and are well on the way to watching Freesat TV on Linux Ubuntu.

How to Watch Freesat Channel4 HD on PC

Freesat Channel4 TV available on Freeview HD
Although not officially available on Freesat HD satellite receivers, Channel 4 HD has been available free to air for a few month now. So even though it has not been given a channel number on the Freesat HD channel list, it can still be watching. For most freesat receivers you will have to enter “non Freesat mode” on your receiver and scan “Frequency 12.606, Polarisation v, Symbol Rate 27500,FEC 3/4”
On some Freesat viewing card, like the TBS 5922, you may also have to change the Modulation to QPSK, and Transmission to DVB-S2。When performing the scan the channel may not appear as “Channel 4 HD”, but as a number. Until C4 HD officially launches on Freesat, expected later in April according to reports, then you will be able to watch watch channel 4 live online by using this channel in “non freesat mode”.

How to Watch Freesat Channel 4 HD on PC
Here is the procedure of how to use TBS 5922 DVB s2 USB TV box to watch Freesat channels 4HD on PC.
Install the TBS Qbox3 software on your PC.
Step1: Install the driver of TBS 5922
Usually, the driver package comes with the TV tuner box. Run the CD, the computer will find the new hardware, and then Found New Hardware wizard window will display. According to PC’s operating system, click “Install Driver forWin7” (e.g.) and click “Next” until the installation is completed.
Step2:  Install TBSviewer
we just take TBSviewer as example, you can also use other DVB applications(progdvb, Dvbdream, window media center, MythTV,Media portable etc). Click “Install TBSviewer” from CD auto-run to start installation, click “Next” until installation is completed.Double click the icon “TBSViewer” to launch TBSviewer, and then right-click to choose the “Options” item.
If TBS 5922 device is well installed in the computer, you can see “TBS 5922 DVB-S2 QBOX” on a window as follows.
Step 3: Scanning Channels and Watching Freesat Channels 4 HD
After running TBSviewer on PC, you can click the right bottom to choose “Channel scan”. The windows of “Scan channels” will pop up. You can select existing satellite transponders list from the scroll down menu. Then set up the DiseqC, LNB LOF1, LOF2 and LOF SW, input transponder Frequency range here and start scan by frequency or by range. If you don’t use any Diseqc, just choose “None”. And if you do use Diseqc, please choose the correct Diseqc type. As we mentioned in the first paragraph, The freesat channel 4 was in  “Frequency 12.606, Polarisation v, Symbol Rate 27500,FEC 3/4” .You can copy this data to the scanning list. More detail information about the satellite, you can click http://www.lyngsat.com/ .
After “Scan channels” is completed, the found program numbers will be shown and the program list will be automatically saved. You can close the “Scan channels” window.
The next you just need to click the mouse to the right hand side of the TBSViewer main window, and a channel list window will appear. You can double click the channel list and watching live Freesat channel 4 in a perfect HD quality.
Related video on Youtube
How to use TBS5922 to watch satellite TV on Windows Media Center

Watching Freeview Channels on PC with DVB T2 Dual Card

Watching TV on a PC is just a matter of plugging in one or more TV tuners or a USB TV box and running the control software. While your computer's screen might not be a sharp or as big as the television in your living room, Watching TV on your PC does mean you can keep an eye on what's happening in the world while you're at work or at play. It's a doddle to archive recorded sport or TV shows to DVD, and network connectivity means you can watch on any computer in any room in the house.
There are much kind of TV tuner cards available in the market. Such as DVB S2 card, DVB T2 card, DVB C card, analogue TV card etc. Now today we will introduce a new DVB T tuner card which is specially designed for receiving freeview channels in UK. Unlike other countries in Europe, most of UK locals get feeview TV. You might know freeview, you may be not know DVB T( digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial). In another word, Freeview , Freeview+, Freeview HD is transmitted as DVB T/T2 standard. So if you want to get freeview TV, you might need a DVB T tuner card, rather than DVB S or DBV C card.
The TBS 6280 DVB T dual TV tuner card is a Freeview tuner card with PCI express slot. It supports dual tuners receiving with digital terrestrial television including both DVB-T and DVB-T2 standard, Giving 2 simultaneous HD terrestrial streaming from a single low profile card. All Freeview digital terrestrial (DVB-T & T2) TV and radio channels can be received by this Freeview HD tv card.

The manufacturers include a small portable aerial with the DVB T2 tuner. However, how good these mini antennae are at picking up a solid signal depends on the coverage where you live. When we connected the TBS 6280 is a great freeview HD tuner to a proper aerial on the roof we found an impressive total of 70 TV and radio stations. Switching to a tiny indoor antenna that was packaged with DVB-T tuner, Placing the tidily antenna on the outside window sill we did far better, picking up 26 channels including such as BBC HD, channel 4 ,ITV, EPSN, CNN. There wasn't a single TV station that we would choose to watch and the radio selection is good too.
The good news is that TBS 6280 is ideal for Windows 7 Media Center, MythTV Linux ubuntu and other high end PVR DVB applications. The latest Linux driver works well with terrestrial DVB-T2 reception, It is a good DVB T card for linux and MythTV supporting.

Software

Every TV tuner comes with some sort of software to allow you to scan for stations, save favorite broadcasters, and schedule recordings DVR-style. TBS 6280 DVB T2 card comes with the compatible drivers for windows and Linux. It also contains some DVB applications, such as progdvb, TBSviewer,DVBviewer. You'll be able to scan for channels, watch TV, pause and record from the comfort of your sofa with the added bonus of the interface on the screen and a decent remote control. On top of that you can expect that your tuner will come with a seven-day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)in Freeview list.

About Price

£103 is a reasonable price for a dual tuner card. Each tuner cost less than £ 55. It is so pleased to see the performance is great. Compared to Blackgold BGT3510, TBS 6280 has Absolute price advantage. It would be a great potential DVB T2 product in the recent market, Especially for UK market.


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TBS 6280-Freeview HD Twin Tuner Card

Freeview Channels List & EPG Numbers

An up to date channel list of subscription free Freeview TV channels, available in the UK is provided as below- last updated in August 2011.
This free to air (FTA) Freeview channel list covers all UK DTT(digital terrestrial television) services includes changes to Freeview EPG channel numbers made in January 2011 to add ITV1+1 on Ch33 and move ITV2+1 to Ch27.
Tele text channels, data services and BBC interactive channels are included in the channel lineup and Top Up TV - pay and subscription channels are suffixed by an asterisk* since they are not available without a one-off or regular subscription payment.
There are around 50 DVB-T Freeview channels transmitted as part of the UK digital terrestrial television, DTT service. These are unencrypted, "free to air" non subscription DVB-T TV channels which are free to view in the UK where Freeview coverage is possible.




Freeview channels list is provided in good faith. Its accuracy is not guaranteed as new channels are added periodically and others may be removed. Please keep on the eyes on freeview channels list from time to time.
Notes:

• The asterisk character (*) against a channel name is used to identify encrypted Freeview channels which require a Top Up TV subscription.
• (#) Freeview HD services are only available in certain areas of the UK. The Hannington transmitter will launch Freeview HD services at digital switchover in 2012.
• The Freeview mux UHF channel numbers quoted in the above table list the digital multiplexes of the Hannington TV transmitter. The Hannington transmitter covers Berkshire and north Hampshire as well as parts of west Surrey and east Wiltshire.
• To obtain the UHF channel numbers for your local transmitter, download the DTG Transmitter Pocket Guide which lists the UHF channel number assignments for each Freeview multiplex covering all UK DTT transmitters.

Missing Freeview Channels & Wrong Channel Numbers

Common Freeview problems such as missing channels and incorrect channel numbers are the unfortunate side effect of frequent multiplex changes implemented by the UK Freeview service. A regular freeview TV box retune is required on all Freeview equipment in order to keep the freeview channel list up to date. Some set top boxes (like Panasonic) automatically advise when re-tuning is necessary and an on-screen retuning menu appears.
To fix any viewing problems we recommend retuning your Freeview box or TV if your channel numbering doesn't match published lists. To do this delete the current EPG Channel List on your set top box or IDTV and then carry out a full channel re-installation using your Freeview boxes "automatic" or "manual" channel installation mode. Details of how to do this on your particular equipment will be in the user guide. Automatic tuning (the easiest Freeview box retuning method) is often referred to as 'Auto Set Up'. Sometimes a 'Factory Reset' or full 'Auto Tune' is required to wipe all existing channels, depending on set top box or TV manufacturer.
The manual channel tuning mode on your IDTV or Freeview box allows channel search and installation by UHF channel number and is recommended in areas where Freeview signals from more than one transmitter can be received.
To find out the UHF channel numbers for manual retuning of your particular transmitter, use the digital UK postcode checker and then on the results page, click on 'Find out more' (under 'Reception and channels' in the 'Aerial' row under 'Method of reception'), then click on the pink 'How do I re-tune' menu to reveal the UHF channels needed to tune the Freeview service on your local transmitter).
How to Watch freeview SD and HD channels on PC
Expect watching freeview channels on TV, There has another popular way to watch freeview SD and HD channels. You can use a freeview tuner card on your PC and you can get all the freeview channels on PC. TBS releases a new TBS 6280 DVB T2 twin tuner card, which support watching or recording two different freeview channels simultaneously.
TBS 6280 has been architected to allow simultaneous management of two DVB T2 streaming. DVB T2 demodulator technology supports the detection, receiving and processing of HD terrestrial streams (Especially for Freeview HD). The  freeview tuner pc card driver pack design allows operation with the broadest selection of PVR and Media Center applications; permitting the viewing, pausing and recording of multiple freeview tv programs.
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How to Watch Freesat BBC One HD TV on ProgDVB

As far as we are concerned, most areas of the UK can receive digital terrestrial Freeview( DVB T2).However, for those who live the remote or highland areas, even not live in UK, one good alternative is Using Freesat, offering high definition viewing with no monthly charges or contract. It can over 150+ digital TV and radio services, including free HD, freesat+ to record and rewind BBC iPlayer, BBC HD news, BBC One Channels, Film4, E4, ITV2, BBC Three, Dave and CNN, etc. With the popularity of TBS 6981 freesat PC card, now you can watch freesat BBC one HD TV on ProgDVB.
What is Freesat
Freesat is a digital TV service from the BBC and ITV which broadcasts HD programming via satellites in United Kingdom. Most of the freesat channels are broadcast using DVB-S or DVB S2.The Freesat electronic programmer guide is broadcast from the Eurobird 1 satellite situated at 28.5° east. Freesat's role is providing a platform for receiving the channels and the EPG. Standard definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-2, while high definition channels are broadcast using MPEG-4. Currently BBC One HD, BBC HD and ITV1 HD use DVB-S, but it would be replaced by DVB S2 in the near future.

Freesat Channels List
On Freesat you can enjoy over 150 non-stop digital TV and radio services, entertainment on ITV2, Dave and great comedy on BBC Three. BBC one HD will give you award winning documentaries and for the latest movies, Film4 has it all. Catch the latest news on BBC/ CNN and Sky News and watch adult channels on bluebird. You can pick any kind of freesat channels on the list.
What is ProgDVB
ProgDVB is universal and powerful DVB tool for receiving and watching digital satellite TV for PC and broadcastings from any sources (including Freesat). By means of ProgDVB ou can use one program for several types a TV and broadcastings irrespective of an amount of devices and type of received content (DVB-S/S2, DVB-C, DVB-T, ATSC, ISDB-T, IPTV), viewing CI scrambled channels, record your favorite programs

How to Watch Freesat BBC one HD TV on ProgDVB with a Freesat Viewing Card

We have choosen TBS 6981 as a Freesat viewing card for this test, Now we would like to demonstrate how to set up progDVB when you install this Freesat PC card. After TBS6981, you may select “Not start device” and start TBS Device from the list then tick “Install MPEG-2 Decoder” while installing. Copy “BDA.device” which you can find on Installation CD ..\Progdvb\ to the Modules directory where you installed ProgDVB. For example, if you installed ProgDVB at C:\Progdvb\Progdvb.exe , then copy BDA.device to C:\Progdvb\Modules\ Copy “Controls.ini” file to ProgDVB root directory to make remote control works with Progdvb.

Now double click Progdvb.exe, after the main window pop up, click “Settings”→“Device list”.

A “Device list” window will pop up, find TBS Device in the device list, Then TBS 6981 was found in the picture below, click to choose it and click “Start”, while the icon in front of “TBS6981” turn green, TBS 6981 freesat PC card has been successfully started.

Click “OK” to close “Device list” window and choose “Settings”→“DiSEqC” to pop up “Sat position and DiSEqC settings” window.

Choose your DiSEqC types from “None”  “Mini-DiSEqC”  “1.0 or 2.0” and “Custom”. Tick “Distinguish” “By frequency” and click “Add LNB” to pop up “LNB Settings” window.Choose your LNB type and type in your LOF Frequency. Choose the satellite from the scroll down menu. If you want to watch Freesat BBC ONE HD, you can add “10773 H” as the frequency.
Click “OK” to return to “Sat position and DiSEqC settings” window. Click “OK” again to return to main window.Click “Channel list”→“Channel search”→“Satellite” to scan all the transponders in your satellite.


The default Transponder parameters may not be the latest and correct. You’d better scan each single Transponder by click “Channel list”→“Scan transponder”.Choose the satellite from the scroll down “LNB” menu, choose the transponder from the scroll down “Transponder” menu. If you can’t find the correct transponder parameter, you can edit the correct “Frequency”, “Polarisation” and “Symbol rate” by yourself then click “Scan”. To check latest satellite Transponder information, please refer to http://www.lyngsat.com
The successfully scanned channels will be saved on the panel which is at the left side of the main window. The channel with green tick is free channel and the channel with red tick is encrypted. The channel with R mark is radio program. Now you can watch freesat BBC one HD channels on your PC with ProgDVB

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