[Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Now there is a power kernel which includes an USB OTG. Have anyone tested if there is possible to configure any DVB-T tuner to operate with N900?

I'm an active motorcyclist and sometimes I miss TV for news etc. and a connection is too bad for internet services but, at the same time terrestial signals seems to be just fine.

I could have more power from my bike's battery, so using an USB hub with a power supply wouldn't be a problem. I'm not a specialist under the hood of Maemo, so, what it would require to do this?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=17704

dvb-t streams might be too much for N900. Don´t really know about this but wild guess.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

how about dvbh support for the N900

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

It will probably depend on the DVB-T stream. The bitrate used in dvb-T stream can vary a lot. Most countries use MPEG-2 streams and use relatively low bitrate streams. Since I have seen a N900 play a MPEG2 stream from a DVD drive, I think most DVB-T streams shouldn't be a problem.

There are tools to stream the DVB-T stream from a PC to the N900 over wifi. That way you can test if the N900 is powerful enough. It probably will be.

The driver for a DVB-T stick is bigger problem.
I tried a PCTV picostick, but compiling v4l with support for this stick didn't work on maemo for me yet, don't know why yet.
The stick is detected using the USB host kernel, so I think the N900 supplies enough power.

In the USB-Host mode topic I posted some info about what i tried:
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=29

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

unencrypted DVB-H from a DVB-H test in Berlin worked on a N810, so should also be possible on the N900. But DVB-H is available in much less countries, and mostly use encryption on the streams.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

dvbh is available in my country and it has been running for free for some time now. i wish someone will implement it on the N900:(

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

So what do we need now?

• how much power does an average DVB-T USB stick draw/require?
• drivers for stick suitable for Maemo 5
• application to operate DVB-T service (perhaps patch/add on for Media Player or MPlayer?)

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Does anybody know how I could easily compile a new version of v4l on the N900? If I can figure out how to do that I can add support for my DVB-T stick.

I tried installing some developer tools on my n900, but I have a lot of problems compiling because of a lack of space.
I assume compiling in scratchbox doesn't have this limitation, but how do I make an installable package out of the new v4l instead of using "make install". I tried things like checkinstall, but that doesn't even work in ubuntu (probably because these are rather low-level files).

Step by step, on ubuntu I would clone a copy of the latest v4l trunk, apply a patch to add support for my PCTV Picostick, compile, install and copy the firmware.

Surely something similar can be made to work on Maemo and the N900?
anybody a suggestion on how to do that and install the result on my n900?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

This guy with his pandora got DVB-T Working on it not to long ago, he was using a Digi Vox Mini Air DVB-T Tuner. He compiled the drivers himself. Here's the full thread.

http://boards.openpandora.org/index....tv-on-pandora/

Maybe someone can buy one and give it a shot?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

download and install the sdk on your cophy of ubuntu, that will setup an n900 environment in which you can compile. I had one running for maemo4 but dont have one for maemo5.

here in the uk, the stock media player will not play dvb-t recordings as it does not have the codec, even with extra codec support. haven't tried mplayer.

you will also need a powered usb hub, as the dvb.-t sticks i have are very power hungry, so it's more than just dumping the v4l stack on there.

good luck

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

get a linux working usbtv stick and disassemble it
for example
kworld vs-pvr-tv 305u ( dvb only ) have inside :
-tuner Xceive xc2028 source code driver http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kerne...6b5588faf5fb4b
-frontend Empia EM2860 source code http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kerne...6b5588faf5fb4b

so if you found source code for chips with some work a driver can be made.

tuner is one well known
[EM2870_BOARD_KWORLD_350U] = {
.name = "Kworld 350 U DVB-T",
.valid = EM28XX_BOARD_NOT_VALIDATED,
.tuner_type = TUNER_XC2028,
.tuner_gpio = default_tuner_gpio,}

any stick draw max 500 mA and a powered hub is needed

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

All DVB-T USB sticks I own work under ubuntu/linux

I have an Anysee E30, a PCTV nanostick and a PCTV picostick 74e.

The picostick is the smallest and has "low power consumption" according to the manufacturer. But only the Anysee is rated (at 500mA). So how do you know that all DVB-T sticks require 500mA if it isn't in the specs ?

The nanostick and the picostick use a different chip, and the picostick requires a v4l patch before it works in Ubuntu. The Nanostick support is included in newer Ubuntu versions. Both require a firmware file. I assume all DVB-T USB adapters do (but not entirely sure about that).

I want to focus on getting the picostick to work on Maemo because it is the smallest and newest. It uses a chip from Abilis Systems AS102.
http://www.abilis.com/products_usb.php.
According to the reference design "low power", really is low:
Operational mode < 900 mW
so at 5V, that would be less than 200mA. And should be low enough to work on a N900 without a powered USB hub. (if the PCTV picostick has similar power consumption)



Streaming the MPEG2 streams from the Dutch Digitenne service from my ubuntu machine to the N900 (using tv headend ) I can tell you that the higher quality streams (Ned1, Ned2, Ned3) don't run smoothly in mplayer, but the lower quality streams do if you overclock the N900 slightly (Comedy Central etc.)

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

drivers pandora compiled for n900+ h.e.n(usb host beta 0.31 proyect) = dvb-t running ok?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

don't know. I don't understand half of the steps in the pandora tutorial.
But I think you will probably need to compile your own from source.
this guy does that also. compile ON the device.

Maybe I should also get the MSI DVB-T stick with realtek chip. it isn't very expensive. Any idea if the power consumption is also less than 200 mA?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

hmm, seems that even on an ubuntu machine with the 2.6.28 kernel (9.04), the picostick isn't detected correctly after installing the patched and updated v4l-dvb subsystem. Some module(s?) doesn't seem to be installed.

Also I found some very good information on compiling a custom kernel and module. Most on this site (so the link might be a bit "duh"):

http://wiki.maemo.org/Documentation/...o_Kernel_Guide
http://www.natisbad.org/N900/n900-custom-kernel.html

I would love to be able to compile my own kernel with driver for a specific USB device. Well I am learning, hopefully soon :)

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

So did you get the picostick working on the N900?
I was thinking of sharing my Digitenne card with oscam with my N900.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Sadly, no.

I got stuck some time ago, and haven't found the time to work on it after that.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Well I can setup the SDK on my computer and compile the v4l modules against power v47, then you can try if you can watch some FTA channels.
If that works, I'll compile oscam for the n900 too and everything should open :)

EDIT: Will your picostick work with one of the modules of v4l stack?
Or does it need a external driver outside of the kernel tree?

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

oscam can easily be compiled for the N900 (I have already done that too).
But you may not need to do that. If you use TVheadend on the N900, than you can just point it to a oscam server on a remote desktop/server.
Since you have only 1 USB port you will want to use it for the dvb-t adapter, not a smartcard reader.
The problem is that Tvheadend does not compile for ARM using the old version of gcc used by scratchbox, you need an updated version.

The other problem is that the kernel used by the n900 does not contain drivers for de Picostick. On ubuntu I only got it to work by installing a new version of v4l that I patched for as102 support.

If you could give a how-to guide, on how I can compile the v4l modules for power kernel myself, that would be a lot more useful. I have already setup a the SDK, and I build my own power kernel package and installed it on my n900 successfully, that isn't the problem.
I don't know how to add a driver from on updated v4l to the kernel.
So if you could give me a step by step guide on how you compile your v4l modules for power kernel, I might be able to figure out the rest. (and will share any progress made, off course)

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

yes, picostick needs external drivers:


The openee project has a recipe patch for the v4l tree:

Now you have a v4l tree that you can install on ubuntu that has Pictostick support.
After that the only thing you need to do is copy the firmware that is in the openee code, and the picostick works on ubuntu.

I tried similar steps on maemo, but there were errors, don't know the specifics anymore.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

I successfully compiled the modules for both the PCTV picostick and nanostick!

But only the nanostick seems to work. (The N900 resets when the Picostick tries to tune)
I did some modifications for the picostick, so I'll check later with an old Ubuntu if it works for the .28 kernel in general.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

sorry to ask but, did you manage to set this up on N900
Pls advice.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Depends on what "this" is.

Using a Nanostick I was able to (somewhat) watch TV on the N900
http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=32

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NCji7j-h5Q

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

I don't know maybe I want more than usually,but Bernard could you provide the debs.packages about kernel,because for me it's very hard to compliled kernel inside scratchbox.
regards

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

I probably won't be doing that any time soon.

I currently don't have the experience and time to package and distribute these modules properly. Also It is very much an experiment and not fully tested. The result of the experiment was that it isn't very useful. The N900 isn't fast enough to decode in software my local TV transmissions without frameskips.

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

Thanks for the reply friend,i will hope so some day,these modules to be included in next edition of kernel-power.If you find a free time,try to contact with Pali.
regards

Re: [Request] DVB-T tuner for N900
 

I did it too, very weak capture and unwatchable!
Its not hard to do... Its all well documented.
Linux kernel compile is all the same!
Just need to read and patience.