dvb-t2 tuners pci v usb (3 Viewers)

[mm1352000]

Not sure which version of PCIe it uses

Specifications say:

- 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot (PCIE1: x16 mode)
- 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot (PCIE2: x4 mode)

As previously stated: PCIe 2.0 and 3.0 are both backwards compatible to 1.0a.

...but any idea which tuners are likely to work?

The best answer I can give is: any tuner with a PCIe slot.

I understand your concern given your bad experience with your existing tuner/motherboard combination. After such an experience it's natural to be cautious when it comes time to buying a new card. By all means ask questions and do your research. If you're extremely lucky you may find somebody with the same motherboard as you who is willing to share advice. Most people aren't that lucky. All purchase decisions are calculated risks.

If I were in your position:

1. I'd choose a popular tuner product from a reputable vendor. Popularity and reputability improve the chances of finding info and getting good support.
2. I'd spend an hour or two (no more than that) trawling the 'net - reviews, forums etc. - for problem reports. A few DOAs is normal. What you're looking for is inherent design problems. Keep in mind that if the vendor has a forum (eg. TBS), it's likely to be 90% full of problem reports and not representative of the product's actual characteristics. That's just how forums are.
   
3. I'd buy the card from a trusted and ideally local retailer that offers 14 day money back guarantee (or similar).
4. I'd thoroughly test the tuner as soon as it arrives. Immediately report any problems to the official support channels for the tuner vendor, motherboard vendor, and product retailer immediately.

Minimise the risks; maximise your chances of getting a good product; maximise your chances of recovering your money in the [unlikely] case that the product doesn't meet your needs. Just common sense really.

 

[CyberSimian]

For the record, i have an Asrock B75M-GL R2.0 motherboard running my tv server. Not sure which version of PCIe it uses but any idea which tuners are likely to work?

I see from the Asus specs that the motherboard is socket 1155, supporting second and third generation Intel i3/i5/i7 processors. The current Intel processors are sixth generation, using socket 1151. So I conclude that your motherboard is older rather than newer, and hence not under warranty any more, and possibly not supported by the manufacturer any more. So getting a BIOS update for a non-working PCI-Express tuner card may be a non-starter.

MM explained above that the current TBS quad-tuner card (the 6205) uses a different interface chip, and so may be immune to the "wake from sleep" problem. If it were me, I would probably give it a try (but they are not cheap). TBS also manufacture dual- and single-tuner cards, but do they use the new interface chip? I don't know. However, if you can stretch to the quad-tuner card, I would suggest buying that. Remember that in a few short years, the DVB-T transmitters in the UK will all be converted to DVB-T2, resulting in more than the two DVB-T2 MUXes that we have at present.

TBS also manufacture a USB DVB-T2 dual-tuner unit, the TBS 5280. Unlike the one suggested by Owlsroost, the TBS one is a separate unit that stands vertically (good for cooling by convection). You use a separate USB cable to connect it to the HTPC (I don't know whether that changes your opinion about USB tuners). Here it is on Amazon (the retailer is in France):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TBS5280-DVB-T2-Freeview-channels-Channel/dp/B008EFHUFQ

What you really want is a post from someone who has exactly your motherboard, and uses the XYZ tuners without problem, including wake from sleep. You might be in for a long wait.

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[mm1352000]

TBS also manufacture dual- and single-tuner cards, but do they use the new interface chip? I don't know.

All the 6*0* tuners seem to use the new chip. The pictures on TBS's website product pages are high enough resolution that you can clearly see the "Lattice" name/logo on the big chip.

What you really want is a post from someone who has exactly your motherboard, and uses the XYZ tuners without problem, including wake from sleep. You might be in for a long wait.

Drivers and other peripherals can easily affect the situation, and most hardware designs have versions and sub-versions too. This makes it practically impossible to find somebody with a truly identical setup.

 

[CyberSimian]

As previously stated: PCIe 2.0 and 3.0 are both backwards compatible to 1.0a.

Except when they aren't.

I'd buy the card from a trusted and ideally local retailer that offers 14 day money back guarantee (or similar).

In the UK, buyers are covered by the "Sale of Goods" act. If eetaylog askes the retailer whether the tuner card will work correctly with his specific motherboard, including wake from sleep, and the retailer says "yes", that becomes part of the contract, and eetaylog could return a non-working tuner card for a full refund. The problem is that the retailer is more likely to say "I don't know", in which case eetaylog might have some difficulty getting a refund (unless it could be proved to be faulty, i.e. did not work with any motherboard).

-- from CyberSimian in the UK

 

[eetaylog]

Thanks for the very informative posts, some real interesting stuff.

I think the bottom line is that im just going to have to buy-and-try, but with (as you suggest) a reputable seller. Interestingly ive been running my current t500 card in a very old AMD setup with no issues at all for the last 5 years. My intermittent initialising problem seems to have only stemmed from updating a few months ago to my relatively newer 1155 mobo and i3 processor which acts as my media server. Go figure.

Remember that in a few short years, the DVB-T transmitters in the UK will all be converted to DVB-T2, resulting in more than the two DVB-T2 MUXes that we have at present.

Sorry to be thick, but how do the Mux transmissions work with DVB-T2? I always thought it was just a case of needing one tuner per stream? Are you suggesting that Ill need (or do need) more than one tuner for a single tv stream under T2? Im in Hampshire btw.

 

[mm1352000]

Except when they aren't.

Such situations are exceptions to the rule; rare and confined to specific combinations of hardware. IMHO the only reasonable thing one can practically do is to assume that there won't be a problem unless there's good evidence to the contrary. An hour or two of research should easily turn up such evidence if it exists. One could even directly ask tuner vendors. They're in the best position to give a recommendation/answer for their products.

The problem is that the retailer is more likely to say "I don't know"...

Yep, in the same way that I couldn't give a specific list of tuners that would work. eetaylog's concern/question is very technical and specific...

 

[mm1352000]

I think the bottom line is that im just going to have to buy-and-try...

Agreed.

Go figure.

Such is life!
Another possibility you may want to consider is that the problem with your existing tuner may be resolvable via changing settings in the BIOS. You may prefer to stick with "the devil you know"...

 

[eetaylog]

Another possibility you may want to consider is that the problem with your existing tuner may be resolvable via changing settings in the BIOS. You may prefer to stick with "the devil you know"...

Im kinda reluctant to change any of my bios settings as i had a nightmare in getting my sleep settings working correctly in the first place and im worried that tinkering with them may cause my system to throw its toys out of its pram. The first thing i am going to try when i get home tonight though is switch the card to the other PCI slot. I shouldve tried it before now really, but ill give it a go.

 

[mm1352000]

This is a little off-topic given the thread title and content so far, but to be sure we've covered all the bases...

What are the symptoms of the problem that you experience? (Is the tuner recognised in Windows [device manager] or no? etc.)
Have you tried a devcon script to stop and start the tuner driver before and after S3?
Have you tried restarting the TV service and/or delaying TV Server's startup after resume to ensure that the driver has enough time to initialise?

I'm not trying to dissuade you from purchasing a new card if that's what you prefer. Just thinking that there might be "preventative measures" you weren't aware of...

 

[eetaylog]

What are the symptoms of the problem that you experience? (Is the tuner recognised in Windows [device manager] or no? etc.)

My system (client in living room/server in the garage, connected over LAN via cat5e) will all be in s3 sleep mode.. Ill then wake my client, which in turn wakes the server. I try to start up a tv channel by switching to EPG and then selecting a channel. Sometimes it works faultlessly but at other times the attempts at doing this will return either 'no free card available' or 'unknown error'.

The 'unknown error' is a bit strange and ive started a thread on it in the support forum, but the 'no free card' error is due to the tuners not initialising after wake. Ive tried delaying startup in tv server, but i cant really tell if its solved the problem as i more often than not get the other error also.

Looking at device manager on my server shows that the tuners are recognised.

Have you tried a devcon script to stop and start the tuner driver before and after S3?

I wouldnt know how to do this to be honest. There is at least a setting in powerscheduler to reinitialise the tuners after wake though isnt there?

Have you tried restarting the TV service and/or delaying TV Server's startup after resume to ensure that the driver has enough time to initialise?

Yes. Restarting the tuners manually in TVserver config does solve the 'no free card' issue (as youd expect), however it doesnt fix the 'unknown error', which is very strange.

Here is a link to my other thread btw, in case you were interested. Ive attached logs, but i forgot to add the TVserver one, which ill do tonight.

https://forum.team-mediaportal.com/...hen-tuning-to-a-channel-logs-attached.134611/

Thanks for the help so far