TBS: CI/CAM support and other improvements (8 Viewers)

[DJBlu]

@mm1352000 Looking at the code and I notice that there are changes made to the modulation if it is set as ModQpsk/8psk which isn't dvb-s2.

I've also found a bug in the hauppauge code which changed the modulation also to Bpsk making the tune request fail when the modulation is set correctly in the tuning detail.

I have changed it to set it to Qpsk and all is working.

As I looked through the code it makes me wonder is there a reason the modulation needs to be changed?

 

[DJBlu]

Thinking back to it. I do remember a problem with the Setup having the wrong Modulation and FEC settings which would send the wrong data to the TV Server however this is now fixed I believe.

I have pushed the changes I have made which I have tested on a 6981 and a 6984.

Edit:

I see why you put it in how you did. The trouble isn't in the tuning. It is in the scanning. The modulation is set incorrectly. I'll upload a fix for this as DVB-S2 channels shouldn't be scanned as ModQpsk/Mod8psk.

 

[mm1352000]

@DJBlu: please don't touch any of that code (scanning, Hauppauge or TBS). It is the way it is for a reason. I'd also prefer if you didn't push to my branches. The Turbosight branch is out of date and will probably be deleted at some point.

To explain the modulations...
For TV Server:
ModNotSet = DVB-S
ModQpsk = DVB-S2 QPSK
Mod8Psk = DVB-S2 8 PSK

This standard was chosen to match the behaviour of most drivers when the NBC modulations were not yet standardised by MS. It still applies for XP where the MS network providers don't understand the NBC DVB-S2 modulations. Some drivers recognise alternative modulation schemes (for example, Hauppauge).

Again, please don't mess with that code.

 

[DJBlu]

@DJBlu: please don't touch any of that code (scanning, Hauppauge or TBS). It is the way it is for a reason. I'd also prefer if you didn't push to my branches. The Turbosight branch is out of date and will probably be deleted at some point.

To explain the modulations...
For TV Server:
ModNotSet = DVB-S
ModQpsk = DVB-S2 QPSK
Mod8Psk = DVB-S2 8PSK

This standard was chosen to match the behaviour of most drivers when the NBC modulations were not yet standardised by MS. It still applies for XP where the MS network providers don't understand the NBC DVB-S2 modulations.

That's cleared that up. I got lost in the moment of "All my cards are working so it must work for everyone". I'll commit locally from now on.

Can I ask Why is there not a check for the version of Windows? Surely this will allow for a move to correct NBC Modulations. Yes it might increase the workload but it will allow us to phase out old code which will in time need changing anyway.

 

[mm1352000]

That's cleared that up. I got lost in the moment of "All my cards are working so it must work for everyone".

Happens to all of us...
...although I don't understand: what is it that you think you've fixed that isn't/wasn't working. Nobody has reported anything to me.

I'll commit locally from now on.

Reading my post back, I get the distinct impression that I was a bit harsh. Apologies if I came across that way. No need to commit locally. Just let me know if you have tweaks or fixes so we can discuss [briefly] before commit and avoid misunderstandings like the above, and also so that we can ensure that the fix is committed to an active branch and not lost.

Can I ask Why is there not a check for the version of Windows? Surely this will allow for a move to correct NBC Modulations. Yes it might increase the workload but it will allow us to phase out old code which will in time need changing anyway.

NBC != correct for DVB-S2 in all cases, even under W7
Drivers that are designed to support XP..7 more often than not support signalling with certain modulations.
Take TechnoTrend as an example. To signal DVB-S2 to their drivers, you need to pass Mod8Vsb.
Even TBS doesn't or didn't used to exclusively support only those modulations to signal DVB-S2. Check the Prof "SDK" -->here<--. Many of their tuners are or were based on TBS designs and drivers. All of that code does or used to work for at least some TBS tuners. I quote:

Modulation used QPSK and 8PSK.
IDs 21,22,23,31,32 will be recognised as 8PSK by driver

31 and 32 are the NBC ones, but QPSK and 8PSK are also supported.

So my response is that maybe NBC is becoming more standardised than it used to be as time goes on, but:
1. "...the [BDA modulations are] more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules." (Pirates of the Carribean )
2. MP and most drivers still support XP, so there are usually mappings in place.
3. Older tuners that no longer receive driver updates (eg. Twinhan, TechniSat, TerraTec) do not support the NBC modulations.
As such it is not so black and white as NBC is correct and QPSK/8PSK is not.

A better solution (which I've already almost finished implementing - another reason to discuss things) would be to move to a BDA-independent set of modulations to:
1. Avoid user confusion about which modulations to use for manual scanning, especially for satellite.
2. Have more readable and maintainable code.
3. Improve compatibility with W7.

mm

 

[momeijer]

Hi,

I have read this thread several times and it's not really clear to me if there will be a patch to better support TBS cards in the upcoming release of MP 1.3. I'm somewhat disappointed that my TBS 6922 card needs special attention for basic functions to operate in MP and also 4TR. Having said that, I'm thankful that mm1352000 has provided these patches.

Before trying myself, does anyone know if applying the TBS 2.0 patch on a MP 1.3 alpha setup will brake functionality completely?

Thanks,

Michael

 

[FreakyJ]

yeah mm is working on it
https://github.com/MediaPortal/MediaPortal-1/tree/EXP-Tuner_hardware_support_cleanup_and_extension
the branch is currently broken due to tswriter changes, but the TBS tuners are working except some minor issues if you have more than one TBS card and there is also a small ci issue... (but only if you change the decryption behavior... so not really common)
Commit from the 29.08.12 is the last working one

Does the TBS work in 4TR without problems?

 

[momeijer]

yeah mm is working on it
https://github.com/MediaPortal/MediaPortal-1/tree/EXP-Tuner_hardware_support_cleanup_and_extension
the branch is currently broken due to tswriter changes, but the TBS tuners are working except some minor issues if you have more than one TBS card and there is also a small ci issue... (but only if you change the decryption behavior... so not really common)
Commit from the 29.08.12 is the last working one

Does the TBS work in 4TR without problems?

Thanks for the info! 4TR supports some TBS cards as I have read in the release notes. But after installation mine (6922) did not work (diseqc problem). I filed a bug report and up to today haven't heard anything yet.

 

[Alexander Akkermans]

Hi,
I have received my TBS-6928 device this last Sunday started playing around with the setup; I have installed MP 1.2.2 and tried to get my device to work with the 2.0 Version. I have got it working up to the point that I can see either encrypted or non-encrypted channels. To switch between them, I need to change the parameter that arranges how many streams the CAM can decode in the TV-Server configuration. Setting it to 1 allows me to view encrypted transmission only. Any other setting only allows me to view non-encrypted transmissions.

Settings:
- I am using a “Mediaguard” CAM with a “Canal Digitaal” card from NL. (The card works fine with my Panasonic TV, also DVB-S2)
- I have copied the “TVLibrary.dll.diff” to my TV server directory. (The others don't work)

Can you please help me? Thanks!

 

[FreakyJ]

set it to 0 but still enabled