Hello,

Is there a list of known compatible USB DVB cards? I haven't managed to find a USB or PCI card list.
There are of course some device details / options inside the program, but I find it difficult to understand exactly which devices they are.

Alternatively, if there isn't an online list, can anybody confirm personal successful use with a specific USB DVB card?
I'm on Windows Vista but linux is an option.

For example, 2 USB cards I have found online are:
Hauppauge WinTV-Nova-S-USB2
TechniSat SkyStar USB 2

Many thanks,
Lee
UK

Perhaps try to search through this board a bit.
I am pretty sure both devices have been mentioned here more than once already...

Hello Juergen,

I did have a look at quite a few topic titles that seemed relevant, but I haven't yet seen anything conclusive.

Is there not a list of known supported devices?

Thanks again,
Lee

I have technisat USB 2 HD CI, prof 7500 and some other not bad devices.

Prog wrote:I have technisat USB 2 HD CI, prof 7500 and some other not bad devices.

Thanks; my learning about DVB viewers such as ProgDVB suggests the basic requirement for an adaptor/device is BDA drivers. Presumably if a USB card is stated as having them, then there's a good chance it will work?

Basically, yes.
At least regarding XP and probably Vista.No idea on Seven, due to a different driver model.

But for Linux, there's no BDA equivalent. Either tuners have to be supported by the kernel directly, or Linux drivers must be at hand, for the hardware design used. Though, this would be off topic here, as ProgDVB is bound to the Windows platform.

ok, thanks again Juergen.

Well, I bought a Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-S-USB2 card today and I have it working fine with the free version of ProgDVB on Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.
I was expecting to have to do something tricky regarding BDA drivers, but I didn't.

Just in case it helps anybody else, here is what I did :

Installed the device and WinTV software following the enclosed Hauppauge instructions. (WinTV is their included DVB viewer)

I then looked up my device on their website and found new software and driver downloads.
I downloaded them and uninstalled everything I had just installed (!) in Vista's 'Programs and Features'.

I then installed the new drivers using automatic / standard instructions, then the new WinTV software, again automatic / standard.

I then installed the free version of ProgDVB and the default device selection during the install was 'BDA compatible card or box' which I kept as it was.

On running ProgDVB, a Diseqc Settings box opened showing my card, and then you set up your satellites and switches. That part I found somewhat hard to understand and had to do some reading on the site before I got it right.

Then ProgDVB worked with my card and off we go.

Looking at the device options now in ProgDVB, it appears my device has been autoselected as 'Hauppauge' so maybe that was an option earlier as well. I forget / didn't notice.

So, it's reasonably painless!

It appears it may help to run ProgDVB 'as administrator' but I'm not sure. Anyway, that's what I'm currently doing.

Admins: If you think the above may mislead anybody, feel free of course to edit or delete it.


edited by lee at 05.55 BST for accuracy

It turns out I was a little over optimistic in my last post ....
I hadn't properly looked at the channels I was getting, and it appears I have some of my satellites and channels not matching up.

I'm currently randomly fiddling around and I have no idea if it's a driver issue or a settings issue etc.
Presumably the Diseqc tree is Port1 at the top down to 4 at the bottom?

Help !



Lee

leecovuk wrote:Presumably the Diseqc tree is Port1 at the top down to 4 at the bottom?

Exactly.
Some people / applications / plugins / switches may count from 0 to 3 or A to D instead. But this does not really matter, as long as you don't mix up the row.

Anyway, you have to tell ProgDVB the truth, regarding satellites and coordination with your switch, physically. Else the transponder data won't fit properly and full scanning would give far less results, and unexpected stations, of course.

Keep in mind, some combinations of tuners and switches + LNBs may give trouble on position switching, specially on long cable runs.
And better don't use an LNB through port of a receiver, as both devices are supposed to interfere, often even if the receiver is in standby mode.
In any such cases of trouble, after correcting the obvious, first of all compare to another DVB application, preferably the original one, that comes with the hardware.

BTW, remote troubleshooting satellite reception requires full details on equipment and setup, behaviour of other hard- and software available, drivers used and anything else around it.
So you can't in any case post to many details, to allow people helping you
Most important to know for any misbehaviour, if it is in any way systematic or "just" unstable.

Thanks Juergen.

I'll open a specific topic if I want or need to pursue troubleshooting specific to my WinTV-NOVA-S-USB2 with ProgDVB.

Suffice to say for now, the included WinTV viewer seems to work fine on all my 4 satellites. (I have also updated to the newest version and drivers). The WinTV software however is rather limited in its features.

It is with other viewers such as ProgDVB that I have yet to get full success.
ProgDVB however seems to show signs of hope more than some others I have tried.

I will try to look into cable length and power issues;
The single coax run from my external 4 port diseqc switch to my normal receiver is, I would guess, 40 feet. Now, I have temporarily unplugged my receiver and am using an F plug coupler to extend the coax by a further 5 metres to reach the USB card.

As I say, the WinTV software seems able to drive the switching successfully, but I will try to set up so I can loopthrough my receiver and use channel selections there to drive the switching.

Actually, looking into this further, it appears I may have been wrong and in fact the WinTV software is showing problems with my card.

I am now waiting for assistance from the manufacturer, as I suspect my unit may not be fit for purpose or faulty.
Obviously there is no point in persevering with viewers such as ProgDVB whilst I may have a useless piece of hardware!

What real manufacture of this device? try select other mode in Settings->Device options.

Prog wrote:What real manufacture of this device? try select other mode in Settings->Device options.

Hello prog,

It's a Hauppauge WinTV-NOVA-S-USB2.

I've been trying many different settings and card types in ProgDVB but the problem seems to be the card just isn't driving the diseqc switching.

I haven't yet managed to conclude what is happening in the WinTV software but I am getting some reception trouble.
I need to spend more time in WinTV to be sure of what is happening there.

At the moment, I'm 'stuck' on Astra1 in ProgDVB and can watch all those channels fine (H and V), but just cannot switch to another satellite. The quality and signal levels at the bottom of the ProgDVB screen show as strongly as my normal receiver, so I assume my other 3 satellites would be similar. ie they are also usually fine in my normal receiver.

Does the fact I can view ok within one satellite mean I have the right (BDA?) driver in place?
Or does the apparent lack of switching ability suggest not?

I had a little try at routing through my normal receiver (Technomate) to attempt driving the switching for the card, but so far haven't managed to find a way.
Obviously that wouldn't be ideal anyway, and more or less renders the card pointless if I still have to use a normal receiver.

I appreciate I am somewhat confused in my postings and my whole problem may be a hardware issue, nothing to do with ProgDVB.
It would be nice if I could find a way to test / interrogate my card to be sure any problems are not in the hardware.

I'm going away from the pc now until this evening. If you have any magical tips or ideas feel free to suggest them! I'm currently at a loss and am feeling I bought a rubbish unit. I took the easy option of getting a moderately-priced USB card rather than bothering to open my pc and see if it could accommodate a PCI card. Maybe I am now paying the price.

As I say, I'll now pay more attention to what is happening in WinTV and hope the manufacturer support get back to me with some useful and productive help.

Thank you for any more general or ProgDVB-specific advice,
Lee
UK

Hello again,

I can hopefully now conclude that the WinTV-NOVA-S-USB2 is working fine with the supplied WinTV software. My current attempt at installing and using it is simply working.
The external Diseqc switch is connected directly to the card.

However I cannot get ProgDVB to drive the Diseqc switching. I have to loopthrough my Technomate and use channel selections there to drive the switching. eg for a Hotbird channel I have to put the TM onto a hotbird channel, put the unit into standby, then ProgDVB can tune to that satellite.

Maybe my card simply is not compatible with ProgDVB?
Or maybe I need a specific driver? I have no real idea if the driver is a BDA driver or not, or where to find one.

Thanks again,
Lee

Juergen wrote:...better don't use an LNB through port of a receiver, as both devices are supposed to interfere, often even if the receiver is in standby mode...

So, does anything change, once you connect your tuner directly, instead of using the loop port?