Astrometa DVB-T2 Installation Issue

Jota ese

Hi,

i bought this device because i thougth that it was linux compatible based on linuxtv hardware database.

I received 2018 revision of this device that it is made by follow components:

USB Bridge : Realtek RTL2832P
Demod : Sony CXD2837ER

Tuner : Rafael Micro R828D (identified like R820T in dmesg)

As you could see in the dmesg output (tested on Ubuntu 16.04 - Kernel 4.4 and Ubuntu 16.04 - Kernel 4.13) , only Realtek RTL2832P is fully detected and activaded by system, tuner is detected but not installed and demod it is not detected.


[ 2108.935036] usb 1-4: new high-speed USB device number 3 using ehci-pci
[ 2109.062903] usb 1-4: New USB device found, idVendor=15f4, idProduct=0131
[ 2109.062908] usb 1-4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2109.062911] usb 1-4: Product: dvbt2
[ 2109.062914] usb 1-4: Manufacturer: astrometadvbt2
[ 2109.062917] usb 1-4: SerialNumber: 0
[ 2109.097041] usb 1-4: dvb_usb_v2: found a 'Astrometa DVB-T2' in warm state
[ 2109.171849] usb 1-4: dvb_usb_v2: will pass the complete MPEG2 transport stream to the software demuxer
[ 2109.171867] DVB: registering new adapter (Astrometa DVB-T2)
[ 2109.180432] i2c i2c-7: Added multiplexed i2c bus 8
[ 2109.180438] rtl2832 7-0010: Realtek RTL2832 successfully attached
[ 2109.180454] usb 1-4: DVB: registering adapter 1 frontend 0 (Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T))...
[ 2109.184562] r820t 8-003a: creating new instance
[ 2109.196279] r820t 8-003a: Rafael Micro r820t successfully identified
[ 2109.200405] media: Linux media interface: v0.10
[ 2109.238435] Linux video capture interface: v2.00
[ 2109.252812] rtl2832_sdr rtl2832_sdr.2.auto: Registered as swradio0
[ 2109.252817] rtl2832_sdr rtl2832_sdr.2.auto: Realtek RTL2832 SDR attached
[ 2109.252820] rtl2832_sdr rtl2832_sdr.2.auto: SDR API is still slightly experimental and functionality changes may follow
[ 2109.259408] Registered IR keymap rc-empty
[ 2109.259536] input: Astrometa DVB-T2 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.7/usb1/1-4/rc/rc1/input14
[ 2109.259620] rc1: Astrometa DVB-T2 as /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1a.7/usb1/1-4/rc/rc1

[ 2109.274996] usb 1-4: dvb_usb_v2: 'Astrometa DVB-T2' successfully initialized and connected

I found this patch https://patchwork.linuxtv.org/patch/20565/ for demod but i do not know how apply it.

Anybody has this revision of Astrometa working? Anybody knows if it is posible make run this device? Wich drivers i need for tuner and demod?

Manuel Daniel Negru

Hi,

I have the same issue as above. I don't know / understand much about how drivers are updated on Linux, would be good if someone can shed some light on what we need to do to get this sorted?

Thank you

ly chen

I have the same problem, and I found this tutorial(http://blog.vmsplice.net/2018/01/how-to-modify-kernel-modules-without.html), followed this and the rtl2832P+CXD2837ER+R828D starts working! But I have to turn on it's "Force old status" in webui, otherwise there will be many continuty errors after 20+ mins. As a result, the SNR and signal strenth is not available.
My tvheadend is running on Rpi2.
But both MN88473 stick and the CXD2837ER stick has much weaker signal in linux than windows, maybe it's the driver issue.

Jota ese

Hi Chen,

it sound great, it seems that it could work !!

I took a look to the link that you have posted but i get lost in the point 4,which modules have you rebuilded?

Could you add more details about the proccess that you have done? It will be a great help to other users like me.

ly chen

HI Jota ese,

first, visit this blog, http://blog.vmsplice.net/2018/01/how-to-modify-kernel-modules-without.html

For steps 1 to 3, just follow the blog.
Next, try these steps:
1, copy the 3 patch files (found on https://github.com/torvalds/linux/pull/567) to (linux kernel source folder)/drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2.

2, cd to the root directory of the linux kernel source.

3, make menuconfig (Maybe you have to install libncurses5-dev and something else first). Then enable Multimedia Support(in Device drivers, press 'M' key to enable as Modules), and in the Multimedia Support submenu, enable Digital TV support, Software Defined Radio Support (maybe unnecessary, but not tried), Media USB Adapters. Next, goto Media USB Adapters submenu, enable Support for various USB DVB devices v2, after that, enable "Realtek RTL28xxU DVB USB support". Finally, press '/' key and enter "28xxu", check if there is a "DVB_CXD2841ER [=m]" in the last row, if yes, the patch files is succesfully applied, if no, maybe you missed some steps, run make clean, and retry from the beginning. I have to note that maybe on other PCs, the options above is enabled already, just check it for safe.

4, Save the new config to .config, (navigate to save, using ← or → key).
5, make modules_prepare
6, make M=drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2 modules (make sure you are in the linux kernel source folder now)
7, (sudo) make M=drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2 modules_install, after that, the 2 new .ko files (dvb-usb-rtl28xxu.ko, dvb_usb_v2.ko) should copied to /lib/modules/(your kernel version)/extra.

8, reboot. (Maybe you have to delete the 2 .ko files in /lib/modules/(your kernel version)/kernel/drivers/media/usb/dvb-usb-v2, and run sudo depmod)

9, Plug in the SONY stick, wait for about 5 sec, then run dmesg, if every thing is OK, there will be some line like
"i2c i2c-1: cxd2841er_attach(): attaching CXD2837ER DVB-C/T/T2 frontend" and

"usb 1-2: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 1 (Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator)" appears.

10, Goto tvh webui, check if there is a new adapter.(maybe recognised as panasonic MN88473, if you used this chipset before).

11, Plug in the TV cable and search for channels.

PS: you can add "-jx" after every "make" command, where x=cores in your CPU.

The steps worked for me (Rpi2 running raspbian, kernel version 4.14.78-v7+), but I don't know if it will work on other PCs, if anything goes wrong, we can discuss it here.

And does someone know why the same Astrometa DVB-T2 stick plugged into the same PC, the DVB-C signal on linux is much weaker than windows?

Jota ese

Hi Chen,

thanks a lot for your step-by-step manual, you are great !!

For me it,s a big challenge to do this proccess but i think that i could do it. I have not previous experience with kernel matters. For this reason i would to do the proccess previously in an test enviroment. I will to prepare a virtual machine to do it.

Therefore i need some time to do it. As soon as i try to do it i will post my results.

Thank you again !!.

Julio González Gil

I can confirm that following Chen's instruction gets the demod detected on a Raspberry Pi 3B+


[ 1232.864159] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=15f4, idProduct=0131, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 1232.864176] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[ 1232.864185] usb 1-1.3: Product: dvbt2
[ 1232.864194] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: astrometadvbt2
[ 1232.872430] usb 1-1.3: dvb_usb_v2: found a 'Astrometa DVB-T2' in warm state
[ 1232.946246] usb 1-1.3: dvb_usb_v2: will pass the complete MPEG2 transport stream to the software demuxer
[ 1232.946296] dvbdev: DVB: registering new adapter (Astrometa DVB-T2)
[ 1232.954987] i2c i2c-3: Added multiplexed i2c bus 4
[ 1232.955002] rtl2832 3-0010: Realtek RTL2832 successfully attached
[ 1232.955145] i2c i2c-3: cxd2841er_attach(): I2C adapter 3174f2e7 SLVX addr 6e SLVT addr 6c
[ 1232.959446] i2c i2c-3: cxd2841er_attach(): attaching CXD2837ER DVB-C/T/T2 frontend
[ 1232.959459] i2c i2c-3: cxd2841er_attach(): chip ID 0xb1 OK.
[ 1232.959478] usb 1-1.3: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 0 (Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T))...
[ 1232.959743] usb 1-1.3: DVB: registering adapter 0 frontend 1 (Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator)...
[ 1232.959973] r820t 4-003a: creating new instance
[ 1232.967073] r820t 4-003a: Rafael Micro r820t successfully identified
[ 1232.967148] r820t 4-003a: attaching existing instance
[ 1232.984610] r820t 4-003a: Rafael Micro r820t successfully identified
[ 1233.005166] Registered IR keymap rc-empty
[ 1233.005346] rc rc0: Astrometa DVB-T2 as /devices/platform/soc/3f980000.usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/rc/rc0
[ 1233.005551] input: Astrometa DVB-T2 as /devices/platform/soc/3f980000.usb/usb1/1-1/1-1.3/rc/rc0/input1
[ 1233.005923] rc rc0: lirc_dev: driver dvb_usb_rtl28xxu registered at minor = 0, raw IR receiver, no transmitter
[ 1233.006106] usb 1-1.3: dvb_usb_v2: schedule remote query interval to 200 msecs
[ 1233.014334] usb 1-1.3: dvb_usb_v2: 'Astrometa DVB-T2' successfully initialized and connected
[ 1237.098336] usb 1-1.3: DVB: adapter 0 frontend 0 frequency 0 out of range (174000000..862000000)

w_scan is able to detect the new frontend as well, and perform a DVB-T2 scan:


Info: using DVB adapter auto detection.
        /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0 -> TERRESTRIAL "Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T)": good :-)
        /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1 -> TERRESTRIAL "Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator": very good :-))

But for some reason, tvheadend only sees /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0 and not /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1

It doesn't seem to be a problem with the permissions:

$ ls -l /dev/dvb/adapter0/* crw-rw-rw- 1 root plugdev 212, 4 Jan 10 23:15 /dev/dvb/adapter0/demux0 crw-rw-rw- 1 root plugdev 212, 5 Jan 10 23:15 /dev/dvb/adapter0/dvr0 crw-rw-rw- 1 root plugdev 212, 3 Jan 10 23:15 /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0 crw-rw-rw- 1 root plugdev 212, 19 Jan 10 23:15 /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1 crw-rw-rw- 1 root plugdev 212, 7 Jan 10 23:15 /dev/dvb/adapter0/net0

I also wonder if maybe something else is broken, as with a decent antenna, I am unable to detect any DVB-T2 channels.

Any hint?

Julio González Gil

Ok, is clear tvheadend is not able to access the frontend for some reason:

Jan 10 23:37:24 raspi tvheadend[4432]: linuxdvb: unable to open /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1

I will try to compile kernel 5.0 for the raspberry, as a patch to support the astrometa 2018 revision is merged there (not the one linked by Chen).

Kernel 4.21 should have it as well (https://git.linuxtv.org/media_tree.git/commit/?id=d695eb5b3b963230652db29eae341a9706c593f4), but it's not ready at https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/ yet, while 5.0-rc1 is.

I will let you know how it works.

Julio González Gil

Kernel 5.0-rc1: exactly the same result.

Martin Rehak

I have been looking for any solution to make Astrometa DVB-T2 working for a months. For me installation of kernel 5.0.0 worked to recognize Sony device. That was not enough because I got a lot of 'Continuity errors'. I was able to resolve that by ticking 'Force old status' checkbox on inputs tab. Since then it works like a charm.

Setup: Asus EEBox with dual core Atom@1.8G, 2G ram. Ubuntu server 18.10 with 5.0.0 kernel.

Thanks for help!

ly chen

Julio González Gil wrote:
> Kernel 5.0-rc1: exactly the same result.
Hi Julio
Did you try chmod 0777 -R /dev/dvb after reboot?
After rolling back to kernel 4.15 from 5.0.10, My TVH can't access all of my card, so I have to chmod after every reboot.
<<

Augustas Budnikas

i have an issue on a raspberry pi 3b+ whilst trying to install the drivers, following Chen's instruction and running dmesg produces this


[   82.091727] usb 1-1.3: new high-speed USB device number 6 using dwc_otg
[   82.231923] usb 1-1.3: New USB device found, idVendor=15f4, idProduct=0131, bcdDevice= 1.00
[   82.231941] usb 1-1.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[   82.231950] usb 1-1.3: Product: dvbt2
[   82.231959] usb 1-1.3: Manufacturer: astrometadvbt2
[   82.274048] dvb_usb_v2: Unknown symbol __sanitizer_cov_trace_pc (err -2)
[   82.312601] dvb_usb_v2: Unknown symbol __sanitizer_cov_trace_pc (err -2)

i don't see the device in tvheadend
my kernel is 4.19.42-v7+

Julio González Gil

ly chen wrote:
> Julio González Gil wrote:
> > Kernel 5.0-rc1: exactly the same result.
> Hi Julio
> Did you try chmod 0777 -R /dev/dvb after reboot?

> After rolling back to kernel 4.15 from 5.0.10, My TVH can't access all of my card, so I have to chmod after every reboot.

Sorry for the delay, but I didn't have physical access to the Raspberry during the last months (but just in case, I can confirm the stick works fine, so this is not a hardware issue).

chmod 0777 -R /dev/dvb

didn't fix the issue, but anyway, it doesn't seem to me this is a permissions issue (tvheadend can access frontend0 that has the same permissions)

I am now at kernel 5.3.0-rc3 (built using https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/linux/kernel/building.md), and Raspbian Buster (meaning updated tvheadend) and I still see the same problem:


Aug 07 22:57:58 tvheadend[2593]: linuxdvb: unable to open /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1
Aug 07 22:57:58 tvheadend[2593]: dvr: Creating new configuration ''
Aug 07 22:57:58 tvheadend[2593]: access: No access entries loaded
[...]
Aug 07 22:58:06 tvheadend[2593]: START: HTS Tvheadend version 4.2.4-dmo1~bpo9+1~rpt1 started, running as PID:2593 UID:115 GID:44, CWD:/ CNF:/var/lib/hts/.hts/tvheadend
Aug 07 22:58:06 tvheadend[2593]: mpegts: 586MHz in NET-T2 - tuning on Astrometa DVB-T2
Aug 07 22:58:06 tvheadend[2593]: linuxdvb: Astrometa DVB-T2 - failed to tune [e=Invalid argument]
Aug 07 22:58:06 tvheadend[2593]: mpegts: 586MHz in NET-T2 - tuning on Astrometa DVB-T2
Aug 07 22:58:06 tvheadend[2593]: linuxdvb: Astrometa DVB-T2 - failed to tune [e=Invalid argument]

However I am starting to suspect that I could be affected by what is described at https://forum.mythtv.org/viewtopic.php?t=1582

Running, as suggested:

cd /dev/dvb/adapter0 && sudo mv frontend0 frontend99 && sudo mv frontend1 frontend0

And then restarting tvheadend, shows up two Sony CXD2837ER demodulators, one for DVB-C, the other for DVB-T.

I still can't tune any channels, but I think this is related to the fact that (for unknown reasons) the area where I am does neither have DVB-T or DVB-T2 coverage.

Can someone else check if my suggestion works?
<<

R Calaba

Hi guys, seems for LibreELEC 9.2.1 (having kernel 4.19) there is a solution to enable Astrometa 2018 DVB-C and DVB-T2 chip Sony CXD2837ER without patching the kernel and recompiling sources - simly use the Driver Modules from latest kernel and keep RTL chip disabled in TVHeadend to survive reboots of the device. Detailed steps are here (after the moderator will accept my reply): https://forum.libreelec.tv/thread/21152-dvb-c-tuner-not-being-recognized/