• General Support
  • Use the latest version. Goes without saying, but please be more specific!

I see that a lot "Use the latest version". But in the context of TVHeadend that can mean a number of things.

1. The latest of whatever released version you have. Ie say 4.2.4 with all the latest fixes.
2. The latest stable version of 4.2.x which is 4.2.6
3. The very latest version of above which is 4.2.7

4. The future version 4.4

So, pretty please, be specific.
AFAIK, the latest stable point release is 4.2.8 from 2019. After that, no new point releases made.
If you need the latest version (4.3-xxxx), it probably means the latest commit from the git repo. If you are lucky your distribution provides as a package, if not you need to build from the source code.
The GitHub is your go to source for the latest commit. I wouldn’t bother with anything in your repo. Chances are it’s way behind anything available in the GitHub. Just pick the commit that works best for you and build it yourself for your own particular platform. That way you get to choose what’s included in your own build.
You have it so. That will give you the latest commit or whatever commit you prefer and will provide you with the most flexibility when building.
Nice. Perhaps I should write something similar for OpenSuSe :)

And possibly contribute back to the project as you have the requisite skills to meaningfully edit the source code. Most who log into the forum here just want a working solution they can install.

Other than minor changes to the code as far as I can see very little has been added to project in the last five years.

I use TVH purely for DVBS and it is very complete as far as that side is concerned. I’m sure others may have different needs. So many different platforms available to install TVH on these days so it’s probably easier if users try and build for these platforms individually.

Sure, the thought has crossed my mind over the years. I have been running it since 4.0.x as the main hub for DVB-T2 and DVB-C. I do program for a living and once even tried to get an improvement I made to squid into the main repo, but was voted down :( I lack the detailed knowledge about the Linux TV stuff, sadly.

For my family, it does meet the needs we have and I like to do my own builds, mainly because I can take out stuff not needed. The fewer bits of code I do not need, the less risk of problems.

I also have the "wife acceptance factor" to consider :) Too much tinkering might lead to problems, but I have compiled 4.2.8 now and will test over the weekend. If it runs stable for a few days, then I will try 4.3. As I said did I try 4.3 a few years back so my notes on configuring and building should work.

My main problems have always been those tuners. Seemingly identical TV sticks may have different chipsets and/or require different firmwares. I am running 4 sticks right now, two for DVB-T2 and two for DVB-C. I pulled the "Astrometa" one a few days ago as I suspected it caused problems.

I’ve always found Hauppauge hybrid PCI/PCIe cards to be reliable for DVBS/T on Ubuntu. Not too sure about USB tuners though. Driver breakages on kernel upgrades seem to be quite common.

I’m using the latest commit v4.3-2050 on Ubuntu 22.94 lts and it’s rock solid so no complaints there. As you say try it and see.
5 days later
Never got 4.2.8 to work. It ran, but never got any signal. I will revert to 4.2.4 and try 4.3 instead.

Box is running: Linux tvburk 5.3.18-lp152.63-default #1 SMP Mon Feb 1 17:31:55 UTC 2021 (98caa86) x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

( openSUSE Leap 15.2)

in /devel/tvh43:

git clone https://github.com/tvheadend/tvheadend.git

./configure --enable-bundle --disable-dvbscan --disable-hdhomerun_static --disable-libopus

make

Running manually:

...tvh43/tvheadend/build.linux # ./tvheadend -u dalton -g video

HTS Tvheadend 4.3-2058~g5543ce518.

Will leave it as this to check. Oh yes:

2022-11-23 19:51:45.827 [ ERROR] epgdb: corruption detected, some/all data lost

The format has possibly changed, but it did rebuild it.

DVB Inputs now shows adapter status correctly. Ie many adapters are both DVB-C and DVB-T to you need to disable the one you do not need.

Content icons - Cute.

a month later

"I’ve always found Hauppauge hybrid PCI/PCIe cards to be reliable"

I might give up on USB and get a Hauppauge QUADHD DVB. Four tuners and apparently supported by LinuxTV. The problem with multiple USB sticks is that they tend to reorder themselves at will :)
So which one, in your opinion, is better? Prices are similar. The install procedure for the TBS cards seems a bit convoluted? The vendor claim that they support Linux which is a good thing though.

TBS devices are good, however despite being open source drivers linuxtv developers don't pull them into mainline. So every kernel upgrade you have to compile and reinstall the drivers. Either manually or create some automated system.

We use TBS mostly in North America as others like Hauppauge or Digital Devices are difficult to obtain.

As for devices reordering there is normally a module parameter than can be given as an option to force dvb device number.

As Ron says, the problem with TBS is that TBS don't write drivers to the standard required to be mainlined into the kernel. So as he says, every kernel update is a real kerfuffle. I have a DVB-T2 one but I've recently bought the Hauppauge quad tuner board to replace it because of this problem. But installing that requires reconfiguring my hardware and then the possibility of some software SNAFU so I haven't done that yet either :(

As Jonas said I'm one of those who "just want a working solution they can install" and any change means hassle!