DVBLink TVSource review

[elootos]

DVBLink TVSource creates network tuners from your available hardware allowing streaming to other Media Center PCs as well. It also allows for complete customisation of the EPG allowing you to create a master channel list for the house (so not just what Media Center does/doesn't pick up, but everything available during a full scan from the TVSource software - Channel4HD for example).

I remembered TVSource being mentioned here before by several other users so I thought why not try it out, and last night I did. The bottom line is it's genius! (albeit with the usual rushing-setup-causing-stability-issues kinda thing). My reasoning for now using it is two-fold:

1) I want Acer Revos (or equivalent) running the TVs from now on. I'm bored of having everything in the loft and full size case PCs seems a bit OTT for a bit of TV/Film watching.
2) In wanting to migrate to DVB-T2, the price of external units is extraordinary (£150 for a single) and of course external is what I'll need if moving to smaller Media Center PCs. So it makes sense to consolidate what tuners I do have rather than binning them.


The software comes in two packages:

TVSource, which combines all tuners within the PC (Terrestrial, Satellite, Cable) and allows multi-source EPG setup,

Network Pack, which streams the available TV sources as virtual tuners as well as the scanned and consolidated EPG from the master PC to every other Media Center on your network.


I found the instructions good, but the explanation of how things would be setup was a little lacking. It required me to install and play around with it to get my head around exactly how it functioned.

The basic steps after downloading the TVSource zip file are:

1. Install DVBLink Server on you main Media Center PC i.e. the one with the tuners in, so that can be a server in the loft, or your main PC in the lounge.
2. Install TVSource on this same PC. This allows you to add the tuners in your machine to it, perform full channels scans, select your channels, combines the channels from the multiple sources, then finally allows you to define the EPG source for them all (Microsoft, or broadcast stream). This combining of sources for channels and defining independant EPG sources is the main feature.
3. In Media Center perform a new TV Source setup, ignore the auto settings and manually select the 4 DVBLink tuners as satellite sources (this is how it creates its virtual tuners and the setup must be done regardless of whether you will actually use this PC to watch TV or just as a server to the others)
4. Go to Extras in Media Center and under the DVBLink icon, select 'Synchronise Channels'. This copies the channel layout defined in TVSource into the guide. In here you can also define the PC you're on as the master recorder i.e. the one that has priority over all other channel requests on the network.
5. Finish on the main PC!
   

To then have this PC stream the same channels to the other Media Centers, you:

1. Install the DVBLink Server Network Pack on the main PC - no further settings are required.
2. Install the DVBLink Network Client on all the other Media Centers, set the static IP address of the master Media Center PC, then run the same tuning setup in Media Center as per the master PC i.e. ignore the auto detected TV sources and set the 4 DVBLink tuners as satellite sources, then synchronise the channels from the Extras menu.
   
   Job done!
   

The user manuals on the DVBLink website are very thorough and if you follow them, it will work first time.

My tuner selection on the lounge (master) PC:

   
(trying to correct the DVB--Tb typo caused it to loose that tuners setup - d'oh!)

It took me 2 hours last night to run through all of this on all three Media Center PCs; 1.5hrs on the lounge PC setting up the tuners, and another half hour setting up Media Center on all 3 PCs. The lounge is the master at the moment with 4 tuners: dual Hauppauge DVB-T, Compro DVB-S & Hauppauge DVB-S2. The channels scans take the longest but you can shortcut the procedure by copying the sources from one to another if they are the same i.e. you can copy the terrestrial scan from the first DVB-T tuner to the second.

The auto channel-combine works well and I now have 4 sources for most channels, those that are DVB-S2 (BBC HD and Channel4HD) are the only single tuner options at the moment due to only having one DVB-S2 card.

So far everything has worked well but I rushed the channel selection so I need to sit down and define that better. The options for the EPG sources is immense though; you can select Broadcast Stream or Microsoft as the source and within them you can drill down further and select options like Freeview, Freesat, Freesat (Sky), Freeview unmapped, Freeview (Crystal Palace), Freeview (Sandy Heath), FreeSat unmapped... etc etc etc etc. Looks about 25 options in total.

   
(screengrab via teamviewer - hence the crap colours)

The beauty of course is that once defined on the master PC, the other clients will just copy the EPG. DVBLink Server also scans all available transponders on a 12hr cycle so that any broadcast EPG is up to date as well for channels not covered in the Microsoft EPG.

In action the channel changes are a little slow on the client PCs, about 4 seconds, but it does seem to quicken after a while. But it does seem to allow watching of multiple PCs from one tuner: I only have 2 DVB-S cards, yet I was able to tune to ITV HD on all 3 PCs. I guess if watching the same channel it won't ever be a problem.

The only other issue was that I couldn't see BBC HD in the channel list, so I may have to manually scan the transpoder for that, or just start again from scratch taking all I've learnt so far; I was doing this at 11.30pm last night.

The bottom line is that it does work very well, and once setup properly will change the way I have all the PCs in my home. Gone will be the midi-towers and in will come nettops strapped to the back of the TVs. I just hope it remains stable over the next few weeks while I test it.

I've still yet to look at the remote streaming to mobile devices or the remote EPG browse&record functions!


________________________________________________________________________________​_
My goal to integrate DVBLink into my system:

I plan to retire one of the PCs to become a 24/7 server for CCTV recording that will also run DVBLink hosting all tuner cards (probably keep what I have which is dual DVB-T and a couple of DVB-S(2) cards), and also become the RecordedTV server using the process I talked about here. I'm thinking a single 2Tb drive for all this.

Finally, whatever kind of Revo I get, I also plan on moving the SSDs I have in my Media Centers into them to kick them up the arse a bit.

My UNRaid server will stay as it is for large scale storage for films etc.

[elootos]

Figured out why I couldn't get BBC One HD and BBC HD during a satellite scan; the transponder file needing updating since the BBC changeover on 6th June.

You can grab the file from the DVBLink forum here.

Then simply copy it into each DVBLink/Source/Source Name/Transponder directory and also the Templates directory.

Then go to the DVBLink Server Config and under the channel scan for your DVB-S2 tuner, scan just the 10847 transponder and 5 new channels should jump into the channel list of which BBC One HD and BBC HD are two of them.

Now got all channels (inc. BBC One HD, BBC HD, ITV HD & Channel4 HD) in my EPG with program sources all sorted and defined properly. First time it's been that complete since, well, ever. TVSource is definately earning points in my house at the moment

[elootos]

Got TVSource and the Network Pack working a treat at the moment.

Have bought a new twin Freeview Blackgold BGT3620 DVB-T2 to go with my Nova S DVB-S2 and Compro DVB-S.

Took quite a while of playing around with the Server Configuration to get it set exactly as I wanted but all is now set with more channels than I've had in years.

I've also teamed it up with the My Channel Logos to give me 10 rows in the guide with logos only and no channel numbers - this means you get a hell of a lot more program data on screen at any one time. Well worth the £2.50.

The real bonus of TVSource is that by configuring the master server configuration, it copies that same guide across to all three Media Center front-ends. Plus, by only needing one dual Freeview card it eleminates the need of splitting the Freeview coax to more than one tuner meaning full signal strength at all times.

[elootos]

Absolutely digging TVSource and the Network pack. With the lounge PC on 24/7 and archiving the other Media Centre recordedTV files I finally have a pukka system, loving it!

Channel change is a little slow still which is reported a lot on the DVBLogic forum, but hey, with the bonuses it gives a 3sec channel change is a small price to pay in my book.