Sat>IP support

For those using tvheadend (like me), this generates an m3u:

http://IP_ADDRESS:9981/playlist

A snippet below:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 logo="http://192.168.0.109:9981/imagecache/98" tvg-id="1c33a303dd5dc100c82d9bec8adccf39" tvg-chno="101",BBC One HD
http://192.168.0.109:9981/stream/channelid/61027100?profile=pass
#EXTINF:-1 logo="http://192.168.0.109:9981/imagecache/403" tvg-id="b7afb8c4f7c39c37935e9d949735e76c" tvg-chno="102",BBC Two HD
http://192.168.0.109:9981/stream/channelid/1152954295?profile=pass

I've not tried it yet (as my subs expired), but I will do soon

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Has anyone had any luck with 4K/UHD over SAT>IP? There are 2 UHD demo channels on Astra 28.2E at 12441 V, 29500, 8/9, DVB-S2, QPSK.

The video format is HEVC 3840x2160 50 fps. They play perfectly fine for me in VLC and in Channels on the iPhone, but in Channels on the Apple TV they skip frames like crazy. EDIT: Also play perfectly on my Fire TV. It's just my Apple TVs that seem to have the issue.

This is more of a novelty at this point, as I doubt there will be any real 4K FTA content anytime soon, but I'd still like to get it working. :slight_smile:

I've read this thread and did some searches. Can someone explain, simply, what this is and does?

Gives you the ability to use sat->ip tuners in Channels, as an alternative to Hdhomerun.

Does it work with experimental deinterlacing or experimental video driver?

Can you email a tuner capture to support

What is the advantage to this? Does it still use a regular antenna?

It is for users in Europe with satellite dish.

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I wonder why no providers in the US offer packages via sat>ip. It seems like it would be a good alternative to cable or internet.

Because the broadcast/satellite and cable/telco lobbies have done their job, and the American landscape for competition is now pretty barren.

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Oh the swamp. Got it thanks.

Experimental video driver changes the output from a stutter to looking like slow motion. Deinterlacing options don't make a difference. I'll send you a tuner capture.

Instead of using hdhomerun to receive dvbt, put it onto a network and let channels dvr manage and stream terrestrial, sat ip does the same thing but for dvbs, allowing people to watch satellite TV using channels dvr.

The advantage it has over hdhomerun imo is that you can receive more FTA tv, and can also use a wideband setup - so 24+ tuners from 1 satellite dish lnb connected with 2 cables into 1 sat ip box. Gives you the ability to do a serious amount of recording / streaming of live TV. The m3u option also allows you to merge terrestrial TV and satellite TV into 1 list and map everything using channels dvr server.

The more I read about sat>ip the more impressed I am with the concept.

Yeah i think its pretty good TBH. A few years ago when i fist came across SAT>IP i took a gamble and bought a Triax SAT>IP server from Germany. I didnt expect it to be that good - Previously i had been using PCIe DVBS tuners in my HTPC at home. I kept having issues with the PC cards, seemed like a lot of money, loads of cabling needed etc so taking a gamble on the Triax SAT>IP server certainly paid off. They have been 100% reliable & have allowed me to basically put all my FTA satellite channels onto my home network and use pretty much any device to watch & record live TV. I got a bit carried away with things TBH. I later discovered the new "unicable" / "wideband" support on newer SAT>IP servers so spent a lot of money on a Kathrein SAT>IP server which has provided me with 24 tuners available on my home network with only 2 cables needed from the satellite dish via 1 lnb. Its pretty insane. Ive had 9 or 10 TV shows simultaneously recording whilst also being able to watch live TV with no tuner conflicts. My partner (who doesnt live with me) also watches & records live TV through my setup - So that way we can both setup TV show / movie recordings whilst both watch live TV independently. Running things through Channels DVR allows us to watch a recorded TV series at each others houses...etc. The flexibility is great! Recently ive upgraded my HDD storage so now running approx 8tb storage for TV shows & movies.

In addition i did offset my satellite dish & had 3 lnbs setup on 1 single dish so could receive signals from 3 separate satellites & create 1 FTA m3u channel list... So things like FTA music, movie & entertainment channels all get merged into 1 list. I've even managed to integrate 2 x HDHomerun QUATRO boxes into the setup with SAT>IP so that i can also get additional FTA channels from UK terrestrial TV working.

The hardware side of things (for me) is now pretty much complete. Im just in the process of finishing off a 19" rack build in my loft & have a small 19" rack on order for the satellite equipment mounted off the back of my garage.

The software side of things has been the biggest headache. I've experimented with a few different pieces of software & all seem to have positives and negatives (i think i mentioned this in my earlier post). A lot of TV server backends for me turned out to be glitchy / unreliable. Software such as Kodi has plenty of options, loads of artwork etc and i did use this for a while... but the simple ability to series link tv recordings and getting everything setup to process & store recorded TV and movies proved to be a chore. Plex is unreliable & glitchy, Emby is ok, but again I had issues with playback, shows not recording etc. This is why i have come back to Channels DVR. The software seems much more stable & reliable. Its intended purpose / focus for recording live TV is what i want & the ability to record loads of tv + structure it into shows / seasons / episodes is great. For me, id rather have this working reliably than setting up something that displays lots of nice artwork, ratings etc... but isnt actually reliable. each to their own i guess.

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How do you share it out? Don’t their watch shows effect your watched shows?

Or do you have two channel dvr server installs?

My partner has one of my Amazon Fire TV boxes at her house. I spend a mixed amount of time at her house & at mine (depending when / where im working) so she connects to my Channels DVR server. I only have 1 channels DVR server installed.

Watched shows isnt really affected. We generally watch recorded TV shows together, so the ability to "resume playback from..." is a bonus. We can part watch a TV show at mine, and then finish watching the episode at hers... or vice versa. She also records TV shows that im not really interested in watching & vice versa, so the watched indicators dont really matter. I guess the only drawback is that if she was to part watch a recorded movie & i wanted to watch the same, the "watched indicator" would overwrite. Again though, thats yet to cause me any issues. She generally records and watches whatever she wants, i do the same. Usually we both see a movie we like, set it up to record & watch it together.

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Oh man, if a US subscription satellite provider ever got on board with this, they'd literally destroy our shitty cable companies.

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I don't think it's very likely unfortunately. The US model has been to shove almost everything behind a subscription and then to lock it behind proprietary equipment. Only now with TVE are their options to use your own equipment (CableCard never really caught on and never worked with satellite), albeit still with very high subscription costs and somewhat reduced quality.

Much of Europe has a different model: most channels are subscription only (though generally much cheaper than the US), but there are generally more options to use your own equipment to access it. SAT>IP is most popular/useful in Europe because you can combine a SAT>IP server (or your own standalone sat STB or a sat receiver built into your TV) with a card and reader you get from your satellite provider to access subscription channels in addition to free-to-air channels.

Here in the UK we have yet a different model that is a bit of halfway house (like many things with the UK when comparing US and European models, haha): most of what you call 'basic cable' is free-to-air here both OTA and on satellite, so easily accessible with your own equipment, but subscription channels can still only be accessed with proprietary equipment/apps. We don't even have a TVE equivalent here.

Sky (the main UK satellite broadcaster) and Virgin (the main UK cable provider) are extremely paranoid and aren't likely to ever allow access to their subscriptions through anything but their own equipment/apps. Sky are also planning to offer full internet-based delivery of their subscriptions in the near future but again locked to their own equipment/apps, so that probably makes it even less likely they will ever adopt the European model.

And with everything moving toward an internet-/app-based, non-linear, non-broadcast model, who knows how much longer traditional broadcasting and cable/sat subscriptions will be with us anyway? Maybe 10 years?

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What a fantastic detailed response. Thank you.

Such a missed opportunity from the Satellite companies.

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Would you mind sharing which wideband LNB you're using? I recently purchased a Kathrein EXIP 418 satip server and a Channels subscription after reading this post, however I haven't managed to get my satip server working. Kathrein's support say my LNB may be incompatible. I'm using a Sky-Q supplied 'EL021' wideband LNB currently. Many thanks!