OTHER TBS 6922SE

olliec420

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Jun 4, 2007
759
187
Pensacola, FL
I picked this thing up a couple years ago but I never really used it. Im getting heavy back in to the hobby all of a sudden so I took an old PC and threw it in. Tested it on 91 KU the other day and its all good!

Now my question is... all the new codecs (HVEC, 4:2:2, 4:4:4) are software correct? The signal is still DVB-S2 and thats what the 6922SE does so it will still get the signal and then its up to the software to decode the new codecs.

Bonus questions: What is the best software for PCI tuner, free and paid?
 
Now my question is... all the new codecs (HVEC, 4:2:2, 4:4:4) are software correct? The signal is still DVB-S2 and thats what the 6922SE does so it will still get the signal and then its up to the software to decode the new codecs.

My understanding is that what you have said is essentially correct. All the card does is stream the channel or mux to something that can process it. Video codecs are the responsibility of whatever device and software plays that stream (or recording if you have made a recording). Depending on the capabilities of the device's GPU the video may be decoded in hardware or software. If software decoding is necessary then you need enough CPU power to handle it. Most newer desktops and laptops can decode the formats you've mentioned in real time (not sure about 4:4:4, have not encountered that one) but you may be nearly maxing out the CPU if the GPU can't handle it. Some lower end computers can't handle UHD formats and will start dropping frames or not show a picture at all.

Bonus questions: What is the best software for PCI tuner, free and paid?

Depends on if you prefer to use Windows or Linux. In Windows you have several choices, you might want to try MediaPortal or NextPVR or something like that. In Linux I'd try Tvheadend. I believe all of those are free but I may be wrong. The problem with using TBS cards under Linux is that they have their own drivers that are not integrated into the Linux kernel so every time there is a kernel update you need to recompile the drivers, and the problem with that is that lately they have made some changes in the Linux kernel that have caused failures to recompile. Tvheadend in my opinion is a pretty great program, but it doesn't actually play video, it just acts as a video streamer and a PVR so that you can use another program such as VLC or Kodi to play live or recorded TV (Tvheadend is the "backend", Kodi is the "frontend" - you typically only have one backend program running but you can have several frontends running on different devices). I believe MediaPortal has both backend and frontend functionality, but don't quote me on that.

Your old PC would probably make a great backend server, even if it doesn't have the requisite CPU/GPU power to play newer formats. If you are into Linux there was a blog that published several articles on using TBS cards with Linux a few years ago, I believe it was this one: Free-To-Air America . I recall they had some specific tips about tweaking settings in Linux to make TBS cards work better, though I don't know if that information is still valid, and also IIRC some articles about Tvheadend and other topics you may be interested in IF you are a Linux user. There wasn't much there for Windows users IIRC.

I don't care all that much for Linux but it has one great attribute - it's free! So while there may be (probably are) several other good choices for Windows users, I haven't heard about them, because I'm a cheapskate that runs Linux on my media PC (Ubuntu Linux if you are curious). Both Tvheadend and Kodi will run under Ubuntu. But sometimes I feel like I barely know what I am doing. :what

However if you have no interest in recording anything for later viewing then you may be able to get by with simpler software that will just let you tune channels and watch them on your PC. If your old computer runs Windows Media Center I think it will let you do that, if not there are probably other programs that will give you that ability, but someone else will need to suggest them because I don't know about them.
 
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Thanks for that detailed info. I will take a look at some of these options.

So the setup I have is in the garage with the old pc, connected to 2 monitors. Right now the v7 receiver is connected to one monitor showing the day but I want to put the sat through the computer and watch it on one monitor while maybe hitting record when I find cool stuff (and looking up instructions for garage projects) on the other display. I have a tbs6922se. Right now I’m using smartdvb which is ok but was looking for something better if there is any. I don’t mind paying if their deal is reasonable.

Yeah I never know what I’m doing in Linux either. I feel like hackers will take over if I leave a hole open and start using it for spam bot or something. Windows is free too if you don’t mind pop ups :D or use WAT.

Well thanks for the info, I will throw some ideas around and test some setups!
 
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