Starting VDR

    • New
    Quote from MarkusE

    > "no OSD provider available - using dummy OSD!"

    Clear indicator of missing output plugin

    nobanzai , can you explain how to install vdr-plugin-softhddevice on suse?

    No, cause I never use the SUSE repos for vdr, instead I fetch vdr and all plugins from git and build them locally.

    VDR zwei drei
    • VDR 01 (Server): 2.7.5/6 4 x TT Budget S2-3200
      Plugins: [channellists - control - epgsearch - live - markad - streamdev-server - tvscraper]
    • VDR 02 (Client): 2.7.5 1 x TT Premium S2-6400 (HDMI an TV), 1 x softhddevice (HDMI an TV); TV Grundig 40 VLE 8160 SL; TFT-Display Origen AE 16T
      Plugins: [channellists - control - dvbhddevice - epgsync - graphtftng - iptv - osdteletext - skinnopacity - softhddevice - svdrpservice - tvscraper]
    • New

    wirbel,

    True, it's the default channels.conf that gets installed by the Suse package, my tuner is DVB-T/T2. I was expecting to be able to select that and generate a valid channels.conf via the VDR interface once I get it visible and working.

    Anyway, that seems to be even further away now, after a reboot I'm back at square 1, no window, no interface.

    • New

    Pls, fix that first, before doing any other step.

    Also, if you're in a DVB-T2 region - remove the DVB-T only stick for next tests.

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    to spoil
    verderben
    beschädigen
    plündern
    behindern
    berauben
    vereiteln
    rauben
    zerstören [fig.] [verderben, verunstalten]
    vergällen
    verhageln [fig.]

    • New

    I have only one stick, HanfTek Astrometa DVB-T/T2/C FM & DAB receiver [RTL2832P]

    06-07-25 14:49:49.854 [Info ] kaffeine.dev: Found dvb device : Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T)
    06-07-25 14:49:50.609 [Info ] kaffeine.dev: Found dvb device : Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator

    Anyway, I'll try later with a proper channels.conf.

    But, I wouldn't expect a bad channels.conf to stop the interface from appearing or working.

    Edited once, last by J_IF (July 6, 2025 at 2:10 PM).

    • New

    If you don't know how to compile programs from source code on Linux, I would suggest using distributions with the latest versions of vdr and plugins (Fedora 42), or even vdr distributions (easy vdr, yavdr).

    • New

    06-07-25 14:49:49.854 [Info ] kaffeine.dev: Found dvb device : Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T)
    06-07-25 14:49:50.609 [Info ] kaffeine.dev: Found dvb device : Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator

    and..

    2025-07-05T10:01:37.837916+03:00 L61 vdr: [15660] frontend 0/0 provides DVB-T with QPSK,QAM16,QAM64 ("Realtek RTL2832 (DVB-T)")
    2025-07-05T10:01:38.572648+03:00 L61 vdr: [15660] frontend 0/1 provides DVB-T,DVB-T2,DVB-C with QPSK,QAM16,QAM32,QAM64,QAM128,QAM256 ("Sony CXD2837ER DVB-T/T2/C demodulator")

    Sounds like two independed devices from your logs - but ok.

    From VDR's point of view - you have two devices: /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend0 && /dev/dvb/adapter0/frontend1. You may want only the second one to be active for the first tries - add "-d1" to cmd line. The first device causes trouble in DVB-T2 regions - far too old. If you already can receive what you want - good (forget && skip that..), if you have trouble there, you may want to share your DVB-T/T2 country (just the country), to get further hints on that one.


    At the long term run, if you're interested in vdr, two choices:
    - you're anyway going to compile your own version of vdr plus it's plugins. Suse is a reasonable choice for that, but my last suse was 7.0. Once successfully done, not too difficult.
    - choose debian and follow yavdr <- the easy way.

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    to spoil
    verderben
    beschädigen
    plündern
    behindern
    berauben
    vereiteln
    rauben
    zerstören [fig.] [verderben, verunstalten]
    vergällen
    verhageln [fig.]

    • New

    lnj,

    Tried compiling a couple of times, but kept stumbling on errors about missing this and that and gave up after an hour of hunting down and installing the bits&pieces. After upgrading Suse it usually takes weeks to get thing work as I want them to, so changing distribution sounds like and endless, inexhaustible source of horror. Feels not very attractive. VDR distribution could be an option, but I'll need to get another machine for that.

    • New

    wirbel,

    I don't know how independed they are but at least they are in the same stick. I think RTL2832 is (used here?) more as just a tuner and it needs some "translation" to produce a usable program stream and CXD2837ER is just a demodulator that needs a dedicated tuner to "read" the antenna signal. I have this in a Windows machine, too, and how things look there it seems like that the stick delivers DVB-T using RTL2832 only and DVB-T2 through CXD2837ER. But all this is just guessing.

    Anyway, I'll check the defining a particular device to use - I didn't notice the stick is seen by the system as two separate devices.

    The country is Finland, which means: DVB-T2 only. It would have been wise to mention this earlier, but didn't cross my mind, sorry.

    The "easy way" is beginning to seem the best way, once I manage to arrange a machine for that.

    But, still testing...

    • New

    If kaffeine works for you, then everything is fine with the drivers, and VDR should see the device. In vdr osd dvb settings enable transponder update, create channel with the required frequency, set it dvb-t2, and try switch to it. Vdr must find channels on transponder.

    • New

    May or may not work.Finland uses DVB-T and DVB-T2 in parallel, with independent NIT tables.

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    to spoil
    verderben
    beschädigen
    plündern
    behindern
    berauben
    vereiteln
    rauben
    zerstören [fig.] [verderben, verunstalten]
    vergällen
    verhageln [fig.]

    • New

    lnj,

    That's excactly what I intended to do first, but because I don't get the OSD, I can't do it.

    wirbel,

    DVB-T2 only, the last DVB-T transmissions were driven down a week ago, as far as I know.

    • New

    What could happen, is that you started a recording for a channel that you can't receive and the 'emergency exit' setting is active.

    This setting would stop the vdr process, if not beeing able to record.


    Check if your timers.conf is empty and disable this setting in your setup.conf. Both are just text based files, read once at startup.

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    to spoil
    verderben
    beschädigen
    plündern
    behindern
    berauben
    vereiteln
    rauben
    zerstören [fig.] [verderben, verunstalten]
    vergällen
    verhageln [fig.]

    • New

    wirbel,

    I haven't started any recordings or done anything at all with VDR, because I haven't seen a working interface/OSD yet.

    timers.conf is empty and setup.conf reads: EmergencyExit = 1 (that means "on", I guess)

    Tried EmergencyExit = 0 - no change.

    vdr -D 0 ...no change

    vdr -D 1
    "vdr: no primary device found - using first device!" -otherwise, no change
    BTW, same results from the root konsole.

    Edited 3 times, last by J_IF (July 7, 2025 at 12:47 PM).

    • New

    For me, if i start manually, it would do, pls note the plugin for video output. You need one.

    vdr -c /etc/vdr -v /video -P softhddevice


    For xineliboutput, it would be similar 'vdr (...) -P xineliboutput' , and then run the client process

    Code
    vdr-sxfe --post tvtime:method=Linear,cheap_mode=1,pulldown=0,use_progressive_frame_flag=1 xvdr+tcp://<IP-ADDRESS-OF-YOUR-PC>


    Dont forget to add the IP to svdrphosts.conf and adding a few lines to setup.conf as described here: http://www.vdr-wiki.de/wiki/index.php/Xineliboutput-plugin


    You can also start without a video plugin, but use a console for menu instead, using the control plugin

    vdr -c /etc/vdr -v /video -P control

    and then 'telnet <IP-ADDRESS-OF-YOUR-PC> 2002'

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    to spoil
    verderben
    beschädigen
    plündern
    behindern
    berauben
    vereiteln
    rauben
    zerstören [fig.] [verderben, verunstalten]
    vergällen
    verhageln [fig.]

    • New

    wirbel,

    'vdr (...) -P xineliboutput' - so outputplugin needs to be specifically specified - I didn't do that thinking it would be found automatically. The actual result: the interface/OSD window opens, scrolls through some pages/phases (showing them obviously only partially, see pic) and ends up to a black screen saying "No signal" (which is expected due to bad channels.conf).

    With vdr -P control I get: vdr: missing plugin 'control', so it looks like I'm not having it installed, have to search for it.


    vdr-sxfe --post tvtime:method=Linear,cheap_mode=1,pulldown=0,use_progressive_frame_flag=1 xvdr+tcp://<IP-ADDRESS-OF-YOUR-PC>
    No tvime installed and using KDE (yet another thing I should have mentioned...) so this didn't get me very far.
    Anyway, I will have to study that vdr-wiki page (and the wiki in general) together with other details in the few previous posts and that take a few days (limited time available for this) to get better into this.

    • New

    Hi,

    You could also try this distro (https://www.minidvblinux.de/download/6.4) here; it can easily be started and tested from a USB stick.

    Roland

    https://www.minidvblinux.de/

    1x OctopusNet mit 8x DVB-C
    1x Raspberry 4 MLD 6.5 SATIP (softhddevice-drm-gles )

    1x RockPi 4 MLD 6.5 SATIP (softhddevice-drm-gles )

    1x Raspberry 3 mit SATIP MLD 5.4

    1x Raspberry 2 mit STAIP MLD 6.5

    1x Raspberry 1 (staubt gerade so vor sich hin) ;)
    1x ODROID N2+ mit SATIP MLD 6.5

    1x ODROID N2 L mit SATIP MLD 6.5

    1x Zotac CI327 MLD 6.5 SATIP (softhddevice)

    • New

    Everyone,

    Thanks for the info, advice, tips, etc.

    I'll be away for a couple of days, I'll be back (probably with more questions:-) when I return.

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