2013-10-30

Naked hardware #14: DVB-T2 USB TV Stick HD-901T2

Teardown HD-901T2 DVB-T2

DVB-T/T2/C FM+DAB+SDR
That is relatively young device as it appeared to market around 2 months ago, beginning of September 2013. It is sold without any real brand, though model number HD-901T2 is mentioned by some sellers. USB interface advertises manufacturer string "astrometadvbt2" and product "dvbt2". From manufacturer string we could guess it is AstroMeta Co. - or not. Own USB ID, 15f4:0131, is assigned to that device by device vendor.

That DTV stick is basically almost same than RTL2832U + R820T reference design, but there is one big difference - external DVB-T/T2/C demodulator. It is also a little bit bizarre as it advertises unofficial SDR (provided by RTL2832P).

Looks like device is build upon some new Realtek reference design, whilst it may different somehow. Windows drivers are near Realtek drivers, but those are still customized (?) for that device. Drivers that are coming with the device, are in a quite bad shape as even standard BDA interface didn't work. Own Windows application is only application which could be used currently.

Initial Linux support is about to go in Kernel 3.13, or in a bad luck 3.14 as Kernel merge window is very near to open. Kernel driver has only DVB-T support at the moment, due to missing external DVB-T/T2/C demodulator driver.

Key components:
Realtek RTL2832P
Panasonic MN88472
Rafael Micro R828D

Hardware internals

RTL2832P, MN88472, R828D
All relevant components, RTL2832P, MN88472 and R828D, could be found from that side of PCB. Visible crystal near R828D is 16.000 MHz, clock source for R828D. Other side of PCB has 28.800 MHz crystal for RTL2832P and 20.500 MHz crystal for MN88472.

PCB printings:
FSC_USB_DVB-T2-C

Realtek RTL2832P

Realtek RTL2832P
RTL2832P is same chip than RTL2832U, but it has extra TS (transport stream) interface to connect external demodulator. Shortly, RTL2832U is USB interface and DVB-T demodulator in one package. For more information about that chip see my old blog posts of RTL2832U.

Panasonic MN88472

Panasonic MN88472
MN88472 is DVB-T/T2/C demodulator. It is very first time when that chip is seen on PCTV device. Earlier DVB-T2 capable demodulators used for PCTV devices are Sony CXD2820 and Silicon Labs Si2168.

There is own 20.500 MHz crystal, which offers clock source for demodulator. TS bus (between RTL2832P and MN88472) is hardly visible. It is not clear whether it is connected using serial or parallel bus, though serial mode could be good guess, as there is no 8+ wires clearly visible needed for parallel mode.

I2C control bus is connected to RTL2832P I2C adapter.

Rafael Micro R828D

Rafael Micro R828D
R828D is Low-IF hybrid silicon RF tuner. That tuner is very similar than R820T tuner used earlier for some RTL2832U devices. R828D is flagship model, whilst R820T is reduced to DTV terrestrial only reception. There is own 16.000 MHz crystal, which is a little bit odd as older RTL2832U + R820T designs used shared clock source from RTL2832U.

Tuner IF bus is connected to both MN88472 and RTL2832P. Control bus, I2C, is wired to RTL2832P I2C adapter only (RTL2832P I2C adapter is property of integrated RTL2832 demodulator).

PCB backside



Only chip visible is 24C08 8k serial eeprom. It contains USB configuration information, e.g. device USB ID and manufacturer strings. It is connected to RTL2832P via I2C.

Black 3-leg component is IR-receiver. It is connected also to RTL2832P, which offers RAW mode remote controller signals.

Crystal "Y2", 22.500 MHz, for MN88472.
Crystal "Y3", 28.800 MHz, for RTL2832P.

USB interface

IDLE current drain without a driver: 103 mA



Pictures












































104 comments:

  1. Not sure if it helps a lot but some MN88472 code is available here:
    http://dev.duckbox.info/cgi-bin/cgit.cgi/tdt/tree/tdt/cvs/driver/frontends/spark7162/6158

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  2. Wow, I really hope you succeed!
    Please, keep us updated =)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What I was looking for thanks. I wish I had time to help with kernel driver.

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  4. Any news from your project? =)

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  5. I know there is one person hacking with MN88472 Linux driver and it is not me! What I quickly tested (against generated code from the sniffs) I was able to view DVB-T2 without any changes to R828D tuner driver. For DVB-C it seems like some changes are needed also for tuner driver. But biggest part is of course that totally missing demod driver.

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  6. Hi Antti,

    How's the status on this? Is it already in kernel? I've following linux-media list and see some activity.

    Can you give us a status update?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Plain DVB-T support went Kernel 3.13. That DVB-T support was easy to add as it is quite same device than RTL2832U + R820T (but without MN88472), having integrated RTL2832 DVB-T demodulator. DVB-T2 and DVB-C support is not that easy as new chipset driver for MN88472 demodulator is needed. Also, writing multimode (DVB-C/T/T2), demodulator driver is about same than writing 3 separate demod drivers. All those mentioned DTV standards differs so much from each others, which means there is typically just 3 different demodulators in one package (3-in-1 demod).

      So it works with DVB-T only starting from 3.13. DVB-C/T2 will come later...

      Delete
  7. Hi is this tuner v 1.3.1 DVB-T2 compliant and working in linux or windows?

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    Replies
    1. I have no idea whether or not it supports all the features specification says. However, features are highly depended used demodulator chip. Not working on Linux as there is no driver for Panasonic MN88472.

      Delete
  8. Just got one of these on ebay. Driver CD was broken on arrival, anyone has a link for a more or less working driver for windows?
    So, as I understand it, there is no way to make it work with dvb-c for the moment, right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You probably saw pic from my broken CD too...
      But here is link to device vendor driver:
      AMDVBT2 BDA driver build 1118 Release Note

      hmm, what you mean about DVB-C? What I have tested on XP it works.

      I also did some Linux DVB-C tests as someone promised to pay for DVB-C support, but he haven't replied me almost 2 weeks ago :-( Basically Linux DVB-C works, but only for QAM128 and lower. QAM256 is not working as RTL2832U cannot feed that large video stream. Fortunately there is PID filters on RTL2832 to filter stream smaller, but it those PID filters needs to be implemented to Linux driver. There is two other persons working on it.

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  9. Anybody knows is there a driver for this usb stick (or maybe software) to view irdeto coded DVB-T2 tv channels?

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  10. Hi!

    Does anybody know how to find this stick on Ebay? Will DVB-C work under Windows?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Да будет работать DVB-C под Win 7

      Delete
    2. Как настроить просмотр DVB-T2 в России (мультиплекс-1). Видео и звук идут редкими рывками.

      How to configure the view DVB-T2 in Russia (multiplex 1). Video and sound are in spurts (with freezing).

      Delete
    3. 1. Драйвера обновите и ПО http://www.astrometa.com.tw/integrated_en.html тут лежат.
      2. Видео кодеки обновите.
      3. Какой комп может просто не тянет железо?
      У меня DVB-T2 так и не заработал брал тут http://www.aliexpress.com/item/USB-2-0-DVB-T2-HDTV-Digital-TV-Stick-Remote-Recorder-Receiver-DVB-C-USB-DVB/1364928935.html Я свой СТИК отправил обратно продавцу 170 р. обошлась пересылка обещали вернуть деньги...

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    4. Разработчик Астромета обещал доработать драйвер. Я не стал отправлять.

      Delete
    5. Ура. Из Астрометы прислали AMDVBT2BDA.sys.
      DVB-T2 работает.
      Проверено в Виндовс 7 и 8.1 (32)

      Delete
    6. kww204
      не можете прислать и мне на ramilka64@mail.ru
      напрямую с сайтом не получается (ip серый и он в чёрном списке)

      Delete
    7. Это мне прислали с astrometa
      Уважаемый пользователь,
      Пожалуйста, скачайте по этой ссылке:
      https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/96257536/Driver.rar
      Файл содержится в X64 и X86 папке для 64-разрядной и 32-разрядной ОС соответственно.
      Пожалуйста, замените AMDVBT2BDA.sys в окнах \ \ system32 водитель, а затем
      перезапуска устройства (отключите и подключите ключ).
      Если вы используете 64bit Windows, вам необходимо отключить драйвер подпись:
      Нажмите клавишу F8 во время окна запуска и выберите "Отключить исполнения dirver подписи"
      Обратите внимание, что этот файл является предварительной версией в целях тестирования, он испытывался в порядке в нашей лаборатории в соответствии с российскими спецификациями MPLP.
      Пожалуйста, дайте мне знать ваше местоположение и результат. Если он проверяется работает правильно я отправлю его на нашем сайте и сообщить Вам после подписи драйверов.
      С наилучшими пожеланиями,
      Поддержка

      Могу проверить точно только после праздников на работе (в 30км и там запущена цифра), дома слаб сигнал (45%), мешает гора. Отпишитесь у кого как.

      Delete
  11. What .ko modules are required for this to work on DVB-T? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Antti,is there any progress on making driver for Panasonic MN88472 ? i can wait to see DVB-C/T2 working on my stick. The stock driver for Windows is buggy and incompatible with many software like ProDVB

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did some hacking for DVB-C, as some moron promised to pay for DVB-C support, but when I asked money he disappeared. I have no much motivation continue as there is more interesting things to do. DVB-C mode works up to QAM128, QAM256 will not work as stream is too wide. The trick to get QAM256 must be PID filtering, but I was not able to succeed with it for some reason. Anyhow, tree is here waiting for developer (I cannot give much help, so developer should be able to gather needed info itself):
      http://git.linuxtv.org/anttip/media_tree.git/shortlog/refs/heads/mn88472_dvbc

      Delete
  13. Слетела прошивка EEPROM 24C08 и как следствие к свистку не подключаются дрова. Может быть у кого есть дамп EEPROM а?

    Collapsed firmware EEPROM 24C08 and as a consequence to not connect the tuner driver. Maybe have dumped EEPROM?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I cannot understand fully what you are asking, but lets say that firmware is downloaded by driver and eeprom is connected to RTL2832P and contains only USB ID and some other RTL2832P configurations. I didn't verified it, but that is how those things are implemented nowadays.

      Delete
    2. Firmware, needed for Linux driver, is here:
      http://palosaari.fi/linux/v4l-dvb/firmware/MN88472/02/
      and driver is here:
      http://git.linuxtv.org/anttip/media_tree.git/shortlog/refs/heads/mn88472_dvbc

      Delete
  14. Hi Antti,
    I know you deal with linux drivers, but I cannot find any detailed Windows info about this stick behaviour, etc.. I think lots of people are thinking about buying of this for windows. So if you have links, blogs please share it or if you have any new info please post it. Thanks a lot

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The old Windows XP driver I used was in a quite bad shape. Even Windows BDA API didn't work, the only app was that which comes with device. I think situation may be better if there is updated drivers available. I simply don't know.

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  15. This seems like rather badly supported device quickly hacked together... eBay is full of this and it's cheap, but if it doesn't work, that's not much of use then. Is PCTV 290e still the only USB DVB-T2 tuner that works reliably under Linux? It's a bit pricy and availability is bad (Amazon tells me 1-2 months of delivery time), but maybe it's better to step in the queue.

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    Replies
    1. PCTV nanoStick T2 290e is almost only DVB-T2 capable stick on the market that is supported on Linux native. However I remember someone added another stick recently, which was also using same demodulator. Sony CXD2820 is only DVB-T2 capable demod that having Linux driver and it very old... There is some DVB-T2 sticks having newer Silicon Labs chipset, but no open driver.

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    2. PCTV has just published a new product: tripleStick 292e, which looks exactly the same as 290e, but internals are probably different. http://www.pctvsystems.com/Products/ProductsEuropeAsia/Hybridproducts/PCTVtripleStick/tabid/308/language/de-DE/Default.aspx

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    3. Heh, that looks like a replacement of good old nanoStick T2 290e.

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    4. Damn. I was supposed to get a Nanostick T2 290e delivered to me. Now that I've fiddled a while with it and could not get the drivers to work, realized I was sold a 292e. Shit. Any progress with the driver? Would a loaner stick help?

      Delete
  16. Hi Antti, I just bought the exact same USB stick from http://dx.com/ I was planning on using it on Ubuntu with TVHeadend PVR. I'm from the Netherlands and have DVB-C. I have read all the comments but from what I understand DVB-C is not (fully) supported. My cable TV provider broadcasts QAM256. Any tips on how to get it working? Or should i wait and see what happens at: http://git.linuxtv.org/ ? Great article and hello from Holland

    ReplyDelete
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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  17. получил вчера такой девайс с eBay. Установил драйвера и программу. После сканирования TV диапазона (Москва) никакого списка каналов не сформировалось. Хотя во время скнирования было видно как изменялся уровень сигнала. Но поднимался максимум до 8 из 10 на частоте 562 МГц, на остальных (там где есть вещание) максимум 6 из 10. Может не хватает силы сигнала? Раз ничего не распознал? Есть, кто тоже из Москвы? Пробывал сканировать с предустановками для России, UK, France. Если зайти в расширенные настройки (клавиша e), то попробывал отсканировать одиночный канал (тот самый 562 МГц). Но тоже безрезультатно.... Или просто напросто не рабочий тюнер?

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. Hi Antti,

    I downloaded and compiled the driver. As far as I can see the driver is working but the download of the firmware failed.

    -------
    [ 1838.150421] usb 1-1.2: dvb_usb_v2: schedule remote query interval to 400 msecs
    [ 1838.164038] usb 1-1.2: dvb_usb_v2: 'Astrometa DVB-T2' successfully initialized and connected
    [ 1846.592630] i2c i2c-2: mn88472: downloading firmware from file 'dvb-demod-mn88472-02.fw'
    [ 1846.929213] i2c i2c-2: mn88472: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=18f6 len=21
    [ 1846.929221] i2c i2c-2: mn88472: firmware download failed=-121
    [ 1846.931121] r820t 2-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=05 len=1: 83
    [ 1846.933169] i2c i2c-2: mn88472: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=1c0b len=1
    [ 1846.935488] i2c i2c-0: rtl2832: i2c wr failed=-121 reg=0c len=2
    [ 1846.937628] i2c i2c-2: mn88472: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=1c05 len=1
    [ 1846.939743] r820t 2-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=05 len=1: 83
    -------
    Can you give me hint?

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    Replies
    1. I did a little bit of debugging. Each time the errors occurs at different positions in the mn88472 source code. Maybe there are some timing problems.

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    2. I think ran that same problem few days ago when I hacked RTL2832 SDR driver. I just rebased that mn88472 tree to top of sdr tree and now it should be working: http://git.linuxtv.org/anttip/media_tree.git/shortlog/refs/heads/mn88472_dvbc

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    3. I updated the driver and now the MN88472 driver is working sometimes. Sometimes means if the firmware is downloaded successfully then the channel scanning is working 90% with Kaffeine.
      Most of the TV channels that I receive (Unitymedia, Germany) are 256-QAM. These are working with many bit stream errors (artifacts). Some of the 64-QAM channels are fully working but some are working also with many artifacts (the same as 256-QAM).

      The following log messages shows you the errors.
      ------- Firmware download failed -------
      [ 691.533000] i2c i2c-11: mn88472: downloading firmware from file 'dvb-demod-mn88472-02.fw'
      [ 691.902507] i2c i2c-11: mn88472: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=18f6 len=21
      [ 691.902558] i2c i2c-11: mn88472: firmware download failed=-121
      [ 691.904464] r820t 11-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=05 len=1: 83

      ------- Channel scanning with Kaffeine, working 90% -------
      [ 251.452866] i2c i2c-11: mn88472: downloading firmware from file 'dvb-demod-mn88472-02.fw'
      [ 251.948864] r820t 11-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=08 len=1: c0
      [ 251.950955] r820t 11-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=0c len=1: f0

      ------- Tune to channel -------
      [ 756.988944] i2c i2c-11: mn88472: downloading firmware from file 'dvb-demod-mn88472-02.fw'
      [ 757.544818] r820t 11-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=10 len=1: 6f
      [ 757.547988] r820t 11-003a: r820t_write: i2c wr failed=-32 reg=0c len=1: f0

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    4. This error still exists. The I2C clock is correct (I measured it with this driver and on Windows), so I edited the driver (function mn88472_init in drivers/media/dvb-frontends/mn88472.c) to upload the firmware in single bytes, and re-upload failed bytes. This seems to work for me (though the upload is slower now).

      Delete
    5. hmm, did you use that new tree?
      http://git.linuxtv.org/cgit.cgi/anttip/media_tree.git/log/?h=astrometa
      I did quite much work for this old and newer Astrometa models. Bot are working somehow well for me. Also, I extracted new demod firmware for this mn88472 chip. It may resolve some issues:
      http://palosaari.fi/linux/v4l-dvb/firmware/MN88472/02/latest/

      Delete
    6. Yes, I used the new tree, and the new firmware. Maybe my device is slightly more bodgy; after all, it's extremely cheap. The upload is going well for the first few (approximately 35 times 22 bytes, not always the same ammount) blocks, but then it fails. I'm not measuring a lot of noise on the I2C bus, but something might still be going wrong there.
      Anyways, with my quick-and-dirty fix, my device seems to work just as well as my other TV-cards, so I'm happy. Thank you for all your work on the driver!

      Delete
    7. I think this buggy I2C issue is still HW related. But there could be some SW / FW thing in order to avoid or fix it. I have noticed demod I/O works usually very well until tuner is first time accessed. Also, it sounds like some computers (different USB host controller?, voltage?, timings?) it works better than the others. For my computer it works usually pretty well, but some others are complaining they never could even download firmware successfully. My computer has also kernel having a lot of debugs enabled, which means it is slower than release kernels, which could be one thing it works. Dunno. A lot of tests needed in order to find root of cause. But there is also some other things to make it better, like optimize register writes (shadowing registers by the help of RegMap). And the last thing is to hack I2C adapter to repeated failed messages, but I don't really want to do it unless all the other correct fixes are tested.

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    8. So, if there is anyone having oscilloscope, please take some measurements from the I2C bus in order to see what happens there when error condition is met.

      Delete
    9. Well, my USB bus isn't the best right now: I'm testing through Virtualbox-USB, which might screw up some timings, but I have the issue on another PC, without virtualisation, as well. I agree that actually fixing the problem would be the way to go, especially since I cannot easily use bulk writes anymore (uploading the firmware takes 20 seconds or more for me, depending on the amount of errors), but I haven't done that much programming, so I was already quite surprised I got it working at all. I could do some more measuring: when I measured the clock, I was in a hurry, and I couldn't find a pinout for the MN8472, so I measured the bus on the R828D. The clock is clean and correct there, but I did not have time to measure more. I should have some time and an oscilloscope available again in the next week or two, though.

      Delete
  19. Здравствуйте! купил dvb t2 usb mini stick. Показывают только несколько каналов..остальные каналы видит - пишет название и надпись с тем, что идет сейчас по телеканалу, но нет ни изображения, ни звука..изображен какой-то замочек..показывает, что слабый сигнал..пробовал усилитель, но не помогло..
    Подскажите, пожалуйста, в чем может быть причина? возможно нужна специальная прошивка под Украину?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. English please. I cannot understand Russian.

      Delete
  20. Hi Antti,

    I included merbanans RTL2832filter support code into your latest code.
    https://github.com/merbanan/nm88472/commit/5919b2057584b0ac963fba96aae9dfe2308cfc2f

    After some tiny changes I was able to compile and run the code. Unfortunately I doesn't see any effect (256-QAM is still not really working). I know that the driver is calling the function rtl2832u_pid_filter() to set PID filter and I would like to verify if the code is correct. Where I can find more information how the RTL2832U is working e.g. I2C commands?

    ReplyDelete
  21. This post is just great. Have given full views of USB TV card inside hardware. I really like the step by step images and it's good to know the product I'm using what actually inside it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Any progress on the PIDfilters implementation?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Benjamin Larsson (https://github.com/merbanan?tab=activity) is working on the PID filters. Five days ago Benjamin published new code. https://github.com/merbanan/nm88472/tree/mn88472_pid_filter
      I tried to compile the code today but unfortunately the kernel crashed with a mutex problem. :-( Maybe I did something wrong.

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    2. Benjamin wrote me that the driver isn't working yet.

      Delete
  23. Hi Antti,
    I used the RTL2832U chip in the DVB-T dongle as SDR-RTL Mode S (1090MHz) receiver and read the I/Q samples as USB bulk-in with 2Msps.
    My question is can I read the data from the RTL2832P directly after modulation at a higher speed?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very max is 3.2Msps, but it could drop some samples as it is very near hw limits. I suspect chip USB buffers are so small that even minor delay on USB transfers and you will lose some data as FIFO buffer overflows. When I did some tests I found that disabling chip IR interrupts helps... so it might give idea how critical timing is at that high speed (chip handles remote controller interrupt and even it causes so much delay that FIFO overflows). Also it was needed to use very large and many USB URBs to get data from chip in order to avoid any delays.

      Delete
  24. Hi,
    I've bought it one but kernel 2.13 says device not accepting address
    lsusb cannot see.
    What can be wrong or how can I fix it? Any idea?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean kernel 3.13? If it does not even enumerate to USB bus, accept address and not visible on lsusb, hardware is totally broken.

      Delete
    2. ohh, of course 3.13. I was afraid of that answer...
      It worked for a few hours.. :S
      Firstly pictures and sound were disappeared, no channel was found for new scan, but tuner was in the list. Some hours later the device was disappered as well.

      Delete
  25. Hi Antti,
    I'm wondering if I can capture a full QAM256 ~40Mbps mux with the T292e, working well with a T290e but having problems buying more T290s! You made a comment before about needing a pid filter due to hardware limitations at QAM256 rates, is this really a hardware limit or does it work ok now the driver is a little more mature?

    I'm recording the BBC Ultra HD World Cup test transmissions so need to capture whole mux to be sure as not much understands the h.265 video, the video is 36Mbps anyway.

    Thanks for any info.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hello,

    Is there any progress on the DVB-T2 driver? I would like to watch Doctor Who in HD. :D

    Thanks,
    VOT.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi. Will this USB stick work on linux(ubuntu/debian) using DVB-C. Not shure if i should buy this specific USB Stick, 'cause the only DVB that I need is C, not T or S. All dvb-c sticks are expensive and I'm still testing and on budget... can you help?

    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  28. @Antti: You git tree is not existing... Any new address ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Git tree is same, but its web-address has changed because cgit was taken into use:
      http://git.linuxtv.org/cgit.cgi/anttip/media_tree.git/log/?h=mn88472_dvbc

      Delete
    2. How can i install your driver in Ubuntu? Step by step ....pls

      Delete
  29. if I compile this driver which resides in this git tree, it have support fot dvb-c qam 64,128 ?

    ReplyDelete
  30. This device has got revisited version. Difference is mainly newer demodulator revision, Panasonic MN88473. I teardowned it too:
    http://blog.palosaari.fi/2014/09/naked-hardware-18-astrometa-amdvb-t2-v2.html

    ReplyDelete
  31. I want to use my RTL2832U on a MK802ii. This MK802ii is not yet supported on recent kernels so will not run on anything after 3.4 kernel. Is there available the source files and patch(es) for the RTL2832U for a kernel 3.4?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Driver has been in Kernel years. Just add USB ID for your device.

      Delete
    2. Using this:

      https://github.com/tmair/DVB-Realtek-RTL2832U-2.2.2-10tuner-mod_kernel-3.0.0/tree/master/RTL2832-2.2.2_kernel-3.0.0
      this compile works without errors and creates a
      dvb-usb-rtl2832u.ko
      but not a
      rtl2832u.ko
      despite there being a bunch of files like rtl2832u.c and rtl2832u.o
      and dmesg complains of no frontend:
      dvb-usb: found a 'RTL2832U DVB-T USB DEVICE' in warm state.
      [ 2040.777066] dvb-usb: will pass the complete MPEG2 transport stream to the software demuxer.
      [ 2040.793621] DVB: registering new adapter (RTL2832U DVB-T USB DEVICE)
      [ 2040.833115] RTL2832U usb_init_bulk_setting : USB2.0 HIGH SPEED (480Mb/s)
      [ 2041.153012] RTL2832U check_tuner_type : ERROR Unknown tuner on board...

      [ 2041.166512] dvb-usb: no frontend was attached by 'RTL2832U DVB-T USB DEVICE'

      [ 2041.190209] input: IR-receiver inside an USB DVB receiver as /devices/platform/sw-ehci.1/usb2/2-1/input/input3
      [ 2041.226625] dvb-usb: schedule remote query interval to 287 msecs.
      [ 2041.251663] dvb-usb: RTL2832U DVB-T USB DEVICE successfully initialized and connected.
      [ 2041.267826] usbcore: registered new interface driver dvb_usb_rtl2832u
      [ 2548.427451] rtl2832: disagrees about version of symbol module_layout

      so I will attach -v in the Makefile and run it again.

      So the make is running:
      CC [M] /home/debian/DVB-Realtek-RTL2832U-2.2.2-10tuner-mod_kernel-3.0.0/RTL2832-2.2.2_kernel-3.0.0/rtl2832u.o

      without errors and similar so should produce a rtl2832u.ko IMHO.

      I found that the vermagic of the module produced was incorrect - it should be
      vermagic: 3.4.67-sun4i+ preempt mod_unload modversions ARMv7 p2v8

      instead get:
      vermagic: 3.4.67-sun4i preempt mod_unload modversions ARMv7 p2v8

      In trying to track this down I have not found the source of sun4i versus sun4i+. Is it being determined by scripts/setlocalversion by any chance since .config and Makefile look correct.

      So concluding:Along with some other advice I have concluded that the module is incomplete for device 0bda:2838 in kernel 3.4.x for the Allwinner A10 architecture and the best hope is for kernel 3.15
      at some unknown future date. If you can point me in a direction that fixes that I would be very grateful.

      Delete
  32. I have noted that only some of the RTL2832U devices are 0bda:2838 like mine where most are 2832.
    I have added the vendor:product id to the dvb-usb-ids.h file but still get no rtl2832u.ko from the compile.
    Do I need different include files or just a patch for the 3.4 kernel? I have read that 3.7 kernel adds support for 2838, along with E4000, FC2580 and other tuners so maybe this device is not going to work on 3.4 kernel?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi guys! I have recently bought this product and I have some problems with DVB-T2 channels. Tuner finds all channels but there is no picture (green picture), only sound. I can record it and watch it later normaly, but there is no live picture. Help?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Which tree you were using? Driver has only minimal DVB-C support, no DVB-T2 at all. It should not be possible in any case to see DVB-T2 channels nor channel names.
      Or are you speaking Windows driver?

      Delete
    2. I'm using Windows 7 x64. I've installed the newest drivers from AstroMeta site but the problem didn't go away. I'm from Serbia if that helps you.

      Delete
  34. Hi Antti,

    I'd like to buy a banana pi, and watch dvb-c (qam256) with this stick. What do you think? Is this will possible in the near future? If yes, do you have any guess when?

    Thanks,
    Gyuri

    ReplyDelete
  35. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Hi Antti,

    We recently bought 2 of these devices, received them last Monday and by Saturday mine was broken. I am quite sure it gave device IDs 15f4:0131 in Linux. I was not able to do much with it in Linux yet, was mostly trying in Windows.

    Now Windows is saying it is an Unrecognised device, Linux does not list it in lsusb. In Windows it lands up in the device manager as Unknown device. Here at work my Windows 7 just says the ID is USB\UNKNOWN, but I'm sure at home Vista gave id's of 0000.

    Is is possible the eeprom went blank? One of the last things I tried it on was OpenElec. Could that have blanked the eeprom? I have seen rtl_eeprom in Linux, but since it does not show up at all in Linux, I cannot try to write the IDs.

    Any way you know of to make rtl_eeprom work on it?

    Thanks a lot for all your work on these devices.

    Best regards,

    Chris (South Africa)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Test different USB ports without any cables. Use dmesg command to see what kind of errors it prints to log. If it does not enumerate at all, it is likely just broken.

      Delete
  37. Hello,

    I need a little help, to make this thing working on a banana pi. I am using lubuntu, kernel version 3.4.90. I never used linux before, so I am sorry if my question is lame :)

    I've tried to compile the drivers, but I get the following error. Could you help me please what to do next?

    pi@bserver:~$ git clone --depth=1 git://linuxtv.org/media_build.git
    pi@bserver:~$ cd media_build
    pi@bserver:~/media_build$
    pi@bserver:~/media_build$ ./build --git git://linuxtv.org/anttip/media_tree.git astrometa



    ******************
    * Start building *
    ******************
    make -C /home/pi/media_build/v4l allyesconfig
    make[1]: Entering directory `/home/pi/media_build/v4l'
    No version yet, using 3.4.90
    make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/pi/media_build/v4l'
    make[1]: Entering directory `/home/pi/media_build/v4l'
    make[2]: Entering directory `/home/pi/media_build/linux'
    Syncing with dir ../media/
    Applying patches for kernel 3.4.90
    patch -s -f -N -p1 -i ../backports/api_version.patch
    patch -s -f -N -p1 -i ../backports/pr_fmt.patch
    1 out of 1 hunk FAILED
    make[2]: *** [apply_patches] Error 1
    make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/pi/media_build/linux'
    make[1]: *** [allyesconfig] Error 2
    make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/pi/media_build/v4l'
    make: *** [allyesconfig] Error 2
    can't select all drivers at ./build line 490.
    pi@bserver:~/media_build$

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. got same error, did you fixed it somehow ?

      Delete
    2. Short answer: no.

      You can try to use Igor Pecovnik's script to make a custom (newer) kernel. Then you'll be able to compile the modules for this device. But it won't work :) Everything will look fine, every module will load, etc. BUT dvb-c will not work. I didn't tried dvb-t.

      Good news, that somebody was able to make it work with raspberry pi and the latest, (beta) OpenElec, so maybe it will be fine in the near future. Until then, you can read my tries here: http://forum.armbian.com/index.php/topic/161-no-firmeware-download-mn88472/

      Delete
    3. Same here, i Got the tuner recognised in TVHeadend but couldn't get DVB-C to work. Would be nice to get them working, bought two of them :p

      Have you got a link to forum/website topic from the guys who got it working on the Pi? I would like to follow their progress.

      Delete
    4. Sorry for my late reply, now I tick the "notify me" checkbox :D! If you find any solution please share with me - us.
      Until then check the posts here #823 to #826:
      http://openelec.tv/forum/83-dvb-s-s2-support/70750-oe-5-0-6-0-images-for-additional-dvb-drivers?start=810#139585

      Delete
    5. I DID IT :D :D :D :D

      Check it here:
      http://forum.armbian.com/index.php/topic/161-no-firmeware-download-mn88472/?p=1652

      Delete
  38. I just want to report that this TV-Stick has got an PCB update to the Astrometa AMDVB-T2 v2 version you reported in Naked hardware #18, so it is based now also on Panasonic MN88473 instead of Panasonic MN88472. Case, box and accessories are still the same like in the v1 version, hardware ID too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Where did you buy it from?

      Also, does it offer good DVB-C reception?

      I purchased a Geniatech T230 DVB-T/T2/C usb stick and it is complete garbage, works with very few programs and it is unable to display any cable tv channels even it if finds some (only with ArcSoft TotalMedia)

      So I don't want to spend another 20euros on a usb stick that only advertises DVB-C support.

      I am on windows 7 x64

      Delete
    2. I bought one recently and i confirm it comes with updated hardware although the case and accessories are still as v1 http://eud.dx.com/product/mini-dvb-t2-usb-dvb-t-t2-c-digital-tv-receiver-w-fm-dab-antenna-white-black-844283237

      Delete
  39. Yes this sticks works fine on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 8.1, drivers are fully BDA based, so you can use any DVB application you want to.

    You can get them here:
    http://www.astrometa.com.tw/integrated_en.html

    Chose DVB-C drivers (AMDVBT2 BDA driver for DVBC) if you want to use a different DVB app then AstroMeta's "TVR", which does not care which driver you install, just take the DVB-C TVR version to get DVB-C working (DVBC TVR).

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hello Antti,

    trying to build the driver like this:

    git clone git://linuxtv.org/media_build.git
    cd media_build
    make download
    make untar
    make stagingconfig
    sed -i '/CONFIG_DVB_DEMUX_SECTION_LOSS_LOG=y/d' v4l/.config
    make
    ./build --git git://linuxtv.org/anttip/media_tree.git astrometa

    But get the message: DVB_RTL2832: Requires at least kernel 4.7.0

    Using 3.16.0-4-686-pae #1 SMP Debian 3.16.39-1+deb8u1

    can you pls post a ste by step howto build?


    ReplyDelete
  41. I had a bit of trouble making the MN88472 work with DVB-T2 using Tvheadend on Ubuntu 16.04. w_scan worked fine but Tvheadend couldn't find any services. It took a bit of debugging to find out that w_scan set DTV_STREAM_ID to 0 while the default in Tvheadend was -1. As far as I can see (from reading https://linuxtv.org/downloads/v4l-dvb-apis/uapi/dvb/fe_property_parameters.html) -1 should have disabled the filtering, but I only got it working when I changed PLP ID in Tvheadend's mux settings to 0. This is with fi-DNA-Helsinki DVB-T2 muxes. Just wondering if there's a problem with documentation, the driver, the firmware or something else.

    ReplyDelete
  42. DVB-T works fine on OSMC (debian kernal), instantly - with no installation needed - but could not get DVB-T2 (i.e. HD) working with this driver whatever I did. W-Scan comes up empty. The T2 support is on the Panasonic Adaptor not the Realtek, and found it impossible to get going. [Using the latest OSMC as of 12/08/2017.]

    Noticed that many people have said T2 for this Astrometa device works under Ubuntu - My brother has it working fine for HD on his x386 Ubuntu server. Decided to install Ubuntu on Raspberry Pi B 2, (Arm7) and give it a go. Had to wget this driver, and copy it to /lib/firmware and reboot but now HD is working fine - getting T2 HD!!!.

    W_scan -X -ft -c GB picked up channels (with Panasonic) on 2nd attempt, not first for some reason.

    BTW for others who want it working with the Raspberry Pi - its a bit of work - choose the desktop image - Do not use 'Ubuntu One' - it's utterly useless no packages and no apt-get - I used desktop (16.04) image for the Pi and burn to SDcard. BTW: Am told the ideal for Ubuntu is a Raspberry Pi 3 as its Arm8 - the Raspberry Pi 2 Ubuntu image is not fully supported as its Arm7, despite this, now running TVHeadend 4.2 on it no problems and have installed KODI (which I am having some issues with but I am sure I will overcome).

    Then follow advice for the Raspberry Pi 2 from tvheadend website and Kodi website to add sources - DO NOT use the default tvheadend you find in Unbuntu out of the box.

    Posted Device ID, Driver below for anyone interested.
    ---------------------------------------------------
    lsusb
    Bus 001 Device 004: ID 15f4:0131 HanfTek

    modinfo mn88473
    filename: /lib/modules/4.4.0-1069-raspi2/kernel/drivers/staging/media/mn88473/mn88473.ko
    firmware: dvb-demod-mn88473-01.fw
    license: GPL
    description: Panasonic MN88473 DVB-T/T2/C demodulator driver
    author: Antti Palosaari
    srcversion: 614F256FC338FE303CA1AEC
    alias: i2c:mn88473
    depends:
    staging: Y
    intree: Y
    vermagic: 4.4.0-1069-raspi2 SMP mod_unload modversions ARMv7 p2v8

    ReplyDelete
  43. Unfortunately - even though the HD DVB-T2 works fine on a Raspberry Pi 2 (Model B) Arm7 under Ubuntu 16.04, and TV Headend server also works great (you can VLC the HD channels) I just cannot get KODI working....which depends on the GUI. I installed lubuntu desktop on a repartitioned sdcard from the 4GB default official Ubuntu image (it needs a lot of space), and everything works fine but KODI.

    I do not see exactly why Ubuntu Linux can work fine with the HD DVB-T2 MNxx273 driver and OSMC/Debian/OpenElec/Raspbian etc... doesn't. Can anyone tell me?

    ReplyDelete
  44. For anybody still interested in using this sticks for DVB-C on Linux, there is a patch available for the media_build which enables support for Panasonic MN88472 demodulator support.

    Steps to get it working:

    git clone git://linuxtv.org/media_build.git
    git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/trsqr/media_tree.git -b xboxone ./media
    cd media_build
    git reset --hard 9ccb87d
    make dir DIR=../media
    make distclean
    make

    sudo make install

    More info: https://tvheadend.org/boards/5/topics/13685

    ReplyDelete
  45. I've got the same device but with a SONY D2837ER on board instead of Panasonics MN. Everything else is still the same. It doesn't work on my Ubuntu with Kernel 4.15 ... only DVB-T can be found but nothing else like DVB-T2, DVB-C or DAB+ as announced.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. same here D2837ER included and no drivesr for it :-/
      Are you interested to write driver Antti? I can send stick to you.

      Delete
    2. Seems that there is ready made working patches for it: https://github.com/ljalves/linux_media/issues/169

      Delete
  46. I'm using this stick with MythTV but there is a problem that MythTV assumed that every frontend has a matching demuxer (frontend0/demux0, frontend1/demux1 etc).

    As they will not work without the corresponding demuxN, and frontend1 seems able to do both dvbt and dvbt2, can a module flag be added to list the dvb-t2 frontend (if available) as frontend0, or create a bogus demux1 as a copy or that trampolines things to demux0?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Any idea how to get one of these working in Linux Mint 18.3 or 19 ? I have both the 2018 model and one that I think is the 2017 model with a different style case with silver writing. Both report as working correctly via dmesg but only as DVB-T in Kaffeine and won't scan. As I already run between 6 & 8 DVB-T tuners I know my signal and setup are correct. Are there working firmware files for these new versions available ? Also as all these devices use the same "unique" id string how is the Linux system supposed to know which one is which. Thanks. D.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Self confident and stunning in equivalent measures, an absolute necessity read.
    long range outdoor tv antenna

    ReplyDelete
  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  50. can i use it with sdr console or sdrplay somehow and which antenna could be best for 108-135Mhz?

    ReplyDelete
  51. hello, i want to buy this decoder (Astrometa DVB-T2). is it fully compatible with Linux in 2024? I need DVB-T2 HEVC

    ReplyDelete