[mythtv-users] What DVB-T2 TV tuner cards are supported by MythTV?

[Stephen Worthington]

On Fri, 12 Aug 2022 11:17:25 +0800, you wrote:

>Subject: What DVB-T2 TV tuner cards are supported by MythTV?
>
>Good day from Singapore,
>
>In Singapore, we have switched from coaxial analog TV to DVB-T2 Digital TV.
>
>May I know what DVB-T2 TV tuner cards are supported by MythTV?
>
>Thank you.
>
>Regards,
>
>Mr. Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming
>Targeted Individual in Singapore
>12 Aug 2022 Friday
>Blogs:
>https://tdtemcerts.blogspot.com
>https://tdtemcerts.wordpress.com

MythTV supports all DVB-T2 tuners that Linux supports.  Unfortunately,
there is no central web site that will tell you for sure whether a
tuner has Linux support or not.  The best we have is here:

https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hardware_device_information

If those wiki pages tell you that a tuner has Linux support, then it
should work, but be sure to check the minimum kernel version.  If they
do not mention the tuner, or say it is unsupported, it is still
possible that the wiki has simply not been updated and the tuner might
still work.  But unless you can find a web page that definitely tells
you it will work, do not buy such tuners.

You still need to read the wiki pages carefully - they can be quite
out of date.  For example, the wiki page may say that you have to
compile a driver for the tuner to work, when in fact that driver is
now included in recent kernels.  Where the wiki tells you that one or
more firmware files need to be installed, check if they are already on
your system and are the right version - if not, then install the
recommended file.  PCIe tuners (or PCI if your PC still supports that)
are generally more reliable than USB tuners, due usually to USB cable
problems.  But USB tuners are generally cheaper and do work if you are
careful with them (do not bump them!).

There are also quite a few tuners mentioned that are no longer
available (except perhaps second hand).  Second hand tuners
(especially USB ones) may only have a limited lifetime left.  Tuners
do seem to die when they get too old.

Apart from tuner cards, network tuners such as HDHomerun devices are
an option as MythTV directly supports HDHR tuners.

As you live in Singapore, Hauppauge sells DVB-T2 tuners from their
Singapore site, so you may be able to find those tuners in local
shops.  Hauppauge tells you which of their tuners has Linux support on
each tuner's web page.  I have not ever used one of their current
tuners, but they have a good reputation and are used quite a lot with
MythTV.  As I understand it, most of their drivers are now included in
recent kernels, even if the information on the web page suggests that
you may need to compile the drivers.  If you are using Ubuntu 20.04,
you may need to update to the later kernels (HWE kernels) to get one
with those drivers.  Or upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04.1 - I just got a popup
message today saying that 22.04.1 has been released and the upgrade
path from 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS is now available.

I personally use an 8 tuner TBS 6209 PCIe card:

https://www.tbsdtv.com/products/tbs6209-dvb-t2-c2-tc-isdbt-octatv-tuner.html

TBS cards are very good, but generally require compiling and
installing their drivers each time there is a kernel update, which is
beyond the skill level of some MythTV users, and is a pain.

If you find a tuner that you might like to buy, you should ask on this
mailing list to see if anyone is using it and what their experiences
are.