I'm not spending any more money on satellite equipment until I see what happens to C-band, but if I were going to buy a new PC tuner card today I might consider this one, particularly if I could buy it from a North American seller:
8 Tuner TV Card - DD Max SX8 Basic (4/8) - DVB-S2/DVB-S2X Full Spectrum
I know it says 8 tuner but when you read further you realize that's only if you use certain other equipment (like specific types of LNB's) that are only used in Europe, or at least that's the sense I get. The way our LNB's work here I think you would only be able to use four tuners, unless I am missing something. But anyway here are what I see as some advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
For Linux users the drivers are in the Linux kernel (from Kernel 2.6.34)!!!!! Also supports all recent versions of Windows.
Receives DVB-S2X signals in addition to DVB-S and DVB-S2.
Supports 8APSK-L (whatever that is) in addition to QPSK and 8PSK.
Has DiSEqC 2.0 support (no mention of 22kHz tone switch).
Does not use electrolytic or tantalum capacitors.
Price is reasonable for a 4-tuner card (€301.68 plus shipping, plus VAT if you live in a country that charges it. That works out to $330.10 US at today's exchange rate. Compare to a TBS6522 Multi Standard Dual Tuner PCI-e Card, DVB-S2X/S2/S/T2/T/C2/C/ISDB-T which only has two usable tuners in North America, is shipped from China and costs $149.99 US, but which when used in Linux requires you to manually rebuild the tuner drivers after each and every kernel update (which in Ubuntu Server seem to appear about every other week).
Power consumption only about 7 watts.
Did I mention that the drivers are in the Linux kernel, so you shouldn't have to manually rebuild them after every frickin' kernel upgrade? (TBS I am giving you the stink eye!)
Disadvantages:
Doesn't receive 16APSK or 32APSK.
Currently must be ordered from Europe (Germany) - not sold by any North American dealers AFAIK. No idea what the shipping charges would be (probably not nearly as cheap as for stuff coming from China), and if you get a defective one then you get to pay the shipping to send it back.
Unknown how well it would work in North America.
Other:
Their page specifically mentions support by Microsoft Windows® Media Center 7/8, DVBViewer, Media Portal, Gen2VDR, MythTV. Does not specifically mention if it's supported by Tvheadend but if Media Portal and MythTV support it I'd be shocked if Tvheadend doesn't.
If you go to the page linked above and click the various tabs you can find out more about what this unit is capable of and what it won't do. I'm not a very technical person, so the technical specifications will probably mean a lot more to some of you than they do to me.
If I knew that C-band would survive the current administration, and if I knew that this card worked with Tvheadend and with North American satellites, and if I had more disposable income than I do, I'd be very tempted to pull out my TBS cards and replace them with these simply because I REALLY HATE having to rebuild the tuner drivers every time there is a Linux kernel update. Apparently TBS has never made any effort to have their drivers included in the Linux kernel (or if they did they got rejected for some reason), which is super annoying to me. This card is the first one I have seen that has four inputs, does have its drivers in the Linux kernel, and is competitively priced (assuming the shipping charge isn't a deal killer). I'm not saying anyone should or should not buy one; without trying one I cannot make that recommendation. But I did want to point out that these things exist, for those who might be interested and bold enough to try one (and are wealthier than I!).
8 Tuner TV Card - DD Max SX8 Basic (4/8) - DVB-S2/DVB-S2X Full Spectrum
I know it says 8 tuner but when you read further you realize that's only if you use certain other equipment (like specific types of LNB's) that are only used in Europe, or at least that's the sense I get. The way our LNB's work here I think you would only be able to use four tuners, unless I am missing something. But anyway here are what I see as some advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages:
For Linux users the drivers are in the Linux kernel (from Kernel 2.6.34)!!!!! Also supports all recent versions of Windows.
Receives DVB-S2X signals in addition to DVB-S and DVB-S2.
Supports 8APSK-L (whatever that is) in addition to QPSK and 8PSK.
Has DiSEqC 2.0 support (no mention of 22kHz tone switch).
Does not use electrolytic or tantalum capacitors.
Price is reasonable for a 4-tuner card (€301.68 plus shipping, plus VAT if you live in a country that charges it. That works out to $330.10 US at today's exchange rate. Compare to a TBS6522 Multi Standard Dual Tuner PCI-e Card, DVB-S2X/S2/S/T2/T/C2/C/ISDB-T which only has two usable tuners in North America, is shipped from China and costs $149.99 US, but which when used in Linux requires you to manually rebuild the tuner drivers after each and every kernel update (which in Ubuntu Server seem to appear about every other week).
Power consumption only about 7 watts.
Did I mention that the drivers are in the Linux kernel, so you shouldn't have to manually rebuild them after every frickin' kernel upgrade? (TBS I am giving you the stink eye!)
Disadvantages:
Doesn't receive 16APSK or 32APSK.
Currently must be ordered from Europe (Germany) - not sold by any North American dealers AFAIK. No idea what the shipping charges would be (probably not nearly as cheap as for stuff coming from China), and if you get a defective one then you get to pay the shipping to send it back.
Unknown how well it would work in North America.
Other:
Their page specifically mentions support by Microsoft Windows® Media Center 7/8, DVBViewer, Media Portal, Gen2VDR, MythTV. Does not specifically mention if it's supported by Tvheadend but if Media Portal and MythTV support it I'd be shocked if Tvheadend doesn't.
If you go to the page linked above and click the various tabs you can find out more about what this unit is capable of and what it won't do. I'm not a very technical person, so the technical specifications will probably mean a lot more to some of you than they do to me.
If I knew that C-band would survive the current administration, and if I knew that this card worked with Tvheadend and with North American satellites, and if I had more disposable income than I do, I'd be very tempted to pull out my TBS cards and replace them with these simply because I REALLY HATE having to rebuild the tuner drivers every time there is a Linux kernel update. Apparently TBS has never made any effort to have their drivers included in the Linux kernel (or if they did they got rejected for some reason), which is super annoying to me. This card is the first one I have seen that has four inputs, does have its drivers in the Linux kernel, and is competitively priced (assuming the shipping charge isn't a deal killer). I'm not saying anyone should or should not buy one; without trying one I cannot make that recommendation. But I did want to point out that these things exist, for those who might be interested and bold enough to try one (and are wealthier than I!).
