Cutting the cord: setting up a DVB-T2 server with a Raspberry Pi TV-Hat

To connect your house to the internet, a tethered 4G connection is a cheap and fast solution nowadays. But what about TV? This video solves that by creating a DVB-T server.
Version with Dutch subtitles: • Digitenne DVB-T ontvan...
KPN recently rolled out 1080p DVBT2 Digitenne in the Netherlands with 4 free to air channels, and 6 free to air radio channels. In this video we set up a DVB-T2 server using a Raspberry Pi 3B+, a Raspberry Pi TV-Hat, TVHeadend PVR software and a compatible Kodi plugin as client.
Proof a single tuner can deliver 4 streams at the same time:
• How many 1080p50 chann...
Benefits of this system:
FullHD public channels for free
Viewing multiple streams at the same time (when in the same DVB-T mux)
Viewing on all devices in local network
Networked video recording
Digital Radio channels
no DRM on streams
undistorted playback on different aspect ratio screens (16:10, 4:3).
cheap: one time investment, no monthly fees.
works on many devices: Mac OS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Chromecast.
EPG, Teletext, subtitles, all included in stream.
Countries with Free-To-Air channels in HD:
Germany (H265 HEVC 1080p50)
Netherlands (H265 HEVC 1080p50)
Gear used:
Raspberry Pi TV Hat:
www.raspberryp...
Raspberry Pi 3B+, although the regular 3B might be a better alternative as it runs cooler.
Samsung 64 GB SD card EVO Plus
Simple passive DVB T Antenna with magnetic feet with small coaxial connector.
USB Charger
Goobay 2 port 2400 mA 5V charger.
Computer for playback:
MacMini 2009 2,26Ghz Core2Duo with 9400M videocard
Software used:
Raspbian (Debian) Lite
downloads.rasp...
Kodi media player software (various platforms)
kodi.tv/download
TV Headend
Install from Debian, for support see link below
tvheadend.org/
To trim commercials from captures for free
MPEG Streamclip for OSX and WIndows (ignore MPEG2 warning)
www.squared5.com/
The TV headend server also makes it possible to stream your TV signal to locations abroad, for example if you frequently swap your country of residence. All you need to do is open the NAT/Firewall for port 9981 and enable external access.
Update:
The Pi can get stuck after a couple of weeks, probably due to excessive logs or totally filled up SD cards on auto-record. I found out this problem goes away with a daily reboot. You can schedule one at say 03:00, a time that has almost no broadcasted content. Follow this guide:
www.vk3erw.com/...

[@2kBofFun]

I wasn't expecting it to work, but it seems I can record 2 channels at once. Does anybody know how that works? Does it grab all channels together and split that to multiple files?

[@justmytake4152]

Not quite but the right idea dvb-t(2) are broadcast as multiplexes essentially a 10 to 50 mb/s data stream (depending on the level of error correction & transmission mode used) on the same 6/7/8 MHz channel a single analogue broadcast formally used so take the example of UK www.xhxf.uk/timeshares/ you could record multiple bbc channels or HD channels as they for the most part are on the same multiplex - it just consumer PVRs don't allow this out of tech snobbery/fears explaining this to the public would be too confusing for them to understand.

[@2kBofFun]

@@justmytake4152 Thanks for the explanation!

[@JarppaGuru]

you can record so many program that come same stream or frequency. atleast this way it was presented on my dvb-c tuner/recorder box decade ago lol

[@2kBofFun]

@@JarppaGuru Yeah, but bandwidth of the SD card is seriously limited on a Pi

[@kbhasi]

You can record multiple channels at once if they're on the same DVB multiplex, and they'll still come out as separate recordings. The DVB tuner tunes into a multiplex, then subscribes to feeds containing channels and guide data. Here are a set of examples. I live in Singapore, where Mediacorp have 6 channels across 3 DVB-T2 multiplexes, so 2 channels per multiplex, and because Channel 5 and CNA are on different multiplexes, I can't record/watch both channels at the same time on the same tuner, but can do so with 2 tuners. However, if I instead recorded/watched Channel 5 and Suria at the same time, that would work as both channels are on the same multiplex.

[@HKey_Root]

Excellent. The first vid I've seen which provides followable instructions. Thank you.

[@hk9443]

I could get tvheadend to set up properly, accessible from another PC. However, I could not integrate the channels into kodi. I have set up based on the instuctions. Any ideas?

[@GPProductions]

I have the same problem

[@joelrpereira]

nice tutorial :) btw, how many channels can you stream to your network at same time?

[@2kBofFun]

Just one, cause one antenna, but I've seen people inserting a second USB tuner as well.

[@2kBofFun]

I was wrong, I've successfully grabbed a couple of shows I accidentally programmed in parallel. They were both recorded! Yay! So it does manage to tune to 2 streams at once.

[@etmindr4328]

hast du mal geguckt/gemessen wieviel strom die DVT-karte zusätzlich zum raspberry benötigt ?

[@2kBofFun]

No idea, the whole thing runs from a 2A charger and is very stable, so I doubt it runs at its peak. Maybe 5-7 watts or so.

[@wakhidatihidayah5600]

Hello, I'm from Indonesia. I want to ask, does the raspberry tv-hat can support signal for dvb-t2? Because in my country, the standard for digital tv is dvb-t2. Thanks :)

[@2kBofFun]

Most probably.Variation between countries is in the codec, framerate and resolution used.

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

Apparently the Raspberry Pi Tv HAT does support dvb-tv2

[@MrJohng2001]

Yes the PI-TVhat supports DVB-T2 works well here in Thailand.

[@marcocacone]

Hi, great video! However I'm having troubles with the setup of tvheadend. My Pi doesn't recognize the TV hat and I don't understand why. I can see the green led on the hat but it doesn't appear in the TV adapters list in tvheadend backand. I'm running the latest version of Raspberry Pi OS 32 bit (the stable one, not the 64 bit beta version). After a fresh installation I run these commands: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade sudo apt-get install tvheadend Any suggestions? Do I have to update some driver o something like that?

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

From my experience which is not extensive with Pi HATs, cards, camera,ect is despite what they say, you probably need to install something before it will work properly. I suggest going to the Raspberry Pi Foundation website and looking at what they have for info on the tv HAT or wikipedia.

[@JarppaGuru]

@@sovereignlivingsoul no. every tutorial do same thing. still board not recogniced and when i get it work no channels (using rpi4 8gb)

[@vincenzoscardigno4764]

can you watch 2 different programs on 2 TVs at the same time?

[@2kBofFun]

If they are in the same mux yes. So here in the Netherlands you can watch and or record NPO 1, 2 and 3 at the same time.

[@vincenzoscardigno4764]

@@2kBofFun thank you!

[@2kBofFun]

@@vincenzoscardigno4764 I did an experiment: I copied VLC player 4 times (on a i7 Mac) and then started 4 streams in a separate VLC window. As you can see the fourth instance becomes choppy, either because of the bandwidth limit of the Pi 3 (100MBps) or because the i7 has to decode 4 HEVC streams. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6rNYYZmrbWsepY

[@rkmugen]

VERY nice! My only question is this: how many people in your home can stream TV at the same time...... and change the channel to whatever they want...... at the same time? Or...... will that require a totally different solution, altogether? (yeah, that turned out to be a compound question, but oh well. ) :)

[@2kBofFun]

Streaming should be able for 2-3 devices, maybe more with a better SD card and a Pi4 with gigabit, playing live TV is limited to 1 channel, but you could add a secondary USB tuner for a second live channel.

[@2kBofFun]

Found out it does manage to deal with 2 simultaneous streams. I can record channel 1 and 2 at the same time for example.

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

It is a web interface, each connection is separate from the other, the recorded programs can be viewed through the pvr function or with VLC if you enabled SMB

[@h2o-fpv623]

Most of my projects start good but at some point they dont work

[@bertvantol9669]

Kan deze ook aangesloten worden op de digitale kabel van Ziggo, zodat ik dezelfde zenders kan ontvangen als op de TV ??

[@wimdebok]

Ik dacht de tv-hat alleen dvb-t2 ondersteunt, ziggo signaal is dvb-c. Heb net een usb stick aangeschaf dat en dvb-t2 en dvb-c ondersteunt. Nu maar afwachten hoe dat uitpakt met het tv-headend! Geweldig video vond ik dit trouwens! Over DVB-C, tvheadend plus kodi: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2S8Y59oprp8gNk

[@2kBofFun]

Het hele idee is juist TV kijken ZONDER Ziggo, omdat het boeven zijn die je een poot uitdraaien voor het beetje lineair kijken dat de moderne mens nog doet. Maar nee, het kan ook niet, DVB-T is een ander protocol dan DVB-C.

[@homelabbr]

U know If exist a adapter for Brazilian isdbt for rapsberry pi?

[@2kBofFun]

Sorry, no idea about that standard. Many official Pi add-ons have a strong UK focus.

[@eengamerjensYTTW]

Ziet er goed uit ben ook van plan om het toedoen in Nederland heb je nog tips voor een noob in dvb-t2?

[@2kBofFun]

Ik was ook noob toen ik eraan begon. Niet heel moeilijk. Kijk even waar de antenne staat, dan kun je inschatten wat voor antenne nodig is.

[@CNCVelMart]

Can it be solved? LAN cable -> router -> wire connect internet -> Rpi4B (4GB). I would like to see a TV broadcast from a mobile internet connection on a smartphone! These are 2 internet service providers (which may be the same company that provides the internet, but the point is that the IP address is different and the mobile network should be connected to the wired connection where you can access the TV broadcast). How to make a connection so that I would like to use the VLC media player(I don't want to use KODI!) on my smartphone, to be able to see TV shows with the mentioned internet options. That is, the smartphone does not use wi-fi internet! And the point is, you don't just have to access TV on an internal network! How and what to set up? Can you help?

[@2kBofFun]

Not certain, but nou need a service that tracks your changing IP address of the broadcasting phone and ties it to a static IP you can contact on the receiving phone.

[@CNCVelMart]

@@2kBofFun He misunderstood something. It is not the phone that transmits, but the TV uHAT, with RPI. I want to receive the transmission with the phone, but even in another place where the IP ADDRESS is different, which is not a local network! An example: If I use a TV uHAT in an apartment FIX location "XYZ" is located in a city whose local IP address varies. By phone e.g. "QWERTY" city, how will I achieve TV broadcast with VLC player? They write it can only be received on a local network. That's not enough for me. I need to access the TV broadcast on a smartphone with an external network with a VLC player, a local network where it sends the TV broadcast, another IP address, the TV uHAT from the RPI. see link: hobbycnc.bplaced.net/tvuhat/tvuhat.png

[@2kBofFun]

@@CNCVelMart Then it is not that hard. Just set TV Headend open to external viewing.

[@CNCVelMart]

@@2kBofFun How?

[@2kBofFun]

@@CNCVelMart tvheadend.org/boards/5/topics/21828?r=21884

[@h2o-fpv623]

thank u for the information i have all the component so im going to go ahead with my equipment thank u again from bronx ny.

[@2kBofFun]

Does it support the US ATSC system as well? Do you have an early proto of this? www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1390423

[@landroveraddict2457]

I am on the verge of purchasing a Humax Aura after finally giving up on Windows Media Centre with 4 tuners. So I have a budget of about £300. Is it possible to build a media centre on a Pie with multiple tuners, a working epg and catch up services. I'm not a fan of Android TV I don't want to reboot the device every time an app crashes. I am told the Pie is more stable. If someone can offer advice I would really appreciate it.

[@2kBofFun]

No idea on the Pi with multiple tuners, guess they have to be USB based. Note that I can record all 3 free-to-air channels simultaniously with a single tuner as they are on the same mux. Also be warned that the storage system of the Pi is sub-optimal being SD card based. Guess there are Pi-comparable boards that offer NVMe based SSD's. The main bottleneck is drive throughput, if you watch and record 2 channels at the same time, you get caching spinning wheels now and then interrupting your view. Also note that using the Pi you have to split viewing and recording. I would not recommend using the Pi to view and record at the same time. It does offer HVEC decode, but 4K is taxing. Do you get 4K DVB-T in your country? Here it is 1080p50, and I use an old MacMini 2009 to playback. On High Sierra and up this is really stable and fluent.

[@landroveraddict2457]

@@2kBofFun I am in the UK, in my area there are 8 mux with channels scattered all over them. What I liked about Windows media player was the community support and home brew options. The cheap little Android boxes have such a limited shelf life with new models being churned out so quickly they never get the traction to hold a user group together. I will have a look at more raspberry pie videos, it may be I can use it as a stop gap until Humax stabilise their Android TV software. Thanks for the video and turning my head to another direction. 👍

[@samaitcheson7057]

Really helpful guide. Dank u wel!

[@jarisipilainen3875]

11:32 is that same raspberry pi with dvb-t tuner or just media player? i guess later becouse you add ip and need restart. it not local lol

[@2kBofFun]

The client you see is a MacMini running Kodi.

[@enescan20]

Gebruik je dit in combinatie met cccam?

[@2kBofFun]

Nee, ik gebruik enkel free-to-air 1-2-3. ICM de automatische videorecorderoptie neemt ie al zoveel op, we krijgen het niet allemaal bekeken.

[@enescan20]

​@@2kBofFun Kan je me even een berichtje sturen via telegram: @enescan20

[@2kBofFun]

@@enescan20 stuur maar gewoon berichtje via gmail. Mailadres is vrij voor de hand liggend :)

[@ericlawrence9060]

Can you record more than one stream at a time?

[@2kBofFun]

Yes, it can record all the streams in the same mux. Here in the Netherlands that means you can reccord all public channels at the same time. Make sure the SD card is fast enough for it.

[@stanisnotavailable]

Are you still using that solution? Was it ultimately a reliable way to access Free-To-Air channels?

[@2kBofFun]

Still works like clockwork.The only change I should have made is using a different SD card. 64GB is way too small.

[@Leba2006]

Can't seem to find the Raspberry Pi TV HAT in US?? Anyone in US had any luck finding it? Thanks

[@2kBofFun]

I believe it does not support your digital TV standard ATSC, so it would be confusing to sell it there. But TV Headend might support ATSC USB dongles.

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

I'm in Canada, had to buy UK The Pi Hut or Pimoroni

[@CHEF_ALMERIA]

Its possible to reach server from oitside lan? I mean from internet.....another house...

[@2kBofFun]

Yes, certainly. I did not try as I use a G4 internet connection with non-fixed IP addresses, but if you have a fixed IP, you can setup port forwarding on your router for port 9981 to the local Raspberry Pi ip address. Many people use this to watch TV in their vacation home elsewhere in Europe to bypass geoblocking on TV broadcasts.

[@1235pankaj]

@@2kBofFun awesome reply.

[@axeldolislager6088]

You could also use a DDNS, like no-ip and add it to a domain name, if having a fixed ip isn't possible.

[@GS82]

Do you know how much bandwidth is used for a channel? Did you measure it?

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

Only if you could log into your home network from outside your home.

[@wimdebok]

Great video!

[@DucNguyenTien99]

Can I watch the same channel on different devices?

[@2kBofFun]

Yes, that is possible. You can also watch different recorded streams and the live stream on multiple devices. But you are always limited to 1 live channel, unless you add a second tuner over USB. Beware that network and SD card bandwidth can be limiting if you have too many devices requesting data at once.

[@DucNguyenTien99]

2kB of Fun You mean every devices in my network have to open the same channel?

[@2kBofFun]

@@DucNguyenTien99 Yep.

[@Sarge92]

i havnt checked if the pi can support this but its not just limited to 1 live channel per tuner you can actually play 1 multicast per channel the way digital works is several channels are encoded into each transmission signal for example it might look like this multiplex 1 horror channel music channel games channel multiplex 2 shopping channel public broadcast channel drama channel multiplex 3 xxx channel movies channel tech channel a few systems support multicasting where as long as the channels you wan to watch are all on the same multiplex you can watch several channels at once all off one tuner so you could watch horror channel whilst your wife or kids watch music channel because there both on the same multiplex it also means that you can record all channels on that multiplex at once too but that takes a decent system to pull off other videos on yourtube show this usually they install 7 tuners so they can record or watch unlimited channels at once

[@2kBofFun]

I just found out it is able to tune 2 channels at once. I made some recordings of two programs on different channels in parallel.

[@legerstee1]

Bedankt!

[@V-J-D-M]

Hello, could you please share deb file for Pi4?

[@2kBofFun]

I use a 3B+, the 4 wasn't out when I made the video. I would even consider a regular 3B for this, as it consumens less energy. The download link always directs to the latest build, now that is July 10th, so I bet it will support the 4 now.

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

go to raspberrypi.org and click on software.

[@OnnieKoski]

I wonder if there is a community of people who “share” their antennas online 🤔

[@2kBofFun]

There used to be a commercial party doing this, but they got sued. Should be perfectly possible to do it peer-2-peer though. Downside is my broadband is capped.

[@cjlowe1650]

USA version?

[@2kBofFun]

The USA has a different FTA-TV technology than the EU called ATSC. There are probably USB dongles for the US standard, but I covered the add-on board from Raspberry Pi itself, and they are UK based hence the DVB-T standard. Search TV Headend + ATSC for more relevant info for you.

[@abecoulter8550]

if your streaming i might suggest you get heat sinks and a fan

[@2kBofFun]

It works 4 years non stop, and never gets hot. So no, I don't need.

[@alexbentick8961]

can this receive analog signals or only digital

[@2kBofFun]

No, the name is DVB-T hat. Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial. Analog has been shut down all over Europe.

[@moj8945]

Is there a hat for US use?

[@2kBofFun]

@@moj8945 As far as I know not right now. But there seem to be USB tuners that work similar.

[@Hartekist2France]

Cheers! Great tut'!

[@Hartekist2France]

Hope one of the two USB tuner I get work nice on my pi3b+... Lets see. Regards

[@2kBofFun]

@@Hartekist2France If you find any USB tuners that work great in this system as well, please give a link and I will add them in the description.

[@Hartekist2France]

@@2kBofFun K. No p at all. I'll let you know as soon as I try to install one or both of those. cheers

[@Cesar-bf6ec]

Receive ISDB-T ???

[@2kBofFun]

???

[@jarisipilainen3875]

Raspberry Pi TV Hat DVB-T/T2 if japanise isdb-t is same then sure lol but sure if it not say so

[@vfletes1]

Way complicated just to watch t.v.. Isn't easier to just add hd antennas to the t.v i don't see tbe point

[@williammaguire4871]

its a fun project and consumes less power than a DVR apparently. Not suitable for all though.

[@2kBofFun]

In a way you do that. Solution 1: get a 50$ soon to be e-waste stand alone DVBT2 tuner with another remote and limited recording options for a single TV, or get a Raspberry Pi that will have a much longer lifespan (I sold 2010 Pi's for just 10€ less than new) and serve any device in the house that runs KODI with the remote it already has. Embrace more friction in your life!

[@JarppaGuru]

yes no extra cost xD but you cant record and stream channels to world lol with just tv

[@aabs7978]

Ik heb meer dan 20 kanalen veel duitsland. Wel een versterkte antenne nodig.

[@2kBofFun]

Je ziet ook de niet FTA kanalen. Maar die kun je zonder smartcard niet bekijken, en die kaart past helaas niet in deze tuner. Maar goed, heb je daar abbo voor krijg je toch al een kastje van de uitbater.

[@aabs7978]

​@@2kBofFun RTL 1 tot en met 80 dan moeten ze mij geld toegeven.

[@h2o-fpv623]

Yes well I think I did something wrong

[@LuberthDijkman]

Nou dat was niet makkelijk kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKq6fYOuqM2BnZY

[@techinyourhands5039]

Great video!