MythTV with Foxtel Cable - possible?

[binary]

Hi,

I have done a lot of reading around this site, but am not sure on the answer to this...

Does anyone know if it's possible to use MythTV on a Linux box with a DVB-C TV Tuner Card and SmartCard reader for the Foxtel card so that it acts as a PVR for Foxtel Cable (i.e. no longer use the Foxtel set-top box)?

I have seen some other people set this up for Foxtel Satellite using a DVB-S TV Tuner and SmartCard Reader, but I'd like to try the same with Foxtel Digital Cable.

I am a Foxtel subscriber and have one of those slim silver coloured units with a blue NDS card in it.

I would be great to do away with the Foxtel set-top box altogether and plug the Foxtel cable from the wall directly into the TV Tuner card on the MythTV box instead.

I just want to know if it's possible at this point. If it is then I will investigate further, if it's not I wont waste my time.

If anyone has any handy links that would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance...

[iampivot]

I haven't tried it myself yet, since my hardware is still in a box somewhere between Europe and Australia, but when I get the chance, I'm going to see if I can get cccam working. cccam is a softcam emulator that works with NDS (thus foxtel) and it's quite easy to configure on a Dreambox 500c apparently. I will try to get it set up with VDR. (I have a valid subscription card.) I'll try to report back when I've tried it out a bit (in a few months).

[binary]

Thanks for the reply, be great to hear if you can get it working. Since writing my post I have been looking around at some other forums and although it's not very clear there looks to be a suggestion that Foxel update their cards every day or a number of times a day that somehow 'lock' the card to the Foxtel set top box.

Not sure if you can just emulate this with Myth and a valid Foxtel subscriber card (like the Cable Card concept in the USA which allows you to do exactly this with a PC based PVR and cable TV subscriber card).

I'm still reluctant to go and spend money on a card reader and go to the hassle of trying this unless someone can tell me 100% that it works fine.

[iampivot]

Ok. From what I've seen, cccam can apparently update the card as well now, when using a dreambox 500c.

[binary]

Ok. From what I've seen, cccam can apparently update the card as well now, when using a dreambox 500c.

Ok, thanks, I just need to find out if this can also happen with MythTV. I dont want to use a Dreambox, I just want to use MythTV/Card Reader/Valid Foxtel Card.

I dont know much about cccam, but I understand that it can also be used as part of a linux MythTV installation.

I also read something aboout a 'server' (an external server somewhere else on the Internet) being required to get the Foxtel card updates, but I have no idea what that is talking about. I'd just want the updates to be sent direct from Foxtel to my MythTV box seeing I have a valid Foxtel subscription.

Anyway, thanks for the input, be very interested to hear how you get on with your Dreambox...

[AceR]

I have used ProgDVB to watch Foxtel on a PC. I'm sure you could get something going..

[iampivot]

What other config are you using? cccam with phoenix serial card reader, another cam eg t-rex with predator software, or with a card sharing setup?

From my understanding, it appears cccam can update a card through a serial phoenix card reader, so it should be doable.

[iampivot]

Ok, thanks, I just need to find out if this can also happen with MythTV. I dont want to use a Dreambox, I just want to use MythTV/Card Reader/Valid Foxtel Card.

I think it can, see below.

I also read something aboout a 'server' (an external server somewhere else on the Internet) being required to get the Foxtel card updates, but I have no idea what that is talking about.

cccam needs two parts, a server which talks to the card, and a client, which does the decryption. This split allows cardsharing as well, since more than one client can query the server for keys. A server can accept data back from a client in order to update the card. This apparently works both on a Dreambox and in a setting where the server runs on a plain linux or windows box. The Dreambox is in essence just a linux machine with special custom hardware.

For your setup, you'd want a private server and the client running on a single box. I'm still a bit unsure about what is needed for decryption, I've seen some conflicting messages about needing a full featured card or not, since a FF card has an onboard csa chip (common scrambling algorithm). You might be able to work around this using softcsa though.

I've also seen something about newcamd, which can apparently also work with NDS, but I'm not sure which one is the easiest/most stable/most practical setup yet.

[dr.aus]

yes you can.

get one or more DVB-C cards (or DVB-S if you have sat version). make sure they have linux drivers in v4l. most do.
you need a phoenix or smartmouse smartcard interface. you need a nds service which is active (the blue smartcard).

for software, you need sasc-ng for the softcam, and newcs to talk to the smartcard. I did add support for videoguard2 cards in sasc-ng but apparently its not as robust as it should be, so you could even not bother with newcs. I havent got it running most of the time as the card is in the standard STB.

after that its pretty easy. and the result is probably better than a IQ and it will do HD too if the smartcard lets you. be nice if foxtel could provide a subscription which didnt require renting a STB (perhaps ACCC could help).

note EPG is not supported so you need an external one like shepherd.

note there is no softcam which lets you get access without a valid smartcard (beyond cardsharing of course). you cant share a card between a foxtel provided STB and anything else (yet).

HTH
dr.aus

[iampivot]

for software, you need sasc-ng for the softcam, and newcs to talk to the smartcard.

Does newcs update the card?

[dr.aus]

I think it does.

I know the videoguard2 support in sasc-ng does (you dont need newcs for this)

[lovely2]

Foxtel Digital Cable 4 Mythtv (Without a STB)

Mythtv + sasc-ng + newcs does work, however it has it's bugs. (Been trying to fix them for the last few days) (Failed to tune channels and so forth)

HDTV seems to work, for the free to air rebroadcasted channels, i don't know how to tell foxtel to upgrade my package without having an iq2.

I use a usb/phoenix card reader, and two Satelco DVB-C tuner cards.

I've been using it for a week and it doesn't have any major problems.

Newcs is suppose to update the card.

[lovely2]

Fixed my problems with tuning, it seems that the second card wasn't working with the 2.6.24 kernel, upgraded 2.6.25 and both tune without a problem and everything is working just dandy.

[iampivot]

And here is some background information I found about sasc-ng and mythtv;

[covert]

I run 2 x dvb-s cards in a MythTV with sasc-ng 618. Connects to a 1.5 NewCS server running on a win32 system. Card updating is done with a DM500S with evocamd. I only turn the dm500s on once every few weeks to keep the card updated. I have a thread on it in one of the other sub forums. Search for MythTV.

[iampivot]

I've got my system ready here now; am only waiting for the card reader in the mail. In the mean time, do you have a channels.conf for foxtel dvb-c? I tried doing a scan with w_scan, but nothing turns up. The installer menu on the box says epg stream is on frequency 626000MHz and 64QAM, but I get no signal on that frequency..

[lovely2]

using dvbscan, you need to create inital-tuning-data-file with
this one line

C 626000000 6950000 NONE QAM64

then run

dvbscan "inital-tuning-data-file-name"

might have use -n.

I had this same problem, but if you keep mucking around with the epg channel you will get all the channels with dvbscan.

[iampivot]

That worked a threat! Only unencrypted channel is the sky box channel and TVSN...

[iampivot]

I think it does.

I know the videoguard2 support in sasc-ng does (you dont need newcs for this)

So sacs-ng can communicate directly with the smartcard in the phoenix reader? I thought newcs or cccam was required?

[lovely2]

Foxtel seem to have done a big reshuffle of the serviceid. And also moved a few channels on to different multiplexers/transponders.

However, thats all well and good but unless i force mythtv to use quicktune always nothing gets recorded just a blank screen (no audio ether).

Anybody else having problems. I didn't rescan, i just updated my channels table with a script.