Dvbyell

dvbyell is a streaming solution for DVB(-S/-S2/-C/-T). It will read streams from the device nodes (/dev/dvb/*) associated with a DVB device and send them to the network using UDP multicast. This kind of software is often referred to as "DVB to IP gateway" or "IPTV server". Other solutions that provide similar support already exist, so in helping you to decide whether dvbyell suits your needs, some of its features are listed below.

Features

• Modest hardware requirements (I'm running a 800 MHz Pentium III with 256 MB RAM which is streaming 4 satellite transponders simultaneously at a total of > 100 MBit/s)
• Configuration doesn't require specifying the audio/video PIDs of the programs, it's sufficient to specify the programs' names which are transmitted in the SDT (the PIDs will then be discovered by examining SDT, PAT and PMT)
• The programs on one transponder which are sent in a MPTS (multi program transport stream) are split into SPTSs (single program transport streams) so only one program gets transmitted per multicast address (together with a correct PAT/PMT)
• The EPG (electronic program guide) is read and rewritten into easily parsable XML chunks
• SAP packets are sent into the network so that streaming clients (e.g. vlc when started with the "-S sap" option) will automatically show the available programs
• A command line interface which is accessible with telnet allows to retrieve the service information (PAT, PMT etc.) received and various other information
• Stations which dynamically switch to different audio/video PIDs (e.g. the German "Regionalsender") are handled properly; changes of other PIDs (e.g. of the PMTs) are also correctly handled

Please note that dvbyell does not do on-demand channel switching. It is designed to stream a fixed set of programs. This is usually what's required in a larger network where people expect a certain number of programs and don't care if Japanese bible TV isn't available.

External Links

• dvbyell homepage