TV Related Software
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Here, we aim to provide useful information about software applications that are directly related to or which are generally useful in some respect to the reception and manipulation of TV signals on Linux based computer systems.
In order to be most useful for the reader, this page is divided into three sections:
- An Alphabetical Overview Listing
- A Categorized section for software useful for DVB TV cards (for both full featured and budget cards, as this distinction doesn't make a difference for most of the software)
- A Categorized section for software useful for analog TV cards (also see the information currently contained in the video4linux wiki).
Note: If you're new to this aspect of computing, rather than trying single programs one after another, you might be more interested in how to quickly get a fully working system as described in the "Example setups" page. Or perhaps instead you may simply want to perform some quick tests on your system, such as like those outlined in the "Testing your DVB device" article.
An Alphabetical Overview Listing
| Software Application |
Supports Analogue |
Supports DVB |
Recording Capabilities |
Offline Playback |
Editing Capabilities |
Channel storage |
Language | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| alevt | y | y | Program to use Teletext/Videotext on analog and digital TV | |||||
| dvbd | y | C++ | Traditional UNIX daemon for DVB | |||||
| dvbsak | n | y | ||||||
| dvbshout | n | y | Stream radio to Icecast/multicast | |||||
| dvbsnoop | n | y | C | |||||
| dvbstream | n | y | y | n | n | a streaming utilitity. Part of the DVB tools project | ||
| dvbyell | n | y | n | n | n | A DVB streaming service. | ||
| DVBStreamer | n | y | sqlite, XMLTV format |
C | PSI/SI tracking and correctly streams all PIDs including PCR | |||
| gdvb | ||||||||
| GeeXboX | ||||||||
| getstream | n | y | ||||||
| GStreamer | n | y | ||||||
| Gv4l | A GUI frontend for Transcode's V4L functions | |||||||
| Kaffeine | n | y | y | y | n | own text format | C++ | Desktop TV Solution |
| KaxTV | obsoleted | |||||||
| Klear | y | |||||||
| LinuxTV dvb-apps | n | y | y | ? | ? | {a,c,t,s} channels.conf formats | C | contains dvbscan, {a,c,t,s}zap ... |
| MEncoder | y | y | y | n | y | C | encoding suite of tools | |
| Me TV | n | y | y | n | n | SQLite | C++ | GNOME based DVB TV viewer |
| Mini DVB Linux | y | Distribution with live-CD | ||||||
| MPlayer | y | y | y | y | n | channels.conf | C | multi-functional media player |
| mumudvb | n | y | n | n | n | Stream multiples channels in multicast (each channel in different group) | ||
| MythTV | y | y | y | y | y | mysql | C++ | Media Center |
| pluto | ||||||||
| ProjectX | ||||||||
| RedButton | MHEG-5 engine | |||||||
| scan-s2 | n | y | n | n | n | C | frequency scanning utility which supports DVB APIv5 (for DVB-S2) | |
| showtime | C | OpenGL-based media player | ||||||
| szap-s2 | y | y | C | tuning utility which supports DVB APIv5 (for DVB-S2) | ||||
| tv_grab_dvb | y | XMLTV format | C | dumps DVB EPG info in XMLTV format | ||||
| tvheadend | C | TV streaming server | ||||||
| VDR | y * | y | y | y | y | VDR format channels.conf |
C++ | analogue with plugins only DVB APIv5 since 1.7.2 |
| VLC media player | ||||||||
| w_scan | n | y | n | n | n | VDR channels.conf kaffeine zap/xine tuning data for scan |
C | ATSC/DVB-C/S/S2/T frequency scanner |
| xawtv | y | y * | y | y | n | * only v4 supports DVB | ||
| XdTV | y | y | y | TV viewing app. Development stopped | ||||
| xine | y | y | y | multi-functional media player | ||||
| ZapDvb |
Categorized software for use with Digital (DVB) TV cards
DVB Utility Suites and Standalone Tools
- Suites
- Electronic Program Guide / EIT tools
- atsc_epg - included within the LinuxTV dvb-apps
- tv_grab_dvb
- dvbsnoop
- DVBStreamer
- LoadEPG [1]
- MediaHighWay EPG, mhwepg [2] [3]
- tv_grab_dvb_plus ( was tvgrabeit ) [4]
- XMLTV
- Tools for performing frequency scans
- Tools for signal strength
- Tools for tuning
- JustDvb-It [8] - a suite/set of tools useful for DVB stream creation and manipulation, especially for interactive digital television (i.e. DVB-MHP)
- Network Tools for DVB Streams
Standalone Software to Watch Digital TV
Media Center Software
- Elisa [10]
- Entertainer Project [11]
- Freevo
- GeeXboX
- Home Theater System
- showtime (OpenGL-based media player)
- tvheadend (TV streaming server)
- LinuxMCE [12] Linux media center - A forked project from pluto
- Morphine.TV [13]
- My Media System [14]
- MythTV
- Mini DVB Linux ??
- oxine [15]
- pluto
- Rage (see the Monday, 27 March 2006 entry)
- SageTV [16]
- VDR - VDR is one of the most popular TV applications. It features watching TV, recording storage on disk, EPG, Dolby Digital, playback, multi language and much more. VDR, although originally written for FF cards, works also with budget cards, if one installs the VDR Software Decoder Plugin.
- XBMC [17]
- Yahdr
Yet another HardDiskRecorder - not really it's a GUI-less server application to stream or record the TS. It will scan DVB-T or DVB-C for programs, so you don't have to use ancient scanning tools. EPG (schedule, now/next, what's on at X) is usable, provided it's re-read every now and then ;-) For user interaction a HTTP interface is used, so (almost) every Browser will serve as Interface..., oh yeah :-P watch what you requested by pointing mplayer/Xine/whatever at your server ;-/ Yahdr homepage - sorry, no binaries -
...
Media Center Distributions
Complete operating systems tailored for easy installation of everything required to have a media centre.
- iMedia MythTV Linux [18]
- Knoppmyth
- LinVDR [19] -- this was a Linux distro based around VDR. Now ancient history
- MiniMyth [20]
- Mythbuntu
- MythDora
...
Media Players
i.e. for offline playback of captured material:
...
Tools for Editing
....
Categorized software for use with Analogue TV cards
Analogue Utility Suites or Standalone Tools
Standalone Software to Watch Analogue TV
- fftv [22]
- Gnometv [23]
- Gv4l [24]
- kdetv (also formerly known as QtVision, the rewrite of the former KWinTV)
- LinTV
- MPlayer
- tvtime [25]
- TV-Viewer (for Hardware MPEG2 Encoder cards)
- xawtv
- XdTV
- Zapping [26] - a TV viewer for the Gnome desktop.