DVBlast

What is it?

DVBlast is a streaming solution to stream multiple channels of TV to a network. A DVB-Card (terrestrial, cable, satellite) or an ASI-Input-Card from Computer Modules is needed to provide input to DVBlast. Thanks to videocompression and some magic one frequency (so called "transponder" can hold multiple TV-channels. So if your DVB-device is tuned to one frequecy, the whole so called "bouquet" could be used by applications like DVBlast. More information can be found on videolan.org server.

Get it

First place to get it: videolan.org server. You have to compile it from source and you will need to install libdvbpsi in order to make it work. You could also use your package manager. On Ubuntu-based systems you could use sudo apt-get install dvblast for example.

Using it

First of all you have to know how channels and bouquets are organized it your DVB-source. A could thing to start with is wscan, which could output you a channels.conf, including a list of frequencies to be tuned to and channels on a frequency´s bouquet. Easiest way to use it is to create a config file, which could look like this one:

root@streamdev-01:~# cat freeHD.conf 239.255.0.1:1234 1 11100

239.255.0.2:1234 1 11110

239.255.0.3:1234 1 11120

First is the multicast-IP (and :port), which is causing DVBlast to "blast" everything into the whole network. Be aware, that some soho-routers/APs and switches have severe problems with the many packets DVBlast generates and sends. My AVM Fritz!Box is rebooting as long as I have DVBlast running the above config file (which broadcasts three HD-streams simultaneously). Call "dvblast -c freeHD.conf" in a Kabel Deutschland, Hamburg-based environment for this to work.

More to come, I will extend these explanations. --Kakohari 07:09, 13 September 2011 (UTC)