Receiving DVB-T broadcasts and SDR on MacOS
Update July 2020: Check out the comments for newer solutions using Xubuntu and Kaffeine app.
The advice provided here is getting a bit old, but may still work with Ubuntu 14.04. For an updated version of MeTV check out the GitHub repository here: https://github.com/Me-TV/Me-TV and latest compiled executables at Bintray here. An interesting exercise would be to compile MeTV into a Docker container/image (not something I have any specialism in, but please add a comment + link if you are doing this) – it might make it a whole lot easier.
UberNerdy tip-of-the-day: If you want a super-cheap TV on your MacOS computer (along with EPG & PVR) – install Ubuntu Linux on a Virtual Machine (e.g. Parallels/Virtual Box) and install Me TV (link: https://launchpad.net/me-tv/) software (or from the Ubuntu software repository if available) and buy a cheap rtl2832u/r820t chipset DVB-T USB stick (example) and an mcx to PAL co-ax adapter (example). It works fine under Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (DVB-T standard countries only). Note – I haven’t tried the examples I’ve linked to on amazon, but Wiltronics no longer seem to sell the models listed here previously, so do some research. Your mileage will vary: good luck!
It saved me hundreds of dollars after looking for equivalent stuff for a Mac – there is no open source MacOS TV software I could find. In fact, if I had used Virtual Box rather than Parallels, the only cost would’ve been the USB TV tuner. Plus the amazingly cheap USB stick I used is great for Software Defined Radio (SDR) – you can monitor a huge range of frequencies using http://gqrx.dk (directly in MacOS – no need for a Linux VM) – as well as listen to normal radio & emergency frequencies, aeroplanes, maritime radio, satellites etc etc. There’s a fascinating world of radio and data out there! The USB stick uses the RealTek RTL2832U chipset – as does a bunch of others.
Naturally, installing a whole VM OS is probably overkill for one application if you’re just after a desktop TV – I use Linux a lot for research purposes, so the best of both worlds. Smaller Linux distros like PuppyLinux might also work.
Thank you, this saved me a heap of wasted time trying to get it working natively under OS X!
I was using a WandTV DVB-T USB tuner (VendorID:ProductID 1b84:1001) that I bought years ago and had been using on Winblows machines. A couple of tips for whomever else goes down this path:
1. VirtualBox ships only with USB 1.1 device support by default. You’ll need to go to Virtual Box > Preferences… ⌘, > Extensions and install the VirtualBox Extensions Pack appropriate to your version to get USB 2.0 support.
2. In the Ubuntu guest’s Settings > Ports > USB you’ll need to select “USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller” instead of the default “USB 1.1 (OHCI) Controller”
3. Also in Settings > Ports > USB it’s helpful to add a new USB Filter for your DVB-C/S/T tuner.
4. “dmesg” is your friend! I couldn’t get Me TV/w_scan to recognize my tuner if it was inserted before starting the Ubuntu guest. If I waited until it got to the desktop before inserting the tuner then dmesg would show the HID driver detecting the tuner and downloading its needed firmware into it correctly. Then w_scan and Me TV could use it.
HTH,
Ant.
If you are using VirtualBox you need to set USB 3.0 in settings to get it working. I also recommend using XUbuntu instead of normal Ubuntu and Kaffeine app instead of MeTV.
Thanks! This looks like good advice: Xubuntu is fast and lightweight and Kaffeine is part of the LinuxTV project: https://www.linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Kaffeine . MeTV is looking a bit unloved these days (unsupported).