FreeView is a free-to-air digital television service available in New Zealand via satellite (DVB-S) and terrestrial (DVB-T).
See Also:

• Official FreeView website
• Wikipedia entry for Freeview NZ

Let's Get Started!

Run the TV Server configuration. When you first run the config it will ask you to enter the username and password for the database, i.e Username: "sa" and the "sa" password you set when you installed MS SQL Server. To be more secure you can create a separate account on the database if you like. You can use the open source MySQL database instead if you wish. You will be asked to start the "TV Service" Say yes!

In a few seconds you should see the TV Server management console. Before you go any further make sure you can see your TV Card(s) listed under TV Servers
[servername]

You should see something like this:

DVB-S (Satellite)

First lets cover some DVB-S terms

Transponders

A satellite has many transponders. Each transponder transmits on a certain frequency. Because the signal is digital the transponder can transmit multiple channels on 1 frequency. These channels are just streams of digital data combined into a single transport stream also called a MUX. At the time of writing, Freeview uses just 2 transponders on the following frequencies:

12483 MHz 12456 MHz

Transponders transmit with either vertical or horizontal beams. Both of the Freeview transponders are horizontal beams.

LNBs (Low-noise block converters)

First of all get some idea of what an LNB is here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-noise_block_converter

Now most important is the LOF (LOCAL OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY) :

The actual frequency of the signal that is transmitted from a satellite is very high so it can shoot through the ionosphere. In the case of Freeview the frequency is around 12GHz or 12000MHz or 12,000,000,000Hz!

It's very difficult to transfer such a high frequency signal through a coax cable to a receiver without encountering significant loss. This is where the LNB comes in. In simplified terms the LNB steps the frequency down.

The amount that the frequency is stepped down is determined by the LNB's LOF. For Example an when an LNB with a LOF of 11300MHz is hit by a satellite signal at 12483MHz the signal it outputs will be 1183MHz.

i.e. 12483-11300=1183

Now 1183MHz can be sent down the cable to the receiver(DVB-S Card).

For another example, an LNB with a LOF of 10750MHz would output a signal of 1733MHz i.e. 12483-10750=1733

Some LNBs known as universal LNBs have 2 LOFs a low LOF(9.75GHz) and a high LOF(10.6GHz) these seem to be less common in New Zealand. Having 2 LOFs gives a greater range of reception. For example if the satellite transmits at 10000MHz and you tried to use an LNB with a LOF of 10600MHz it wouldn't work. 10000 - 10600 results in a negative number! And with a universal LNB you have you option of switching to a lower LOF as you'll see below. we'll discuss the relevance of all this a little later during configuration.

The 22KHz Tone

In DVB-S systems a 22KHz tone is often used for controlling the LNB for example in the case of the Sky Dual LNB a 22kHz tone is sent to the LNB by the receiver to switch to the second LNB; that is to change satellites. In the case of universal LNBs which have 2 LOFs the 22KHz tone is used to switch between LOFs.

Now for a few of the different types of LNB you might encounter

• The Old Sky Sharp LNB with a LOF of 11300MHz (Many of these have been replaced with new LNBs) :
   
• The new SKY Dual LNB looks similar to the above single version but it has 2 of the white circles at the front. It has a LOF of 10750MHz. In a standard sky install the centre LNB is pointing at Optus D1 and the other is pointing at Optus D2. This gives Sky the option to fail over to Optus D2. :

• I've seen a few of these around too; also with a LOF of 11300MHz :

Whatever model of LNB you have you will need to know what the LOF is. If it comes to it this may mean getting up on the roof and having a look!

TV Server Transponder Configuration

To find channels on a satellite TV Server needs to know about that satellite. Satellites are made known to TV Server via an xml file and .ini files. While TV Server does come by default with a pre-set Optus D1 transponder list it can be useful to create our own. This gives us the option of scanning just the Freeview transponders rather than scanning the entire Optus D1

Edit

C:\Program Files\Team MediaPortal\MediaPortal TV Server\Tuningparameters\satellites.xml

and add a new satellite element as follows:

• <satellite name="Freeview" url=""/>

Now in the same folder create a new .ini file called Freeview.ini and paste in the following:

[DVB]

1=12456,h,22500

2=12483,h,22500

Note: You will need to exit and reload the TV Server Configuration to see the new satellites.

LNB configuration and Scanning

Now we get to the fun bit; actually scanning the transponders for channels.

In TV Server configuration:

• Expand the "TV Servers" and the [servername] node
• Select your DVB-S card

Here you can select the satellite (transponder list) you want to scan and your LNB settings.

What we are going to Scan :

• Sat #1 : Ticked
• DiSEqC : None
• Band : KU-Linear (Universal)
• Satellite : Use either the pre-set Optus D1/B1 or use you own "Freeview" one if you created it (see transponder configuration above)

LNB Configuration

By default TV Server expects that you will be using a universal LNB with the 2 default LOFs of 9.75GHz and 10.6GHz. As mentioned this type LNB is not common NZ; fortunately TV Server an option to override these settings.

• LOF1

This is the low LOF of your LNB

• LOF2

This is the high LOF of your LNB

• LNBSW

When trying to tune frequencies equal or higher than this: "send a 22KHz tone to the LNB to tell it to use the second LOF"

Great but what if your LNB only as 1 LOF as most in NZ seem to?

For an LNB with a LOF of 11300MHz:

• Override Default LNB frequencies: Ticked
• LOF1 : 11300
• LOF2 : 0 ( We will never use the 2nd LOF, there isn't one!)
• LNBSW : 20000

As long as LNBSW is higher than anything you will ever try to tune then TV Server will never attempt to use the 2nd LNB. Another option would be to use the 11300 for both LOF1 and LOF2 and then set the switch to 0 meaning that we would always use LOF2; there is a potential problem with this though, some LNBs while only possessing 1 LOF still contain the switch circuitry that will respond to the 22KHz tone and switch to a non-existent LOF!

Next up click over to the "Scanning" tab and click "Scan for channels"