Echostar DishPVR 721 GPL Software Released

Faw writes "It was mentioned before that Echostar was releasing a Linux based PVR. It has been out for a month now, and the modifications to the kernel and other software are here. The cool thing is the site is running on the same receiver. Someone is already hacking it. Wonder how long until the receiver get slashdotted."

Comments

PVR?!? When do we get PAL/Ethernet converters?

[dybdahl]

A lot of people focus on Personal Video Recording, but what we really lack is the possibility to transmit video via ethernet cable (TCP/IP), so that we can have 10-20 televisions without having tons of coax cable around.

It's very simple: One box located at the satellite dish (or TV-cable where it enters the building) receives the TV-signal and provides it via ethernet in full quality, and another box at the TV receives that signal and provides the ability to remote control the receiver via a remote control and ethernet.

But I guess this violates the DMCA?

Dybdahl.

Re:PVR?!? When do we get PAL/Ethernet converters?

[renehollan]

This problem is very real - if you got 2 satellite dishes and 10 television sets, you need 20 satellite receivers and potentially more than 1 kilometer antenna cable to make it all work.

Aye. Though, you'd only need 10 receivers (unless you wanted to watch and record different channels at each TV site). I have two satellite LNBs (well only one dish), and 6 coax drops in the house, with two RG6/U cables to each drop. Not quite a kilometer, but the Home Depot guy did think I was insane for buying 2000 feet of RG6/U. It was enough. Barely.

Most people I know that have satellite dishes, are not able to watch satellite TV on all their television sets, simply because that would require too much cabling.

That, and the need for an extra $5/month receiver at each TV. Generally you don't watch different programs at every TV at once, so, the number of receivers can be smaller than the number of TVs. But, the current head-end solution involves analog transcoding of the received channel to in-house cable channels. This is expensive, and results in lousy quality. But, yeah, running 2xRG6/U and 2xCat5e to a bunch of drops results in a surprisingly thick cable bundle. Dropping the RG6/U would be nice.

If you instead put up 2 ethernet devices at the satellite dish and 1 ethernet video receiver at each television, you have reduced the number of devices by almost 50%, and instead of doing expensive and complicated antenna cabling with 3dB loss for each split, you just use your existing ethernet cables.

Er, you don't split satellite signals that way: the receiver controls the selection of the LNB and polarization with either a voltage and 20 kHz signal (DirectTV), or a digital signal (diSeq, I think, used by USSB and maybe Echostar, not sure). The lines are home-run. What you describe can work, but then the "extra" TVs are slaves to what the "primary" selects, and can only tune the primary LNB/polarization channel set. There are "stacked" LNB systems that take the two polarized channel banks and put them on the coax at the same time, but then you're driving the cable out to 2 GHz, and signal fades real fast -- slope compensators are almosta a must.

If a TV transmission takes 2Mbps, and you have 100Mbps, there is plenty of bandwidth.

The raw MPEG2 stream can be some 10 Mb/s, IIRC. HDTV is closer to 30 Mb/s, so you will fill a 100 Mb/s switched ethernet pretty fast. I can't see avoiding having the tuners at the headend, and just streaming the single program you want (PVRs would go at the headend too and two program PIP might be feasable).

The only problem is that this technology makes it possible to transmit pay-per-view transmissions via 802.11 wireless to your neighbors - and that's not legal.

So? Don't DO that.

I rip movies from DVDs for eventual serving to STB thin clients (over ethernet, yay!) (which, by it self probably violates the DMCA: phhhhbt), but it stays in my house behind my firewall. I don't redistribute copyright material to others.

I see no reason to have satellite receivers, decoders, PVRs etc. at the television. To me, it's much more logical to put those into the cellar and then only have ethernet in the TV or in a single set-top box. Why not be able to view your recorded TV shows anywhere in your house instead of connecting the PVR to a single TV set?

Why not indeed? Because the technology to do this can also facillitate the illegal redistribution of copyright material outside your house. So, we suffer: it is criminal, in the U.S.A., at least to offer such devices, and to describe how to make them. No "self-respecting" company is going to risk offering them. We, therefore, are left to our own morals and devices, and risk arrest for breaking stupid laws.

File Format...

[SealBeater]

Almost forgot, what's the file format for the archived video? Is it straight MPEG or something propriatary? Can I install NFS or somesuch on it? Sorry, it's just a day for questions apparently.

SealBeater

GPL violation?

[ortholattice]

From the "DishPVR 721 Source Code" page: "Do not replace or add any software to the DishPVR 721 with items compiled from these source trees. Doing so will void all warranties and cause the unit to fail."

Well, if replacing a piece of software recompiled from the source tree causes the unit to fail, that means the binary must not correspond to the source. Thus the GPL'ed source must have had further, secret modifications that are not being released. Isn't that a violation of the GPL?

Easily done.

[FreeLinux]

This is easily done, and no, it does not violate the DMCA.

The TV signal is first encoded using an MPEG or similar format. This encoded signal is then streamed on the network via multicast. There are plenty of these systems out there, most are rather expensive but, they do exist and it can be done with Linux. The trick is to have a powerful enough box to do the realtime MPEG encoding.

Commercial versions of this are used for desktop video conferencing, distance learning and even entertainment transmission. Nothing sells highend networking equipment better than a demo with a Top Gun DVD broadcasting to a dozen PCs and TVs around the room.

Starband

[GigsVT]

Echostar/Starband still will not release client specs to allow Linux computers to directly connect to starband satellite modems with normal speeds.

You can connect the Linux box to the satellite modem, but it operates at around 64kbits up/down, with the windows client installed, it gets more like 768 down 64 up. Many people have requested the specs to write a driver for Linux, but they were told that the specs would not be given out to support the development of any sort of open source driver.

Don't get the idea that Echostar is Linux friendly. Starband proves that.

Re:GPL? Um, nope...

[sfennell90]

I would suspect that EchoStar is probably licensing an MPEG decoder. Not to mention the code to run TIVO. So there's no way they could release this as completely GPL since they don't own it all to begin with.

Easy, there.

[Anonymous Coward]

It could be something fairly innocuous.

From the hack-site linked in the original story,

"And any attempt to edit post-startup scripts or executable binaries (e.g. the lbreakout game) resulted in that executable failing to run.

I don't yet know how it works, but it appears that the 721 features a built- in mechanism to prevent changes to core files, guaranteeing their integrity. I suspect a SHA1-based message digest is stored (somewhere) for each protected file, and checked at run-time. It's possible the XFS filesystem's extended attributes contain the file checksum data."

This could be the mechanism for discouraging changes, I dunno. I also have not thought about any GPL implications, but it doesn't sound like a violation to me.

But hey, it runs XFS! Ain't that cool! :)

Re:New FCC Regulations

[Scott Greczkowski]

There are already programs out there for copying video off a 501 and Dishplayer. That being said we at DBSTalk.COM have been staying away from that kind of talk because the MPAA and NAB folks have been keeping an eye on this, we dont want a lawsuit so we have been not allowing talk about this topic on our board. That being said the 721 is a different bird, from what I know the videos on the hard drive are encripted, to break the encription basicly means you hack the box completely. We are not a pirate site and do not support pirating of satellite signals so again these issues are not being discussed there. I think soon you will need permission from the NAB and MPAA to go to the bathroom. The entertainment industry has gone nuts. I am sure you heard that one of the Senior VP's of AOL has called PVR owners theives because many are using their PVR to skip commercials.