Lindqvist -- a blog about Linux and Science. Mostly.

20 April 2012

122. DVB-T in VLC on Debian Wheezy

For some reason me-tv has stopped working properly today (20/4/2012)-- I can't change the channels, screen size or drop down the menus. In order to quit, you have to kill the application. Something's clearly amiss. (Edit 22/5/2012: seems to be this bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/me-tv/+bug/958751 -- 09/01/2013: it's been fixed now ) kaffeine, although a KDE app, also works well, and is very simple to set up -- the EPG also works better than vlc.

This is Kaffeine, not VLC

This is me-tv, not VLC

Oh well.

Given that it's Friday night I had to come up with a quick fix.

I've got a Leadtek 1000 DTS, which lspci makes show up as
01:06.0 Multimedia controller: Philips Semiconductors SAA7130 Video Broadcast Decoder (rev 01)

See item 7 in http://verahill.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/debian-testing-64-wheezy-small-fixes.html if your card isn't recognised (Hint: enable PnP in the bios)

So, where's what I did:
1. Install gnome-dvb-*
sudo apt-get install gnome-dvb-daemon gnome-dvb-client vlc

2. Set up your tv card:
gnome-dvb-setup

This bit's easy. Just click your way through. Eventually you'll realize that while gnome-dvb sets up channels ok, it only support recording -- not tv watching. And the whole totem + gnome-dvb-daemon? Not working yet it seems.

3. Start vlc
vlc ~/.config/gnome-dvb-daemon/channels_DVB-T.conf

If all went well you are now watching TV!
You should have a list over channels in your playlist (ctrl+L).
The EPG support could perhaps be better (me-tv is awesome) but you'll find rudimentary listings by going to Tools/Program Guide.

As for me-tv...it might be the same as this bug: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=667731

Looking at /var/cache/apt/archives I don't see anything obvious:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 23232372 Apr 16 05:18 linux-image-3.2.0-2-amd64_3.2.15-1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3505210 Apr 16 05:18 linux-headers-3.2.0-2-common_3.2.15-1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 572064 Apr 16 05:18 linux-headers-3.2.0-2-amd64_3.2.15-1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 244210 Apr 17 07:32 libtag1-vanilla_1.7.1-2_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9132 Apr 17 07:32 libtag1c2a_1.7.1-2_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 195492 Apr 18 03:33 libservlet2.5-java_6.0.35-3_all.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1348610 Apr 18 08:18 netpbm_2%3a10.0-15+b1_amd64.deb
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 94438 Apr 18 08:18 libnetpbm10_2%3a10.0-15+b1_amd64.deb

(I use my own kernel and not the debian one)

Here's my current channel_DVB-T.conf list (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia):

ABC News 24:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2314:0:560
ABC1:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:563
ABC2 / ABC4:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2307:2308:562
ABC3:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:2311:2312:564
ABC Jazz:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:2318:567
ABC Dig Music:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:2317:566
ABC1:226500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:561
GO!:191625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:517:700:1074
GEM:191625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:0:1073
Nine Digital:191625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:519:720:1072
EXTRA:191625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:520:730:1075
ONE:219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:514:0:1585
TEN Digital:219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:512:650:1589
ONE:219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:514:0:1591
ELEVEN:219500000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_3_4:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_16:HIERARCHY_NONE:516:681:1592
SBS ONE:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:785
SBS HD:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:102:103:789
SBS TWO:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:162:83:786
SBS 3:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:787
SBS 4:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:161:81:788
SBS Radio 1:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:201:798
SBS Radio 2:536625000:INVERSION_AUTO:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_NONE:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:0:202:799

7:177500000:INVERSION_OFF:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_2_3:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:769:770:1328
7 Two:177500000:INVERSION_OFF:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_2_3:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:769:770:1330
7 Mate:177500000:INVERSION_OFF:BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:FEC_2_3:FEC_2_3:QAM_64:TRANSMISSION_MODE_8K:GUARD_INTERVAL_1_8:HIERARCHY_NONE:769:770:1331

121. Connection to remote server via an intermediary server

We have three computers: A, B and C

A is our desktop. C is a remote computer we want to connect to. B is a server in the middle.

For various reasons we want to first connect from A to B, then from B to C. A scenario is where C is behind a firewall bridged by B.

A specific scenario is this:
I have a linksys router, e.g. Terbium.internet.com, which manages the network in a lab. There are several computers on the network in the lab behind Terbium: Sulfur, Phosphorous, Oxygen (192.168.1.106) etc.
My home computer is Niobium.

Terbium is a linksys router (W54G) running tomato and you have to log in as root using a keyfile.
Oxygen is a debian box where I have a personal account as user verahill.

The ugly method:
In the same terminal on computer Niobium do
ssh root@terbium.internet.com
ssh verahill@192.168.1.106

This works fine for working remotely on oxygen (192.168.1.106). However, file transfer is a pain

The pretty method:
In one terminal on Niobium, do

ssh root@terbium.internet.com -L 9999:192.168.1.106:22

In another terminal on Niobium, do

ssh verahill@localhost -p 9999

Basically, all traffic to port 9999 on niobium is forwarded to port 22 on Oxygen -- not terbium.

The cool thing? File transfer is a breeze (via sftp using e.g. filezilla)!

It really is that simple

Web tunnel
to browse the internet via a tunnel it's still easier to do
ssh -C -D 9889 root@terbium.internet.com
and set your browser to use a SOCKS proxy -- point it to localhost, port 9889.

120. Using truecrypt with dropbox

This is not some fancy, automatic solution. This is for people who may not be familiar with truecrypt and how to use it. To most people this will be obvious.

Basically, one way in which you can use truecrypt is to create a file which, when mounted, acts like a device/filesystem. This container is encrypted and the strength of encryption depends on your key or password.

As a solution it also suffers from slow initial syncing.

Setting it up is a piece of cake:
1. Install truecrypt.
Get the correct version e.g. "Standard x64" from http://www.truecrypt.org/downloads.

Install by extracting the file and executing it:
chmod +x truecrypt-7.1a-setup-x64
sudo ./truecrypt-7.1a-setup-x64

2. Start truecrypt and click on Create Volume