[PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

Hi All,

I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
This device is made of the following components:
- Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
- Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
- Xceive XC3028 tuner;

For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using the
firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.

I found out that:
1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it doesn not
work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);

In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
immediately lost.
So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every time a
7MHz channel is requested.
The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or viceversa is
slightly slower.
Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.

Best regards,
Gianluca Gennari

Re: [PATCH 1/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band as DTV78 firmware is
not working with bw=7 MHz.
The patch is effective only with Zarlink demodulators.

Signed-off-by: Gianluca Gennari <gennarone@gmail.com>
---
 drivers/media/common/tuners/tuner-xc2028.c |    3 ++-
 1 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletions(-)

diff --git a/drivers/media/common/tuners/tuner-xc2028.c
b/drivers/media/common/tuners/tuner-xc2028.c
index e531267..d92f862 100644
--- a/drivers/media/common/tuners/tuner-xc2028.c
+++ b/drivers/media/common/tuners/tuner-xc2028.c
@@ -1129,7 +1129,8 @@ static int xc2028_set_params(struct dvb_frontend *fe,
 			priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 = 1;
 		else
 			priv->ctrl.uhfbw8 = 0;
-		type |= (priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 && priv->ctrl.uhfbw8) ? DTV78 : DTV7;
+		type |= (priv->ctrl.demod != XC3028_FE_ZARLINK456 &&
+		   priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 && priv->ctrl.uhfbw8) ? DTV78 : DTV7;
 		type |= F8MHZ;
 		break;
 	case BANDWIDTH_6_MHZ:
-- 
1.7.0.4

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
> This device is made of the following components:
> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>
> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using the
> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>
> I found out that:
> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it doesn not
> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>
> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
> immediately lost.
> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every time a
> 7MHz channel is requested.
> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or viceversa is
> slightly slower.
> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.

Hi Gianluca,

The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we do,
we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For example,
Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the differences
on the VHF/UHF bands.

I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe parameter
to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the firmware
used for VHF and UHF.

Thanks,
Mauro

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>> This device is made of the following components:
>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>
>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using the
>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>
>> I found out that:
>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it doesn not
>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>
>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
>> immediately lost.
>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every time a
>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or viceversa is
>> slightly slower.
>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
> 
> Hi Gianluca,
> 
> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we do,
> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For example,
> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
> differences
> on the VHF/UHF bands.
> 
> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe
> parameter
> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the
> firmware
> used for VHF and UHF.
> 
> Thanks,
> Mauro
> 

Hi Mauro,
thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on which
kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I know is
what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand reading the
code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of Europe, and
maybe Africa and Middle-East.

Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
Australia?

Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to enable/disable
the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?

Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to DISABLE
DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and let
the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working in his
country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it through the
kernel module parameter?

Best regards,
Gianluca

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>
>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using the
>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>
>>> I found out that:
>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it doesn not
>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>
>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
>>> immediately lost.
>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every time a
>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or viceversa is
>>> slightly slower.
>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>
>> Hi Gianluca,
>>
>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we do,
>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For example,
>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>> differences
>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>
>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe
>> parameter
>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the
>> firmware
>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Mauro
>>
>
> Hi Mauro,
> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on which
> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I know is
> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand reading the
> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of Europe, and
> maybe Africa and Middle-East.

Even in Europe, there are some differences.

> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
> Australia?

All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We used to
have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that he lost
interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever since.
>
> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to enable/disable
> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?

Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain firmware for
VHF and UHF.

> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to DISABLE
> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and let
> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working in his
> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it through the
> kernel module parameter?

AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the current
default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if the new
way is not backward-compatible.

> Best regards,
> Gianluca
>
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-media" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 07-12-2011 12:53, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
> Il 07/12/2011 15:20, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>> On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>>>
>>>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using
>>>>> the
>>>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>>>
>>>>> I found out that:
>>>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it doesn not
>>>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>
>>>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
>>>>> immediately lost.
>>>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every time a
>>>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or
>>>>> viceversa is
>>>>> slightly slower.
>>>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>>>
>>>> Hi Gianluca,
>>>>
>>>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we
>>>> do,
>>>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For
>>>> example,
>>>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>>>> differences
>>>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>>>
>>>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe
>>>> parameter
>>>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the
>>>> firmware
>>>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks,
>>>> Mauro
>>>>
>>>
>>> Hi Mauro,
>>> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on which
>>> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I know is
>>> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand reading the
>>> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of Europe, and
>>> maybe Africa and Middle-East.
>>
>> Even in Europe, there are some differences.
>>
>
> OK, so the validity of my findings are restricted to Italy.
>
>>> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
>>> Australia?
>>
>> All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We used to
>> have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that he lost
>> interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever since.
>>>
>>> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to enable/disable
>>> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?
>>
>> Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain firmware
>> for
>> VHF and UHF.
>
> Seems reasonable.
>
>>> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to DISABLE
>>> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and let
>>> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working in his
>>> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
>>> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it through the
>>> kernel module parameter?
>>
>> AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the current
>> default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if the new
>> way is not backward-compatible.
>
> With the proposed patch DTV78 will be used in UHF band, while DTV7 in
> VHF band. Will this make any difference in Spain or Germany?

Not sure. I don't live there ;)

> What about a kernel parameter to specify the country?
> Something like:
>
> country={0-4}
>
> DEFAULT=0,ITALY=1,GERMANY=2,SPAIN=3,AUSTRALIA=4
>
> Then we could specify a well-defined behavior for each country, hiding
> the firmware-related problems to the user (which will have problems
> understanding parameters like force-DTV7-firmware-in-VHF-band).
>
> All I need to know is what is the best behavior for each country.

That's the hardest part ;) We would need someone on each possible Country,
in order to test. Also, a per-country setup like that sucks. Ideally, the
driver should use the bandwidh and the other information at the standard DVB
parameters, in order to select the right firmware. This works with all other
frontends. Not sure what's broken on xc3028 design that it requires a per-country
hack. I suspect that it is not a pure per-country hack, but it is also per
demod.

As we don't have much complains about it nowadays, I assume that the current
behavior is ok for most users. So, a parameter would be used only for those
where the default behavior doesn't work.

Btw, we already have a similar parameter to force the audio demodulation standard,
due to the same reasons.

Regards,
Mauro

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

Il 07/12/2011 16:45, Gianluca Gennari ha scritto:
> Il 07/12/2011 16:05, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>> On 07-12-2011 12:53, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>> Il 07/12/2011 15:20, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>> On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>>>>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>>>>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>>>>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>>>>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using
>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I found out that:
>>>>>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>>>>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it
>>>>>>> doesn not
>>>>>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>>>>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
>>>>>>> immediately lost.
>>>>>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every
>>>>>>> time a
>>>>>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>>>>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or
>>>>>>> viceversa is
>>>>>>> slightly slower.
>>>>>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Gianluca,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we
>>>>>> do,
>>>>>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For
>>>>>> example,
>>>>>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>>>>>> differences
>>>>>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe
>>>>>> parameter
>>>>>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the
>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>> Mauro
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi Mauro,
>>>>> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on which
>>>>> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I know is
>>>>> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand reading the
>>>>> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of Europe, and
>>>>> maybe Africa and Middle-East.
>>>>
>>>> Even in Europe, there are some differences.
>>>>
>>>
>>> OK, so the validity of my findings are restricted to Italy.
>>>
>>>>> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
>>>>> Australia?
>>>>
>>>> All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We used to
>>>> have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that
>>>> he lost
>>>> interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever
>>>> since.
>>>>>
>>>>> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to enable/disable
>>>>> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?
>>>>
>>>> Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain firmware
>>>> for
>>>> VHF and UHF.
>>>
>>> Seems reasonable.
>>>
>>>>> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to DISABLE
>>>>> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and
>>>>> let
>>>>> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working in his
>>>>> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
>>>>> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it through the
>>>>> kernel module parameter?
>>>>
>>>> AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the
>>>> current
>>>> default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if
>>>> the new
>>>> way is not backward-compatible.
>>>
>>> With the proposed patch DTV78 will be used in UHF band, while DTV7 in
>>> VHF band. Will this make any difference in Spain or Germany?
>>
>> Not sure. I don't live there ;)
>>
>>> What about a kernel parameter to specify the country?
>>> Something like:
>>>
>>> country={0-4}
>>>
>>> DEFAULT=0,ITALY=1,GERMANY=2,SPAIN=3,AUSTRALIA=4
>>>
>>> Then we could specify a well-defined behavior for each country, hiding
>>> the firmware-related problems to the user (which will have problems
>>> understanding parameters like force-DTV7-firmware-in-VHF-band).
>>>
>>> All I need to know is what is the best behavior for each country.
>>
>> That's the hardest part ;) We would need someone on each possible Country,
>> in order to test. Also, a per-country setup like that sucks. Ideally, the
>> driver should use the bandwidh and the other information at the standard
>> DVB
>> parameters, in order to select the right firmware. This works with all
>> other
>> frontends. Not sure what's broken on xc3028 design that it requires a
>> per-country
>> hack. I suspect that it is not a pure per-country hack, but it is also per
>> demod.
>>
>> As we don't have much complains about it nowadays, I assume that the
>> current
>> behavior is ok for most users. So, a parameter would be used only for those
>> where the default behavior doesn't work.
>>
>> Btw, we already have a similar parameter to force the audio demodulation
>> standard,
>> due to the same reasons.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Mauro
>>
> 
> Probably there are no complains about the firmware because in most
> countries VHF is not used at all, or is only used for marginal TV
> stations. In Italy instead the main DTT mux (RAI mux 1) is broadcasted
> in VHF band for historical reasons, so many Italian users are concerned
> about it. I've already faced problems related to DTT VHF reception, that
> were never noticed before by users from other countries.
> 
> Moreover, another problem is that there are 2 firmwares types: D2633 and
> D2620; also there are 2 completely different files: xc3028-v27.fw and
> xc3028L-v36.fw.
> 
> In my case, my stick uses firmwares of type D2633 from file
> xc3028-v27.fw; I cannot test anything else. It is also possible that the
> VHF part of the DTV78 firmware of type D2633 in file xc3028-v27.fw is
> simply broken. As far as I know, this firmware is older than than the
> first DTT mux in VHF band here in Italy, so maybe it was optimized for
> analog reception and has never been tested with digital modulations.
> 
> What about a module parameter "alternative-VHF-firmware" which can be
> either on/off (default=off)?
> 
> By default, we keep current behavior; when enabled, DTV7 firmware is
> always loaded for VHF channels, for all firmware types and files.
> 
> Best regards,
> Gianluca
> 
> 

Thinking about it, maybe a shorter name like "vhf-fw" =
default(0)/alternative(1) would be better.

Best,
Gianluca

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 07-12-2011 13:51, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
> Il 07/12/2011 16:45, Gianluca Gennari ha scritto:
>> Il 07/12/2011 16:05, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>> On 07-12-2011 12:53, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>> Il 07/12/2011 15:20, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>> On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>>>>>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>>>>>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>>>>>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>>>>>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is using
>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I found out that:
>>>>>>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>>>>>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it
>>>>>>>> doesn not
>>>>>>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>>>>>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second and
>>>>>>>> immediately lost.
>>>>>>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every
>>>>>>>> time a
>>>>>>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>>>>>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or
>>>>>>>> viceversa is
>>>>>>>> slightly slower.
>>>>>>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Gianluca,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter what we
>>>>>>> do,
>>>>>>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For
>>>>>>> example,
>>>>>>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>>>>>>> differences
>>>>>>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some modprobe
>>>>>>> parameter
>>>>>>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override the
>>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>> Mauro
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Mauro,
>>>>>> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on which
>>>>>> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I know is
>>>>>> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand reading the
>>>>>> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of Europe, and
>>>>>> maybe Africa and Middle-East.
>>>>>
>>>>> Even in Europe, there are some differences.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> OK, so the validity of my findings are restricted to Italy.
>>>>
>>>>>> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
>>>>>> Australia?
>>>>>
>>>>> All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We used to
>>>>> have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that
>>>>> he lost
>>>>> interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever
>>>>> since.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to enable/disable
>>>>>> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?
>>>>>
>>>>> Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain firmware
>>>>> for
>>>>> VHF and UHF.
>>>>
>>>> Seems reasonable.
>>>>
>>>>>> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to DISABLE
>>>>>> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and
>>>>>> let
>>>>>> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working in his
>>>>>> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
>>>>>> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it through the
>>>>>> kernel module parameter?
>>>>>
>>>>> AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the
>>>>> current
>>>>> default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if
>>>>> the new
>>>>> way is not backward-compatible.
>>>>
>>>> With the proposed patch DTV78 will be used in UHF band, while DTV7 in
>>>> VHF band. Will this make any difference in Spain or Germany?
>>>
>>> Not sure. I don't live there ;)
>>>
>>>> What about a kernel parameter to specify the country?
>>>> Something like:
>>>>
>>>> country={0-4}
>>>>
>>>> DEFAULT=0,ITALY=1,GERMANY=2,SPAIN=3,AUSTRALIA=4
>>>>
>>>> Then we could specify a well-defined behavior for each country, hiding
>>>> the firmware-related problems to the user (which will have problems
>>>> understanding parameters like force-DTV7-firmware-in-VHF-band).
>>>>
>>>> All I need to know is what is the best behavior for each country.
>>>
>>> That's the hardest part ;) We would need someone on each possible Country,
>>> in order to test. Also, a per-country setup like that sucks. Ideally, the
>>> driver should use the bandwidh and the other information at the standard
>>> DVB
>>> parameters, in order to select the right firmware. This works with all
>>> other
>>> frontends. Not sure what's broken on xc3028 design that it requires a
>>> per-country
>>> hack. I suspect that it is not a pure per-country hack, but it is also per
>>> demod.
>>>
>>> As we don't have much complains about it nowadays, I assume that the
>>> current
>>> behavior is ok for most users. So, a parameter would be used only for those
>>> where the default behavior doesn't work.
>>>
>>> Btw, we already have a similar parameter to force the audio demodulation
>>> standard,
>>> due to the same reasons.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Mauro
>>>
>>
>> Probably there are no complains about the firmware because in most
>> countries VHF is not used at all, or is only used for marginal TV
>> stations.

Makes sense. Well, it is not hard to detect VHF. If the DTV bandwidth is
properly filled, detecting between 8/7/6 MHz is also easy.

>> In Italy instead the main DTT mux (RAI mux 1) is broadcasted
>> in VHF band for historical reasons, so many Italian users are concerned
>> about it. I've already faced problems related to DTT VHF reception, that
>> were never noticed before by users from other countries.
>>
>> Moreover, another problem is that there are 2 firmwares types: D2633 and
>> D2620;

AFAIKT, this is related to the demux sensibility: D2633 is normal level,
D2620 is lower output level.

>> also there are 2 completely different files: xc3028-v27.fw and
>> xc3028L-v36.fw.

The v3.6 is for xc3028L (low power). It was reported that using v2.7 on a
xc3028L will cause it to overheat.

>> In my case, my stick uses firmwares of type D2633 from file
>> xc3028-v27.fw; I cannot test anything else. It is also possible that the
>> VHF part of the DTV78 firmware of type D2633 in file xc3028-v27.fw is
>> simply broken.

Maybe. From my remarks, Australia would use only 7MHz firmware on both VHF
and UHF bandwidths. B/G countries would use 7/8 MHz. There were several
discussions at the ML by the time we've added support for this tuner, and
later on. The logs for it can provide some useful info about the changes.

>> As far as I know, this firmware is older than than the
>> first DTT mux in VHF band here in Italy, so maybe it was optimized for
>> analog reception and has never been tested with digital modulations.
>>
>> What about a module parameter "alternative-VHF-firmware" which can be
>> either on/off (default=off)?
>>
>> By default, we keep current behavior; when enabled, DTV7 firmware is
>> always loaded for VHF channels, for all firmware types and files.

Maybe vhf_firmware, being 0 (default behavior), 6, 7, 8 or 78?

>>
>> Best regards,
>> Gianluca
>>
>>
>
> Thinking about it, maybe a shorter name like "vhf-fw" =
> default(0)/alternative(1) would be better.
>
> Best,
> Gianluca

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

Il 07/12/2011 17:21, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
> On 07-12-2011 13:51, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>> Il 07/12/2011 16:45, Gianluca Gennari ha scritto:
>>> Il 07/12/2011 16:05, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>> On 07-12-2011 12:53, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 15:20, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>> On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>>>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>>>>>>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>>>>>>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>>>>>>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>>>>>>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is
>>>>>>>>> using
>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I found out that:
>>>>>>>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>>>>>>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it
>>>>>>>>> doesn not
>>>>>>>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>>>>>>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second
>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>> immediately lost.
>>>>>>>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every
>>>>>>>>> time a
>>>>>>>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>>>>>>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or
>>>>>>>>> viceversa is
>>>>>>>>> slightly slower.
>>>>>>>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi Gianluca,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter
>>>>>>>> what we
>>>>>>>> do,
>>>>>>>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For
>>>>>>>> example,
>>>>>>>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>>>>>>>> differences
>>>>>>>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some
>>>>>>>> modprobe
>>>>>>>> parameter
>>>>>>>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override
>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>>>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>> Mauro
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Mauro,
>>>>>>> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on
>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I
>>>>>>> know is
>>>>>>> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand
>>>>>>> reading the
>>>>>>> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of
>>>>>>> Europe, and
>>>>>>> maybe Africa and Middle-East.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Even in Europe, there are some differences.
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> OK, so the validity of my findings are restricted to Italy.
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
>>>>>>> Australia?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We
>>>>>> used to
>>>>>> have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that
>>>>>> he lost
>>>>>> interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever
>>>>>> since.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to
>>>>>>> enable/disable
>>>>>>> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain
>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> VHF and UHF.
>>>>>
>>>>> Seems reasonable.
>>>>>
>>>>>>> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to
>>>>>>> DISABLE
>>>>>>> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and
>>>>>>> let
>>>>>>> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working
>>>>>>> in his
>>>>>>> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
>>>>>>> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it
>>>>>>> through the
>>>>>>> kernel module parameter?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the
>>>>>> current
>>>>>> default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if
>>>>>> the new
>>>>>> way is not backward-compatible.
>>>>>
>>>>> With the proposed patch DTV78 will be used in UHF band, while DTV7 in
>>>>> VHF band. Will this make any difference in Spain or Germany?
>>>>
>>>> Not sure. I don't live there ;)
>>>>
>>>>> What about a kernel parameter to specify the country?
>>>>> Something like:
>>>>>
>>>>> country={0-4}
>>>>>
>>>>> DEFAULT=0,ITALY=1,GERMANY=2,SPAIN=3,AUSTRALIA=4
>>>>>
>>>>> Then we could specify a well-defined behavior for each country, hiding
>>>>> the firmware-related problems to the user (which will have problems
>>>>> understanding parameters like force-DTV7-firmware-in-VHF-band).
>>>>>
>>>>> All I need to know is what is the best behavior for each country.
>>>>
>>>> That's the hardest part ;) We would need someone on each possible
>>>> Country,
>>>> in order to test. Also, a per-country setup like that sucks.
>>>> Ideally, the
>>>> driver should use the bandwidh and the other information at the
>>>> standard
>>>> DVB
>>>> parameters, in order to select the right firmware. This works with all
>>>> other
>>>> frontends. Not sure what's broken on xc3028 design that it requires a
>>>> per-country
>>>> hack. I suspect that it is not a pure per-country hack, but it is
>>>> also per
>>>> demod.
>>>>
>>>> As we don't have much complains about it nowadays, I assume that the
>>>> current
>>>> behavior is ok for most users. So, a parameter would be used only
>>>> for those
>>>> where the default behavior doesn't work.
>>>>
>>>> Btw, we already have a similar parameter to force the audio
>>>> demodulation
>>>> standard,
>>>> due to the same reasons.
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Mauro
>>>>
>>>
>>> Probably there are no complains about the firmware because in most
>>> countries VHF is not used at all, or is only used for marginal TV
>>> stations.
> 
> Makes sense. Well, it is not hard to detect VHF. If the DTV bandwidth is
> properly filled, detecting between 8/7/6 MHz is also easy.
> 
>>> In Italy instead the main DTT mux (RAI mux 1) is broadcasted
>>> in VHF band for historical reasons, so many Italian users are concerned
>>> about it. I've already faced problems related to DTT VHF reception, that
>>> were never noticed before by users from other countries.
>>>
>>> Moreover, another problem is that there are 2 firmwares types: D2633 and
>>> D2620;
> 
> AFAIKT, this is related to the demux sensibility: D2633 is normal level,
> D2620 is lower output level.

In fact I tried to force the load of the D2620 firmwares on my stick but
there was no signal.

>>> also there are 2 completely different files: xc3028-v27.fw and
>>> xc3028L-v36.fw.
> 
> The v3.6 is for xc3028L (low power). It was reported that using v2.7 on a
> xc3028L will cause it to overheat.

Thanks for the info.

>>> In my case, my stick uses firmwares of type D2633 from file
>>> xc3028-v27.fw; I cannot test anything else. It is also possible that the
>>> VHF part of the DTV78 firmware of type D2633 in file xc3028-v27.fw is
>>> simply broken.
> 
> Maybe. From my remarks, Australia would use only 7MHz firmware on both VHF
> and UHF bandwidths. B/G countries would use 7/8 MHz. There were several
> discussions at the ML by the time we've added support for this tuner, and
> later on. The logs for it can provide some useful info about the changes.
> 
>>> As far as I know, this firmware is older than than the
>>> first DTT mux in VHF band here in Italy, so maybe it was optimized for
>>> analog reception and has never been tested with digital modulations.
>>>
>>> What about a module parameter "alternative-VHF-firmware" which can be
>>> either on/off (default=off)?
>>>
>>> By default, we keep current behavior; when enabled, DTV7 firmware is
>>> always loaded for VHF channels, for all firmware types and files.
> 
> Maybe vhf_firmware, being 0 (default behavior), 6, 7, 8 or 78?
> 

In a simpler way:
vhf_firmware = 0 (default, allows 78 under certain conditions), 1
(select 6, 7 or 8 depending on bandwidth);
or with a shorter description:
vhf_firmware = 0 (universal), 1 (bandwidth specific);

In the end the problem is not the VHF itself, but the firmware loaded
for channels with 7MHz bandwidth. In Europe 7MHz=VHF, but this is may
not be the case in the rest of the world.

By the way, in June 2009 Italy adopted the European VHF canalization (GE
'06) abandoning the old national canalization (channels
D-E-F-G-H-H1-H2). I think this is the new standard in Europe. So I don't
see how things can be significantly different in Germany or Spain.

As you pointed to me, in Australia all channels (UHF and VHF) use 7MHz
bandwidth, so this explains way nobody is complaining: in this situation
the DTV7 is the only firmware ever loaded. And the VHF canalization in
Australia seems identical to the European one.
So the patch will never affect Australian users, no matter how they set
the module parameter.

It would be great if someone from Germany or Spain could test a device
with the xc3028 tuner and give some feedback about VHF reception.

In the meantime I will post a new patch.

Best,
Gianluca

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 07-12-2011 15:25, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
> Il 07/12/2011 17:21, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>> On 07-12-2011 13:51, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>> Il 07/12/2011 16:45, Gianluca Gennari ha scritto:
>>>> Il 07/12/2011 16:05, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>> On 07-12-2011 12:53, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 15:20, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>>> On 07-12-2011 11:47, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>>> Il 07/12/2011 14:12, Mauro Carvalho Chehab ha scritto:
>>>>>>>>> On 06-12-2011 12:33, Gianluca Gennari wrote:
>>>>>>>>>> Hi All,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I have a Terratec Cinergy Hybrid T USB XS stick (USB 0ccd:0042).
>>>>>>>>>> This device is made of the following components:
>>>>>>>>>> - Empiatech em2880 USB bridge;
>>>>>>>>>> - Zarlink zl10353 demodulator;
>>>>>>>>>> - Xceive XC3028 tuner;
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> For this device, the ZARLINK456 define is set to true so it is
>>>>>>>>>> using
>>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>>> firmwares with type D2633 for the XC3028 tuner.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I found out that:
>>>>>>>>>> 1) the DTV7 firmware works fine in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>>>> 2) the DTV8 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz);
>>>>>>>>>> 3) the DTV78 firmware works fine in UHF band (bw=8MHz) but it
>>>>>>>>>> doesn not
>>>>>>>>>> work at all in VHF band (bw=7MHz);
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> In fact, when the DTV78 firmware is loaded and I try to tune a VHF
>>>>>>>>>> channel, the frequency lock is ciclically acquired for a second
>>>>>>>>>> and
>>>>>>>>>> immediately lost.
>>>>>>>>>> So the proposed patch forces a reload of the DTV7 firmware every
>>>>>>>>>> time a
>>>>>>>>>> 7MHz channel is requested.
>>>>>>>>>> The only drawback is that channel change from VHF to UHF or
>>>>>>>>>> viceversa is
>>>>>>>>>> slightly slower.
>>>>>>>>>> Devices using the D2620 firmwares are unaffected.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi Gianluca,
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The issues with firmware DTV78 x DTV7/DTV8 are old. No matter
>>>>>>>>> what we
>>>>>>>>> do,
>>>>>>>>> we end by having troubles, as the issue is Country-dependent. For
>>>>>>>>> example,
>>>>>>>>> Australia requires a different firmware than Germany, due to the
>>>>>>>>> differences
>>>>>>>>> on the VHF/UHF bands.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I prefer if you could work into a patch that would add some
>>>>>>>>> modprobe
>>>>>>>>> parameter
>>>>>>>>> to disable the current "autodetection" way, allowing to override
>>>>>>>>> the
>>>>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>>>>> used for VHF and UHF.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Thanks,
>>>>>>>>> Mauro
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi Mauro,
>>>>>>>> thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately I do not have any info on
>>>>>>>> which
>>>>>>>> kind of firmware is needed on other parts of the world. All I
>>>>>>>> know is
>>>>>>>> what is happening here in Italy, and what I can understand
>>>>>>>> reading the
>>>>>>>> code. I suppose my findings can be extended to the rest of
>>>>>>>> Europe, and
>>>>>>>> maybe Africa and Middle-East.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Even in Europe, there are some differences.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> OK, so the validity of my findings are restricted to Italy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Can you provide a reference about problems in other continents like
>>>>>>>> Australia?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> All I know is from the constant reports at the ML from users. We
>>>>>>> used to
>>>>>>> have a developer in Australia, but he moved away, and it seems that
>>>>>>> he lost
>>>>>>> interest on DVB development, as we were unable to contact him ever
>>>>>>> since.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Do you think a simple module parameters that allows to
>>>>>>>> enable/disable
>>>>>>>> the usage of the DTV78 firmware would do the trick?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Perhaps one or two module parameters to allow forcing a certain
>>>>>>> firmware
>>>>>>> for
>>>>>>> VHF and UHF.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Seems reasonable.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Eventually, do you agree that the default solution should be to
>>>>>>>> DISABLE
>>>>>>>> DTV78 firmware, since this seems to be the more robust solution, and
>>>>>>>> let
>>>>>>>> the user enable it through the kernel parameter if it is working
>>>>>>>> in his
>>>>>>>> country? Or do you prefer the other way around, so by default  DTV78
>>>>>>>> firmware is enabled, and users with problems can disable it
>>>>>>>> through the
>>>>>>>> kernel module parameter?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> AFAIK, DTV78 should be used in Spain and in Germany. Changing the
>>>>>>> current
>>>>>>> default doesn't look a good idea, as it will cause regressions, if
>>>>>>> the new
>>>>>>> way is not backward-compatible.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> With the proposed patch DTV78 will be used in UHF band, while DTV7 in
>>>>>> VHF band. Will this make any difference in Spain or Germany?
>>>>>
>>>>> Not sure. I don't live there ;)
>>>>>
>>>>>> What about a kernel parameter to specify the country?
>>>>>> Something like:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> country={0-4}
>>>>>>
>>>>>> DEFAULT=0,ITALY=1,GERMANY=2,SPAIN=3,AUSTRALIA=4
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Then we could specify a well-defined behavior for each country, hiding
>>>>>> the firmware-related problems to the user (which will have problems
>>>>>> understanding parameters like force-DTV7-firmware-in-VHF-band).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All I need to know is what is the best behavior for each country.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's the hardest part ;) We would need someone on each possible
>>>>> Country,
>>>>> in order to test. Also, a per-country setup like that sucks.
>>>>> Ideally, the
>>>>> driver should use the bandwidh and the other information at the
>>>>> standard
>>>>> DVB
>>>>> parameters, in order to select the right firmware. This works with all
>>>>> other
>>>>> frontends. Not sure what's broken on xc3028 design that it requires a
>>>>> per-country
>>>>> hack. I suspect that it is not a pure per-country hack, but it is
>>>>> also per
>>>>> demod.
>>>>>
>>>>> As we don't have much complains about it nowadays, I assume that the
>>>>> current
>>>>> behavior is ok for most users. So, a parameter would be used only
>>>>> for those
>>>>> where the default behavior doesn't work.
>>>>>
>>>>> Btw, we already have a similar parameter to force the audio
>>>>> demodulation
>>>>> standard,
>>>>> due to the same reasons.
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>> Mauro
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Probably there are no complains about the firmware because in most
>>>> countries VHF is not used at all, or is only used for marginal TV
>>>> stations.
>>
>> Makes sense. Well, it is not hard to detect VHF. If the DTV bandwidth is
>> properly filled, detecting between 8/7/6 MHz is also easy.
>>
>>>> In Italy instead the main DTT mux (RAI mux 1) is broadcasted
>>>> in VHF band for historical reasons, so many Italian users are concerned
>>>> about it. I've already faced problems related to DTT VHF reception, that
>>>> were never noticed before by users from other countries.
>>>>
>>>> Moreover, another problem is that there are 2 firmwares types: D2633 and
>>>> D2620;
>>
>> AFAIKT, this is related to the demux sensibility: D2633 is normal level,
>> D2620 is lower output level.
>
> In fact I tried to force the load of the D2620 firmwares on my stick but
> there was no signal.
>
>>>> also there are 2 completely different files: xc3028-v27.fw and
>>>> xc3028L-v36.fw.
>>
>> The v3.6 is for xc3028L (low power). It was reported that using v2.7 on a
>> xc3028L will cause it to overheat.
>
> Thanks for the info.
>
>>>> In my case, my stick uses firmwares of type D2633 from file
>>>> xc3028-v27.fw; I cannot test anything else. It is also possible that the
>>>> VHF part of the DTV78 firmware of type D2633 in file xc3028-v27.fw is
>>>> simply broken.
>>
>> Maybe. From my remarks, Australia would use only 7MHz firmware on both VHF
>> and UHF bandwidths. B/G countries would use 7/8 MHz. There were several
>> discussions at the ML by the time we've added support for this tuner, and
>> later on. The logs for it can provide some useful info about the changes.
>>
>>>> As far as I know, this firmware is older than than the
>>>> first DTT mux in VHF band here in Italy, so maybe it was optimized for
>>>> analog reception and has never been tested with digital modulations.
>>>>
>>>> What about a module parameter "alternative-VHF-firmware" which can be
>>>> either on/off (default=off)?
>>>>
>>>> By default, we keep current behavior; when enabled, DTV7 firmware is
>>>> always loaded for VHF channels, for all firmware types and files.
>>
>> Maybe vhf_firmware, being 0 (default behavior), 6, 7, 8 or 78?
>>
>
> In a simpler way:
> vhf_firmware = 0 (default, allows 78 under certain conditions), 1
> (select 6, 7 or 8 depending on bandwidth);
> or with a shorter description:
> vhf_firmware = 0 (universal), 1 (bandwidth specific);
>
> In the end the problem is not the VHF itself, but the firmware loaded
> for channels with 7MHz bandwidth. In Europe 7MHz=VHF, but this is may
> not be the case in the rest of the world.
>
> By the way, in June 2009 Italy adopted the European VHF canalization (GE
> '06) abandoning the old national canalization (channels
> D-E-F-G-H-H1-H2). I think this is the new standard in Europe. So I don't
> see how things can be significantly different in Germany or Spain.
>
> As you pointed to me, in Australia all channels (UHF and VHF) use 7MHz
> bandwidth, so this explains way nobody is complaining: in this situation
> the DTV7 is the only firmware ever loaded. And the VHF canalization in
> Australia seems identical to the European one.
> So the patch will never affect Australian users, no matter how they set
> the module parameter.
>
> It would be great if someone from Germany or Spain could test a device
> with the xc3028 tuner and give some feedback about VHF reception.
>
> In the meantime I will post a new patch.

(C/C Christoph, as he is maintaining the DVB-T tables at both dvb-utils and Kaffeine).

Hmm... looking at w_scan, we see:

	switch(txt_to_country(country)) {
                 //**********DVB freq lists*******************************************//
                 case    AT:     //	AUSTRIA
                 case    BE:     //	BELGIUM
                 case    CH:     //	SWITZERLAND
                 case    DE:     //	GERMANY
                	case    DK:     //	DENMARK
                 case    ES:     //      SPAIN
                	case    GR:     //	GREECE
                 case    HR:     //      CROATIA
                	case    HK:     //	HONG KONG
                 case    IS:     //      ICELAND
                 case    IT:     //      ITALY
                 case    LU:     //      LUXEMBOURG
                 case    LV:     //      LATVIA
                	case    NL:     //	NETHERLANDS
                 case    NO:     //      NORWAY
                 case    NZ:     //      NEW ZEALAND
                 case    PL:     //      POLAND
                 case    SE:     //      SWEDEN
                	case    SK:     //	SLOVAKIA
                         switch(*dvb) {
                                 case FE_QAM:
                                         *channellist = DVBC_QAM;
                                         info("DVB-C\n");
                                        	break;
                                 default:
                                         *channellist = DVBT_DE;
                                         info("DVB-T Europe\n");
                                         break;
                                 }
                         break;

...



         case DVBT_AU:  //AUSTRALIA, 7MHz step list
                 switch (channel) {
                         case  5 ... 12: return  142500000;
                         case 21 ... 69: return  333500000;
                         default:        return  SKIP_CHANNEL;
                         }
         case DVBT_DE:  //GERMANY
         case DVBT_FR:  //FRANCE, +/- offset
         case DVBT_GB:  //UNITED KINGDOM, +/- offset
                 switch (channel) {
                        	case  5 ... 12: return  142500000;
                         case 21 ... 69: return  306000000;
                         default:  	return  SKIP_CHANNEL;
                        	}

...

int freq_step(int channel, int channellist) {
switch (channellist) {
         case DVBT_AU:  return  7000000; // dvb-t australia, 7MHz step
         case DVBT_DE:
         case DVBT_FR:
         case DVBT_GB:  switch (channel) { // dvb-t europe, 7MHz VHF ch5..12, all other 8MHz
                               case  5 ... 12:    return 7000000;
                               case 21 ... 69:    return 8000000;
                               default:           return 8000000; // should be never reached.
                               }
}


 From the above, all w_scan-known European Countries are using 7 MHz/8 MHz,
including Italy and Germany.

However, looking at the DVB-T tables at dvb-apps:

  $ grep "T [12]" dvb-t/*|grep 8MHz
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 177500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 186000000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 194500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 203500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 212500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 219500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/auto-Italy:T 226500000 8MHz AUTO NONE AUTO AUTO AUTO NONE
dvb-t/it-Aosta:T 226500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Catania:T 226500000      8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Firenze:T 219500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Genova:T 219500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Milano:T 184500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Milano:T 191500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Milano:T 219500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Pagnacco:T 226500000 8MHz 3/4 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Sassari:T 177500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE
dvb-t/it-Sassari:# T 177500000 8MHz 2/3 NONE QAM64 8k 1/32 NONE

Several channels in Italy are marked as if they are using 8MHz for VHF (the auto-Italy is
the most weird one, as it defines all VHF frequencies with both 7MHz and 8MHz).

This may explain why, from time to time, we have complaints about tuner-xc2028.

The above bad tables may explain the issue. Are you sure you're using 7MHz for your
7MHz-bandwidth channels?

There is a hack inside tuner-xc2028, in order to allow it to work in Australia:

	switch (bw) {
	case BANDWIDTH_8_MHZ:
		if (p->frequency < 470000000)
			priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 = 0;
		else
			priv->ctrl.uhfbw8 = 1;
		type |= (priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 && priv->ctrl.uhfbw8) ? DTV78 : DTV8;
		type |= F8MHZ;
		break;
	case BANDWIDTH_7_MHZ:
		if (p->frequency < 470000000)
			priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 = 1;
		else
			priv->ctrl.uhfbw8 = 0;
		type |= (priv->ctrl.vhfbw7 && priv->ctrl.uhfbw8) ? DTV78 : DTV7;
		type |= F8MHZ;
		break;

The idea on the hack is to avoid firmware reload, when the standard changes, e. g. on
Countries like Australia where only 7 MHz is used, it will fix the frequency to 7MHz.
The same applies to Countries with just 8MHz. Countries that have both 7MHz and 8MHz
will load DTV78 firmware after the first switch from 7 to 8 (or from 8 to 7).

I think that the modprobe parameter could be to enable the above hack or to disable it.
something like "use_dtv78". If not, then it will just use DTV7 or DTV8, depending if
the frequency is 7 or 8 MHz. This will likely slow down a scan with auto-italy, as the
driver will need to switch the firmware each time a 8MHz is used for VHF.

Anyway, I think we should fix the Italy tables to remove the bad 8MHz VHF frequencies, if
you're sure that there's no city using it anymore.

Regards,
Mauro

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

On 07-12-2011 17:31, Gianluca Gennari wrote:

> thanks a lot for the detailed explanation, but it is not needed anymore.
> I think I got it: reading the comments in the code and in particular a
> couple of weird "hacks", I think I figured out what is going on.
>
> I have prepared a patch that fixes center frequency adjustment:
> basically, this let us get rid of this weird code:
>
>
> 		if ((priv->cur_fw.type&  DTV78)&&  freq<  470000000)
> 			offset -= 500000;
>
> which assumes all channels below 470000000 have 7MHz bw.
>
> Also we can get rid of this adjustment that seems to come out of nowhere:
>
> 		if (priv->cur_fw.type&  DTV7)
> 			offset += 500000;
>
> Maybe those hacks where necessary for old firmwares, but the updated
> ones (a comment mentions updates SCODE tables, whatever this means)
> seems to use the same center frequency value for all bandwidths and all
> firmwares (well, at least DTV7, DTV8 and DTV78; we will never know about
> DTV6).

Old firmwares behave like newer ones, AFAIK. DTV78 is there since at least
firmware v2.2.

>
> I tested this patch with all firmwares:
> DTV7 ->  OK in VHF band
> DTV8 ->  OK in UHF band
> DTV78 ->  OK in both VHF and UHF
>
> Please note also that the patch is not changing anything for DTV7 and
> DTV8 firmwares. The only thing really affected is the center frequency
> calculation for DTV78 firmware in VHF band.
>
> What do you think about it?

It makes sense. The offset adjustment should be done based on the bandwidth
and if the firmware is either DTV78 or DTV7/DTV8, and not based on the frequency.

> By the way, DVB-T tables from dvb-apps are really outdated, and anyway
> they are completely useless in Italy. Here we have a jungle of
> frequencies (about 50 in my area), which are
> appearing/disappearing/changing some modulation parameter almost every
> day, and also if you move a few km away you will probably get some
> different ones.
> So no table will be ever up-to-date, and even if it is, it will be only
> useful to the person who created it. Maybe in a year or two the
> situation will stabilize (after the switch-off is completed everywhere),
> but until then it's a mess.

It would be nice to at least fix the auto-italy table, in order for it to match
whatever Italy channel frequencies are in use, currently.

>
> Best regards,
> Gianluca

Regards,
Mauro

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Christoph Pfister]

2011/12/7 Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab@redhat.com>:
<snip>
> Several channels in Italy are marked as if they are using 8MHz for VHF (the
> auto-Italy is
> the most weird one, as it defines all VHF frequencies with both 7MHz and
> 8MHz).

Well, auto-Italy is a superset of the it-* files. For example "T
177500000 7MHz" exists in some files (Modena, Montevergina) and "T
177500000 8MHz" in others (Sassari), so both possibilities have to
appear in auto-Italy (similar for other VHF frequencies, it simply
doesn't seem to be regulated). There's nothing to fix there,
auto-Italy exists exactly because of these irregularities.

<snip>

Christoph

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Mauro Carvalho Chehab]

Hi Christoph,

On 07-12-2011 19:54, Christoph Pfister wrote:
> 2011/12/7 Mauro Carvalho Chehab<mchehab@redhat.com>:
> <snip>
>> Several channels in Italy are marked as if they are using 8MHz for VHF (the
>> auto-Italy is
>> the most weird one, as it defines all VHF frequencies with both 7MHz and
>> 8MHz).
>
> Well, auto-Italy is a superset of the it-* files. For example "T
> 177500000 7MHz" exists in some files (Modena, Montevergina) and "T
> 177500000 8MHz" in others (Sassari), so both possibilities have to
> appear in auto-Italy (similar for other VHF frequencies, it simply
> doesn't seem to be regulated). There's nothing to fix there,
> auto-Italy exists exactly because of these irregularities.

I see. From Gianluca's email and from w_scan code, I understood that
8 MHz on VHF in Italy is not used there anymore.

If there are places there using 8 MHz, then w_scan requires a fix.

Regards,
Mauro

Re: [PATCH 0/1] xc3028: force reload of DTV7 firmware in VHF band with Zarlink demodulator

[Gianluca Gennari]

Il 07/12/2011 22:54, Christoph Pfister ha scritto:
> 2011/12/7 Mauro Carvalho Chehab <mchehab@redhat.com>:
> <snip>
>> Several channels in Italy are marked as if they are using 8MHz for VHF (the
>> auto-Italy is
>> the most weird one, as it defines all VHF frequencies with both 7MHz and
>> 8MHz).
> 
> Well, auto-Italy is a superset of the it-* files. For example "T
> 177500000 7MHz" exists in some files (Modena, Montevergina) and "T
> 177500000 8MHz" in others (Sassari), so both possibilities have to
> appear in auto-Italy (similar for other VHF frequencies, it simply
> doesn't seem to be regulated). There's nothing to fix there,
> auto-Italy exists exactly because of these irregularities.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> Christoph
> 

Hi Christoph,
since June 2009 all VHF channels in Italy use the European canalization,
which means there is no 8 MHz VHF channel anymore.

The data you have are outdated.

If you need some reliable reference to know what is broadcasted in
Italy, the best available source is this amatory website:

http://www.otgtv.it/index2.html

It is maniacally maintained by a single person, which is a real
enthusiast of TV broadcasting and has access to reliable first-hand
informations. There are also a few institutional websites, but they can
not compete with this site in terms of accuracy.

The auto-Italy table for DVB-T should be just:

VHF:
channels 5-12 with 7 MHz bandwidth;
UHF:
channels 21-69 with 8 MHZ bandwidth;

The last 6 regions will switch-off analog broadcasting in the first half
of 2012 (Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia).
Until then, there are a few analog channels using some weird frequency
table, but all digital multiplexes are already converted to the new
European frequency table.

Best,
Gianluca