Satellite reception — DVB-S and DVB-S2
Updated 23 Oct 2026Castreon also receives channels from DVB-S / DVB-S2 satellite cards installed in the server, just as from cable and terrestrial: a tuner tuned to one transponder serves all the channels in it. Everything else — scanning services, signal quality and alerts, the TV guide from EIT — works the same as with the other cards.
Available from Castreon 1.8.0, in all plans. You need a satellite card with Linux drivers that report DVB-S or DVB-S2 (it appears under DVB adapters → Tuners).
A satellite adapter
DVB adapters → Add adapter, then under System choose DVB-S — satellite or DVB-S2 — satellite (they appear only for tuners that support them). The transponder parameters are published by the satellite operator:
- Transponder frequency — in MHz, as published by the operator (for example
11778). Under the field, the panel shows the intermediate frequency that reaches the card and the band used. - Symbol rate — in kS/s (for example
27500,22000,30000). - Polarization — H (horizontal, 18 V), V (vertical, 13 V), L (circular left, 18 V) or R (circular right, 13 V). Castreon sends the voltage to the LNB by itself.
- Modulation — QPSK only for DVB-S; for DVB-S2 choose QPSK, 8PSK, 16APSK or 32APSK (DVB-S2 has no “auto”).
- FEC — the code rate published by the operator; the panel offers only the combinations that exist in the standard.
- Roll-off — DVB-S2 only (0.35, 0.25, 0.20 or automatic; DVB-S is always 0.35).
- Input Stream ID — only for DVB-S2 multistream transponders; leave −1 (no filter) if the operator gives no ID. The card must report multistream.
LNB
Under LNB, choose the type on the dish:
- Universal Ku — 9750 / 10600 MHz, switch at 11700 — the usual LNB for the Ku band. For frequencies from 11700 MHz up, Castreon turns on the 22 kHz tone by itself (high band).
- Single-LOF Ku — fixed LOF — an LNB with a single oscillator frequency (for example 10750 MHz); fill in LOF 1.
- C-band — 5150 MHz, inverted spectrum — for C-band dishes.
- Custom — LOF 1, and for dual-band LNBs also LOF 2 and Band switch (from it up, LOF 2 and the 22 kHz tone are used). This is also how you tune Ka-band LNBs, up to 22 GHz.
If the intermediate frequency falls outside the card’s range (usually 950–2150 MHz), the panel tells you before saving that the LNB does not match the transponder.
DiSEqC and tone burst
When several LNBs (several satellites) reach one card through a switch:
- DiSEqC 1.0 — committed, 4 ports (A–D) — the usual switches with 2 or 4 inputs;
- DiSEqC 1.1 — uncommitted, 16 ports — larger or cascaded switches;
- Port — the switch input the LNB is connected to;
- Tone burst (A or B) — for simple switches with 2 inputs (mini-DiSEqC).
At every tuning, Castreon first sets the voltage, then sends the DiSEqC command and the tone burst, then turns the 22 kHz tone on or off — in the order and with the pauses from the DiSEqC specification.
How much is verified: the frequency conversion through the LNB, the voltage, the tone, the DiSEqC commands and the tone burst follow the standards and the Linux DVB interface and are verified step by step in automated tests. If your card does not lock on a transponder that other programs lock on, open a ticket with the card model and the transponder parameters.
What the panel checks
Before saving, the panel flags the combinations that cannot work: frequency outside the satellite band, symbol rate missing or outside the card’s range, polarization missing, an FEC that does not exist for the chosen modulation, DiSEqC port missing, Input Stream ID on a card without multistream.
After tuning, Castreon reads the network’s NIT table: the network map shows the announced transponders, with the satellite’s orbital position (for example 19.2° E), and if the operator announces other parameters than the configured ones (frequency, polarization, symbol rate, modulation, FEC, roll-off, Input Stream ID), the adapter shows you the difference.
Signal quality
For satellite, the colour of the signal quality (C/N) takes the modulation and FEC into account: below the threshold for error-free reception it is red, in the first 3 dB above the threshold (the rain margin of healthy reception) it is yellow, above that it is green. The thresholds come from the DVB-S (EN 300 421) and DVB-S2 (EN 302 307-1) standards. Details in DVB signal quality and alerts.
What it does not do yet
- motorized dishes (DiSEqC 1.2 / USALS);
- Unicable LNBs and switches (a single cable for several tuners);
- DVB-S2X and explicit selection of the scrambling sequence (PLS).
When importing from other programs, satellite adapters are not created automatically: they appear in the report and you set them up by hand under DVB adapters.