Troubleshooting SAT>IP Tuner Discovery in TVHeadend with OctopusNET

Troubleshooting SAT>IP Tuner Discovery in TVHeadend with OctopusNET

When integrating Digital Devices’ OctopusNET with TVHeadend, users may encounter a situation where SAT>IP tuners are not automatically discovered — even though the device is reachable and works with other SAT>IP clients like xTeVe or VLC.

This article provides a reliable workaround using the --satip_xml option to manually inject the SAT>IP descriptor and restore tuner visibility in TVHeadend.

Problem Overview

In some setups, TVHeadend fails to detect the OctopusNET tuners during startup, even though the device works correctly:

• The OctopusNET web interface opens normally.
• The device responds to ping.
• Streaming is functional from other SAT>IP clients on the same network.

Despite this, no SAT>IP tuners appear in TVHeadend under Configuration → DVB Inputs → TV Adapters.

Solution: Load the SAT>IP Descriptor Manually

TVHeadend can load tuner definitions directly from the device’s SAT>IP XML file, bypassing the automatic SSDP discovery mechanism.

Step 1: Verify XML Descriptor Availability

Run on the TVHeadend server:

wget http://<OctopusNET_IP>/octoserve/octonet.xml
  

Replace <OctopusNET_IP> with your device’s address (e.g., 192.168.1.100). If the file downloads successfully, the descriptor is accessible.

Step 2: Start TVHeadend with Descriptor Override

Stop the running TVHeadend service:

sudo service tvheadend stop
  

Start manually with the --satip_xml argument:

tvheadend --satip_xml http://<OctopusNET_IP>/octoserve/octonet.xml
  

This bypasses SSDP and forces TVHeadend to load tuner configuration from the XML file.

Step 3: Confirm Tuner Detection

Open TVHeadend web interface:

Configuration → DVB Inputs → TV Adapters

The OctopusNET tuners should now be listed and available for setup (network assignment, mux scanning, etc.).

Why Discovery Fails

TVHeadend relies on SSDP (Simple Service Discovery Protocol) to detect SAT>IP devices. If SSDP traffic is blocked or filtered, tuners won’t appear.

Typical causes include:

• VLANs or subnet isolation
• Blocked UDP multicast packets
• Firewall or router rules
• Ethernet switch or port filtering

The --satip_xml method works because it directly fetches the device’s configuration, skipping unreliable SSDP.

Summary

1. Confirm access to the descriptor:

   wget http://<OctopusNET_IP>/octoserve/octonet.xml
         

2. Restart TVHeadend with XML override:

   tvheadend --satip_xml http://<OctopusNET_IP>/octoserve/octonet.xml
         

3. Check Configuration → DVB Inputs → TV Adapters for the listed tuners.

This ensures consistent tuner detection and seamless integration with TVHeadend, regardless of network setup.