DVB Driver Issues

This guide helps you solve common problems with DVB drivers on Linux. You will learn how to check if adapters are detected, fix issues after kernel updates, and configure driver options.

failed to open frontend: No such file or directory

Most common issue with DVB adapters is that they stop working after server reboot. Probably Linux kernel has been updated with autoupdate or manually.

The first step is to check whether the DVB adapters are present in the system using the command:

ls /dev/dvb

If the command shows an error message “No such file or directory”, the first thing to do is to check if the hardware is available to the system using the command:

lspci | grep Multimedia

If the adapters are properly connected to the PCIe slot, you should see a listing of the PCIe adapters like this:

01:00.0 Multimedia controller: Digital Devices GmbH Cine V7

Try to reinstall the driver. If this doesn’t help, please contact the hardware vendor.

Secure Boot

If the /dev/dvb folder is empty or not found, try to start driver manually. Launch in your console:

modprobe dvb-core

If you got error:

modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'dvb_core': Required key not available

This error message is related to Secure Boot.

Restart your system and enter the system’s BIOS/UEFI settings.
Navigate to the Secure Boot configuration page (the exact position varies based on the manufacturer and BIOS/UEFI version).
Disable the Secure Boot option.
Save changes and exit.
Boot into Linux again and check adapters with ls /dev/dvb

Signal is fine, but channels not working

This issue common for adapters by DigitalDevices. Check dmesg output for i2c errors:

dmesg | grep i2c

if you see messages like i2c_write error then turn off MSI (Message Signaled Interrupts) in the driver:

Open file /etc/modprobe.d/ddbridge.conf in any text editor. Find line options ddbridge. After the ddbridge append msi=0 option. For example:

options ddbridge msi=0 fmode=1