• UPC channel table for Video4Linux xawtv

To watch television on a linux platform, there is the open source Video4Linux project and the xawtv application. Currently missing is support for the cable frequencies used by UPC in Holland. Adding this support is simple, and described below. It would be better, however, to include this in the xawtv distribution.

Problem

On http://www.upc.nl/frequencies_gm.php?GM=0363 you will find the cable frequencies for UPC in Amsterdam. The channel names are non-standard, with plusses and minusses, and the frequencies are non-standard. I believe that in most of all other places in Holland, UPC uses the same frequencies. Perhaps also in other countries. With the usual Western-European channel table in xawtv, only a few programmes are visible, and with bad quality. You need to enter the real UPC frequencies in a new table to view the programmes properly.

Solution

First find the location where xawtv stores the frequency tables. On Debian Linux, this is the directory /usr/share/xawtv. This directory stores files like Index.map and europe-west.list, so you might as well search for these if on your installation xawtv uses another directory.

Add these two lines to file /usr/share/xawtv/Index.map to make the new table known to xawtv. Put this entry on top to make it the default, if desired.

[upc]
file = upc.list

Create this file with the actual UPC frequencies:

# /usr/share/xawtv/upc.list    Roland Kwee    21 sept 2004
# Cable channel frequencies for UPC in Holland.

[5+]
freq = 176000

[6+]
freq = 184000

[7+]
freq = 192000

[9-]
freq = 200000

[10-]
freq = 208000

[11-]
freq = 216000

[12-]
freq = 224000

[s11+]
freq = 232000

[s12+]
freq = 240000

[s13+]
freq = 248000

[s14+]
freq = 256000

[s16-]
freq = 264000

[s17-]
freq = 272000

[s18-]
freq = 280000

[s19+]
freq = 288000

[26+]
freq = 512000

[27+]
freq = 520000

[28+]
freq = 528000

[29+]
freq = 536000

[30+]
freq = 544000

[31+]
freq = 552000

[32+]
freq = 560000

[33+]
freq = 568000

[34+]
freq = 576000

[35+]
freq = 584000

[36+]
freq = 592000

[37+]
freq = 600000

[38+]
freq = 608000

[39+]
freq = 616000

[40+]
freq = 624000

[41+]
freq = 632000

[42+]
freq = 640000

[43+]
freq = 648000

[44+]
freq = 656000

[45+]
freq = 664000

[46+]
freq = 672000

[52+]
freq = 720000

[53+]
freq = 728000

[54+]
freq = 736000

[55+]
freq = 744000

[56+]
freq = 752000

[57+]
freq = 760000

[58+]
freq = 768000

[59+]
freq = 776000

[60+]
freq = 784000

[61+]
freq = 792000

[62+]
freq = 800000

[63+]
freq = 808000

[64+]
freq = 816000
# end of file

Now run scantv to find all UPC programs. Enjoy watching cable tv with xawtv in Holland.