---
name: "zvbid"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "zvbi"
version: "0.2.46-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/zvbid"
---

# zvbid(1)

VBI proxy daemon

## NAME

zvbid - VBI proxy daemon

## SYNOPSIS

**zvbid \[ options \]**

## DESCRIPTION

**zvbid** is a proxy for VBI devices, i.e. it forwards one or more VBI data streams to one or more connected clients and manages channel change requests.

## OPTIONS

- **-dev** path

  Path of a device from which to read data.  This argument can be given several times with different devices.

- **-buffers** count

  Number of buffers to allocate for capturing VBI raw data from devices which support streaming (currently only video4linux, rev. 2)  A higher number of buffers can prevent data loss in case of high latency. The downside is higher memory consumption (typically 65kB per buffer.) Default count is 8, maximum is 32.

- **-nodetach**

  Daemon process remains connected to the terminal from which it was started (e.g. so that you can stop it by pressing Control-C keys).  Intended for trouble shooting only.

- **-kill**

  Terminates a proxy daemon running for the given device.

- **-debug** level

  Enables debug output: 0= off(default); 1= general messages; In addition 2, 4, 8, ... can be added to enable debug output for various categories.

- **-syslog** level

  Enables syslog output.

- **-loglevel** level

  Log file level

- **-logfile** path

  Path to the log file.

- **-maxclients** count

  Max. number of clients which are allowed to connect simultaneously.

- **-help**

  Print a short description of all command line options.

## SEE ALSO

[zvbi-chains(1)](/zvbi-chains/1.md), [v4l-conf(8)](/v4l-conf/8.md)\
 http://zapping.sourceforge.net/  (homepage)

## AUTHOR

Tom Zoerner (tomzo AT users.sourceforge.net)

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2003,2004 Tom Zoerner

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.