diff --git a/DOCS/man/options.rst b/DOCS/man/options.rst
index 79576c736c..f910d3d59c 100644
--- a/DOCS/man/options.rst
+++ b/DOCS/man/options.rst
@@ -5517,7 +5517,7 @@ DVB
     ``channels.conf``, ``--dvbin-full-transponder`` or the magic PID
     ``8192`` are recommended.
 
-``--dvbin-timeout=<1-30>``
+``--dvbin-timeout=<seconds>``
     Maximum number of seconds to wait when trying to tune a frequency before
     giving up (default: 30).
 
diff --git a/stream/dvb_tune.c b/stream/dvb_tune.c
index d409fc1888..39881f317f 100644
--- a/stream/dvb_tune.c
+++ b/stream/dvb_tune.c
@@ -278,7 +278,7 @@ static void print_status(dvb_priv_t *priv, fe_status_t festatus)
     MP_VERBOSE(priv, "\n");
 }
 
-static int check_status(dvb_priv_t *priv, int fd_frontend, int tmout)
+static int check_status(dvb_priv_t *priv, int fd_frontend, float tmout)
 {
     fe_status_t festatus;
     bool ok = false;
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ static int check_status(dvb_priv_t *priv, int fd_frontend, int tmout)
 
     if (!(festatus & FE_HAS_LOCK)) {
         MP_ERR(priv, "Not able to lock to the signal on the given frequency, "
-               "timeout: %d\n", tmout);
+               "timeout: %g\n", tmout);
         return -1;
     }
 
@@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ static int tune_it(dvb_priv_t *priv, int fd_frontend, unsigned int delsys,
                    fe_guard_interval_t guardInterval,
                    fe_bandwidth_t bandwidth,
                    fe_code_rate_t LP_CodeRate, fe_hierarchy_t hier,
-                   int timeout)
+                   float timeout)
 {
     dvb_state_t *state = priv->state;
 
@@ -634,7 +634,7 @@ int dvb_tune(dvb_priv_t *priv, unsigned int delsys,
              fe_transmit_mode_t TransmissionMode, fe_bandwidth_t bandWidth,
              fe_code_rate_t HP_CodeRate,
              fe_code_rate_t LP_CodeRate, fe_hierarchy_t hier,
-             int timeout)
+             float timeout)
 {
     MP_INFO(priv, "Tuning to %s frequency %lu Hz\n",
             get_dvb_delsys(delsys), (long unsigned int) freq);
diff --git a/stream/dvb_tune.h b/stream/dvb_tune.h
index a884406de9..f0f9ac2252 100644
--- a/stream/dvb_tune.h
+++ b/stream/dvb_tune.h
@@ -36,6 +36,6 @@ int dvb_tune(dvb_priv_t *priv, unsigned int delsys,
              fe_modulation_t modulation, fe_guard_interval_t guardInterval,
              fe_transmit_mode_t TransmissionMode, fe_bandwidth_t bandWidth,
              fe_code_rate_t HP_CodeRate, fe_code_rate_t LP_CodeRate,
-             fe_hierarchy_t hier, int timeout);
+             fe_hierarchy_t hier, float timeout);
 
 #endif /* MPLAYER_DVB_TUNE_H */
diff --git a/stream/dvbin.h b/stream/dvbin.h
index 3daf7470de..13aef2d5c5 100644
--- a/stream/dvbin.h
+++ b/stream/dvbin.h
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ typedef struct {
 typedef struct {
     char *cfg_prog;
     int cfg_devno;
-    int cfg_timeout;
+    float cfg_timeout;
     char *cfg_file;
     bool cfg_full_transponder;
     int cfg_channel_switch_offset;
diff --git a/stream/stream_dvb.c b/stream/stream_dvb.c
index 5660d6f0e5..b33ffbb913 100644
--- a/stream/stream_dvb.c
+++ b/stream/stream_dvb.c
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ const struct m_sub_options stream_dvb_conf = {
     .opts = (const m_option_t[]) {
         {"prog", OPT_STRING(cfg_prog), .flags = UPDATE_DVB_PROG},
         {"card", OPT_INT(cfg_devno), M_RANGE(0, MAX_ADAPTERS-1)},
-        {"timeout", OPT_INT(cfg_timeout), M_RANGE(1, 30)},
+        {"timeout", OPT_FLOAT(cfg_timeout), M_RANGE(0, FLT_MAX)},
         {"file", OPT_STRING(cfg_file), .flags = M_OPT_FILE},
         {"full-transponder", OPT_BOOL(cfg_full_transponder)},
         {"channel-switch-offset", OPT_INT(cfg_channel_switch_offset),