TV Home Forum

SKY+ to PC using USB?

(December 2005)

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RA
ragoflex
Hello,

I appreciate this may not be the right place to put it....but I know you guys know a lot about capturing TV.

There's a USB port on the back of Sky+ boxes...does this mean I can hook it up to my PC's USB port and copy the programme I've recorded on Sky+ onto my computer's hard drive?

I have a capture card...so if all else fails I can just play it out of the Sky+ box and through the card. But it would be far easier to copy the files from one to the other via USB...is this do-able?

Any advice would be appreciated.
MA
marksi
No, I'm afraid not. The USB ports may carry a current, but that's all (for the moment) - you will not be able to se the contents of the hard drive, and even if you could you would not be able to play back the content as it is recorded as an encoded stream and unencrypted by the Sky box at the point you play it back.
ST
Stuart
I'm glad this topic has been raised, I have been wanting to download programmes from my Sky+ box onto DVD and was wondering whether it was possible.

There is a facility to copy to VHS, so surely there is some way I can connect to a DVD-RW (either standalone or on my PC) instead of VHS tape.

It seems much more sensible to copy to DVD these days rather than antiquated VHS. Confused
BF
Bewitched_Fan_2k
Well heres what I do, attach my dvd recorder to my sky box, press play hit record on the dvd (DVD+RW disc), when finished copy the dvd+rw to my hard drive then tweak eg remove commericals, add menu etc

Required:-

Sky Box
Attached stand-alone dvd recorder
DVD+/- RW disc
PC DVD-/+RW drive

Software: DVD Decrypter and TMPGEncDVDAuthor
ST
Stuart
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
Well heres what I do, attach my dvd recorder to my sky box.........


I presume your stand-alone DVD+RW is connected to the Sky+ box via the Scart socket for "video"........in which case........rather than buying a stand-alone DVD+RW, is there no way I can connect directly from the Video Scart to the DVD+RW on my PC?

It seems daft to pay out for another DVD+RW when I already have a very good one on my new PC which is only 2 months old.

I recently discovered that Sky allows me to record films for free directly to my PC via broadband because I subscribe to both Movies 1 & 2 (although I haven't tried it yet). So they obviously aren't that bothered about PCs copying programmes. Confused
MA
marksi
A suitably equipped DVD Recorder should be able to detect a "copy" signal from the Sky+ box via SCART and go into record mode. (pretty sure this is achieved by the box sending 12v to pin 8 of the VCR SCART). The DVDR probably needs to be told to look for this by selecting a certain mode.

In the past I was able to do this using a normal Sky box and Panasonic VCR - the VCR went into record when an Autoview event started.
MA
marksi
StuartPlymouth posted:
I recently discovered that Sky allows me to record films for free directly to my PC via broadband because I subscribe to both Movies 1 & 2 (although I haven't tried it yet). So they obviously aren't that bothered about PCs copying programmes. Confused


No, but that file will have Digital Rights Management encoding on it so you can't copy it to someone else's PC.
BO
BOL I0X
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
Well heres what I do, attach my dvd recorder to my sky box, press play hit record on the dvd (DVD+RW disc), when finished copy the dvd+rw to my hard drive then tweak eg remove commericals, add menu etc

Required:-

Sky Box
Attached stand-alone dvd recorder
DVD+/- RW disc
PC DVD-/+RW drive

Software: DVD Decrypter and TMPGEncDVDAuthor


Why don't you just get a VCR, record the programme, and capture it on your PC!? Saves a bundle trying to get a DVD recorder.

By the way, it makes me laugh the way Sky+ won't allow you to "copy" Sky Box Office movies, even though you can just play it normally and hit record yourself.
NG
noggin Founding member
Bewitched_Fan_2k posted:
Well heres what I do, attach my dvd recorder to my sky box, press play hit record on the dvd (DVD+RW disc), when finished copy the dvd+rw to my hard drive then tweak eg remove commericals, add menu etc

Required:-

Sky Box
Attached stand-alone dvd recorder
DVD+/- RW disc
PC DVD-/+RW drive

Software: DVD Decrypter and TMPGEncDVDAuthor


You shouldn't need DVD Decrypter as domestic DVD recorders don't use CSS. I have used TMPGEnc directly to import DVD recordings made at home, using the source wizard function.
NG
noggin Founding member
The reason you can't export video from the Sky+ using the USB is both technical and political/copyright related.

1. Technically the recording on the Sky + hard drive is still encrypted. The Sky+ box only decodes this using the viewing card on replay (which is why if you downgrade your subscription you can't watch recordings of programmes from channels you no longer subscribe to, even if you recorded them when you did subscribe!). This is how Sky + can record two things, with only one decryption system.

IF you were to export the recordings you'd need to decrypt them as you exported. This MAY be possible - but it isn't implemented at the moment - only replay currently decrypts.

2. The rights issues involved in allowing people to export recordings of some content are not insignificant. Any export offered by Sky is likely to implement DRM to ensure the recording only lasts a finite period of time, or only plays on authorised devices. (As TivoToGo requires in the US?)
PS
Psythor
When you archive to VHS on Sky Plus, do you have to watch whatever is being recorded?

Or can the box somehow send a different picture to the VCR so you can continue to use the Sky Plus box normally?
:-(
A former member
No the Sky+ box only has one MPEG decoder so can only show one programme (recorded or live) at any one time. So anything played back in copy mode would be displayed through the TV SCART as well.

For a multiple record / multiple playback-equipped PVR you'd need a PC based solution currently. GB-PVR with multiple Hauppauge MVPs used as terminals is one such example -- this setup would allow the playback of as many different recordings as there are MVP boxes on the network. Very clever system, much nicer than Sky+. Pity it doesn't work with Sky as there are no standard CI modules which currently decode Sky on sale.

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