Anyone got a sky+ box?

[yesfan]

Is there anyway to capture the recordings digitally from this box? Preferably without removing the HD, by ethernet maybe.

[flaninacupboard]

if there's a way, you'll find it on here.

http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/forumdisplay.php?f=35

[Hardcoreruss]

There is but it is just like capturing from a vcr.

When you go to the sky plus planner 0 on the tv guide to view what you have reported you select what you want to archive (red button to select i think). When you have selected all the files that you need you press ok and it tells you to make sure you have your vcr connected to av2.

At this point I suppose you would connect up your capture card ?, I would advise further on this but capturing is not my bag.

Sky+ is excellent though, very please I bought it.

[flaninacupboard]

yeah, that will work - and it's how i capture from my freeview PVR - use Svideo into an ADVC-50. A digital transfer will offer better quality, if there's a way to do it.

not sure if this would work, but Humax sell something called the PVR-8000. it's a digital satellite receiver and recorder, with a USB port enabling you to download recordings to your PC. if you can slap in a sky access card that's probably the way to go. ask sky if you can do it. i use the PVR-8000t, a terrestial version of the recorder, with no USB port

[yesfan]

Havent actually bought anything yet, just checking the scene out. Was gonna go for the sky+ but didnt want to sign up with them again. If I want to use my old card (just FTA channels) I would still have to pay £10 per month for the service, less channels than you get with freeview. So freeview PVR is the way to go I think.

There are a few around humax, pace and thomson. Is the humax the only one that will let you transfer digitally (rather than analog capture). I know the tivo can be modded with ethernet to capture the recordings, maybe you can remove the HD on some of the others and stick it in the PC? Is the USB on the humax definitely for the transfer of the recorded mpeg files?

Thx for any further help.

[flaninacupboard]

as i said, there's two -different- models
PVR-8000 : satellite reception only. has a USB ports.
PVR-8000t : Freeview reception, no USB port.

plus the 8000 is not available here, you'd have to import it.
The hard drive from the 8000t uses a propietary file system which has not yet been cracked. if you want info on the 8000t box have a look here:
http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.pl?board=freeviewbox;action=display;num=1077194110

[dead_indian_walking]

Cannot you jus get a DVD recorder and record to a DVD-RW?

[flaninacupboard]

yes, but that's an analogue transfer, he wants to do it in the digital domain.

[yesfan]

thx for all the replies.....think this one is gonna need a bit more research.

[flaninacupboard]

yeah, it's a tough one. i hope you can find the info you need on the sites i linked. any more questions feel free to ask or PM me.

I'll also get this thread moved to the Digital TV forum, as the capture forum is for analogue capture only

[alanparrott]

I believe this is the only way to do it Digitally and will cost a couple of hundred pounds

There is an article in one of the Sat TV mags this month or find out here

[yesfan]

thx m8, that was the kind of thing I was looking for

[bugster]

Is there anyway to capture the recordings digitally from this box? Preferably without removing the HD, by ethernet maybe.

This post is an AFAIK post.

AFAIK, there is currently no way of getting sky+ recordings to a PC completley digitally. The HD uses a proprietary format that cannot be read by a PC. The SDI that alanparrott mentions is for Sky+ to display, I am not aware of any PC inputs to capture this info and it only works with the V1 Sky+ box. The V2 box currently being supplied by Sky is more integrated and the necessary connections are not available. You might be able to get a V1 box via E-bat or some other route.

Check the digitalspy forums as Flan suggested for more info.

Edit, just checked that link about SDI more carefully and noticed you can get a Holo3Dgraph PCI capture card which will accept SDI, and its only $895.00.

I think I will wait for the price to drop a bit