Capturing from digital TV in UK (Sky+)

[brightonbanker]

As a newbie maybe someone can help - If I wanted to capture the signal from my UK based Sky+ box onto my PC (for VCD instead of using a VCR), can it be done? How?
The digital receiver has an RS-232 socket and an S-video outlet - any ideas please ??

[Tommyknocker]

You can get a capture card to capture the video coming off the S-video outlet.

[brightonbanker]

Thanks for this. When I say a 'newbie' I mean really 'NEWBIE' !! What is a capture card? - where does it fit ? Into my PC? Do I need extra software ?

So many questions - so little knowledge !!!

Thanks for your help

[Karina]

A capture card is a device which fits into a slot on your pc's mainboard (you can also get external ones which plug into a USB socket) and allows you to plug in audio and video outputs from a audiovisual device (ie. vcr, dvd player, tuner box or camcorder) into your pc so you can watch the video on your system and also record it.

They ussually come with adequate software for recording and viewing incoming video and there are plenty of alernatives which can be downloaded of the net, some are free, some require registration.

Most people here have a reasonable amount of experience with different hardware and software solutions and will happily help you out. It takes a little while to figure everything out and get it working perfectly. Have patience, do lots of reading and don't be afraid to ask questions.

[Craig Tucker]

A capture card fits into a PCI slot in your PC to allow you to connect a video signal for capturing with your PC. You can also get capture cards which are combined with the graphics card such as the ATI AIW these can be AGP or PCI cards.

I would suggest you read the following links then come back with any more questions you may have.

http://www.vcdhelp.com/capture

https://www.videohelp.com/capturecards.php?CaptureCard=&Submit2=Search&Search=Search

[brightonbanker]

many thanks to you all - i need to do a bit of reading now !