SATELLITE TV into computor

[silverstar2003]

hi,
I just bought video to pc with the intention of getting some of my old videos onto the comp
and into digi files
I was also hoping to get my sat box tv into my comp and maybe make files of them also

arcsoft showbiz came on the cd disc which I installed

Im getting sound from the sat channel and just a few coloured lines in the tv windo w
but when I record I find a get a file with a good quality picture

any ideas why Im not getting a good pic in the tv window ?

thanks for advice and help

[dellsam34]

Possible display driver, Microsoft been screwing a lot lately with video ingest to computer, They don't want any audio or video going into the computer other than what they want to see or hear via Cortana or whatever that called. At least that what I've been reading from the members complaints in the capturing sub forum.

[silverstar2003]

OBS CAME on the inst disc also so Ive now got that installed but no
tv picture as yet.... theres a ton of settings in there to figure out !

[DB83]

Ok. I guess we are talking of a $ky Box.


It can come down to a)The type of box and b)nature of what you recorded.


Dealing with the box first, if you have that connected via a scart connector it should be possible to transfer recordings from the box as you play then UNLESS the material was movies or sports or 'Box Office' which are premium services and are copy-protected. That copy-protection could be similar to the protection known as Macrovision and only some capture devices will ignore it.


HD boxes are different. Now you have what is known as HDCP another form of copy-protection and these affect ALL recordings. Again, there are devices that can ignore that and there are many topics on here about it. The problem is that devices that used to work may have different chips inside them now so they look the same on the outside and have the same manufacturer and product name but are essentially different.


So do confirm the type of sat box you have - there are others apart from the one that $ky issued - and the type of connection just in case there are other options available.

[silverstar2003]

I can see ...sky+HD ... written on the box... but in the end isnt it just giving a video and audio
signal to the TV etc so I should be able to get it onto my computor

same with the video recorder... that sends a video and audio signal to the tv

with this video 2 PC that I now have .... surely I should be able to get sat TV as
well as terrestrial freeview TV ?

[DB83]

Sky+HD boxes have varied over time as to what connections they offer for standard definition viewing etc.


Now just because you get a picture on your tv (which has circuitry to override HDCP otherwise it would be useless) it is not the same when connecting to other devices.


Now if you are getting HD you are connecting to the tv with a HDMI cable so my earlier comments apply. You can, theoretically, use a hdmi splitter to have a cable going in to the tv and them you require a hdmi to SD/composite adapter to plug your capture device. The splitter is the critical item since in the past these would ignore HDCP but many do not.


However, take a look at the back of the box and see if it has a scart connector - older boxes did which did not give you HD but allowed for viewing on standard definition tvs. If it does it may be possible to use that connector to connect with your capture device. I can not guarantee that having both of them plugged in at the same time will give you a picture both on the tv and on your PC since there may be circuitry inside the box to prevent this. And even then there may still be copy-protection to circumvent.

[dellsam34]

I wouldn't capture HD or 4K satellite video into a crappy chinese composite capture device, If your box has a DVR and want to record freeview programs you should be able to do so by just transfering the recordings from the skybox hard drive to the computer hard drive, or better yet get a FTA satellite receiver with DVR that uses a flash drive and transfer to computer by connecting the flash drive to PC.

For capturing analog tapes from VCR's and camcorders use the capture device you got now but don't use the software that came on CD, use vdub or AmarecTV, though with this chinese hardware setup you may encounter quality issues or frame timing issues - Capturing with Win10 is a deep rabbit hole that you just got yourself into.

[sum_guy]

I'm a little off from Satellite as I ditched my Directv and DISH, I'm 100% streaming now. I primarily stream from Fubo.tv, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max etc. I'm in the USA so I don't know if my suggestion will work in other parts of the world. I bought a $16.99 (USD) 4k input USB dongle and record using OBS at 1920x1080P. I have a Roku 3 hooked up to it. My capture computer is a i5-8400 6 core, 32 gb of ram and 1 tb ssd. I am capturing 1920x1080 progressive at 30 fps and 2500 bitrate. I get excellent captures. I use OBS output timer to end my recordings so I don't have to sit and watch and hope I stop at the end. I was surprised to find that this dongle didn't seem to be affected by the HDCP of HD video. I didn't need a HDMI splitter even though I have one that strips HDCP. You can pick up a ROKU 3 for about $20 USD on ebay. The dongle came from Amazon for $16.99. OBS is free of course. Here is a link to the dongle I bought. I don't know if this will help you but, maybe someone else if not.<edit> this is on a PC running Windows 11

https://www.amazon.com/IPXOZO-Video-Capture-Card-USB/dp/B08YRWB7VD/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1...tronics&sr=1-3

[silverstar2003]

As I said I used a scart into the back of my sky sat box then plugged the white yellow and red wires in
then into the vid 2 PC thing then usb into my computor

using the showbiz software I got audio from the sat tv channel but in the tv square just a few coloured lines

I went ahead and began recording and got a short vid file
playing it back the tv quality and sound are good so the video signal is there
I would just like to see the tv as Im recording it ...... ! there must be something wrong in the settings ?

[sum_guy]

I tried my Arcsoft Showbiz software with my digital capture and I experienced the same effect, no video on the playback but, got a decent capture. Does your $ky soft box have HDMI out or composite out only? I would try using OBS, it's free, a little more setup involved but, I was able to monitor my playback and got a perfect capture. I could not make Showbiz work no matter what settings I used.

[DB83]

I do not read in any of your posts that you had plugged a scart in to the Sky Box. By all means point out the post where you mentioned that should I have missed it.


Even so, the issue remains >> encryption


But if I have all this wrong just upload as an attachment what you have recorded.

[DB83]

FYI


OBS will do things differently. If you can see the true video signal on your PC monitor then you can record that. It's not an authentic video stream but at the end of the day it's a means to the end. How you achieve it is not for me to say since I do not use that s/w.

[codehound]

I was also hoping to get my sat box tv into my comp and maybe make files of them also

Its encrypted - you need a £10 amazon HDMI splitter between the output of the sat / cable box and the HDMI input of your capture card. This strips out the HDMI.

And Arcsoft Showbiz is obsolete and not supported any more..

[DB83]

As I previously mentioned it is quite possible that the box does not allow for hdmi and scart output at the same time.


Check the settings on the Sky Box to see if there is an output setting - I'm on SkyQ now so can not check my SkyHD box for this.

[silverstar2003]

I uninstalled showbiz and reinstalled it .... same result ... a quarter of the screen
has a square with lots of horizontal lines .... maybe is should be de interlaced or something
but recording a 10 second clip gives a good quality video and sound

but in the end you need to see the tv video you are recording... you cant do it blind ....

I ll just have to look into OBS Ive got that installed too from the disc they sent !

thanks for help and comments

[DB83]

Take a look at this:


http://storage.sky.com/prod/helpcentre/manuals/skyboxes/Skyplus_HD_R8_User_Guide.pdf


and in particular to Page 102


It describes copying to video but the video playback is via scart (or composite) and might well be what you are after using your device.

[jagabo]

using the showbiz software I got audio from the sat tv channel but in the tv square just a few coloured lines

I went ahead and began recording and got a short vid file
playing it back the tv quality and sound are good so the video signal is there
I would just like to see the tv as Im recording it ...... ! there must be something wrong in the settings ?

The fact that your recording was successful indicates you just have a display problem in the capture software. Look through its settings for the graphics output device. It may options for Enhanced Video Renderer (EVR), Video Mixing Render 9, DirectX, Windows GDI, etc. Here's an example from a media player:


[Attachment 61067 - Click to enlarge]

Try different settings until you find one that works. You might have to close the program and restart it after each change.

[DB83]

^^ No. He has a 'video signal' - coloured lines - not an active picture. Unless he has confused me all the more.


My suspicion is that the Sat box wants to output HD over HDMI. It can not simultaneously output SD over scart so it just sends rubbish. However in the 'copy' mode as described in the manual it will indeed switch playback to SD over scart and the capture device should now receive a proper signal.

[jagabo]

No, he clearly stated at least twice that he has successfully captured audio and video and the playback of the file is fine.

[DB83]

Ok. He just confuses me with his terminology 'tv window'

[silverstar2003]

A guy from the firm sent me ...... Direct X Repair zip....... and I used that to make a change in
windows 10

the tool helped me disable the.... Direct Draw Acceleration....

once this was done I now get a tv pic in Showbiz software so I can see what I am
going to record..... I managed to get a short video file from the sat tv channels

but the problems go on, I cant figure how to save that file into my downloads folder !
there must be a way !!!

Thanks for all the help and comments guys

[DB83]

There will, inevitably, be a setting in that software to select the destination folder. Just RTFM (unless you want me to translate that)

[silverstar2003]

yes there are destination settings and I ve set them all for ... downloads.... but in the softwarre you make a video
you see it as a little thumb on the left but theres no save as anywhere

I right click on the thumb theres no save option !!!

there must be a way of saving these vids, I ll have to e mail the company again !

[DB83]

I have NEVER seen any software where you right-click to set save - I have seen online videos where a right-click allows a 'save as'. Totally different.


Now this manual, which might be the one which you have not read, only covers v3.5 of a program which at best gives you mpeg2 video.


https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A13mfcwILxL.pdf


Do look at Page 8 (see bottom of window) and check for something similar for your version >>>> click on folder icon > select folder > press 'OK' is a typical procedure.

[silverstar2003]

just got an e mail from the guy from the firm


Watch the tutorial video, I show you the answer to your question there.

You drag the clip down onto the timeline at the bottom of the screen ,
then go to the Produce menu and do this:

Or to Produce to an MP4 file instead of a DVD: Create File → Type =
File → Format = MP4 → Quality = High Quality → Click Setting button →
Video Resolution 1280x720 or 720x480 → Aspect Ratio 16:9 → Video
Frame Rate 25fps UK & Europe or 29.97fps for North America → Start.

Or to Produce to a file that exactly matches the capture resolution:
Create file → Type= Disc → click on Quality/Speed Setting tab →
Resolution 720x576 → Aspect ratio 4:3 → Video Frame Rate 25fps → Audio
sample rate 48KHz → Save → Start → Then look for the most recent file
in your Videos folder. (correct settings for North America are 720x480
and 29.97 fps)

Lord knows what all that is about.... Im losing the will to live !

[DB83]

Nothing to do with capturing. That is post-production creating a DVD/Video from the original capture after, possibly, editing.


FFS What version of this arcane program are you using ? Does not the program have a capture window as described in the manual I referred to ?

[silverstar2003]

yes, you hit ... capture and a seperate window comes up

Im managed to figure out how to save a file ... virtually by myself
you drag the vid thumb down to the timeline
then hit ... produce

in there you hit .... create file....

a window comes up you set it for mp4 .... deliver file to my downloads on my comp
then hit.... start ...

bingo a vid file appears in my downloads...

got a shock though.... a 21 sec mp4 video file came in at 21 meg !!! that seems
a heck of a lot..... the vid and audio are good quality though

why the guy from the firm could nt explain it in such simple terms Ill never know

instead of sending me all that computor gobbledigook !!!

[DB83]

Well now you can start learning about bitrate.

[jagabo]

Why don't you just look where the program is saving the files. Probably in your My Documents (C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents) on older versions of Windows, or Documents on newer versions (C:\users\username\Documents).

[silverstar2003]

Ive got everything up and working but for me the big drawback is
that when Im recording from an old video or from sat TV there is no .... pause...
I need that ability to pause so I just record the good bits...

maybe the next generation will have a pause button ?