Channel 4 and 5 on a non-Sky box

georgekildare

Some of you may be interested to know that it is possibly and relatively easy to convert a non-Sky satellite receiver with a CAM slot to receive Channels 4 and 5 as well as the normal FTA channels, provided one has a legal FTV card. This is also legal.

Instructions are at

http://forum.toppy.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4630.

I did this successfully yesterday on my Topfield 5000PVR at a cost of about 160 Euros for a T-Rex CAM and CAS3 programmer. Downloading the software was relatively easy. The only glitch was that I didn't realise that the Sky card had to be inserted upside down compared with the digibox. A subscription card has to be regularly inserted in the digibox for updates, but apparently this is not necessary for the FTV card.


I have now been able to reduce the number of satellite receivers from 3 to 2 (Irish Sky+ and Topfield) and get rid of my Sky UK digibox! Of course there is no guarantee about when Sky will change the cards to make this method inoperative, but the Dragon/T-Rex cam route is alleged to have already worked for a year or 2.


Presently I have a Topfield 5000PVR, an Irish Sky + box that doesn't get Channels 4 and 5 and a normal Digibox with a Scottish FTV card for 4 and 5. I would like to reduce the number of satellite receivers from 3 to 2. I have theefore just bought a T-Rex CAM and CAS3 programmer, with the hope of getting Channels 4 and 5 on my Topfield.

The CAM seems to have loaded OK. I put it in the bottom slot of my Topfield 5000PVR. The CAM menu shows "Predator 3.4.2", so that looks OK. I entered the number of my Sky digibox in the CAM NDS menu. However, when I slide in my Sky Scottish FTV card, it doesn't de-encrypt Channel 4 or 5.

When I reboot with the card inserted and go to the CAM menu, "Predator" is replaced by "initialising...". I tried leaving this on for more than 10 minutes, but it seems to hang up. The only way of stopping it is to turn the Topfield off and on. This happens when either the Sky card or free T-Rex "adult" card is inserted.

Does anyone have any bright ideas on what to do?

Thanks.




Presently I have a Topfield 5000PVR, an Irish Sky + box that doesn't get Channels 4 and 5 and a normal Digibox with a Scottish FTV card for 4 and 5. I would like to reduce the number of satellite receivers from 3 to 2. I have theefore just bought a T-Rex CAM and CAS3 programmer, with the hope of getting Channels 4 and 5 on my Topfield.

The CAM seems to have loaded OK. I put it in the bottom slot of my Topfield 5000PVR. The CAM menu shows "Predator 3.4.2", so that looks OK. I entered the number of my Sky digibox in the CAM NDS menu. However, when I slide in my Sky Scottish FTV card, it doesn't de-encrypt Channel 4 or 5.

When I reboot with the card inserted and go to the CAM menu, "Predator" is replaced by "initialising...". I tried leaving this on for more than 10 minutes, but it seems to hang up. The only way of stopping it is to turn the Topfield off and on. This happens when either the Sky card or free T-Rex "adult" card is inserted.

Does anyone have any bright ideas on what to do?

Thanks.

DMC

georgekildare wrote:

Does anyone have any bright ideas on what to do?

Lock this thread, perhaps?

Regardless if whether it works or not, legal or not, the mods won't like it here.

georgekildare

Sorry. The last two lines in my previous contribution got left in by mistake.

Lock this thread, perhaps?

Regardless if whether it works or not, legal or not, the mods won't like it here.

Since this is perfectly legal, I can't see why the thread should be locked. Nobody is trying to steal anything from anyone here and this is dealt with openly in several other forums. Sky's attempt to restrict people to their own proprietary box is just as monopolistic as Microsoft. Microsoft has been fined a large amount by the EU.

georgekildare

Whoops. all my first email after "the first year ot 2" should have been deleted. It was copied from an email to the help desk of the CAS3 programmer. That's what you get with cut and paste! Sorry again!!

DMC

georgekildare wrote:

Since this is perfectly legal, I can't see why the thread should be locked. Nobody is trying to steal anything from anyone here and this is dealt with openly in several other forums. Sky's attempt to restrict people to their own proprietary box is just as monopolistic as Microsoft. Microsoft has been fined a large amount by the EU.

Microsoft might have been fined, but they still haven't paid
And I don't hear any news from the EC regarding NDS or BSkyB.

Its bypassing an NDS cam which pricked my alert.

Ronan|Raven

they work pretty well in the dreambox's internal reader as well.

From what you are describing though it seems the cam isnt flashed properly.

Ulsterman 1690

georgekildare wrote:

Since this is perfectly legal, I can't see why the thread should be locked. Nobody is trying to steal anything from anyone here and this is dealt with openly in several other forums. Sky's attempt to restrict people to their own proprietary box is just as monopolistic as Microsoft. Microsoft has been fined a large amount by the EU.

And besides the thread is concerned with reception of FTV rather than subscription channels

byte

I'm not totally sure if it's legal or not to emulate an NDS CAM so I am going to close this thread.

If anyone wants to offer you help, they may do so via PM.

I shall talk about the subject with fellow moderators, and may reopen the thread if it can be agreed that emulating an NDS CAM is legitimate.