Connecting STB TV signal to PC

8T8

I made this rough guide on how to get TV signal into PC if you have a set top box typically Sky, NTL/Chorus = UPC in the future as we get a lot of these questions asked.

These STB (set top box) units should have a scart output which is what needs to be converted into another connection type for the PC to take. In certain cases like Sky+ STB's they have a dedicated s-video out which makes things a lot easier so no need to convert from scart which is what this guide focuses on.

Scart carries audio and video but it is mostly a Euro centric format as such those who make the tuners don't really support the connection type and really only give you two options composite & s-video.

Example of Hauppage PVR-150 tuner;



Composite is a yellow cable that looks like the one below it is a very common connection and you will no doubt have seen it before on many TV's. The picture quality of composite isn't all that great so keep that in mind but we don't have a lot of options here.



S-video is the better quality connection of the two and looks like the cable below, sorta like the old style PS2 keyboard connections. However converting to s-video from scart introduces another issue that must be addressed.



RCA/Phono cables this is what the red/white connections are most commonly referred to. It is sometimes mistaken that they are part of composite video as the cables tend to be included in packs but they are not as s-video also uses these to transfer audio.


On a side note to this some PC tuners come with a 3.5mm jack for audio input like the Hauppage PVR-150 above, in order to get the RCA connections hooked up you will require an adapter like the one below. Some tuners come with the RCA connectors for audio so it depends on the model of your tuner if you will need this.



Connecting STB from scart->composite to PC tuner;
Basically you need one of these little adapters, they can be found in many online stores or local audio/video shops. All you do is plug it into the STB and flick the switch to output then plug in the composite and audio cables to link to your tuner in the PC.



Connecting STB from scart->s-video to PC tuner;
This is a little trickier as unfortunately those little adapters above as I'm sure you spotted feature s-video but are not wired properly so they will output a black & white video signal if used with s-video. In order to convert the signal into colour you best course of action is to acquire a scart RGB to s-video converter this will do the job properly and offer better image quality, currently there are two well known models this from Maplins & this from J.S Tech (<-which according to other sites is the better of the two).


One more final option is a proper version of those little scart adapters that will output colour, they can be found for sale on www.svideo.com though it is a US site so delivery times may vary. However those adapters only output composite video over scart & turn it into s-video you will not get the full scart RGB signal.

That basically sums your options up for the time being I think.

Places to acquire adapters & cables online;
www.Komplett.ie
www.lindy.ie
www.maplins.co.uk

Any comments, alterations welcome.

Zith

Hi,

Nice guide. Wanted to let you know that on Sky+ boxes there is a S-video output which is useful

/Zith

8T8

Thanks for the info Zith I updated the start of the guide to reflect that. I only wish/hope Chorus/UPC would do that in the future would makes things a lot easier

Twodogs

Thanks 8T8, your hardware guide is great.

Can you tell me, once you've got your Sky box connected to your PC, will the PVR software (mediaportal etc) be able to scan all the channels you have subscribed to with Sky? Can you add in the extra ITV and BBC channels as well?

8T8

Don't know for sure as I do not used Media Portal a) enough to verify if you have the feature and b) have Chorus not Sky.

I would imagine Media Portal does have an EPG for Sky now whether it covers the other unlisted channels is another matter check Media Portals forums is the best bet.

Tom Dunne

Twodogs wrote:

Can you tell me, once you've got your Sky box connected to your PC, will the PVR software (mediaportal etc) be able to scan all the channels you have subscribed to with Sky? Can you add in the extra ITV and BBC channels as well?

I don't think it does.

It's been over 6 months since I used Media Portal (I use GB-PVR), but the general way these things work is that you set up the channels and essentially create your own EPG using the likes of xmltv.

You can add ITV and BBC, but as these are stored in "Other channels" and not a numeric channel, I don't know how you could switch to these channels. Unless you could do some kind of scripting with an IR blaster that would "press" other channels and then the down button to select UTV.

Great guide, btw 8T8.