Sky+ and a computer.

Mellor

have a number of recordings on my Sky+ box that I wish to keep, and I would like to put a few of them on my laptop.
I am aware that it is not possible to "copy" them over to the laptop.
But it should be possible to connect the box to the laptop to watch regular tv on the laptop, then start play back of recording and to record it with the laptop.
I imagine that a program is needed to record the video, but I was wondering does anybody know what exactly I would need. The laptop has windows media centre install, there is a TV option in this program, and possible recorded tv shows. I have never used the program so am unsure what exactly it does.

mathias

Do you have Vivo on your laptop , (Vivo means video in video out ) , you need this if your laptop is to take in a video signal , most laptops do not have this and are only able to output a signal to a TV or whatever , usually using the S video connection.

If you do have Vivo , ( usually looks like an S video connection with extra pins ) there will be an adaptor that allows you to plug in RCA Video and sound , usually a yellow , red and white connector , or something similar.

Alternatively , as its has media center , does the laptop have a TV tuner ? ( Unlikely , but maybe ! )

If you have this or Vivo , then you either get a scart adaptor and connect the cables accordingly , or use the rf2 output on sky box to get the video into your laptop , from there , you use whatever capture software you have to grab the video. ( media center if you have a tuner built in , or the Video capture software that comes with Vivo , )

If you dont have Vivo , there are various USB devices you can get to capture video into your laptop , like this for instance ,

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=304757

There are many devices , the above is just an example ,

So If you have Vivo , or if you have one of the above devices , all you have to do is connect up , go to the planner in sky plus , choose a recorded program , press copy , the box will then tell you to start the recording device , in this case it will be your capture software , and then press start on the sky box , thats it !

Mellor

I think I only have S-Video, but not sure, how many pins in a vivo connection.
And no tv tuner. Was hoping I could scart to usb connection to watch it through media centre.

mathias

There is no such thing as a Scart to USB connection , not without some electronics on the line ( like a capture card box etc. ) , scart is analog , USB is digital , and both are for entirely different purposes.

Typically there are 9 pins on a Vivo connection , whereas there is usually 4 on a straight S video connection.

So at the moment , there is no way for you to receive a video signal into the laptop.

Your options are , either to buy a video capture card , or go another route to saving your Sky + stuff.

There are standalone DVD recorders that are nearly the same price as capture cards , so its up to yourself which way to go. Personally Id go with the DVD recorder , as the quality of some capture cards can leave a lot to be desired.
Saving your Sky + stuff to DVD is easy with a DVD recorder , it connects to the second scart on the sky box.

watty

My laptop has 8 pin miniDin.

Unless there is a Capture Device & video in. Video in is very rare on PC or laptops. A few 2500+ laptops have video in and tuners.

About 50 Euro adds a TV tuner with S-Video in on PCI card to a PC.


The DVD recorder is the way to go.

Mellor

mathias wrote:

Typically there are 9 pins on a Vivo connection , whereas there is usually 4 on a straight S video connection.

So at the moment , there is no way for you to receive a video signal into the laptop.

Ok, not sure now. When I got the laptop I thought there might be a video in point due to the tv option in the media centre. it was mention in the guide, but I imagine that I would need to buy a tv tuner for it.

My S-Video (or at least the one that looks like it) has 7 pins, with two rectangular holes above and below the pins.

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i think the DVD recorded is the best option.