TV Card for Sky +

[darrensen]

Anyone know what TV card i would need to run Sky +?

Thanks

Darren

[5lab]

you can input from a sky+ box with just about any tv or vivo card. actually doing sky+ on a pc, not sure if its possible

[darrensen]

On my machine i have the 3 phono inputs (red, white and Yellow) When i plug them in i get sound instantly but no video. How do i get the video to show?

[Funkstar]

basically you just need a standard no frills TV card with a video in as well as a tuner.

this is the range at Scan:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...Thumbnails=yes

and this is the cheapest that should work for you:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=178569

If you wanted Sky+ functionality from a PC then that is a whole different ball game, especially if you actualy want to have SKY and not just Freeview chanels

[GDVS]

If you wanted Sky+ functionality from a PC then that is a whole different ball game, especially if you actualy want to have SKY and not just Freeview chanels

More accurately, forget it. Sky do not broadcast in a standards compliant manner (or the CAM is proprietary, I forget which) and there is no way to use one of their cards outside of an approved device (of which there are none for computer use).

[Funkstar]

Not strictly true.

Using a fully featured DVB-S card with CAM reader (like the Hauppauge Nexus-S and CAM module) you can use the Dragon CAM (i think), then once you have activated your card with a regular Sky box the setup should be able to recieve Sky signals. Then you needs PVR software that will allow you to tune the card. MythTV will allow this.

I was under the impression this was impossible too, but there are some that have this working. Unfortunitely this setup will cost around £200 - £250 and there is no garantee that Sky won't change their content protection rendering it all useless. The makers of the CAM have stated they will not get into a never ending chase with sky if they change things, but haven't rulled out further updates in the future if need be (i guess if the update is easy they will do it, if not they, they won't get involved).

BTW, this is not a way to get free Sky as you still need a valid smart card and hardware (STB and dish)

[GDVS]

Are you sure? The Sky encryption is proprietary so at best you'd get the FTA channels, a regular DVB-S reciever CAM cannot handle the encrypted channels.

I am willing to stand corrected though if someone can provide me with a link (a link I would be very interested in I might add).

[TheAnimus]

I started work on a simple output from sky box, and PC controlled IR system for my dad.

Turns out he just prefers regular SKY+

[Funkstar]

I don't have links but below is part of a thread on the MythTV-Users mailing list from back in June last year

>>Completely correct (much to many peoples disappointment)
>>
>>The encryption mechanism Sky use is proprietary (amongst other things
>>too
>>probably) so until they open it all up we'll have to live with
>>analogue capture.

It's not proprietary at all. Many other companies use it. It's just not compromised yet.
It's NDS Videoguard. And I hold a CAM for it in my hand now.

>
>
> an NDS cam does exist (if my googling is correct) so what is to be
> disappointed about?
>
> oh and by the way before people start mentioning hacking i have a
> completely legit sky card - it costs me a fortune each month
>

Yes, it does work.

Avoid Twinhan DTV Sat-CI cards. They are about £50 cheaper than a proper card, but the power supply to the LNB *SUCKS*. Looking at it with a scope, with *any* load on the LNB output (a finger, even), there is a 2 volt peak-peak variance in the supply (at about 22khz - No, the switching tone is off). I'm looking to see if I can get a good solution to this without returning the hardware.

Also, the method used to access the CAM is different to that which is supported by Myth, at the moment. If I do get a solution to the hardware issues, I'll see if I can do support for the CAM in Myth.

So I have the CAM working in Windows at the moment, but the signal is very poor, so I'm seeing issues (this happens with OTA channels without the CAM installed, so it's not the CAM's fault).

Be aware when you buy a Dragon CAM, they come blank. They require programming - Which either needs done by your supplier, or you also need a Fun7 (Galaxy 5) card and a programmer. I use a Dynamite, which works well. You need Windows available for programming. Don't buy the newer Dragon CAMs - All they have extra is a slot for their own card - Which is for a channel that's not available on 19.2E.

Total cost so far is:
£51.50 - CAM
£39.00 - Dynamite Programmer
£12.00 - FunCard 7

Not recommended:
£69.00 - Twinhan Vision DTV Sat-CI 1030A

Thats all the info i have to hand right now, but i have seen fererence to this card/CAM elsewhere as well

[GDVS]

Thanks for that, gave me enough info to find the rest. Very very interesting and I stand (happily) corrected

[Funkstar]

thats what i thought when i read it too. i'm glad you found it useful