Copying from Sky box to Ext HD?

It would seem that it's not that easy. This is what Sky says:

Hi fanfan,

It is not possible to transfer the content of your Sky+HD box to a computer or external hard drive. You can however transfer the content to a video/DVD recorder.

For more information on how to do this please see this post in the forum where another customer describes how to set this up.

If this resolves your enquiry please mark this as an accepted solution, otherwise please post on the relevant board on the forum where the community or we can assist further.

Thanks,
Barry
Community Coordinator
Community Welcome, Hints & Tips
Sky Help Centre http://www.sky.com/help

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But, have a look here:
http://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/skypluscopying.html

Just be aware that the dvd will be standard definition, so you'll get a loss of quality from the original.

Probably easier to buy the DVD/Bluray box set(s)

I use an $140 Elgato game Capture HD to take shows off my DirecTV recorder that I want to archive.

If your sky box has an HDMI output, you probably can capture using the same method. The game capture box connects between your skybox and TV and outputs USB to your computer via the elgato application (saves it as a QT movie file).

Its very similar to the burn DVD process, except you skip all the DVD burn and rip steps... and just as legal.

It records the resolution provided by the DirecTV box for the show (up to 1080) and in the pretty standard H.264 mp4 (movie-MPEG4) format to a drive connected to your computer. The Elgato recording app can export the video to 422 for easier editing. The recording also includes simple editing tools. Blackmagic is another device.

The Elgato does not pass through HDCP handshaking, dunno if that would be an issue with the skybox. There are $30 HDMI splitters that can strip that.

If you don't want to go there and are happy with SD, there are a variety of ~$80 boxes that convert composite or component video to USB or FW as SD video. Dunno what kind of video outputs your sky box has.Look for video capture devices.

I used to do the record to DVD then rip route, but between quality of inexpensive disk and the steps involved, a video capture device is much easier.

Hopefully the software that comes with the Elgato will allow me to edit the recoding

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Yes, it will.
http://help.elgato.com/customer/por...dit-an-elgato-game-capture-hd-video-?b_id=360

The elgato software can edit video. It is a nicely put together software package, in my opinion. It was designed to extract game video for sharing and replay. iMovie may be easier to use. Elgato stores the captured video in a widely compatible H.264 mp4 format, so even Quicktime can edit it. It also has a prores exporter, albeit somewhat slow. I use FCP so can't help much with the editing details.

You will need the TV on and connected in order to satisfy the HDMI handshaking. If you don't get sound that means the skybox is not happy with the handshake. It can be tricky. You connect the source to the splitter input, the elgato to one of the splitter ports, the TV to the elgato. Then turn things on in the right order. I think its TV then splitter then source... but it could be the other way. The elgato needs to be connected to USB for power and the app running before turning on the other devices. There are a couple sites that explain the process better.

Big Stevie said:

Thanks for the help. I shell be trying it out over the next few days and I shall report back with the results

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Big Stevie did you get any luck recording off your Sky box with the Neet splitter and the Elgato capture device?

Just out of interest, which TV series was it?

I did similar using a Hauppage HD PVR 2 and splitter with a virgin media box, can't see it being too different so you should be good to go!