Booking Recordings

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JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#198070 25-Jun-2016 11:01

They have just updated me to the new Sky Box.

I can schedule recordings using the MySky functionality, and that works fine.

I have also connected my DVD recorder, and that seems to be working OK.

However, on the old box, I could "book" recordings, and it would change to the relevant channel before the programme started, and I could set the DVD recorder to record at that time. I would queue up films and episodes to record overnight. I want to keep doing that. Firstly, because I don't plan to keep paying $15 per month for recording functionality. Secondly, because it lets me watch recordings over my network using DLNA, which is perfect if I want to (say) watch an episode of GoT curled up in bed on a cold winters night.

However, I can't figure out how to "book" programmes the way I used to be able to.

Is this still able to be done and, if so, how?

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3181 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#1580066 25-Jun-2016 12:01

I think the new box doesnt change channels when you book something as it has multiple tuners, so will just record using one of the tuners. I havent noticed booking recordings changing the channel the box is on.

Other may have different experiences.

Cynically why would sky let you do this, they would prefer you to pay the extra $15 per month.

B1GGLZ

1961 posts

Uber Geek

#1580082 25-Jun-2016 12:35

afe66:

I think the new box doesnt change channels when you book something as it has multiple tuners, so will just record using one of the tuners. I havent noticed booking recordings changing the channel the box is on.

Other may have different experiences.

Cynically why would sky let you do this, they would prefer you to pay the extra $15 per month.

A.

I think this is correct. Just had a play with my new box (Kaon NS1120) and I see it actually has 4 tuners inbuilt. So I guess it doesn't need the facility to "Book" a channel like the old box with one tuner did. It does have the ability to set "Reminder" but I've yet to figure out how this works. I assume it will just pop a message up on screen 5 mins before program time but not change channel. I've set a program to record later today so will see what happens. I did experiment with "Record" but just get a message saying I don't have a subscription that allows recording. Buggered if I'll give them another $15/month so will just continue to use my external Panasonic Recorder even though I can't book a channel. I notice that the box shows up in Windows 10 on my PC as a Network Device but not as a Media Device so I can't access the inbuilt HDD on the Network or pin it to the Quick Access Bar like I can with my Panasonic Recorder.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1580186 25-Jun-2016 15:53

afe66:

I think the new box doesnt change channels when you book something as it has multiple tuners, so will just record using one of the tuners. I havent noticed booking recordings changing the channel the box is on.

Other may have different experiences.

Cynically why would sky let you do this, they would prefer you to pay the extra $15 per month.

I was afraid of that, even tho the salesdroid who rang about the upgrade assured me that I could continue to use my recorder as I do now.

As to why they should let me do it - because rather than gain $15, they may lose $100+ instead.

Going to have a look at their website. I have been thinking about cancelling anyway, so this may be the clincher.

wingbat45

233 posts

Master Geek

#1580201 25-Jun-2016 16:11

The reminder pops a warning up on the screen. Does NOT change channel, buffer or record for reminders (I point this out every time).

Same situation if you have mysky

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1580446 26-Jun-2016 11:01

wingbat45:

The reminder pops a warning up on the screen. Does NOT change channel, buffer or record for reminders (I point this out every time).

So it would appear I was right.

Worse than that, I noticed a new icon appearing to the right of some test recordings I made last night. It turns out that even when you are able to make a recording manually (given that I can't schedule them anymore) it then tells the DVD recorder to apply copy protection to those recordings (CPRM apparently), so that they can't be transferred to optical media etc. I have a Dimax Grex, from when I transferred my VHS recordings to a digital format, which will probably deal to that - but it's one more set of wires and power socket taken up......

From my perspective, the new box offers a significantly reduced user experience compared to the old one.

I have been enduring the constant mockery of work colleagues and friends for paying for Sky when I could just torrent for free. I never did, because torrenting content without paying just felt wrong to me. However, I reconsidered given the lengths Sky now seem to go to to ruin the viewing experience for paying customers. By this I mean:

inability to book recordings any more
irritating copy protection
constant ad breaks on most channels, playing the same promos over and over
"accelerated flow" with promos screaming over squeezed credits (even on SoHo)
animated advertising logos popping up during a show (eg the stupid "on demand" one,even in SoHo and movies)
crippling of decoder features, with a fee to activate them (eg recording, high definition on movies/SoHo)

I think I have made my decision now. I'm installing a torrent client and cancelling Sky. I have also told the person who offered me a media collection on a hard drive, which I turned down because it felt wrong, "yes please".

In their quest to squeeze ever more out of me, and ever more restrict what I can do, they have succeeded in dropping what they get by more than $1,200 a year.

Sorry if this sounded like a bit of a rant.

mattyb

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1606242 8-Aug-2016 10:28

Just discovered this issue a while ago myself.... pretty annoying really. I sent a support request to SKY:

With the SKY box, you actually need to be there to change the channel over when the reminder pops up. There isn't a setting that can be changed to have the channel change automatically.

Sky, if you are reading this, please change this in next software update!! I can imagine it would not be difficult to implement.

wingbat45

233 posts

Master Geek

#1606637 8-Aug-2016 22:36

mattyb:

Just discovered this issue a while ago myself.... pretty annoying really. I sent a support request to SKY:

With the SKY box, you actually need to be there to change the channel over when the reminder pops up. There isn't a setting that can be changed to have the channel change automatically.

Sky, if you are reading this, please change this in next software update!! I can imagine it would not be difficult to implement.

I should like to point out this WAS the case with the older mysky software, even as far back as the mysky 1 (big silver one). I guess the difference is / was now people are finding this out.

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richms

28168 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1606657 8-Aug-2016 23:28

Because the old mpeg2 boxes all let you use an external recorder, and the only people with the mysky software on the box had the mysky service so were just recording on the mysky box. It's only become an issue since they started handing out the boxes with the mysky software but recording on the box crippled unless you pay up more to sky.

Richard rich.ms

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1607162 9-Aug-2016 18:22

richms:

Because the old mpeg2 boxes all let you use an external recorder, and the only people with the mysky software on the box had the mysky service so were just recording on the mysky box. It's only become an issue since they started handing out the boxes with the mysky software but recording on the box crippled unless you pay up more to sky.

My cynical thought was that they have done this in order to deliberately inconvenience users of external boxes, and drive people towards paying them more rather than persevere.

It's not just that recording on the box is crippled unless you pay Sky that is irritating. Even if you pay:

(i) recordings on the Sky box can't be viewed across the network and on my bedroom media player etc, whereas my DVD recorder has a DLNA server and they can.

(ii) the recording space on the MySky is absolutely tiny, and fills up very fast, especially if you have a few shows series linked and don't have much time for viewing for a couple of days. Whereas external recording means I can use both compression and the multiple TB of free space on my server.

I could probably fix it with a HTPC solution and an IR blaster etc. In fact, I think I already have all the equipment I would need. But, in all honesty, I'm getting very tired of trying to pay for content and make Sky work for me - and getting nothing but the run-around, aggravation and poor customer service in return. I have already dropped add-on two packages (losing Sky a multiple of the 415 it wants to gouge me for recording ability), and will dump the whole thing once I can persuade my other half.

For the first time in my life, I'm willing to contemplate piracy instead. I have always refused offers of pirated material before. A colleague has offered to give me some stuff on a hard drive. Which I have been told will be in better quality than Sky and without ads. Unlike previous offers I didn't decline. I'm just a wee bit sad that it has come to this........

rugrat

3106 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1607166 9-Aug-2016 18:31

For people watching live TV if it auto changed channel would be a lot better also.

Having tea and pop up comes up notifying program about to start. Have to get up from table and go to remote to press select.

As pointed out though always been like this with my sky's. Would be better product if could change channel by itself.

blackA420

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#1617468 25-Aug-2016 16:50

i have mysky only. surprise that the old box changes channel automatically. I think it would annoy me that while i am watching AB LIVE, suddenly my box would change to E! as my daughter had set the reminder for the program on it.

mattyb

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1617543 25-Aug-2016 19:19

blackA420:
i have mysky only. surprise that the old box changes channel automatically. I think it would annoy me that while i am watching AB LIVE, suddenly my box would change to E! as my daughter had set the reminder for the program on it.

The point is that it would be great to have a selectable option to enable or disable an automatic change. Shouldn't be that hard to add to a software update either.

JimmyH

2886 posts

Uber Geek

#1617624 25-Aug-2016 22:59

I'm finding it increasingly annoying.

So far, after having dropped Rialto, I have now also dropped the sport and movies packages (so their effort to squeeze more money out of me has lost them some), and am trying to convince the GF to cancel entirely (she likes SoHo).

On a whim I tested the Xdimax Grex, and it does indeed remove the copy protection that comes with the new box. However, it seems to soften the picture a wee bit, and being able to void the copy protection isn't enough to overcome my irritation at the loss of the booking feature, and especially my annoyance about being flagrantly lied to by the "customer service" rep when I rang with specific questions prior to getting the new decoder.

I also got the media drive off my colleague and watched the first film off it on the weekend. I feel like a mug for trying to do the right thing (paying Sky and eschewing friends offers of copies) for so long. I can confirm that the downloaded material they gave me is both significantly easier to use than Sky, and better quality.

I still feel slightly bad about it,and will probably go with Netflix & Lightbox as soon as I get them working on my media players, for the sake of my conscience if nothing else.

However, if Sky's plan cunning is to make their product so bad that they drive me to alternative sources, then I can report that they are succeeding......

Rikkitic

Awrrr
18657 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#1617668 26-Aug-2016 08:47

I'm not sure but I think all this can probably be solved with an external HDMI recorder like the Hauppauge HD-PVR2. The trick is to ignore the Sky recorder completely and just feed the HDMI output into the HD-PVR2. Just about any cheap HDMI pass-through device from China will strip the copy protection. This allows high quality (as high as you can get from Sky) manual recording. Hauppauge also has TV recording software with an IR blaster to automate channel selection and recording. I would think (don't know) that all this could be combined with something like Kodi to get the EGP info so recordings could be booked without manual set-up. The question is how much trouble you are willing to go to just to record off Sky when nearly everything available there can be streamed anyway.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

mattyb

254 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1617679 26-Aug-2016 09:13

Rikkitic:

I'm not sure but I think all this can probably be solved with an external HDMI recorder like the Hauppauge HD-PVR2. The trick is to ignore the Sky recorder completely and just feed the HDMI output into the HD-PVR2. Just about any cheap HDMI pass-through device from China will strip the copy protection. This allows high quality (as high as you can get from Sky) manual recording. Hauppauge also has TV recording software with an IR blaster to automate channel selection and recording. I would think (don't know) that all this could be combined with something like Kodi to get the EGP info so recordings could be booked without manual set-up. The question is how much trouble you are willing to go to just to record off Sky when nearly everything available there can be streamed anyway.

Yes. I have this setup, though I have a Colossus 2 HDMI card internally mounted in a PC, and NextPVR as the recording software. Though what I've found, and you can see this in other GZ threads, is that the new Kaon Sky box is notoriously difficult to control with an IR blaster. I can get it to work intermittently at best at the moment. Hence the need for a backup automatic channel change to ensure recordings are captured reliably.

"nearly everything available there can be streamed anyway".... if you can show me where to get the following legally available live and recordable, as well as highlights packages and analysis then I'll happily consider:

All Blacks / Super / International rugby
International cricket
Golf majors and PGA/European tour golf
Tennis majors

Sky has a monopoly on sports, there is no way around it I see.

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